A. Alabama vs. A&M. Well, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. Heading into the rematch, Alabama is No. 1 in the AP and USA Today polls, while Texas A&M registers at No. 6. Johnny Manziel and the Aggies, of course, prevailed in a 29-24 stunner last season in Tuscaloosa. A&M is a +8 home underdog this time around, odds courtesy of Bovada Sportsbook.

B. Brandon Jacobs. The only thing Tom Coughlin hates more than fumbling is being late to practice. But he really hates fumbling. As such, running back David Wilson is in the doghouse. Wilson fumbled twice in the Giants’ Week 1 loss at Dallas before being benched in the third quarter. New York promptly went out and re-signed Jacobs, who spent seven seasons with the Giants from 2005 through 2011. New York is a +4.5 home underdog in the Manning Bowl vs. Denver on Sunday, according to BetOnline Sportsbook.

C. Clint Bowyer. You just gotta love auto racing this time of year, and not because its playoffs are about to get underway. Earlier this month in the NASCAR Truck Series, one driver’s girlfriend was banned indefinitely from all upcoming races for slapping another driver. Last weekend at the Sprint Cup event in Richmond, Bowyer intentionally spun out (he denied it, of course) so that Ryan Newman would not win. Bowyer and Newman are reportedly scheduled to go on a hunting trip together next week. At this rate, that trip will be even more entertaining than Duck Dynasty!

D. Manchester Derby. Wayne Rooney suffered a significant head gash during a collision in practice with Man United teammate Phil Jones, and it kept him out of England’s recent World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and the Ukraine. Rooney is targeting a Sept. 22 return for this Premier League season’s first showdown between Man United and Man City. City and Chelsea are currently +200 co-favorites at Bovada Sportsbook to win the EPL title.

E. Erasmo Ramirez. How can you not be good at sports when your name is Erasmo? The jury is still out on Ramirez as he has made only 18 career starts in the majors, but early returns are favorable. The Seattle right-hander has been especially stellar of late with five consecutive quality starts dating back to Aug. 18. On Sunday he pitched six innings of shutout ball against Tampa Bay.

F. FedEx Cup. After a one-week hiatus, golf’s playoffs resume this week at the BMW Championship in Chicago. Rory McIlroy is the defending champ, while Northwestern alum Luke Donald is the “local” favorite. The betting favorite, of course, is Tiger Woods. Tiger is +500 to win the tournament and +200 to win the FedEx Cup (both odds according to Sportsbook).

G. Game 7. Floyd Mayweather is being sued for alleged unpaid tickets to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between Miami and San Antonio. A company called White Glove International is calling for $80,000 out of the boxing champ’s pocket (for three tickets at $25,000 and one at $5,000). Money Mayweather better have a damn good reason not to pay up, because he is set to make a record $41.5 million for Saturday’s bout against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

H. Hot seat. Lane Kiffin is on it. Then again, Lane Kiffin is always on it. USC lost at home to Washington State last Saturday by a measly score of 10-7. If you’re a head coach of the Trojans, you can’t go around losing to Washington State. Especially not at home. Especially not 10-7. Especially not when you’re already Lane Kiffin. 

I. Ichiro. Facing a sweep at the hands of Boston last weekend, Ichiro singled with one out and nobody on in the ninth inning, stole second, advanced to third by tagging up on a fly ball, and then scored on a wild pitch to give the Yankees a 4-3 victory. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the Bronx Bombers’ first walk-off win via a wild pitch since Sept. 27, 1977. New York (Hughes) is +140 underdog at Baltimore (Chen) on Thursday night.

J. Jadeveon Clowney. You can’t spell Clowney without “clown,” and that’s what the defensive end has been through South Carolina’s first two games—with a total of six tackles and just one sack while wilting in 90-degree heat in the opener against UNC. Disclaimer: he’s not actually a clown; he’s just playing like one right now. In general he is an absolute beast. And yes, I need to make that clear so that he doesn’t read this, find me, and turn me into Vincent Smith.
 
K. Chip Kelly. One game does not a career or even a season make, but Kelly’s offense is off to a dream start in the NFL. The Eagles beat Washington on Monday night and they rushed for 263 yards while Michael Vick passed for 203 and accounted for three touchdowns. Philly is a -7.5 home favorite over San Diego on Sunday, according to GT Bets.

