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**Udog** · 06-10-2015, 08:33 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Phil Steele college football magazine's top six 6 college football QBs this season:

6) Dak Prescott, Mississippi State-- 6-2 senior

5) Cody Kessler, USC-- 6-1 senior

4) Cardale Jones, Ohio State-- 6-5 junior

3) Jared Goff, California-- 6-4 junior

2) Connor Cook, Michigan State-- 6-4 senior

1) Christian Hackenberg, Penn State-- 6-4 junior

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Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Random mid-week thoughts.......

13) Cavaliers 96, Warriors 91-- If you want a one-word summary of how this series has gone thus far, with Cleveland controlling things, pick from this list of words:

defense-toughness-determination-grit-spunk-will-intensity-loose balls-pride.

If you take a measure of any of those words, Cleveland has the edge so far and it also has the best player, obviously.

12) I've only had HBO a couple of years, never had it before; I'm enjoying catching up with the various Hard Knocks shows they've had on over the years. Always fun for me to see how coaches interact with owners/players as well as each other, get a feel for people's personalities. Makes watching games on Sundays even more fun.

11) Pedro Martinez was telling an interesting story on MLB Network Tuesday about when he first broke into pro ball, he lived in a family's house, in the basement and the people spoke very little Spanish. All he did away from the field was play video games. We underestimate how difficult it is for guys to come to this cointry and play ball when there could be a tremendous language barrier involved.

I think teams are a little better now at providing help for these players, but it still cannot be easy. No way would I want to live somewhere if I didn't know the language.

10) Detroit's Rajai Davis made a tremendous leaping catch over the fence in LC field to end the top of the second inning Tuesday. Eight-foot fences make for exciting catches now and then. Davis was at least a foot above the fence when he caught it.

9) Tampa Bay pitching ace Chris Archer didn't start pitching until he was 15.

8) Justin Verlander had a good rehab start this week, will make his 2015 MLB debut Saturday against the Indians.

7) This is how much the NFL has changed; in Super Bowl VIII, in 1974, Miami won 24-7 with Bob Greise, a Hall of Fame QB, completing 6-7 passes for 73 yards.

In the whole game.

Teams do that on one drive now. Football is way more fun to watch now than it used to be-- a lot of that is because they've rigged the rules to favor the offenses.

6) Cleveland took a pitcher named Brady Aiken with the 17th pick Monday, which is only newsworthy because Aiken was the #1 pick LY, but went unsigned when it was discovered he had an arm problem. He had Tommy John surgery and is recovering from that now-- Indians get good value if he recovers fully.

5) A's need to draft older players who get to the major leagues faster, since they will not be with the A's that long anyway once they get to the majors, so no use spending so much time developing them. This is how the A's first ten picks were distributed:

-- Five pitchers (three RHP, two lefties).
-- a catcher, lefty hitter
-- two middle infielders, both from the SEC
-- two centerfielders-- meaning they took four fast position players.

The lone high school kid they took so far is a pitcher from Georgia.

4) 62-year old Rick Pitino signed a contract extention with Louisville thru the 2026 college basketball season; now there's an optimist. I just hope I'm still alive then.

3) White Sox hurler Chris Sale is first MLB pitcher since 2001 to strike out 12+ guys three starts in a row. Pedro Martinez had been the last pitcher to do that.

2) Red Sox drafted the son of Cardinal manager Mike Matheny Tuesday; he plays centerfield for Missouri State, a top ten team in the country.

1) In the first MLB Draft, in 1965, seven catchers got taken ahead of the catcher the Reds took. Someone you may have heard of: Johnny Bench.

**Udog** · 06-10-2015, 08:33 AM

See spot. See spot bet: This week's best spot bet opportunities

Lookahead spot

The San Diego Chargers always seem to find their way into the playoff mix late in the season, and if that holds true in 2015 football bettors could be treated to a tasty lookahead spot in Week 12 of the NFL season.

The Chargers have a potentially-huge matchup versus the Denver Broncos at home in Week 13 but sandwiched between that game and an equally-important stand against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11 is a trip to Jacksonville in Week 12.

Not only could the Bolts get caught looking ahead to the big game with the Broncos but travel across the country for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff – which is 10 a.m. back in San Diego. Early odds have the Chargers as 4.5-point road favorites versus the Jags in Week 12.

Schedule spot

The defending World Series champs are currently on the East Coast, taking two of three versus the Phillies this past weekend and kicking off a three-game set with the New York Mets Tuesday in Flushing. The Giants face a tough challenge come Thursday when they toss out the first pitch for Game 3 in New York at 7:10 p.m. ET.

San Francisco then must hightail it back to the Bay Area for a 10:15 p.m. ET series opener with the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday. Usually, the MLB schedule makers will set an early game time for team’s making the cross-country hike to play the next day, giving them the evening to travel. However, the Giants will be on little down time for Game 1 versus the D-backs.

Letdown spot

The Colorado Rockies are currently hosting the MLB-leading St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game series, opening that set with an impressive 11-3 win at Coors Field Monday. The Rockies have traded wins and losses over their last nine and are trying to climb out of the National League West basement with a dominant showing against the Cards.

Following that intense matchup with the best team in baseball, Colorado heads to the coast – no, the other way – for a four-game road series against the Miami Marlins. The Rockies, who lost two of three at home to Miami this weekend, could come out flat after facing St. Louis and getting zero down time between that series and traveling to South Beach for Thursday’s opener with the Fish.

