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**Udog** · 06-13-2015, 08:37 AM

Armadillo: Saturday's six-pack

Seven catchers who caught Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters.........

1) Jeff Torborg-- Wound up managing in major leagues for 11 years.

2) Art Kusnyer-- Played 139 games for four teams over six seasons.

3) Tom Egan-- Was in majors at age 18, lasted ten years as a backup.

4) Ellie Rodriguez-- Made two All-Star teams; was Royals' rep in '69.

5) Alan Ashby-- Is now a TV commentator for the Astros.

6) John Russell-- Hit 13 HR with 60 RBI at age 25; that was the high point.

7) Mike Stanley-- Hit 187 career HRs with a .270 batting average (15 years)

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Armadillo: Saturday's List of 13: Clearing out a cluttered mind......

13) Blue Jays 13, Red Sox 10-- Toronto trailed this game 8-1; they scored nine runs in top of 7th, before they made an out. Devastating loss for Boston, which has a serious lack of pitching; this season is rapidly slipping away from them.

Blue Jays have now won nine games in a row.

12) Astros 10, Mariners 0-- Houston had lost seven in a row, but they scored eight runs in first inning off of Felix Hernandez, who didn't finish the inning. Houston lost 2B Altuve to a hamstring injury, which could prove costly if serious.

11) Bullpens at Wrigley Field will be moved to under the outfield bleachers next year, making foul territory down each foul line less cluttered. Attendance Friday was 40,016; now that the rightfield bleachers are finished, Wrigley's capacity has gone up.

10) There are only four players in the major leagues who currently have a consecutive games streak of 100+ games. Cal Ripken's streak will never be broken.

9) Mets are 22-11 vs NL East opponents, 11-18 vs everyone else; that adds up to first place in a very sluggish NL East.

8) Giancarlo Stanton struck out four times vs Colorado lefty Steve Rusin last week, but first time he faced him Thursday, he hit a 2-iron laser shot over the left field fence for a home run. Stanton has been crushing the ball since he left Denver.

7) Jerry Remy was saying on NESN last night how Boston playing 32 exhibition games is "way, way, way, way too many." He likes the current 162-game season. I'm really surprised the players' union hasn't complained about how long spring training is.

6) A golfer named Andery Pavlov hit six balls in the water on the first hole Friday and got a 17 on that hole. Supposedly, the guy is really a pro. I'm terrible at golf and I've never done that. Hope Mr Pavlov has another career to fall back on.

5) Patriots signed QB Matt Flynn to back up Jimmy Garoppolo for the first four weeks of the season, until Tom Brady gets back. Flynn will probably wind up getting lot of playing time in the exhibition games.

4) I'm a big fan of Arena Football; was a season ticket holder when they had a team here in Albany (1999 Arena Bowl champs!!!). CBS Sports Network shows games late at night now-- the coach of Las Vegas, Aaron Garcia, looks like a lot like the wrestler turned actor Dwayne Johnson-- The Rock.

3) Las Vegas' QB played college football at Columbia, which seems a little odd, but not as odd as TV guys saying Vegas didn't have a backup QB dressed for their game up in Spokane Friday night. How does a football team play with one quarterback?

2) My A's are a depressing 4-17 in one-run games; their defense has improved the last couple of weeks, the bullpen has not. Bad relief pitching has torched this season.

1) If your brother worked in the US State Department, it would be against the law to give his wife a pair of shoes as a gift-- thats how strict some laws are, as far as giving gifts to federal officials. Somehow, I'm guessing politicians have minions whose only job is to find ways around these laws. Just a guess.

**Udog** · 06-13-2015, 08:39 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Saturday, June 13

Chicago @ Tampa Bay

Game 9-10
June 13, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago
13.903
Tampa Bay
11.049
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Chicago
by 3
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Tampa Bay
-125
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Chicago
(+105); Under

NHL
Long Sheet

Saturday, June 13

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CHICAGO (62-34-0-7, 131 pts.) at TAMPA BAY (64-34-0-8, 136 pts.) - 6/13/2015, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 66-59 ATS (-26.0 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 18-21 ATS (-18.0 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 16-19 ATS (-16.4 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
TAMPA BAY is 14-3 ATS (+9.8 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game this season.
TAMPA BAY is 34-24 ATS (+2.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
TAMPA BAY is 189-198 ATS (+471.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
CHICAGO is 39-20 ATS (+11.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 5-3 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
TAMPA BAY is 5-3-0 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+4.1 Units)

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NHL
Short Sheet

Saturday, June 13

Stanley Cup Finals - Best of 7 - Game 5 - Series Tied 2-2

Chicago at Tampa Bay, 8:05 PM
Tampa Bay: 27-8 against the money line (+17.5 Units) when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days
Tampa Bay: 30-11 against the money line (+17.5 Units) after a game where they failed to cover the spread

Chicago: 18-21 against the money line (-15.1 Units) when playing with 2 days rest

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, June 13

Chicago survived Lightning's 9-2 edge in shots in first period of Game 4, got game-winner with 13:38 to even series where visitor has won two of four games. Lightning outhit Chicago 154-110 in first four games, but Chicago had 112-67 edge on faceoffs last three games. Chicago won four of last six games overall, with three of four in this round staying under. Lightning lost three of last four home games, scoring nine goals. Tampa Bay won eight of last 11 games with Chicago. Blackhawks are 3-2 in last five road games. Six of last eight series games stayed under. Lightning is 1-11 on power play in series, Chicago is 2-11.

