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**Udog** · 02-23-2015, 09:21 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

Six of the best minor league prospects for the Washington Nationals......

1) Lucas Giolito, P-- 12-3, 2.17 in 32 minor league starts, all in A ball.

2) Michael Taylor, OF-- Got promoted to majors, has only 44 AAA ABs

6) AJ Cole, P-- Was 7-0 in AAA LY; has 500 minor league IPs.

7) Wilmer Difo, 2B/SS-- Played in 360 minor league games, all in A ball.

11) Austin Voth, P-- Allowed 122 hits in 173 minor league IP.

16) Taylor Hill, P-- Another in increasingly long line of Vanderbilt pitchers.

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Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend.......

13) Louisville threw senior PG Chris Jones off the team for good Sunday, a day after he played 36:00 off the bench in their win over Miami; Jones missed the loss at Syracuse because he was suspended. Lot of drama in Louisville this winter.

12) Sunday was Julius Erving's 65th birthday; I remember getting into arguments with a friend of mine in high school; who was better, Erving or Rick Barry? I was on Barry's side; still think he was a highly underrated player.

11) There are lot of reasons why the San Antonio Spurs are really good, but team chemistry plays into it too; Saturday night Patty Mills was honored by St Mary's, and Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter were all there with him. Pretty cool to see them watching a college game, considering none of those three played college ball.

10) It is amazing to me to watch a NASCAR race and see how close 20-30 cars are driving together, all over 195 mph. Do those guys drive out on the street in real life? Do they get mad at some bad driver who changes lanes all the time?

9) Knicks were a 17-point home underdog to Cleveland Sunday; its really hard to be so bad that you're a 17-point home dog, but Cleveland had the spread covered before the first quarter was over. This Knick team is an epic disaster; the coach and GM make a combined $17M a year and they're this bad. Wow.

8) Possible big trouble for Oklahoma City, as Kevin Durant had "minor surgery" done on his foot. Minor surgery is generally "surgery somebody else has"; if Durent has to shut it down for rest of the season, its curtains for the Thunder this year.

7) Anyone have any theories on why so many NBA players are getting hurt? Are the sneakers not sturdy enough to protect guys' feet? Do players overtrain, stressing maximum performance over durability? Are players just getting softer?

6) Want to win a bar bet?. Sam Snead is the oldest golfer to win a PGA Tour event, at 52 years of age. Sunday was Vijay Singh's 52nd birthday; he was tied for the lead for a while in the final round of the LA Open, but he faded late.

5) Bad beat of the day: Central Florida (+7.5) loses to Memphis by 10 in OT; Knights had fought back from a 16-point first half deficit.

4) According to Mapquest, it is 1,474 miles from Storrs, CT to New Orleans, but somehow, UConn and Tulane are league rivals, even though neither one has a football program that is worth screwing over your basketball team for. Go figure.

3) If you bet the road team in every Tennessee conference game this season, you'd have 13 wins and one loss. Vols' next game is at Vanderbilt.

2) Golfer James Hahn is a nice guy; walking up the fairway in a driving rainstorm in Los Angeles Sunday, Hahn turned to the CBS cameraman behind him and offered to share his umbrella with the guy. Not everyone would do that.

1) JK Simmons won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor last night, but I missed it because, for some odd reason, that was the first award they gave out- I was watching the Michigan State game on another channel. Simmons has been on Law and Order for 15 years, has been in many commercials/movies and is a terrific actor.

Thankfully the Internet exists and I saw his speech a couple hours later. Seems like a fairly normal guy for a celebrity-- good for him.

**Udog** · 02-23-2015, 09:21 AM

Cubs, Indians, Mets and Reds are biggest MLB season win totals moves

Spring has sprung at the sportsbooks where MLB season win totals have been on the board for more than a week. We talk to bookmakers in Nevada and online to see which teams have garnered the most action on their season projections and the subsequent adjustments to those win totals.

Chicago Cubs (Open 81.5, Move 83)

According to Steve Mikkelson, sportsbook director at the Atlanta Casino Resort in Reno, the first book to open MLB season win totals, the Cubs have taken a ton of action on the Over after making a splash this offseason, moving their win total as high as 84 before buyback on the Under trimmed that number to 83 wins.

“Good action so far, more on the Over to this point,” says Mikkelson. “Public is all in on the Cubs this year which is driving this number.”

St. Louis Cardinals (Open 88, Move 89)

The Cardinals are perennial National League contenders in a very competitive NL Central. According to Peter Childs of Sportsbook.ag, a big bet on the Over immediately boosted this total but outside of that, smaller wagers are taking St. Louis Under.

“We’ll get down to 88.5 soon, but we’re always aggressive with our initial line moves on these season specials because more times than not, once a popular side gets bet like a Cardinals team Over, it’s tough to get buy back on the Under,” says Childs.

Cleveland Indians (Open 81, Move 85)

The Indians made serious improvements last season, finishing 2014 at 85-77. Oddsmakers came in lower to open the Tribe’s 2015 win total, and were hammered with money on Cleveland Over. This total has been pumped up as many as four wins as of this weekend.

