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**Udog** · 03-11-2015, 08:41 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

-- Gonzaga 91, BYU 75-- Nine WCC tourney titles in last 12 years for Zags.

-- BYU has a hoop player named Skyler Halford who was born in 1989.

-- You watch teams win conference tourneys now and people are taking selfies on the court and you realize the world has changed a lot in a short period of time.

-- I'm watching Law and Order reruns and Jennifer Garner has a small role in a 1996 episode; now she is in every other commercial on ballgames.

-- Tough break for the Blue Jays; Marcus Stroman tore his ACL Tuesday; he had an 11-6 record last year. Good young pitcher.

-- This is the current state of the Knicks: their best player is Alexey Shved.

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Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud....

13) Rams traded Sam Bradford for Nick Foles Tuesday, in an unusual swap of QBs that has people in Philadelphia scratching their heads- there are draft picks involved too but the Rams finally have stability at QB while the Eagles have their fans mumbling.

12) Bradford has banked $65M in five years and has an 18-30-1 record as a starter; his last game action was Week 7 in 2013- he's pretty good, but he always gets hurt. He wouldn't take a pay cut this winter, so for now, Bradford is an Eagle.

Philly offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was OC for the Rams when they drafted Bradford in 2010; that was a couple operations ago.

11) In last week, the Eagles traded their best RB, their starting QB and let their best WR walk in free agency. If this turns into a fiasco, Chip Kelly will get fired ansd have his pick of college jobs to choose from, while the Eagles will be left holding the bag.

10) So you're Bob Stoops; you make $4M a year coaching football at Oklahoma. You wake up one morning to find out that some racist jackasses made a video that has gone viral, and now one of your recruits has already de-committed. This is a potential disaster and no one remotely connected to your program did anything wrong; thats coaching in this day and age.

The two jerks who made the racist video are thrown out of school, your team makes a damage control-type video of its own and if this goes away without too many more recruits jumping ship, you've earned your salary today.

9) Saints traded Jimmy Graham to Seattle, trying to lessen their salary cap woes; this makes the Seahawks a better passing team, but they're going to have to re-build their offensive line, since center Max Unger is now a Saint.

8) Lions replaced Ndamukong Suh with Haloti Ngata; Jim Caldwell used to work for the Ravens, so thats the connection.

7) Jake Locker retired from football at age 26; he was drafted by the Angels a long time ago, so the possibility of an attempt at baseball remains. Disaster for Tennessee, which also had the Vince Young debacle-- finding a QB is hard to do.

6) A woman in Indiana had her car stolen, with her dead husband's ashes still in the car; this is almost as bad as stealing a car and having a little kid in a car seat staring at you. Captain Obvious checks in: not all criminals are geniuses.

5) Robert Morris 66, St Francis 63-- Terriers were 9-22 on the foul line, Colonials hit 8-16 on the arc. Shooters are always in demand.

4) Utah has passed a law that allows firing squads, in case the lethal injection stuff isn't available. How many people do you have to execute to run out of it? Seems to me a firing squad would be better punishment than having a needle stuck in your arm.

3) Dodgers pay Carl Crawford $21M a year and he isn't on a roster in my 16-team, 25-player fantasy league. If we ever draw up an All-Star team of players who stole $$, Crawford is going to be a starter, though he won't bad leadoff, since he doesn't like it.

2) Seton Hall is 0-6 as a Big East favorite this year; they lost five of the six games SU and won the sixth by a point over last-place Creighton. I'm told Kevin Willard is a good guy, but Robert Morris winning last night could make Andy Toole a hot name in the coaching carousel and make Willard's seat a little warmer.

Manhattan's coach Steve Masiello is also going to go to a bigger conference soon.

1) Thursday/Friday are the two best college basketball days of the year; the days are full of games; meaningful, exciting games, fromn noon til 2am. Now that I'm retired, no need to call in sick anymore either-- ha!!!!

**Udog** · 03-11-2015, 09:27 AM

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, March 11

Hot teams
-- Rangers won seven of their last nine games. Washington won three of last four.
-- Flames won three of their last four games.

Cold teams
-- Toronto lost last three games, allowing 14 goals. Sabres lost ten of their last thirteen games.
-- Ducks lost last two games, 5-2/2-1.