2015 NHL playoffs
Chicago vs Tampa Bay
Chi 2-1, +$119, U9
TB 4-3, -$135, O5
TB 3-2, +$149, U5.5
Chi 2-1, -$179, U5.5

NHL

Saturday, June 13

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
CHICAGO vs. TAMPA BAY
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Chicago's last 15 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Chicago is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Tampa Bay's last 15 games when playing at home against Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games when playing at home against Chicago

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**Udog** · 06-13-2015, 10:29 AM

NHL

Saturday, June 13

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Game of the Day: Blackhawks at Lightning
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Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning (-123, 5.5)

Series tied 2-2

Jon Cooper has worn his best poker face throughout the Stanley Cup final, so it stands to reason that he didn't reveal his hand in regard to his starting goaltender for Game 5 on Saturday against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. Ben Bishop sat out Friday's practice and remained day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, causing many to wonder if rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy will make his second straight start as the series shifts back to Amalie Arena.

"We're going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win the game, whoever that guy is," said Cooper, who noted that the answer likely will be revealed following Saturday's morning skate. Vasilevskiy made 17 saves on Wednesday, but Brandon Saad scored the go-ahead goal 6:22 into the third period to help Chicago even the series at two victories apiece with a 2-1 triumph. Saad has tallies in back-to-back contests in the remarkably even Stanley Cup final, which has seen both clubs score nine goals with the Blackhawks holding a slight edge in shots (107-104). The one-goal outcome in each of the first four games of this series marks the first time that has been accomplished in a Stanley Cup final since Montreal swept St. Louis in 1968.

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

LINE HISTORY: Oddsmakers opened the Bolts as -120 favorites, but that's since been slightly adjusted to -123.

INJURY REPORT: Chicago - M. Rozsival (out for season). Tampa Bay - T. Johnson (probable), Ben Bishop (questionable), M. Ohlund (I-R).

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: Captain Jonathan Toews converted from the left edge of the crease 6:40 into the second period on Wednesday to record his career-high 10th goal of the postseason, albeit just the first of the Stanley Cup final. Chicago's depleted defense proved top-heavy again, with two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith logging 29:07 of ice time while fellow blue-liner Johnny Oduya overcame an upper-body injury to play nearly 26 minutes on Wednesday. Rookie blue-liner Trevor van Riemsdyk (6:37) and veteran Kimmo Timonen (5:46) saw limited time in the victory.

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING: Captain Steven Stamkos extended his goal drought to seven games after misfiring on a pair of golden opportunities to tie Wednesday's contest during a 22-second span late in the third period. "Just bad, bad bounces, puck luck, whatever you want to call it," said Stamkos, who has failed to score on 11 shots in the Stanley Cup final after his 43 goals in the regular season trailed only Washington's Alex Ovechkin (53) for the league lead. Stamkos ended his five-game scoring drought earlier in the contest with an assist on Alex Killorn's second-period goal.

TRENDS:

*Under is 8-1-1 in Warriors last 10 home games.
*Under is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings.
*Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games.
*Warriors are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 Sunday games.

CONSENSUS: According to Consensus, 57 percent of wagers are on the favored Lightning.

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**Udog** · 06-13-2015, 11:37 AM

NHL

Saturday, June 13

Report: Bishop likely to return in Game 5

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop has allegedly made enough progress that the team believes he can start Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday, reports Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet.

Bishop has been suffering from an undisclosed injury and did not dress in Game 4. Behind 20-year-old Andrei Vasilievsky, the Bolts fell 2-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks to even up the series at two games apiece without the hulking netminder in the fold.

Books were dealing the Lightning as -121 chalk as of 9:15 a.m. ET.

One-goal games have dominated Cup final

It's fairly evident by now just how evenly matched the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks are, as close games have been a recurring theme in the Stanley Cup Final.

In fact, every game of the series so far has been a one-goal game. That marks the first time that each of the first four Stanley Cup Final contests have been decided by one goal since the Montreal Canadiens swept the St. Louis Blues in 1968.

Chicago is +1.5 on the puckline with a price of -270 at Sports Interaction.

**Udog** · 06-13-2015, 12:51 PM

NHL

Saturday, June 13

Blackhawks are nearly invincible when series is 2-2

Just how clutch are the Chicago Blackhawks? In the Jonathan Toews-Patrick Kane era, the Hawks are 8-0 in playoff series and 16-1 in games when tied at 2-2.

Thanks to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 on Wednesday, Chicago has evened up the series at two once again and will be seeking to continue that trend in Game 5 Saturday evening in Florida.

Oddsmakers are offering the Blackhawks as +110 underdogs for the tilt.

Announcement

Saturday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 6/13

Saturday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 6/13

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