Announcement

**Udog** · 05-08-2016, 08:33 AM

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

-- 167,227 people went to the Kentucky Derby; to see a 2:01.37 race.

-- Kershaw-Dickey in Toronto yesterday had to be a tough game to ump the plate.

-- May 30-31 Pirate-Marlin series was moved from Puerto Rico to Miami because of the Zika virus problem in central America.

-- There are 108 stitches on a major league baseball.

-- Aaron Hill hit three HRs, knocked in seven runs as Milwaukee came back from a 6-2 deficit to beat the Reds 13-7 in ten innings.

-- In NHL history, when a series has been 2-2, the Game 5 winner has gone on to win 190 of 243 (78.2%) series.

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Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Happy Mothers' Day......
13) Whats wrong with the people who run the Memphis Grizzlies?

Three years ago, Memphis went 56-26, lost in Western Conference final; they showed their gratitude for the franchise's best-ever season by firing coach Lionel Hollins.

Yesterday, the Grizzlies fired coach Dave Joerger, after he led injury-ravaged Griz to a 42-40 season. You don't think thats impressive? Memphis used 28 different players this year, the most any NBA team has ever used in one season and yet they still made the playoffs. And they fire the coach. Wow.

12) Bartolo Colon homered last night in San Diego, making him the oldest player in major league history (42) to hit his first home run. Colon took 31 seconds to round the bases; don't think he was showboating, he just doesn't move very fast.

11) Sounds like major leagues are going to expand to 32 teams soon; Montreal, Mexico City mentioned as possible franchise homes. 32 teams would make it easier to schedule; not sure where all the new pitchers are going to come from, though.

10) Saw something I've never seen in a major league game last night.

Cincinnati's speedster Billy Hamilton was on second, he tries to steal third. Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy throws to third, but the third baseman doesn't cover the base. I've seen guys not cover second base, but never third; it looked like Little League.

9) Willie Mays turned 85 this week; one of the greatest players ever, he hit 660 home runs in his career and played a great centerfield.

8) San Diego Padres have never had a no-hitter; Colin Rea got into the 7th inning with one Friday night, but had to settle for a 5-3 win. Yoenis Cespedes rolled a single thru the shift-vacated right side of the infield to get the Mets' first hit.

7) In doubleheaders, the home plate umps do not work the other game. Feel bad for the home plate ump in Baltimore today, who did two games on the bases yesterday. I'm guessing the strike zone might be a little large this afternoon.

6) Orioles' SS JJ Hardy's mom played on the LPGA tour; his dad was a professional tennis player.

5) Portland 120, Golden State 108-- I'm guessing Steph Curry's leg feels a little bit better than it did 24 hours ago.

4) Toronto 95, Miami 91-- Three games in this series were decided by a total of 14 points, with two of them going to overtime. Kyle Lowry had 33 for the Raptors after he went 10-35 from the floor in the first two series games.

3) Week or so ago, we talked about how quickly Bruce Boudreau would have a new coaching job after Anaheim Ducks fired him despite his 409-192-80 career record. Boudreau also has a 1-7 career record in Game 7's of playoff series. Minnesota would probably be happy just to get to Game 7 of a playoff series.

2) Quick baseball notes:
-- White Sox have a 5-game lead, Cubs have a 7.5-game lead in their divisions.
-- Giants are only 17-15, but they're in first place.
-- Arizona ownership has to be sick to be 14-18 after all the money they spent this winter. Luckily for them, they're only three games out of first place.
-- Angels' 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay was a real gut-wrencher; watching it happen, the loss just seemed more important than one game. Halos have already lost their three of their top pitchers to injury- a lost season looks like a real possibility.

1) RIP Howard Garfinkel, 86, an iconic figure in basketball who co-founded the Five-Star Basketball Camp and helped thousands of basketball coaches/players further their careers. Mr Garfinkel was a beloved figure who dedicated his life to hoops. RIP, sir.

**Udog** · 05-08-2016, 08:37 AM

NHL

Sunday, May 8

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NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs betting preview: Islanders at Lightning
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Ben Bishop will try to backstop the Lightning to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year with a win over the Islanders Sunday.

New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning (A: +149, H: -165, O/U: 5)

Lightning lead series 3-1

The Tampa Bay Lightning look to make it a little easier on themselves and end the Eastern Conference second-round series when they host the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon in Game 5. The Lightning were forced to rally before winning each of the last two contests in overtime at Brooklyn, N.Y., and return home where they have won four of five in the postseason.