“I just missed on this one, as everyone believes they are much better than I did and keep betting the Over,” says Mikkelson.

Kansas City Royals (Open 79.5, Move 80.5)

Some books in Nevada opened 79.5 on the Royals, while others stayed high and posted 80.5 for Kansas City, which is coming off an 89-73 renaissance of a season in 2014. Money hit the Over, forcing adjustments in both markets.

“Since we opened high, I’m not going to be that aggressive moving off that early initial action because it was expected but we did go from 80.5 (Even) to 80.5 Over (-130),” says Childs.

Cincinnati Reds (Open 79, Move 77.5)

The Reds appear bound for a letdown as the rest of the NL Central goes up, according to the early action on the Under Cincinnati’s season win total. The Reds dealt pitchers Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon this offseason, and rumors of a fire sale are buzzing as spring training approaches.

“I guess they feel someone in this division has to lose, and the Reds didn’t instill confidence by trading away two of their starters,” says Mikkelson.

New York Mets (Open 82, Move 82.5)

The National League East belongs to the Washington Nationals (who have seen their win total climb as well) but the battle for second in the division is up for grabs. Atlanta seems in rebuild mode, Philadelphia is selling off its roster and Miami is a wild card. That has early money believing in the Mets improving on a 79-win season in 2014.

“It’s been all Over money so far,” says Childs. “We got to 82.5 pretty quickly and did book some sharp action Under 82.5 but not enough to get us to move off that one sharp bet. If we take more sharp Under action, we’ll move it back to 82 (Even).”

Oakland A’s (Open 82.5, Move 82)

In Reno, odds on the Athletics and Giants (Open 85, Move 84) are a bit skewed when compared to everywhere else, due to the amount of tourist traffic from the Bay Area. Oakland has drawn the expected Over money from A’s fans but this number has been trimmed half a win since opening.

“By far the most interesting of the teams, as we just keep taking public money Over, then smarter money Under,” he says.

**Udog** · 02-23-2015, 09:28 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Detroit at Anaheim
The Red Wings head to Anaheim tonight and come into the contest with a 5-1 record in their last 6 games versus Pacific Division opponents. Detroit is the pick (+120) according to Dunkel, which has the Red Wings favored by 2. Dunkel Pick: Detroit (+120). Here are all of today's NHL picks.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23

Game 1-2: Arizona at New Jersey (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona 9.854; New Jersey 12.298
Dunkel Line & Total: New Jersey by 2 1/2; 4
Vegas Line & Total: New Jersey (-200); 5
Dunkel Pick: New Jersey (-200); Under

Game 3-4: Detroit at Anaheim (10:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit 12.363; Anaheim 10.435
Dunkel Line & Total: Detroit by 2; 6 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Anaheim (-140); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (+120); Over

NHL
Long Sheet

Monday, February 23

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ARIZONA (20-32-0-7, 47 pts.) at NEW JERSEY (24-26-0-9, 57 pts.) - 2/23/2015, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW JERSEY is 14-34 ATS (+49.7 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ARIZONA is 2-0 (+2.0 Units) against the spread versus NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
ARIZONA is 2-0-0 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
0 of 0 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.0 Units)

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DETROIT (33-14-0-10, 76 pts.) at ANAHEIM (37-16-0-7, 81 pts.) - 2/23/2015, 10:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 7-6-0 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.7 Units)

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, February 23

Hot teams
-- New Jersey won last three games, allowing four goals.
-- Red Wings won four of their last five games.

Cold teams
-- Arizona lost last five games, outscored 20-8.
-- Ducks lost five of their last eight games.

Series records
-- Devils lost four of last five games with Arizona.
-- Detroit is 7-5 in its last 12 games with Anaheim.

Totals
-- Last four Arizona games went over the total; five of last six Devil games stayed under.
-- Six of last eight Detroit games stayed under the total.

Back-to-back
-- None

NHL

Monday, February 23

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
ARIZONA vs. NEW JERSEY
Arizona is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
Arizona is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing New Jersey
New Jersey is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Jersey's last 6 games

10:00 PM
DETROIT vs. ANAHEIM
Detroit is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Anaheim
Detroit is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Anaheim's last 6 games at home
Anaheim is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Detroit

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**Udog** · 02-23-2015, 09:30 AM

NHL

Monday, February 23

NHL roundup: Bruins snap skid, rout Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- Center Patrice Bergeron scored his 200th career goal and notched two assists, and the Boston Bruins cruised to a 6-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon.

Right winger Reilly Smith added a goal and an assist for Boston, which set a season-high in goals. The Bruins snapped a six-game winless skid with their first victory since Feb. 7.

Center Jonathan Toews and left winger Bryan Bickell scored for Chicago. The four-goal losing margin matched the most lopsided defeat of the season for the Blackhawks.

The Bruins pulled away with four goals in the second period by left winger Milan Lucic, center Gregory Campbell, defenseman Dougie Hamilton and Smith. Along with Bergeron, right winger Loui Eriksson scored in the first period.

Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 26 of 28 shots to improve to 24-15-9.

Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford allowed four goals on 14 shots before he was replaced with 7:41 remaining in the second period. Goaltender Antti Raanta stopped 14 of 16 shots in relief.

Flyers 3, Capitals 2

PHILADELPHIA -- Center Claude Giroux and right winger Wayne Simmonds each scored power-play goals and defenseman Michael Del Zotto added a late go-ahead goal to lead Philadelphia to a win over Washington.

Flyers goaltender Rob Zepp made 21 saves in the victory.

Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby stopped 25 of 28 shots. Right winger John Carlson and right winger Joel Ward each scored for the Capitals, who saw their season-high four-game winning streak end.

Penguins 5, Panthers 1

PITTSBURGH -- Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves and Pittsburgh came alive in the third period to beat Florida at Consol Energy Center.

Right winger Patric Hornqvist and center Evgeni Malkin scored two goals each and defenseman Paul Martin added one while Fleury, who allowed two goals or fewer in his past seven games, held the fort on the back end.

Right winger Scottie Upshall spoiled Fleury's bid for a ninth shutout when he scored off of a faceoff play to make it 5-1 at 12:23. Center Vincent Trocheck got the only assist on the goal.

Canucks 4, Islanders 0

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Right winger Zack Kassian scored the first of Vancouver's three second-period goals while goalies Ryan Miller and Eddie Lack combined to stop all 37 shots they faced in a victory over the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

Right winger Radim Vrbata and center Bo Horvat also scored in the second, while defenseman Yannick Weber added an empty-netter with 10.2 seconds left in the third.

Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak recorded 20 saves.

Predators 2, Sabres 1 (SO)

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Center Filip Forsberg scored in the fourth round of the shootout to lead Nashville to a win over Buffalo.

Center Mike Ribeiro scored in regulation for Nashville, which snapped a two-game losing skid. Goalie Carter Hutton made 16 saves for the Predators.

Right winger Tyler Ennis scored for Buffalo and goalie Michal Neuvirth finished with 37 saves.

Avalanche 5, Lightning 4

DENVER -- Center Nathan MacKinnon broke a 13-game goal drought with his first career hat trick, leading Colorado over Tampa Bay.

Center Matt Duchene and left winger Alex Tanguay also scored and goaltender Semyon Varlamov had 28 saves for the Avalanche, who won four of five.

Center Tyler Johnson had a goal and two assists, right winger Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist and wingers Ondrej Palat and Brett Connolly added goals for the Lightning, who ended their five-game road trip 3-2.

Rangers 4, Blue Jackets 3 (SO)

NEW YORK -- Left winger Rick Nash scored the deciding goal in a shootout as the New York Rangers defeated Columbus at Madison Square Garden.

Right winger Martin St. Louis scored his 17th and 18th goals of the season for the Rangers, who are 6-0-2 in their past eight games, all without injured No. 1 goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Backup Cam Talbot made 27 saves to earn the victory. Center Kevin Hayes also scored for the Rangers.

The Blue Jackets erased a three-goal deficit, receiving goals from left wingers Marko Dano and Artem Anisimov and a tying goal from defenseman David Savard with 4:19 remaining in the third period. Goaltender Curtis McElhinney made 34 saves and took the loss.

Wild 6, Stars 2

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota got a pair of goals from left winger Zach Parise and single goals from center Mikko Koivu, left winger Stephane Veilleux, defenseman Matt Dumba and center Mikael Granlund, improving to a NHL-best 13-2-2 in its past 17 games with a win over Dalls.

For the first time since late November, Minnesota moved into the top eight in the Western Conference with the win. Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk continued his run of success with 18 saves.

Center Jason Spezza scored twice -- a second-period power-play goal and an even-strength goal in the final minutes -- for Dallas, which is now winless (0-2-1) in its past three games. Goalie Jhonas Enroth, making his third start for the Stars since coming over in a trade from Buffalo, made 29 saves in the loss.

**Udog** · 02-23-2015, 12:29 PM

NHL
Short Sheet

Monday, February 23

Arizona at New Jersey, 7:05 ET
Arizona: 31-24 OVER in all games
New Jersey: 4-14 ATS SU after having won 3 of their last 4 games

Detroit at Anaheim, 10:05 ET
Detroit: n/a
Anaheim: n/a

**Udog** · 02-23-2015, 12:32 PM

NHL

Monday, February 23

Coyotes' opponents lighting lamps, cashing Overs

The Arizona Coyotes have allowed 20 goals during their recent five game losing skid, but Over bettors have reaped benefits as the O/U count sits at 4-1 - including four-straight Overs - in their previous five games.

Arizona has only netted eight goals of its own during this stretch and are near the bottom of the league in both goals for (2.19) and goals against (3.27) heading into Monday's game.

The struggling 'Yotes visit the New Jersey Devils Monday evening and oddsmakers have tabbed the game with a total of five.

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Monday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 2/23

Monday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 2/23

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