**Udog** · 06-10-2015, 08:36 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, June 10

Tampa Bay @ Chicago

Game 7-8
June 10, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Tampa Bay
11.077
Chicago
13.553
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Chicago
by 2 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Chicago
-170
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Chicago
(-170); Under

NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, June 10

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TAMPA BAY (64-33-0-8, 136 pts.) at CHICAGO (61-34-0-7, 129 pts.) - 6/10/2015, 8:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 5-2 (+4.0 Units) against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
TAMPA BAY is 5-2-0 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.1 Units)

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, June 10

Lightning survived Chicago's 19-7 edge in shots in first period of Game 3, got game-winner with 3:11 to grab back home ice in series where visitor has won two of three games. Lightning outhit Chicago 108-76 in first three games, but Chicago had 74-47 edge on faceoffs last two games. Chicago won three of last five games overall, with five of last seven going over total. Lightning won last four road games, allowing four goals. Tampa Bay is 3-2 in last five series games played here; five of their last seven games overall went over total. Tampa Bay won eight of last ten games with Chicago. Five of last seven series games stayed under. Lightning is 1-7 on power play in series, Chicago is 2-8.

2015 NHL playoffs
Chicago vs Tampa Bay
Chi 2-1, +$119, U9
TB 4-3, -$135, O5
TB 3-2, +$149, U5.5

NHL

Wednesday, June 10

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. CHICAGO
Tampa Bay is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing Chicago
Chicago is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing Tampa Bay
Chicago is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games

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**Udog** · 06-10-2015, 08:39 AM

NHL

Wednesday, June 10

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Game of the Day: Lightning at Blackhawks
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Tampa Bay Lightning at Chicago Blackhawks (-155, 5.5)

Lightning leads series 2-1

With questions clouding his availability, Ben Bishop more than answered the bell to help the Tampa Bay Lightning claim a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup final. Regardless of what ails him, the 6-7 goaltender looks to stand tall as he attempts to propel the Lightning to within one win of the franchise's second championship when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 4 on Wednesday.

"It's going to take a lot not to play in a Stanley Cup final game, personally," said Bishop, who turned aside 36 shots in Tampa Bay's 3-2 win on Monday despite visibly laboring to both stand and move laterally. Bishop improved to 8-3 with a 1.50 goals-against average and .947 save percentage on the road for the Lightning, who have won four straight away from home and a franchise-best eight this postseason. Although the Blackhawks have dropped consecutive games for the first time in the playoffs, they are no stranger to overcoming a 2-1 series deficit in the Stanley Cup final - having done so against Boston in 2013. "For whatever reason, we play our best games when our backs are against the wall," defenseman Brent Seabrook said.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports

LINE HISTORY: The Blackhawks opened at -150 favorites before being bet to -155. The total opened at 5.5 and has remained there.

INJURY REPORT: Lightning - D Mattias Ohlund (IR-Knee) Blackhawks - Michal Rozsival (Out-Ankle)

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING: Coach Jon Cooper had no issue heaping praise toward Victor Hedman after the defenseman feathered a pair of highlight-reel passes en route to his second straight two-assist performance on Monday. "Victor Hedman, what he's doing, I mean, this is clearly his coming-out party," Cooper said of Hedman, whose 13 assists are just five shy of Chicago's Duncan Keith and Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf for the overall lead. "(Hedman) sets that (first goal) up and then makes a big-time play on the winner (by Cedric Paquette with 3:11 remaining in the third period). He was a monster out there." Hedman's involvement on the offensive end has been a boon for Tampa Bay, which boasts a 9-1 mark in the postseason when the blue-liner records at least one point.

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: Speaking of Keith, the two-time Norris Trophy recipient continued to shoulder the load by setting up another goal in Game 3 while logging 31:37 of ice time. Keith's assist total trails only Edmonton's Paul Coffey (25, 1985), Calgary's Al MacInnis (24, 1989), New York Rangers' Brian Leetch (23, 1994) and Boston's Bobby Orr (19, 1972) among defensemen in one playoff year. Superstar Patrick Kane and captain Jonathan Toews are singing much different tunes after excelling in the first three rounds, with the former being held off the scoresheet in all three games of the Stanley Cup final while the latter has just one assist.

TRENDS:

*Lightning are 4-0 in their last 4 road games.
*Blackhawks are 6-1 in their last 7 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
*Under is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in Chicago.
*Under is 5-1 in Lightning last 6 road games

CONSENSUS: According to Consensus, 76 percent of the action is on the Hawks.

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**Udog** · 06-10-2015, 08:43 AM

NHL

Wednesday, June 10

Lightning G Ben Bishop, probable Wednesday

Bishop is expected to start Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Blackhawks despite dealing with a lingering lower-body injury.

Bolts' Bishop is a brick wall on the road

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop proved to be a road warrior once again in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday, stopping 36 of 38 Chicago Blackhawks shots sent his way en route to a 3-2 victory.

Bishop improved to 8-3 on the road in the postseason. The hulking netminder owns a microscopic 1.50 GAA and .947 save percentage in games outside of Florida.

Tampa can take a 3-1 stranglehold on the series Wednesday in the Windy City. Sportsbooks are presently offering the Bolts as +140 pups for the tilt.

Blackhawks thrive when down 2-1 in playoff series

We've seen enough from the Chicago Blackhawks in the Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane era to know that they can never be counted out, but just how good they are at coming back when trailing in the postseason may surprise you.

The Hawks have rallied from a 2-1 series deficit to emerge triumphant in four out of their last five playoff series. Joel Quenneville's squad find themselves down 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final but will have an opportunity to even things up at the United Center on Wednesday.

In the wake of Game 3's loss, Sports Interaction has tabbed the Hawks as +135 underdogs to hoist Lord Stanley's holy grail.

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Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 6/10

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 6/10

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