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**Udog** · 02-13-2015, 09:32 AM

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

Six of the best minor league prospects for the Chicago Cubs........

1) Kris Bryant, 3B-- .327 hitter with 52 HRs in 620 minor league ABs.

2) Addison Russell, SS-- Acquired by Cubs in Samardzija trade.

3) Jorge Soler, OF-- Cuban defector got a $30M contract.

4) Kyle Schwarber, C/OF-- His Indiana team was first Big 14 team to make it to the College World Series since Barry Larkin's Michigan team in 1984.

5) CJ Edwards, P-- Allowed 30 hits in 48 IP in ten AA starts.

22) Erik Jokisch, P-- One of five Northwestern alums to pitch in bigs LY.

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Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Random stuff with weekend here......

13) So Carmelo Anthony is going to play in the All-Star Game Sunday night, then he'll blow off the rest of the season and get his knee scoped; Anthony didn't play for the Knicks Monday or Wednesday, but a stupid exhibition game? He's all in.

Knicks are paying Anthony $22,458,000 this season, but don't seem to mind that he is more interested in the freakin' All-Star Game than regular season games. If he is hurt, then the knee should already have been taken care of, to ensure that he is ready for next season. If they're subtly tanking games, they should be embarrassed, because there is no one at the top of this draft who is that much of a difference maker.

Knicks are an awful team, 10-30 when Anthony plays, 0-13 when he does not. How did he get on the All-Star team to begin with? He has sat out 24.5% of their games.

12) College hoop will probably wind up with a 30-second shot clock, as opposed to the current 35-second clock. Don't think it'll make a big difference; I do think forcing teams to get the ball over halfcourt in 7 seconds instead of ten would prevent teams from walking the ball up and pick up the pace of action. NBA's rule right now is :08.

11) Rashad Vaughn, UNLV's best player, is probably done for the year after hurting his knee Tuesday night; he hurt the same knee in high school last year. Big blow for a Rebel team that had been playing a lot better the last five games.

10) Missouri hoop coach Kim Anderson was flying on a recruiting trip Wednesday night when one of the engines on his plane gave out and the plane had to make an emergency landing near St Louis. Thankfully, pilots landed the plane safely. Coaches fly a lot on small planes to make in-season recruiting trips.

9) Golfer Billy Horschel won $10M last year when he won the Fed Ex Cup; turns out he gave his caddy $1M of it, which is unusually generous.

8) John Daly is less than two years from going on the Senior Tour, where he should win a lot, seeing as he can still compete with the younger guys. Daly should help the Senior Tour; people still like to watch him play.

7) Golfer Padraig Harrington is a licensed accountant; wonder if he does other golfers' taxes? Harrington won the PGA in 2008 but hasn't won in America since.

6) PGA rookie Max Homa once won the pro-am part of a tourney on the Web.com Tour; his partner was actress Janet Jones Gretzky, wife of the Great One; she is not only really pretty, she loves to gamble. Its good to be the Great One.

5) As far as this Little League cheating stuff goes, I'll say this: kids from broken homes wind up with parents living in different places; they have a dad in one town, a mom in another, aunts/uncles/grandparents and sometimes there is a creative use of a relative's address, so the kid can go to school or play ball where he/she prefers.

4) I can think of two high school basketball scenarios around here where addresses were used creatively so that a kid could play ball where he wanted to. One was the dad living in a suburb, the mom in the city, but that one got quashed. The suburban school district actually had detectives watching where the kid went after school.

The other one was a dad using his business, renting an apartment, then using that apartment as his son's "address" so he could play basketball for a different school in a bordering town for a better coach. So the kid drove to School B every day, usually passing the athletic director from School A on his way. Nothing was done.

3) Not sure what Jesse Jackson is trying to prove by objecting to all this; the team from Chicago cheated, they got caught, but so what?

They still had the thrill of winning, that can't be taken away. The kids on other teams in the tournament got cheated and naming another team "champion" isn't going to make them any happier. The actual crime isn't cheating, it is getting caught.