L. Lauren Silverman. She’s Simon Cowell’s baby mama, for those wondering. With The X-Factor underway, Cowell is finally getting hounded with questions about the birth of his child that is scheduled for early 2014. All we know so far is that the baby will be born across the pond and that Cowell and Silverman are not ruling out marriage in their future.

M. Magic numbers. In a race for the National League’s best record, Atlanta and Los Angeles are also battling to be first to clinch a division title in 2013. The Braves’ magic number in the East is seven, while the Dodgers’ number in the West stands at just six.

N. Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven. Yes, seven! That’s how many touchdown passes Peyton Manning pinned on the defending champion Ravens in Denver’s 49-27 win last Thursday night in the NFL season opener.

O. Out. That’s what defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski is from the 2013 Chase. Doomed by the same caution at Richmond that impacted Newman, Keselowski’s finish in 17th position left him in 15th place in the season standings, well out of the Top 10 and not in contention for one of two wild-card spots since he has zero wins in 2013. Jimmie Johnson is a +450 favorite to win this week’s GEICO 400, and he is a +150 favorite to win the Sprint Cup title (odds provided by Sportsbook).

P. Pipes. As in crack pipes. Lamar Odom is widely reported to be in a battle with drugs, and on Tuesday he was spotted leaving an L.A. grocery story with Chore Boy scrubbing pads. Sure, those are a widely-used cleaning supply, but they are also common in the arena of crack-smoking. Right now, Odom obviously doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt when it’s a toss-up between cleaning bathroom floors and smoking crack.

Q. Qualified. The U.S. men’s national team booked its spot in Rio on Tuesday night. Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad blanked slumping Mexico 2-0 before Honduras tied Panama. Team USA’s place in the 2014 World Cup is no longer a question. What is a question is if Clint Dempsey purposely missed the penalty kick on the last play of the match to preserve the “dos a cero” scoreline. In four World Cup qualifying matches against Mexico in Columbus, the United States has prevailed “dos a cero” every single time.

R. Rafael Nadal. If it’s not time to reassesses the GOAT (greatest of all time, of course) discussion, it will be soon. Nadal captured his 13th career Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, leaving him just four shy of Roger Federer’s mark and one away from tying Pete Sampras for second. With a singles gold medal (2008 Olympics) and a 21-10 lifetime record against Federer, perhaps it’s already closer than a difference of four major titles would suggest.

S. Serena Williams. Speaking of Grand Slam records, Serena is also very much in the conversation. She put No. 17 in the books last weekend in New York, leaving her just five back of Steffi Graf’s record 22.

T. Tim Thomas. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner may soon be back in the NHL after stepping away from the game last summer. Thomas, who led Boston to the Stanley Cup in 2011, is reportedly in discussions with multiple teams—including the Florida Panthers.

U. The U. Miami is off to a stellar start after beating Florida 21-16 last weekend at Sun Life Stadium. The 2-0 Canes have two more nonconference games against Savannah State and South Florida before an ACC Coastal showdown at home on Oct. 5 against Georgia Tech. Miami is +2000 at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the BCS National Championship. Alabama is a +220 favorite.

V. Von Miller. You have to be pretty dumb to drive without a license and speed. That’s what Miller was cited for last week. It’s even dumber when you’re already serving a six-game NFL suspension. Now Miller has given commissioner Roger Goodell reason to go another power trip and jack up the ban to even more than six games. As for what it could mean to the Broncos, well, it does not really matter what they do on defense if Manning keeps throwing seven touchdowns per contest. Denver is a +450 favorite at WagerWeb to win the Super Bowl.

W. Wladimir Balentien. With 21 games still to go, Balentien tied the Japanese league’s single-season home-run record on Wednesday with his 55th dingers. Balentien, whose MLB rights are owned by Seattle, matched a mark also shared by Sadaharu Oh, Tuffy Rhodes, and Alex Cabrera.

X. X-Factor. Season three premiered on Wednesday night, providing viewership with a first glimpse of new judges Kelly Rowland and Paulino Rubio. Cowell and Demi Lovato, of course, are still on board. Thank God Britney Spears is gone.

Y. Yusmeiro Petit. One out away. One stupid out. That’s how close Petit came last Friday night to becoming the 24th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to hurl a perfect game. Instead, he became the 12th pitcher—and second this season after Yu Darvish—to lose a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning.

Z. Tom Zbikowski. The former Notre Dame safety was waived by Chicago at the end of the preaseason. On Tuesday he was suspended four games by the NFL for violating league policy on performance-enhancing substances. Not a good stretch for Zbikowski right now, to put it mildly.

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