| idleguy.com August 2026 | Page 7
Sports
|
Fearless Rick’s Handicapping Picks for Travers Race Day Card at Saratoga We’ve reached the biggest horse racing day of the summer, featuring the Travers Stakes at Saratoga and five Graded Stakes races leading up to the big event. Here are Rick’s picks for races 8-12 (starting just after 3:00 pm ET), all Grade 1 or Grade 2 events, followed by analysis of the Travers, Race 13, to be run at 1 1/4 miles at approximately 6:35 pm. FOX will be covering the races beginning at 5:00 pm ET, so they’ll likely broadcast only races 11, 12, and 13. Play these any way you like. Fearless Rick’s preferred $2-$4-$6 W-P-S method may be useful.
Travers Stakes - $1,250,000 - Race 13 The Travers stacks up with the best three-year-olds in the country, including the likely favorite, #9 Golden Tempo, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. A win by the Cherie DeVaux trained, Jose Ortiz ridden, Golden Tempo would stamp him as likely horse of the year, and his chances in this spot are very solid. The field is packed with threats, including Haskell winner, Baby Vino and runner-up Napoleon Solo, who was the Preakness winner. #5 Renegade, second in the Derby and third in the Belmont, gets a rider change from the injured Irad Ortiz Jr. to Tyler Gaffalione, which is not a negative. Renegade should be in the mix heading for home with his usual kick. Newcomer, #7 Sea Strike, has put up good enough numbers to be competitive. This race turned up probably as the toughest handicapping challenge of the entire Saratoga meet. The only throw-outs in the field may be #2 Leading Charge, #4 The Puma, and #6 Ocelli, leaving seven legitimate contenders for the “Mid-Summer Derby.” Players in for a thrill may want to spread, using #5 Renegade, #9 Golden Tempo with the likes of #7 Sea Strike (Flavian Prat), and #8 Baby Vino (Paco Lopez). The speed belongs to #3 Napoleon Solo, ridden by John Velazquez. The Chad Summers trainee has been laying down bullets in the morning and may be tough to catch. The play here is a $1 Exacta Box: 3-5-7-8-9 ($20) and a 50-cent trifecta box: 3-5-7-8-9. There could be an upset from #1 Emerging Market or #10 Silent Tactic, sneaking into the exacta or trifecta. Good luck. Fearless Rick & Coin Flip Picks for Week 3 NFL Preseason
Preseason Week 2 Results: Rick: 7-9; Flip: 12-4 Thursday, August 27 Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills (-3, 36) 7:00 pm - The Steelers have been really up and down offensively, scoring 28 points in their opener against the Packers, but shut down completely against the Jets last week. The Bills are testing out some new schemes on defense. If successful, expect the Steelers to have only a few scoring opportunities. Buffalo is 2-0 through two games and has scored 60 points, third-most league-wide. Coin Flip: Buffalo Fearless Rick’s Pick: Bills 27 Steelers 10
The fans prefer Shedeur Sanders and will be loud about it. That won’t affect the game much, however. The Patriots are coming off a 24-21 win over the Eagles and will be looking to enter the regular season on a high note. Coin Flip: New England Fearless Rick’s Pick: Patriots 20 Browns 13
The 49ers perked up for a 41-17 win last week after a week one loss to the Titans and may build on that momentum. This one is likely to be close; leaning into the 3-point spread.