2) Kid named Scott Meredith from Hargraves Military Academy made 18 of 24 from behind the arc Wednesday night; he scored 55 points-- he got fouled on one of the 3-point shots. His team won 131-80; not sure what the other team was doing.

1) Vermont made 16-21 from the arc as a team against Mass-Lowell the other night; even after that display, Catamounts are making only 35% from the arc this season.

**Udog** · 02-13-2015, 09:47 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Friday, February 13

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PHILADELPHIA (23-22-0-9, 55 pts.) at COLUMBUS (23-26-0-3, 49 pts.) - 2/13/2015, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 1-9 ATS (+10.1 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
COLUMBUS is 20-9 ATS (+10.4 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
COLUMBUS is 2-8 ATS (+10.7 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
COLUMBUS is 5-2 (+4.0 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
COLUMBUS is 5-2-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.4 Units)

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FLORIDA (24-18-0-11, 59 pts.) at DALLAS (25-21-0-8, 58 pts.) - 2/13/2015, 8:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
FLORIDA is 2-0 (+2.8 Units) against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
FLORIDA is 2-0-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.0 Units)

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NEW JERSEY (21-24-0-9, 51 pts.) at CHICAGO (33-18-0-4, 70 pts.) - 2/13/2015, 8:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW JERSEY is 8-20 ATS (+28.0 Units) on Friday nights over the last 2 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 13-32 ATS (+49.4 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 3-14 ATS (+22.3 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
CHICAGO is 19-3 ATS (+13.1 Units) in home games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 37-40 ATS (-20.2 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 54-64 ATS (-36.1 Units) in home games on Friday nights since 1996.
CHICAGO is 9-13 ATS (-17.7 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
CHICAGO is 32-28 ATS (-14.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 7-14 ATS (-20.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 3-0 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 3-0-0 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
2 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.4 Units)

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SAN JOSE (28-20-0-8, 64 pts.) at ARIZONA (20-28-0-7, 47 pts.) - 2/13/2015, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 7-12 ATS (-10.7 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
SAN JOSE is 9-13 ATS (-13.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
SAN JOSE is 12-14 ATS (-15.6 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 39-22 ATS (+15.9 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive overs since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 7-4 (+0.8 Units) against the spread versus ARIZONA over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 7-4-0 straight up against ARIZONA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.8 Units)

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BOSTON (28-19-0-7, 63 pts.) at VANCOUVER (30-20-0-3, 63 pts.) - 2/13/2015, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 5-12 ATS (-9.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
BOSTON is 170-186 ATS (+408.3 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 123-124 ATS (-30.0 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 22-37 ATS (+60.1 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 22-41 ATS (-25.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 6-19 ATS (+26.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
VANCOUVER is 1-1 (+0.0 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 1-1-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
1 of 2 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.2 Units, Under=-0.1 Units)

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, February 13

Hot teams
-- Flyers won five of their last seven games.
-- Coyotes lost three of their last four games.

Cold teams
-- Blue Jackets lost four of their last six games.
-- Devils lost last two games, outscored 8-3. Chicago lost four of last six games.
-- Dallas Stars lost last three home games. Panthers lost four of their last five road games.
-- San Jose lost five of its last six games.
-- Boston lost three of its last four games. Canucks are 0-4 in game following their last four wins.

Series records
-- Flyers lost five of last six games with Columbus.
-- Devils lost six of last seven games with New Jersey.
-- Dallas Stars lost their last three games with Florida.
-- Sharks won three of last four games with Arizona.
-- Bruins lost four of last five visits to Vancouver.

Totals
-- Under is 9-3 in last twelve Columbus games.
-- Five of last six New Jersey games stayed under total.
-- Five of last seven Florida games went over.
-- Five of last six Arizona home games stayed under.
-- Under is 5-1-1 in last seven Boston road games.

Back-to-back
-- Florida is 3-2 on road if it played night before.

