Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot delivers to the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Pepiot struck out six in five hitless innings and Christopher Morel had three hits and an RBI as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 on Thursday night.
Carson Williams also drove in two runs for Tampa Bay, which won its season-high seventh straight game and for the 10th time in 12 games.
With the victory, the Rays move within two games of idle Seattle in the race for the final AL wild-card spot — the closest they have been to a playoff spot since July 26, when they were 1 1/2 games back.
Pepiot (11-10) walked two in the victory and a combined no-hit bid was spoiled after 5 2/3 innings when José Ramírez singled off Bryan Baker.
Pete Fairbanks allowed consecutive homers by Ramírez and Kyle Manzardo in the top of the ninth before getting the next three outs to close out the victory.
Junior Caminero, Brandon Lowe, and Jake Mangum also had hits for Tampa Bay.
Logan Allen (7-11) allowed six hits and four runs with four strikeouts in the loss for the Guardians, who have lost four of their last five games and slipped 3 1/2 games back in the wild-card race.
Key moment
Brandon Lowe made a sprawling grab with two outs in the top of the fourth, preventing Bo Naylor’s line drive from reaching the outfield and stranding the potential tying run.
Key stat
Pepiot allowed one or fewer hits in his third straight start of five or more innings, joining Dylan Cease as the only pitchers in MLB history to accomplish the feat.
Up next
Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (9-5, 3.26) faces Tampa Bay LHP Ian Seymour (3-0, 2.97) in the second game of the four-game series Friday.
The historic boxing rivalry which spanned decades has captured the hearts and minds of so many boxing fans around the world. The legendary UK rivalry started in 1990, when Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn, two of the most coveted British boxers faced each other for the first time in one of the biggest fights in British boxing history with around 15 million people tuning in.
Chris Eubank Sr won the fight via unanimous decision after an enthralling performance, thus becoming the WBO middleweight champion.
The Original Rematch
They went on to have a hatred-fueled rematch three years later which once again captured the British interest. It was declared a draw with other fighters keeping their titles.
Sons Continue the Legacy
Thirty-two years later, in April 2025, their sons, Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn, faced off in one of the best fights of the year.
No titles or belts were on the line, just family legacy, pride and revenge in the case of the Benn family.
Chris Eubank won the fight via unanimous decision which improved his record to 35 wins and three losses.
Eubank Jr’s Early Life
Born in 1989, Eubank Jr grew up in Brighton, as a child, Senior admitted that he did not allow his son to watch his fights at a young age.
Eubank Sr initially did not want his son to box due to the extreme danger and harsh reality of the sport.
However, at about 14 years old, Eubank Jr was finally given permission to box by his dad after years of persuading.
In 2005, Eubank Jr went to Las Vegas, USA to focus on boxing, with the intention of separating himself from distractions in the UK like gang culture and anti-social behaviour.
Early Career Development
This decision paid off as he won his first nine amatear fights including the Las Vegas golden gloves tournament.
Eubank Jr made his professional debut in 2011 after just 26 amateur bouts with his father by his side. Winning via technical knockout in the fourth round against Kirilis Psonko.
Separation from His Father
Over the subsequent years since his debut, Senior was in Eubank Jr’s corner until Junior decided he wanted to separate from his father to continue his professional career alone at 30 years old, thus making his own decisions and choosing his own path.
This decision by Eubank jr angered his father, as he was notoriously a disciplinarian who wanted his son close and under his guidance.
This caused a rift in their relationship and soured the bond for years to come. The bond was further thrown into turmoil as Sebastian Eubank, Chris’ younger brother died in July 2021 due to a heart attack. Eubank Jr admitted that his father did not know how to mentally handle the loss and further fractured their bond.
Tension Leading Into the 2025 Fight
Naturally for the Benn vs Eubank Jr fight, their bond was once again brought to the forefront of the public eye as Eubank Sr disapproved of his son’s fight with Conor due to the danger surrounding the weight discrepancy.
Eubank Jr is naturally a middleweight, at 35 years old, he agreed to cut himself down to 160 pounds which took a physical toll on his body
Delays and Controversy
The fight was originally set for 2022, but officials called it off after Benn failed two voluntary drug tests, reportedly triggered by highly elevated egg consumption.
In 2025, Eubank Jr smashed an egg on the face of Benn at the press conference before their fight which angered his father. Eubank Sr went on record to call his son a disgrace for his actions.
A Family Reunion on Fight Night
In a surreal turn of events, the night before Eubank’s biggest fight of his life, his father texted him intending to talk.
His intentions became clear on his son’s fight night, he accompanied him to the ring for the first time in several years, in one of the most shocking, dramatic yet iconic turn of events, which left the boxing world in raptures.
Aftermath and Hospitalisation
However, the extreme weight cut and the brutal fight sent Eubank Jr to the hospital for three days, despite him being the victor.
The Rematch Awaits
In November 2025, Eubank Jr and Benn will once again face off in a hotly anticipated rematch.
As the NFL rolls into Week 11, bettors are recalibrating after one of the most unpredictable weeks of the 2025 season. Week 10 delivered a rare blow to favorites while handing underdog backers one of their most profitable weekends to date. With momentum shifting and oddsmakers adjusting accordingly, Week 11 sets the stage for a volatile board full of opportunity, traps, and overreactions.
Underdogs Surge Into Focus
The Dogs came alive in Week 10, smashing expectations with eight against-the-spread wins and five outright victories. It was the type of weekend sportsbooks dream about, highlighted by Miami’s stunning straight-up win as nearly a double-digit underdog — and they didn’t just win, they dominated by 17. Bettors leaning too heavily on favorites were burned, especially with Buffalo suffering a costly Moneyline defeat that shattered countless parlays.