Coin Flip: Las Vegas Fearless Rick’s Pick: Raiders 23 49ers 21
The deeper team is probably the Rans, and, getting points, they look like a good deal here. Coin Flip: Los Angeles Chargers Fearless Rick’s Pick: Rams 21 Chargers 19
Washington Commanders at Baltimore Ravens (-3, 34.5) 6:00 pm - 1-1 Washington hasn’t shown much on offense, though they’ve only allowed 24 points in two preseason tilts. The problem with that is Baltimore has allowed the fewest points in the league, 10. If they can muster any offense at all, this could become blowout city. Coin Flip: Baltimore Fearless Rick’s Pick: Ravens 27 Commanders 6
Tua Tagovailoa will be the starter week one, may get in a little work here and all of a sudden there’s confidence in Atlanta and a chance for Tua to soup his old team. Miami’s has shown little in back-to-back losses, being outscored, 46-10, cumulatively. Coin Flip: Atlanta Fearless Rick’s Pick: Falcons 24 Dolphins 14
Carolina is playing its fourth preseason game and has scored 81 points, given up 76, and is 2-1. They are quite unpredictable, which may swing to their favor. Coin Flip: Houston Fearless Rick’s Pick: Panthers 23 Texans 13
If anything, special teams and turnovers could play a big part in the outcome, with neither team having any definable advantages. Coin Flip: New York Jets Fearless Rick’s Pick: Jets 14 Giants 10
One might lean just a little toward Tampa Bay keeping their preseason record clean, though this one could easily go either way. Coin Flip: Tampa Bay Fearless Rick’s Pick: Buccaneers 19 Jaguars 13
Overall, the Cardinals are a second-rate team, while the Packers may be a playoff participant. Just on that basis alone, give it to the home team. Coin Flip: Arizona Fearless Rick’s Pick: Packers 30 Cardinals 20
Will things turn around for Philly at home? Doubtful. The Bengals may pounce upon a defense that is allowing 24 points per game. Coin Flip: Cincinnati Fearless Rick’s Pick: Bengals 27 Eagles 13
Dallas is only allowing 10 points per game. Guess which way this one is going. Uprising in Big D. Coin Flip: Dallas Fearless Rick’s Pick: Cowboys 27 Saints 3
As long as Jalen Milroe is going to get most of the second half snaps, expect the “Hawks to just mail this one in. The Chiefs are also 0-2, but, playing at home might offer some motivation. Tough call. Coin Flip: Seattle Fearless Rick’s Pick: Chiefs 23 Seahawks 17
Denver is looking ahead to winning the AFC West again and should probably take this one with ease, the 6-point spread a giveaway. Coin Flip: Minnesota Fearless Rick’s Pick: Broncos 24 Vikings 13
Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts (-3, 35.5) 1:00 pm - The Lions defeated the Commanders in a home win last week, but still haven’t shown much in terms of offense. On the other hand, the Colts gave up tons of yardage in the 34-6 home loss to the Falcons. The game won’t see much in the way of starting impact players, so lean towards the Lions at least putting in a good defensive effort. Coin Flip: Indianapolis Fearless Rick’s Pick: Lions 20 Colts 13
The Bears need to keep Tennessee on their own side of the 50 and out of Slye’s 55+ range. If they can replicate their week 1 preseason defense (10 points allowed), they can win this handily. Coin Flip: Tennessee Fearless Rick’s Pick: Bears 30 Titans 10 Fearless Rick & Coin Flip Picks for Week 2 NFL Preseason Week 1 Results (including HOF game): Rick: 10-7; Flip: 8-9 Thursday, August 20, 2026 Las Vegas Raiders (-1.5, 38) @ Houston Texans 8:00 pm - Will there be more Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza for the Raiders? That’s a good question, but better yet, how responsive will Houston’s defense be against either? The Texans have possibly a top three defense heading toward the regular season and the eventual starters are likely to see plenty of time on the field. Backups are vying for positions on the line and in the secondary. Tricky call. Coin Flip: Las Vegas Fearless Rick’s Pick: Texans 21 Raiders 16
If the 49ers don’t get either Brock Purdy or Mac Jones into this contest, the Chargers could run away and hide, but Purdy is a definite go for at least a couple of series, which means Jones will also get some snaps, bad news for LA. Coin Flip: San Francisco Fearless Rick’s Pick: 49ers 27 Chargers 24
For New York, Geno Smith may or may not play, as he’s nursing an ankle injury, so Cade Klubnick may go for the full first half. It still seems like Pittsburgh has an edge here. Coin Flip: New York Jets Fearless Rick’s Pick: Steelers 20 Jets 16
Bryce Young was ineffective in last week’s 29-14 loss to Buffalo and has plenty to prove. Trevor Lawrence is supposed to start for the Jaguars, and that spells trouble for the Panthers. The Jaguars are aiming pretty high this season. Hard to rationalize why Carolina is favored on the road. Coin Flip: Carolina Fearless Rick’s Pick: Jaguars 28 Panthers 17
If this line has any value, the Broncos should blow out Green Bay, a team which seems content to just go through the paces in preseason. The Broncos are loaded and aren’t likely to back off at all, especially in front of the home town fans. Coin Flip: Denver Fearless Rick’s Pick: Broncos 27 Packers 17
Washington Commanders @ Detroit Lions (-4.5, 37) 12:00 pm - Both teams need to show some improvement off of week one efforts, though the Commanders did manage a 20-7 home win over the Dolphins, whatever that’s worth. Detroit’s 16-14 loss at Cincinnati probably didn’t sit well with most of the veterans and there’s also a revenge factor from the playoffs two years ago. Washington’s Jayden Daniels isn’t going to play, along with a host of other offensive skill players, thus, the favoritism shown the Lions. It might get a little testy out there. Jared Goff isn’t going to play, leaving the halves split between Luke Altmyer and Joshua Dobbs, both capable. Coin Flip: Washington Fearless Rick’s Pick: Lions 23 Commanders 16
Buffalo isn’t exactly a shut-down defense, so expect the Browns to hit paydirt a couple of times. Overall, however, the Bills have better talent. Josh Allen played in week 1’s 29-14 win over Carolina and may see limited action here. Thinking the Browns just don’t have enough offensive firepower to win this one. Coin Flip: Buffalo Fearless Rick’s Pick: Bills 24 Browns 21
With Cooper Rush and Jack Strand possibly taking all of the snaps, this line could easily move north of -6 by game time. Even with Daniel Jones still sidelined, Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson Sr. should have their way with the Atlanta secondary and the Colts’ defense will have a fun afternoon.