NHL

Friday, February 13

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
PHILADELPHIA vs. COLUMBUS
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games
Philadelphia is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Columbus's last 8 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Columbus's last 8 games when playing Philadelphia

8:30 PM
FLORIDA vs. DALLAS
Florida is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Florida's last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games when playing Florida
Dallas is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Florida

8:30 PM
NEW JERSEY vs. CHICAGO
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games on the road
New Jersey is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games at home
Chicago is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home

9:00 PM
SAN JOSE vs. ARIZONA
San Jose is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of San Jose's last 15 games on the road
Arizona is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Arizona's last 5 games

10:00 PM
BOSTON vs. VANCOUVER
Boston is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Boston's last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 7 games when playing at home against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vancouver's last 7 games

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**Udog** · 02-13-2015, 09:51 AM

NHL

Friday, February 13

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Game of the Day: Bruins at Canucks
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Boston Bruins at Vancouver Canuck (-110, 5)

The Boston Bruins answered an 8-1-1 stretch by winning just one of their last four contests, causing coach Claude Julien to stress the importance of being focused as the team opens a five-game road trip against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday. "On this road trip, people talk about bonding and talk about this and that - right now, it's more about going out there and doing our jobs game in and game out," Julien said. The Bruins didn't do much of that during their three-game homestand, registering two-goal losses to both rival Montreal and Dallas to conclude the run.

Zack Kassian has been doing his job of late, scoring in each of his last three contests on the heels of a 21-game goal drought. Kassian is riding a four-game point streak for the Canucks, who have alternated wins and losses over the last seven contests. Captain Henrik Sedin has recorded eight points in that stretch and twin brother Daniel has seven, highlighted by the former assisting the latter on his second goal 1:20 into overtime in a 5-4 triumph over Chicago on Wednesday.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), RSNP (Vancouver)

LINE HISTORY: Lines open at VAN -110 with a total of 5.

INJURY REPORT: Bruins - N/A Canucks - C Nick Bonino (Ques-Lower Body), RW Brad Richardson (Ques-Ankle)

ABOUT THE BRUINS (28-19-7 SU, 19-25-10 O/U): Milan Lucic had an assist in both Boston's 3-1 setback to the Canadiens on Sunday and a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Stars two nights later. The Vancouver native doesn't have fond memories of his last trip back home with the Bruins, getting into a verbal and physical altercation outside a nightclub before later ripping the city and vowing never to return other than to play at Rogers Arena. While he has since apologized for that stance, Lucic recorded a goal and an assist in Boston's 3-1 home victory over the Canucks in the last meeting and has two and three, respectively, in six career encounters.

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (30-20-3 SU, 23-25-2 O/U): Ryan Miller looks to atone for a porous performance in a 5-3 setback to Minnesota on Monday when he makes his 600th career appearance with his next outing. The 34-year-old has dropped five of his last seven decisions overall, but has gotten up close and personal with Lucic dating back to the goaltender's time with Buffalo. Christopher Higgins has recorded three assists in the last two games and was one of six different Canucks to score in the Canucks' 6-3 win over Boston in the last meeting in Vancouver.

TRENDS:

*Canucks are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. Eastern Conference.
*Under is 7-2-1 in Bruins last 10 overall.
*Over is 4-0-2 in Canucks last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
*Home team is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.

CONSENSUS: 54.38 percent of users are on the Canucks

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**Udog** · 02-13-2015, 10:28 AM

NHL
Short Sheet

Friday, February 13

Philadelphia at Columbus, 7:05 ET
Philadelphia: 62-71 SU after 2 straight games where 4 or fewer total goals were scored
Columbus: 5-1 SU after scoring 3 goals or more in 3 straight games

Florida at Dallas, 8:35 ET
Florida: n/a
Dallas: n/a

New Jersey at Chicago, 8:35 ET
New Jersey: 13-32 SU in non-conference games
Chicago: 19-3 SU in home games in non-conference games

San Jose at Arizona, 9:05 ET
San Jose: 5-0 SU in road games after having lost 3 of their last 4 games
Arizona: 2-11 SU as a home underdog

Boston at Vancouver, 10:05 ET
Boston: 5-12 SU in a road game where where the total is 5 or less
Vancouver: 90-59 SU after playing a game where 9 or more total goals were scored

NHL

Friday, February 13

Coyotes have been abysmal on home-ice

The Arizona Coyotes have dropped their past five home games and the Desert Dogs haven't even made it look good. The 'Yotes have been outscored 17-6 during their past five home games and have scored more than one goal on only one occasion.