“The fourth win is the hardest one,” Tampa Bay right wing Ryan Callahan told FSN Sun. “That’s one thing you learn as you go through the playoffs. We expect their best effort Sunday and we’ve got to be ready for it.” The Islanders must find an answer for right wing Nikita Kucherov, who scored the tying goal in Games 3 and 4 and has eight tallies in nine playoff games. New York has gotten off to strong starts throughout the series, but has not been able to maintain them while being outshot 104-52 in the final two periods and overtime combined. “We had plenty of opportunities,” Islanders captain John Tavares told reporters Friday. “It’s a fine line in playoff hockey. You have to be able to overcome these things. It doesn’t matter how you get it done, obviously. You’ve got to get results this time of year.”

TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, Sportsnet, TVAS

PROBABLE GOALIES:

Islanders - Thomas Greiss (W/L: 5-5, GAA: 2.31, SAVE %: .928)

Lightning - Ben Bishop (W/L: 7-2, GAA: 2.12, SAVE %: .931)

INJURY REPORT:

Islanders - Brain Strait (questionable Sunday, upper body).

Lightning - Erik Condra (questionable Sunday, upper body).

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (50-30-12, 38-45-9 O/U): Tavares has been held without a point in the last three games and was limited to one shot on goal in Friday’s contest as he and Kyle Okposo were joined by new linemate Shane Prince. Okposo had the only goal for the Islanders last time out on the power play, which has converted once in each of the first four games of the series (4-for-16 overall). Defenseman Ryan Pulock (upper body) returned to the lineup in Game 4, replacing Marek Zidlicky, and registered two shots on goal in 14:12 of ice time while rookie Alan Quine was a healthy scratch in favor of fellow forward Ryan Strome.

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (53-33-5, 37-42-12 O/U): Kucherov finished with 10 goals in 26 games during last season’s postseason and is close to topping that already in the first two rounds while posting 11 points – one shy of linemate Tyler Johnson for the team lead. “He’s proving he’s not a one-hit wonder,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper told reporters of Kucherov. “He did it last year in the playoffs. … Now we’re back on the biggest stage, and he continues to amaze.” Cooper moved Alex Killorn onto a line with Johnson and Kucherov while Ondrej Palat joined Valterri Filppula and Jonathan Drouin on another unit and each created a goal Friday.

TRENDS:

* Islanders are 8-1 in their last nine after scoring two goals or less in their previous game.
* Lightning are 5-1 in their last six games overall.
* Over is 3-0-2 in the last five meetings in Tampa Bay.
* Over is 4-1-2 in Lightning last seven games versus Metropolitan Division opponents.

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**Udog** · 05-08-2016, 08:42 AM

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, May 8

NY Islanders-Tampa Bay (TB 3-1)
Lightning won both games in Brooklyn in OT, can wrap series up here; Tampa Bay won Game 4 at 1:34 of OT; they're 3-2 in last five home games with Islanders. Over is 6-2-2 in last ten series games. Tampa Bay won seven of its last nine games, winning four of last five at home. NY is 4-16 on power play in series, Lightning 2-14. Tampa Bay outshot NY 104-52 in periods 2-3 and OT first three games in series. Islanders are 3-2 in last five road games, but are they tired? Five of their last eight games went into overtime.

Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 12-7, Over: 8-4-7

NHL

Sunday, May 8

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Trend Report
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3:00 PM
NY ISLANDERS vs. TAMPA BAY
NY Islanders are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games on the road
NY Islanders are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Tampa Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home

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**Udog** · 05-08-2016, 10:38 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Sunday, May 8

NY Islanders @ Tampa Bay

Game 67-68
May 8, 2016 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
NY Islanders
9.791
Tampa Bay
12.754
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Tampa Bay
by 3
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Tampa Bay
-175
5
Dunkel Pick:
Tampa Bay
(-175); Over

NHL
Long Sheet

Sunday, May 8

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NY ISLANDERS (50-30-0-12, 112 pts.) at TAMPA BAY (53-33-0-5, 111 pts.) - 5/8/2016, 3:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 35-18 ATS (+5.2 Units) second half of the season this season.
TAMPA BAY is 18-5 ATS (+23.9 Units) in the second round of the playoffs since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 199-209 ATS (+489.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
NY ISLANDERS are 16-7 ATS (+7.2 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 24-18 ATS (+5.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
TAMPA BAY is 17-22 ATS (-14.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 7-6-0 straight up against NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.5 Units)

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**Udog** · 05-08-2016, 01:19 PM

NHL
Short Sheet

Sunday, May 8

NY Islanders at Tampa Bay, 3:05 PM ET
New York: 24-15 SU in road games when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days
Tampa Bay: 27-31 SU after having won 3 of their last 4

Announcement

Sunday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 5/8

Sunday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 5/8

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