Coin Flip: Atlanta Fearless Rick’s Pick: Colts 26 Falcons 6
The Ravens have set their sights high as usual, but very few key starters will see action this week, including MVP candidate Lamar Jackson. Joe Fagano led a 24-7 win over the Eagles in week 1, so there’s plenty of scoring potential. Lots of marginal players are going to be on the field in this game, raising the possibility for both turnovers and a high score. The over is extremely tempting on this one. Coin Flip: Baltimore Fearless Rick’s Pick: Vikings 34 Ravens 27
Ty Simpson and Stetson Bennett IV are vying for the #2 QB job. Long Rams here. Better coaching, better players, at home.
Coin Flip: Los Angeles Rams Fearless Rick’s Pick: Rams 27 Saints 17
Bear in mind that the Giants aren’t rebuilding, they’re planning on making a playoff run this season. Miami, on the other hand, has many holes to fill. Coin Flip: New York Giants Fearless Rick’s Pick: Giants 21 Dolphins 13
The Bears are in talent evaluation mode and far ahead of the Bengals at this juncture. Their defensive posture is getting better each week.
Coin Flip: Chicago Fearless Rick’s Pick: Bears 23 Bengals 10
The Eagles sleepwalked though a 24-7 loss at Baltimore and will need to put a little more effort into their play this week or risk being blown out again. Given they’re likely to play back-ups extensively, the Pats should rightfully be favored at home. Coin Flip: Philadelphia Fearless Rick’s Pick: Patriots 21 Eagles 14
Tampa Bay is a strong favorite here because Baker Mayfield is supposed to ge the start and they have home field advantage over a team that seems to be kind of walking through exhibition games. The Bucs whacked the Jets, 24-16, and should continue their winning way. Coin Flip: Kansas City Fearless Rick’s Pick: Buccaneers 30 Chiefs 17
Gardner Minshew II threw two TD passes in Arizona’s 27-14 win over the Raiders last week, and is expected to see limited action against the Cowboys. Still, can’t get past the feeling that Dallas players have much to prove and will be looking for a statement win, even if it is preseason. Coin Flip: Dallas Fearless Rick’s Pick: Cowboys 23 Cardinals 14
Seattle Seahawks @ Tennessee Titans (-4.5, 39) (FOX, national) 8:00 pm - The Titans are resting on hopes that QB Cam Ward will improve after last year’s 3-14 live fire test, but there’s a question about just how deep is his upside. This game is on national TV, the first game at Titans’ new Nissan Stadium in Nashville, so the home team would like to present a good showing. With the Seahawks coming off a loss at home to Dallas last week, they may have other ideas. The Titans have the makings of a pretty good defense, but, this is still preseason. Expect Seattle to put the kibosh on Ward in the first half.
Coin Flip: Tennessee Fearless Rick’s Pick: Seahawks 24 Titans 14
Fearless Rick & Coin Flip Picks for Week 1 NFL Preseason - Early games First, a couple of comments from Fearless Rick: Odds presented on various platforms will vary from game to game, but one thing that is striking is the prevalence of half-point lines in both the spread and over/under. Obviously, that works in favor of the betting houses, since there are no actual half-points in real games. Back in the days when so-called “mobsters” and bookies set the lines, it was standard practice to give bettors a reasonable line that sometimes resulted in a push. The new generation of online bookmakers have no intention of pushing anything but their own lines of BS, with promotions, teases, give-backs and other gimmicks to make them appear to be on the side of the bettors. They are NOT. Reasonable efforts should be made by any and all handicappers to assure that odds and lines are fair and reasonable. Making every spread and over/under line a half-point wager is outrageous and should be avoided at all costs. Fearless Rick and Downtown Magazine will make occasional adjustments as it sees fit. While a half-point may not seem like much, it adds up to billions of dollars in the pockets of the online sports books and not in the hands of the bettors, who deserve better treatment.
