VSiN By The Books | August 27, 2026 | Hour 1

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
This is VSiN By The Books, on VSiN, the eSports betting network.

**Dave Ross** (0:16)
It is the Thursday morning edition of VSiN By The Books. Dave Ross right here at the mid-game, we have all Franklin, Kentucky. There's our closer Jensen Lewis back home in Cleveland, Ohio. We've got some final preseason exhibition games. Some people take issue with the names that we call these things. But we have one more to get through tonight and this weekend. And then we're on to week one, and we have week zero in college football in just a matter of days over there in Dublin, Ohio, and many games over there in Ireland, and many games stateside as well. So Jensen, we've got a lot of football to discuss, but Major League Baseball, man. I mean, what we saw on some of those ninth innings yesterday, I still can't believe what I saw out there in the Bay. I know it wasn't necessarily a pennant race, but what? We're down six runs in the ninth and seven to come back and win. We don't see that every day.
Yeah, we'll talk.

**Jensen Lewis** (1:02)
If you had the patience and the foreshadowing to jump in live on the Reds, what a price you got there.
Some sweaty unders that we were able to cash some big unit plays yesterday. So we're back on the good side with a nice three and a half unit profit afternoon and evening. But we do have some interesting stuff here, not only through what we've talked about the last day or so on the college football scene, as far as the professionals that are not being allowed to play, or at least we will see what the lawyers say about it. And then you're right. Some series wrapping up today and boy, a big weekend to preview in Major League Baseball as well.

**Dave Ross** (1:42)
And I did notice I did not stay up to watch last night, but I noticed when I woke up, you hit that over last night in Minnesota and Sacramento, I was taking note of that. Great call by you. Mike Palm is going to be on the program as he does each and every Thursday. It would be great to catch up with the maestro back in Las Vegas. What a pleasure it is to have Ovia Mihaly back on, my old buddy in our Chicago days. And of course, at one point, the highest paid fullback in the history of the NFL, Jensen. I like to point that out to him every time we have to go out to dinner. And Joe Lisi is going to join the program as well, talking all things college football. He does a great job with Terry Bowden. And that name is of course legendary in the college football game. But let's get to everything that we know and why maybe tonight's game for the Falcons might be more significant than others. That's where began our highlights and headlines.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:30)
Your bottom line with today's highlights and headlines.

**Dave Ross** (2:39)
I got to think that before the preseason slate began, this was not on the bingo card for Kevin Stefanski. In that, in this preseason game, he's going to have to start to Atunga Vailoa in their preseason finale. Michael Pettis Jr., by the way, will not play, even though he's been cleared at those 11 on 11s in those practice sessions. And Jensen, just if I'm reading between the tea leaves, I'm sure they would have liked to think that all the hay's in the barn at this point. And it's not. And because it has not looked good, they feel like they got to run to out there and see what they have there, if anything.

**Jensen Lewis** (3:12)
Well, you have to justify it right to the fan base. So we signed him because we thought he could actually compete or at least hold the line until Michael Pennex Jr. Was ready to go.
All that being said, I have a strong suspicion that when our VSiN NFL betting guide 2 comes out, there are going to be some alterations and adjustments on the Dirty Birds, so not the preseason that they were anticipating or at least hoping. Kevin Stefanski already has seen this movie from his time in Cleveland, having to juggle the quarterback room and then figure everything else out. So if there is a silver lining, maybe it's you got at least the right head man who has been through this. This is just another day that ends in why for Kevin Stefanski. So hopefully they get it figured out because as I told you before, it looked like this would be a team you might want to get behind, especially in week one, knowing that they were going to be a slight dog heading into Pittsburgh. Boy, man, that script is going to flip quite quickly if this kind of transpires the way that it has here the last three to four weeks.