Arizona plays host to the San Jose Sharks Friday.

Goals are easy to come by in Canucks games

Over their past seven games, the Vancouver Canucks have a 5-0-2 over/under record. During those five games there has been a combined 46 goals, for an average of 9.2 goals per game.

Van City will host the Boston Bruins Friday.

Islanders go under for the fifth-straight game

The New York Islanders topped the Toronto Maple Leafs for their third consecutive win and their fifth-straight under. Over their past five games, all of which had a closing total of 5.5, the Islanders have averaged 2.6 goals while allowing two goals in each contest.

The Islanders next game comes Saturday when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets.

**Udog** · 02-13-2015, 11:04 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Boston at Vancouver
The Bruins head to Vancouver tonight following a 5-3 loss to Dallas and come into the contest with a 17-9 record in their last 28 games following a defeat by 2 or more goals. Boston is the pick (-105) according to Dunkel, which has the Bruins favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Boston (-105).. Here are all of today's NHL picks.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13

Game 1-2: Philadelphia at Columbus (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia 11.240; Columbus 12.282
Dunkel Line & Total: Columbus by 1; 6 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Columbus (-120); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Columbus (-120); Over

Game 3-4: Florida at Dallas (8:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Florida 12.336; Dallas 11.309
Dunkel Line & Total: Florida by 1; 5
Vegas Line & Total: Dallas (-165); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Florida (+145); Under

Game 5-6: New Jersey at Chicago (8:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: New Jersey 11.035; Chicago 10.105
Dunkel Line & Total: New Jersey by 1; 6
Vegas Line & Total: Chicago (-280); 5
Dunkel Pick: New Jersey (+230); Over

Game 7-8: San Jose at Arizona (9:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Jose 11.544; Arizona 10.081
Dunkel Line & Total: San Jose by 1 1/2; 5
Vegas Line & Total: San Jose (-145); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: San Jose (-145); Under

Game 9-10: Boston at Vancouver (10:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Boston 12.702; Vancouver 11.558
Dunkel Line & Total: Boston by 1; 5 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Vancouver (-115); 5
Dunkel Pick: Boston (-105); Over

**Udog** · 02-13-2015, 11:11 AM

NHL

Friday, February 13

Emery stepping up for Flyers, has under cashing

The Philadelphia Flyers have gone under in four-straight games thanks to better play from Ray Emery. Regular starter Steve Mason was placed on IR thrusting Emery into the net for the past two games.

Emery has only allowed three goals in the past two games to combine with the Flyers averaging a mere 1.75 goals in the past four.

Philly is currently +107 when they travel to Columbus Friday.

**Udog** · 02-13-2015, 11:14 AM

MLB considering shrinking strikezone to increase offense

Not only is the MLB considering banning defensive shifts, but they are also thinking of altering the strikezone. The league is discussing the increase of low strikes, which has caused a lack of offense in the majors.

Strike zones sizes have been growing considerably bigger per an article penned by David Leonhardt in Oct. 2014 in the New York Times. The increased use of technology has created more consistent calls by umpires, which has seen strikeouts increase by 19 percent since 2000 per Leonhardt.

The 2014 MLB regular season saw teams combine for an average of 4.07 runs per game, with a 1,125-1,187 over/under mark. That mark of 4.07 runs is a drastic drop from the 4.38 runs per game in 2010 and according to Marc Lawrence, the lowest average team score had been 4.60 runs per game during the 17 seasons prior to 2010.

The league plans to watch the strikezone through 2015, with the idea of making changes for 2016.

Announcement

Friday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 2/13

Friday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 2/13

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