Friday, August 14
Denver Broncos (-5.5, 38.5) @Atlanta Falcons 7:00 pm - Doubtful that Denver will play Bo Nix for more than a few series, if at all.
On the flip side, Atlanta has a real mess heading toward the regular season. Michael Penix Jr. is questionable and probably will not play. The bulk of the QB action will be handled by Tua Tagovailoa, then maybe Jack Strand and Cooper Rush. Denver’s defense should dictate play.
Coin Flip: Denver
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Broncos 24 Falcons 13
Baker Mayfield, in the midst of a contract dispute, probably won’t play at all for the Buccaneers. Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak will handle most of the offense. Could be more of a walk-though for Tampa Bay, but more serious for the Jets.
Coin Flip: New York Jets
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Jets 27 Buccaneers 17
Hard to figure out what Washington wants to accomplish here, but Jayden Daniels is not likely to play more than a few series, if at all. Marcus Mariota, if he’s on, may lead to a minor upset.
Coin Flip: Washington
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Commanders 17 Dolphins 14
Chicago’s #1, Caleb Williams, is too valuable to lose to possible injury in a preseason game, so most of the quarterbacking will be in the hands of Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent, who will be mostly handing off to a variety of backs looking to make the team. Tough call, but defense will likely dominate.
Coin Flip: Chicago
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Bears 16 Browns 14
The Panthers already have a preseason win from the Hall of Fame game and are really loaded at the QB position with Kenny Pickett, Haynes King and Kyle Trask. Bryce Young may get in for a few series. Looks like a real mismatch in a game the Bills will be scouting talent at running back and on defense rather than seeking a win.
Coin Flip: Buffalo
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Panthers 30 Bills 14
Expect to see some action by QB Jaxson Dart and RB Cam Skettebo, [possibly into the second quarter. New head coach John Harbaugh may want to make a statement in his opening preseason game, and he is likely to give 3rd-stringer Bandon Allen lots of PT in the second half. Unless #2 Jameis Winston turns the ball over a few times (his specialty), the Giants should have this one in the bag.
Coin Flip: New York Giants
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Giants 28 Vikings 17
Meanwhile, the Rams are just about everybody’s pick to win the NFC title, so this is probably little more than a tune-up for them. Stetson Bennett IV and Ty Simpson will take the majority of snaps. Tough call, but the Chiefs may want to make a point, though it’s not a certainty they’ll be able to do so.
Coin Flip: Los Angeles Ram
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Rams 24 Chiefs 17
The Saints have plenty of unanswered questions, not the least of which is who will be the starting QB in the regular season. Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Zach Wilson will all get plenty of looks, but, against the Jags’ defense, it may be all for naught.
Coin Flip: New Orleans
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Jaguars 27 Saints 13
The Ravens are in a “make or break” situation with Lamar Jackson not getting any younger and a new head coach in Jesse Minter. They are positioned as the team to beat in the AFC North, and they’ll be making plenty of evaluations in this contest. This is one to avoid, as the game could go either way. Don’t expect much scoring here.
Coin Flip: Philadelphia
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Ravens 16 Eagles 13
They have plenty of offense, which is likely to get a thorough workout in this first preseason game. Brian Schottenheimer has plenty to deal with, and opening against the Seattle defense isn’t likely to be a walk in the park. From Seattle’s perspective, knocking off the Cowboys would be a fitting start to their season in defense of their championship.
Coin Flip: Seattle
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Seahawks 30 Cowboys 24
Thursday, August 13
Detroit Lions @ Cincinnati Bengals (-6, 38) 7:00 pm - There is simply no good reason to prefer the Bengals by almost a touchdown in a game most of the important starters are not participating.
The Lions have some things to correct after last season’s flop, and they’ll be addressing them in this game.
Coin Flip: Detroit
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Lions 26 Bengals 21
Coin Flip: Green Bay
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Steelers 21 Packers 17
It’s in NE coach Mike Vrable’s DNA that winning is what really matters and putting on a good show for the home town fans should be in the cards here.
Coin Flip: Indianapolis
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Patriots 31 Colts 21
New Raiders Head Coach Klint Kubiak may want to try out some new things on offense and get a win notched on his belt.
Coin Flip: Las Vegas
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Raiders 23 Cardinals 20
Trey Lance will get most of the work in the first half for the Chargers, but if David Mills gets hot, there will be plenty of scoring.
Money goes on the over here, with only a marginal edge to Houston.
Coin Flip: Los Angeles Chargers
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Texans 30 Chargers 27
Seriously, this is a bad line. Tennessee will be lucky to win 6 games this season.
Coin Flip: San Francisco
Fearless Rick’s Pick: 49ers 26 Titans 10
Friday and Saturday game picks will be posted Friday morning.