Overs Continue Their Quiet Push
Totals bettors continue to see balance, but Overs still hold a narrow edge on the season. Week 10 split exactly down the middle, but offensive surges from teams like Kansas City, Denver, and Miami are keeping books from shading numbers too far down. As temperatures drop and wind becomes a weekly factor, totals remain one of the trickiest markets heading into Week 11.
Margin of Victory Trends Tighten
For the first time this season, close wins (seven points or fewer) officially overtook double-digit victories in total count. Bettors who rely on teasers and alt-spreads should take note — the league is tightening, and margins are shrinking. Still, five games last week landed in the 11+ category, proving that blowouts remain very much alive depending on matchups, injuries, and late-game chaos.
Tools For The Bettor
With uncertainty mounting and the playoff picture sharpening, more bettors are turning to data-driven resources to gain an edge. Gary Greene’s weekly stats pages continue to serve as one of the most reliable snapshot tools in the betting space, offering trends, matchups, and deep-cut angles that save hours of research each week. With Week 11 looming large, preparation is everything.
WEEK 11 “AGAINST THE SPREAD”/OVER-UNDERS/DOGS STRAIGHT UP/WIN MARGINS WEEKLY/SEASONAL REPORT
BELOW IS PAST “WEEK 10” FULL RESULTS AND NEW FULL UPDATED SEASON RESULTS IN THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN
Note: A.T.S. = “AGAINST THE SPREAD”
(A.T.S. LAST WEEK ~ NFL WEEK 10): 2025 SEASON OVERALL
NOTE: Teams winning by double digits have finally been passed by teams winning by a TD or less. The Dogs had their best NFL week all season with 8 covering the spread and even 5 winning straight up – including the Dolphins who pulled a nearly double digit underdog spread winning straight up by 17. The Bills loss on the Moneyline really helped the books from another devastating week of the big favorites all covering the moneyline parlays. The “OVERS” still hold a small lead overall this 2025 NFL season!
NOTE: For all your NFL Handicapping needs to handicap each week get all Gary Greene’s Football Betting Magazine Stats pages “FREE” at: GARYWINS.COM Save tons of research time as these stats have all you need. Any questions email Gary: BLUEBOOKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM
As speculation runs from Chapel Hill, N.C. through Kansas City to Mississippi as to who will be the next head coach of the New York Giants, maybe the team already has its next head coach.
University of North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who both won Super Bowls as defensive coordinators with the Giants, are being rumored to take over for the fired Brian Daboll in 2026. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kifflin has also been mentioned.
What about Mike Kafka?
Kafka’s Opportunity
The timing of the Daboll firing and the promotion of offensive coordinator Kafka to interim head coach is interesting to say the least. In getting rid of Daboll now, with seven games and a bye week left in the season the Giants get a good look at the former quarterback and how he handles not just the present quarterback — Jaxson Dart, but the team in general. And what he does during the bye week will also be watched closely,
Kafka, with any success from this current 2-8 team and how Dart progresses with him, could earn himself the job.
Kafka’s Background
Drafted in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Eagles out of Northwestern in 2010, Kafka showed the knowledge to be a good quarterback in the league. He just lacked some of the skills, namely a strong arm. But you don’t need a lot of zip on the ball to be a coach.
Andy Reid, who drafted Kafka, hired him in 2017 to be his quarterback coach in Kansas City. The Giants hired him away from KC to be Daboll’s offensive coordinator in 2022. He’s had head coaching interviews in various spots along the way, so he would be far from a reach.
Giants Schedule Impact
How the Giants do these final games and the next three are tough — Green Bay, Detroit and New England — although it eases up a little the final month with Washington, Minnesota, Las Vegas and Dallas, might determine Kafka and the Giants future.
Kafka is not expected to have Dart, who is in concession protocol, this week against the Packers. But he should be back for the final six games. Football just might be interesting in New York again.
Caught in the Draft
Here’s what the top 10 picks in the 2026 NFL draft would like today:
Denver (8-2) hosts Kansas City (5-4) in a huge AFC West matchup. The Broncos, who have won 10 straight home games, can put some distance between themselves and the Chiefs with a win. And perhaps put an end to Kansas City’s nine-year reign as division champs.
Here are some interesting pieces of history around the game.
Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes is 13-1 in his career against the Broncos, including his first-ever win back in 2017.
While the Broncos are on a roll at home in Mile High, the Chiefs are 1-3 on the road this season and 1-4 in their last five road games.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is a league-best 22-4 after his bye week during his career. He 13-1 with Philadelphia and is 9-3 with Kansas City.
Denver head coach Sean Payton has a winning record against Reid, however. Payton’s New Orleans Saints were 4-1 against Reid’s Eagles and he is 2-2 as the Broncos head coach against Reid’s Chiefs.
How the West was Won – NFC Version
The Los Angeles Rams (7-2) host the Seattle Seahawks (7-2) for first place in the NFC West. Both teams have won four straight games, including wins over the other NFC West teams (Arizona and San Francisco) last week. Seattle has also won a league-best 10 consecutive road games.
Seattle has the best winning differential in the NFC at +11.5, while the Rams are a close second at +10.9.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was questionable all preseason, is having a MVP season for Los Angeles. The 37-year-old Stafford is averaging a league-best 269.7 yards per game and also leads the league with 25 touchdown passes.
Stafford will face a stingy Seattle defense that is also second in the league in sacks with 32.
This game also features Seattle wide receiver Cooper Kupp coming back to LA where he was a star for the Rams and won Super Bowl MVP for them in Super Bowl LVI.
Symmetry at its Best
The NFL’s Week 10 began with a 10-7 game on Thursday night (Denver over Las Vegas) and ended with a 10-7 game on Monday night (Philly over Green Bay).
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