Series records
-- Maple Leafs won three of last four games with Buffalo.
-- Rangers won five of last seven games with Washington.
-- Ducks won four of last five games with Calgary.

Totals
-- Over is 4-1-1 in last six Buffalo games.
-- Four of last five Ranger road games stayed under total.
-- Last three Calgary games went over the total.

Back-to-back
-- Rangers are 4-0 on road if they played the night before.

NHL

Wednesday, March 11

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
BUFFALO vs. TORONTO
Buffalo is 3-19 SU in its last 22 games on the road
Buffalo is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto is 4-21 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 7 games at home

8:00 PM
NY RANGERS vs. WASHINGTON
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Rangers last 5 games when playing Washington
NY Rangers are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games when playing Washington
Washington is 2-5 SU in their last 7 games when playing NY Rangers
Washington is 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against NY Rangers

9:30 PM
ANAHEIM vs. CALGARY
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Anaheim's last 7 games when playing on the road against Calgary
Anaheim is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Calgary
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Calgary's last 7 games when playing at home against Anaheim
Calgary is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games

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NHL

Wednesday, March 11

NHL roundup: Bruins win pivotal game in Ottawa

OTTAWA -- Three second-period goals and the stellar play of goaltender Tuukka Rask sparked the Boston Bruins to a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday night.

The victory padded the Bruins lead over the Florida Panthers to six points in the Eastern Conference wild card race. The Senators, who missed a golden opportunity to gain ground, are now seven points behind the Bruins.

Center Ryan Spooner had two goals for the Bruins, while winger Loui Eriksson had the other.

Winger Matt Puempel replied for the Senators.

Rask, who was celebrating his 28th birthday, turned in a brilliant performance with 39 saves. Craig Anderson stopped 19 shots in the Boston net.

Rangers 2, Islanders 1

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Left winger Rick Nash was credited with the game-winning goal less than three minutes into the third period Tuesday night, when the New York Rangers tightened the Metropolitan Division race by edging the New York Islanders in front of a raucous sellout crowd at Nassau Coliseum.

By winning the final regular-season game at the Coliseum between the two rivals, the Rangers moved within one point of the Islanders for first place. The Rangers have four games in hand on the Islanders.

Right winger Kevin Hayes scored in the second period for the Rangers while goalie Cam Talbot made 29 saves.

Center Anders Lee scored in the first period for the Islanders while goalie Jaroslav Halak recorded 20 saves.

Stars 2, Flyers 1

PHILADELPHIA -- Dallas left winger Vernon Fiddler snapped a late tie and goaltender Kari Lehtonen made 25 saves to lift their team to a much-needed win over Philadelphia.

The victory was the third in the last four games for the Stars, attempting to make a late-season push to get back into the Western Conference playoff picture. Flyers goaltender Steve Mason made 37 saves, several of them brilliant, as Philadelphia lost its third straight game and saw its playoff hopes continue to dim.

Flyers drew first blood when defenseman Luke Schenn's shot from the point went through traffic and slipped by Lehtonen. The Stars evened things up midway through the first period when right winger Brett Ritchie notched his fifth goal of the year. The score remained tied until Fiddler's game-winner.

Blue Jackets 4, Hurricanes 3 (SO)

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Center Ryan Johansen produced the only goal in the shootout as Columbus completed a rally to defeat Carolina at PNC Arena.

In regulation, Blue Jackets left winger Scott Hartnell scored twice after right winger Rene Bourque posted the first Columbus goal.

Defenseman Justin Faulk, center Victor Rask and center Eric Staal scored first-period goals for the Hurricanes. Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward made 29 saves apiece.

Lightning 1, Canadiens 0 (OT)

MONTREAL -- Center Tyler Johnson scored the winner in overtime to lift Tampa Bay to a win over Montreal at the Bell Centre.

Johnson scored his 25th goal of the season 1:03 into the extra period.

Goaltender Carey Price stopped 34 shots for Montreal (42-18-7), which has yet to beat the Lightning this season. Counterpart Ben Bishop made 19 saves for Tampa Bay (42-20-6), which extended its winning streak to four games.

Wild 6, Devils 2

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota solidified its status as the NHL's hottest team, piling on New Jersey in a win.