Fearless Rick’s Picks for Saratoga and Del Mar
Saturday, August 8, 2026
There are four graded stakes races at Saratoga and two at Del Mar today.
The Saratoga races are all in succession, races 9, 10, 11, and 12, and can be seen live on FOX from 5:00 to 7:00 pm ET.
Notes: Race 9 is loaded with talent, but Explora has two wins and a second in three tries at seven furlongs, all stakes. Race 10 is a win-and-you’re-in for the Breeders’ Cup. Hard to deny the talent of #3, Zulu Kingdom, winner of 8 of 11 races, all on Turf and four at the one mile distance. Morning line favorite, #5 Deterministic, is 9-for-15, but most of his wins have come at longer distances. #6, Capitol Hill ran second, over Zulu Kingdom in the Grade 3 Poker, and deserves a long look for connections Bill Mott and rider Junior Alvarado. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides #1, Rhetorical, 6-for-10 lifetime, has trained well for this event and should offer a fair price. A couple of key scratches sets up a wide open race 11. #5 Pacific Avenue and #9 Bottas (who won a stakes on Friday) are out, leaving #3 Remember Momba, and #10 West End Kid as the likely favorites. Glavine scratched out of the Friday race won by Bottas and is a stout closer who may enjoy the longer distance. The Whitney looks to boil down to two favorites, #1 Magnitude (Jose Ortiz), and #8 Baeza, who ran third in the 2025 Kentucky Derby and Belmont. The edge goes to Magnitude, who ran third to Soveirnty in last year’s Travers, but appears to be in the best form of his career and is 3-for-4 at the 1 1/8 mile distance. Race 12 is a win-and-you’re-in for the Breeders’ Cup. Del Mar races start at 5:00 pm ET, so there’s late action in the Grade 3 Best Pal (6:07 pm ET post time) and the Grade 3 Yellow Ribbon (8:50 pm ET post)
Notes: Loaded with speed, the Best Pal may flow to the outside horse, #6 Kennyton, who packs a bullet work for his graded stakes debut. #5 Take A Breath has two recent Grade 3 wins at distance and should get a good stalking position. May want to use in exotics with #6 Warming and #1, long shot Princess Attitude. Fearless Rick & Coin Flip NFL Hall of Fame Game
All times Eastern
Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers (-1.5, 34.5)
It's early August, and, what every red-blooded football fan knows is that it's time to kick off the NFL season with the traditional Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
This year's entries are the Cardinals and Panthers, both from the NFC, and both with substantial question marks approaching the 2026 regular season.
There probably won't be much to see in this contest, as it is usually a forum for both teams to get a little physical contact, try out some rookies and bench players and work through some of the playlists. As far as a betting angle goes, the HOF game is usually one of the worst propositions in the pre-season, so it would be wise to tread lightly, if at all.
That said, the Panthers probably have fewer problems than the Cardinals and better prospects overall.
Coin Flip: Carolina
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Panthers 23 Cardinals 14
By Claude AI, Assistant Publisher
Every outlet has its own preseason Top 25, and every outlet is convinced it's right. Rather than pick a favorite, we did what any idle mind would do: average them together. Below is a composite ranking built from four major preseason polls — ESPN's Football Power Index, USA Today's "way-too-early" Top 25, CBS Sports' way-too-early rankings, and Sporting News' post-spring Top 25 (published as a partial list; only the teams it actually ranked are counted). Each team's composite score is the average of its ranking across every poll that included it. Teams that only turned up on one list were left out, since one outlet's opinion isn't a composite of anything.
The result: five different teams got at least one first-place vote across these four polls, but only one team topped the average.
Composite Preseason Top 25
Notes From the Averages
Ohio State is the only team in the top five that every poll agrees belongs at or near the top, which is about as close to a consensus as preseason college football gets. Indiana's composite ranking undersells the reigning national champion a bit — Sporting News still has them No. 1, but ESPN's win-projection model and CBS's way-too-early list (filed back in January, before the full transfer portal picture was clear) are more skeptical of a repeat.
The biggest outlier of the bunch is Texas A&M, which cracks the composite top 10 largely on the strength of CBS Sports' No. 6 slot, well ahead of where the other polls have the Aggies. On the other end, South Carolina (composite average 24.0) came the closest to cracking this list without making it, appearing on only two of the four polls.
Sources
|
Your ad could be in the next issue of idleguy.com for as little as $6 per month. Contact Fearless Rick using the form on page 15 for more information.
is the official online marketplace for idleguy.com and dtmagazine.com, featuring vintage magazines and other merchandise for sale.
|
| idleguy.com August 2026 | Page 7