Jim Feist

 A number of teams have already clinched playoff spots and the White Sox are one of them. The Sox hold first place in the AL Central with a 34-18 record, three games ahead of 2nd place Minnesota. The Sox have won eight of their last 10 games. The Cincinnati Reds are 26-27 and in 3rd place in the NL Central. The Reds have been hot too, winning seven of their last 10 games. The Sox will start Dylan Cease here today who is 5-2 on the season with a 3.20 ERA. Michael Lorenzen will go for the Reds. Lorenzen has just one start but it was a good one, going five innings vs the Pirates and allowing just one run on four hits with no walks. I'm going to try Lorenzen out here today. Take the Reds.

The Royals won't make the postseason with just a 21-31 record, but that hasn't put any quit into them. The Royals have won seven of their last 10 games. The Brewers have had a disappointing season at just 25-26. They have won three straight and six of 10. Brad Keller starts for the Royals with a 4-2 record and very nice 2.06 ERA. Keller is off a rare 9 inning complete game where he allowed no runs to the Pirates. Josh Lindblom will start for the Brewers with a 1-3 record in eight starts and a 5.55 ERA. Getting the Royals and Keller as a dog here today is too good to pass on. I'm taking the ROYALS.

 Despite their 31-21 record and 1st place in the AL Central, the Chicago Cubs have not yet clinched a playoff spot. The Cubs have won seven of their last 10 games and lead second place St Louis by 4 1/2 games. The Twins have clinched a playoff spot with their 32-22 record. Yu Darvish is having a great season, something we can't say for a number of years now. Darvish is 7-2 in his 10 starts with a 2.00 ERA and 0.937 WHIP. Darvish has yet to allow over three runs in any of his 10 starts. Jose Berrios has had an up and down season with his 4-3 record and 4.15 ERA. Berriors goes through stretched of excellent starts then has a letdown for a few starts. For me, Darvish has been consistent all season and he's the one I'm backing here on Sunday. Play the CUBS.

Game two here in the NBA Western finals as the Lakers hold a 1-0 lead over the Nuggets. The Lakers dominated game one after the first quarter, cruising to a 126-114 win. Most of the 2nd half the Lakers held near 20 point leads. I wasn't surprised, the Nuggets came out flat in game one of their series with the Clippers after their come from behind win in the previous series vs the Jazz. Now the Nuggets have had their game to get back on track and tonight I look for a high scoring game. I'm taking the OVER.

Tampa Bay had a rough time in the debut of QB Tom Brady. Brady and the Bucs jumped out to a 7-0 lead but that was about all the good news they had. Brady even threw a rare pick-six. The Bucs now have a NFL high of 44 turnovers since the start of last year. The Panthers lost at home last week to the Las Vegas Raiders, 30-34. Brady should have an easy time here today against this young Panthers defense that allowed 34 last week to the Raiders. I expect a lot of points in this one and I'm going with the OVER.

Green Bay should be very confident coming into today's clash with the Lions that they can start the season 2-0. They had a score fest last week with Minnesota, winning that offensive battle, 43-34. The Packers racked-up 522 yards, second most ever in one of their division road games. Detroit will have to do better in the 4th quarter then they did last week, getting outscored 0-21. The Bears trailed 6-23, but that unanswered 21 points gave Chicago the win, 27-23. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns. Once again, I see a lot of points in this one as the Packers will pile up the yards and points once again. Play OVER.

No one really has given the Jacksonville Jaguars much of a chance heading into this season. They lost star RB Leonard Fortnette and they have arguably the most vanilla QB in Gardner Minshew. however, Minshew shined last week, copleting 19 of 20 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns. He becomes just one of three QB's all-time to have a completion rate of 95% or more in a game. The Titans pulled out a late win at Denver last week, 16-14. Ryan Tannehill had to throw more than normal and had 249 yards and two touchdowns. The Titans shouldn't have much issues dominating this Jaguars defense here on Sunday. If Minshew can be nearly as efficient as last week then this game will go over. I'm taking the OVER here today.

Dallas lost their opener last week at the LA Rams, 19-22. The Rams Brett Maher hit a 42-yard field goal as time expired to pull out the win for the Rams. New head Coach Mike McCarthy wasn't happy with the outcome last week and will not want to start the season 0-2 with his new club. The Falcons lost a shootout with the Falcons last week, 25-38. QB Matt Ryan threw for 450 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the loss. With Ryan at QB, Julio Jones at Wide Out and Todd Gurley in the backfield, this team should be potent on offense. Dallas lost another one score game, their seventh since last season. I don't look for much defense in this one. I'm taking the OVER and will enjoy the offensive show.

The Chicago Bears needed a 21-0 fourth quarter rally last week against the Lions to pull out a win, 27-23. QB Mitch Trubisky tossed three touchdowns in the win for the Bears. The Giants looking to avoid another 0-2 start to the season. Giants RB Saquon Barkley rushed for just six yards last week in their loss. The problem I see with both these teams lie in their respective defenses. The Bears allowed 426 yards to the Lions last week to go with 23 points. Giants QB Jones had another solid week last week but they played against a very good Steelers defnse. Won't be same here today though as Barkley and Jones should do much better vs the Bears defense. I'm taking the Giants not to go 0-2 once again. Play the Giants.

 The Patriots began their post Tom Brady era with a win last week over the Miami Dolphins, 21-11 behind new QB Cam Newton. Seattle was carried by the arm of QB Russell Wilson last week to a win over the Atlanta Falcons, 35-28. Wilson had a QB rating of 143.1 after completing 31 of 35 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns. The Patriots obviously have to find someone to carry the ball as six different plays rushed for 20 or more yards last week vs Miami. I feel that the Pats were lucky they played a weak Miami team last week and were able to see what they have. Personally, I don't think they have much and today it's going to show. Russell Wilson looks like an MVP once again and I look for him to give the Patriots all kinds of fits here on Sunday. My favorite play on Sunday is in this game and it's on the Seahawks.

The Eagles blew a 17-0 lead last week vs Washington. However, the Eagles get back some players this week and should play much better. The Eagles were outscored 0-27 after jumping out to that lead over Washington. The Eagles have won the last six meetings with the Rams. They have also averaged 32.2 points in their last six with the Rams. For me, the Rams making the long trip East is always tough on the West coast teams. I like the Eagles here on Sunday. Play Philadelphia.