Minnesota, now a league-best 17-3-1 since the All-Star break, got two goals from left winger Thomas Vanek, and single goals from left winger Sean Bergenheim, right wingers Chris Stewart and Jason Pominville and defenseman Jared Spurgeon, continuing their improbable rise from the depths of the Western Conference standings.

Left winger Dainius Zubrus and center Scott Gomez scored for the Devils, who had been on a hot streak of their own, going 7-2-1 prior to Tuesday. Goalie Cory Schneider started, but didn't finish the game for the Devils, stopping 25 of the 30 shots he faced in just over 41 minutes.

Blues 5, Jets 4

ST. LOUIS -- Defenseman Barrett Jackman was behind the blue line when he flipped the puck at the Winnipeg net and beat goalie Ondrej Pavelec to give his team victory.

Left wingers Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko, and centers Steve Ott and Jori Lehtera also scored for St. Louis.

Wingers Michael Frolik, Andrew Ladd, Lee Stempniak and Blake Wheeler scored for the Jets, with Frolik lighting the lamp in the first period and Ladd and Stempniak doing so in a nine-second span early in the final period.

Kings 5, Avalanche 2

DENVER -- Defenseman Brayden McNabb had a goal and two assists, left winger Kyle Clifford had a goal and an assist and Los Angeles beat Colorado.

Center Jeff Carter, right winger Marian Gaborik and defenseman Jake Muzzin also scored for the Kings, and goaltender Jonathan Quick made 21 saves.

Left winger Alex Tanguay and defenseman Tyson Barrie scored for Colorado, which had its three-game winning streak stopped.

**Udog** · 03-11-2015, 09:54 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, March 11

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BUFFALO (19-42-0-5, 43 pts.) at TORONTO (26-35-0-6, 58 pts.) - 3/11/2015, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BUFFALO is 40-108 ATS (+238.7 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 15-55 ATS (+120.6 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 15-51 ATS (+105.9 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 16-52 ATS (+97.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 7-27 ATS (+50.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
BUFFALO is 251-210 ATS (+29.4 Units) vs. division opponents since 1996.
BUFFALO is 94-99 ATS (+220.7 Units) in road games after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game since 1996.
TORONTO is 5-24 ATS (-22.4 Units) second half of the season this season.
TORONTO is 11-29 ATS (+40.8 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
TORONTO is 10-19 ATS (+30.8 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
TORONTO is 10-24 ATS (-19.0 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
TORONTO is 6-5-0 straight up against BUFFALO over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.7 Units)

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NY RANGERS (41-17-0-7, 89 pts.) at WASHINGTON (36-21-0-10, 82 pts.) - 3/11/2015, 8:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY RANGERS is 9-6 (+2.1 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
NY RANGERS is 9-6-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.6 Units)

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ANAHEIM (42-19-0-7, 91 pts.) at CALGARY (36-25-0-5, 77 pts.) - 3/11/2015, 9:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CALGARY is 36-30 ATS (-0.9 Units) in all games this season.
CALGARY is 36-33 ATS (+0.8 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CALGARY is 18-7 ATS (+25.1 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
ANAHEIM is 103-60 ATS (+19.2 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 198-199 ATS (+431.7 Units) in road games second half of the season since 1996.
ANAHEIM is 213-203 ATS (+434.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 8-3 (+3.4 Units) against the spread versus CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 8-3-0 straight up against CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.2 Units)

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**Udog** · 03-11-2015, 05:59 PM

NHL
Short Sheet

Wednesday, March 11

Buffalo at Toronto, 7:05 ET
Buffalo: 8-2 OVER after a blowout loss by 4 goals or more in their previous game
Toronto: 26-12 OVER revenging a loss versus opponent

NY Rangers at Washington, 8:05 ET
NY Rangers: 178-122 UNDER in a road game where where the total is 5.5
Washington: 9-1 UNDER in home games off an home win scoring 4 or more goals

Anaheim at Calgary, 9:35 ET
Anaheim: 21-10 UNDER after covering 4 or 5 of their last 6 against the spread
Calgary: 37-19 UNDER revenging a home loss versus opponent of 2 goals or more

Announcement

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 3/11

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 3/11

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