JULY 3 COFFEE CLUB

[Thomas]

WHAT'S BREWING TODAY Sunday, July 3 On Today's Scorecard For All The Marbles

After two other false starts in recent years, we finally have a championship game from a major spring league for the first time since the original XFL in 2001. The 10-1 Birmingham Stallions, who were by a wide margin the longest shot in the preseason betting odds at +750, will attempt to go wire-to-wire as the best team in the USFL while the 7-4 Philadelphia Stars arrive in the championship game after an uneven regular season. The Stars opened the year losing three of its first five games before enjoying a four-game winning streak that helped the club capture one of the four-playoff spots. They are also the only team in the league to score 35 or more points – and they did it three times. Birmingham allowed the fewest yards per game in the league (268.8), while the Stars coughed up the most (345.8). Philadelphia's rush defense surrendered 151.2 RYPG, worst in the league. Birmingham owned the 2nd best rush defense, allowing 95.5 RYPG. To read more on our preview and prediction of this game click here.

Trending Today Perceived Velocity

While physics would suggest the velocity of a pitch is consistent from Point A to Point B, how fast a pitcher throws and how fast it feels to the hitter can be two different things. That's where perceived velocity comes in. Given the release point for a pitcher (how far past the rubber they throw from), a pitch may seem faster than it really is, giving the hitter less time to react. According to Ed Feng of The PowerRank.com, Statcast says among those MLB pitchers with at least 750 pitches this season, Atlanta's Spencer Strider has the fastest perceived velocity (95.4 mph). Feng previously recommended investing in Strider for NL Rookie of the Year (+750 on FanDuel). In second place is Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler at 93.8 mph. He is 17-1 on FanDuel for NL Cy Young.

Grinding Out The Profits Pony Up

A Per ESPN Stats & Info: A total of 3 centers in NBA history have signed $200M contracts. The Timberwolves now have 2 of them in Rudy Gobert andKarl-Anthony Towns.

[Chamblin]