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**Udog** · 05-30-2016, 06:44 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

Odds on NFL games for this coming season......

-- Week 2: Eagles @ Chicago (-3)

-- Week 3: Falcons @ Saints (-1)

-- Week 4: Chiefs @ Steelers (-4.5)

-- Week 5: Cardinals (-4.5) @ 49ers

-- Week 6: Falcons @ Seahawks (-9.5)

-- Week 7: Bears @ Packers (-8.5)

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

13) Going to be a big night for sports bars in SF/Oakland Bay Area tonight, with the Sharks opening their first-ever Stanley Cup final, while Warriors host Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference final.

12) Astros 8, Angels 6 (13)-- Carlos Correa came off the bench in the 13th inning and hit a 3-run homer to win this marathon game. The homer was hit really high; not often you see reactions like the ones Angel fielders gave when the ball landed in the bullpen.

11) Houston had a runner picked off first for the third game in a row; at 22-29, they are not the same team that stunned baseball by making the playoffs LY. At 22-28, the Angels aren't much better, with an injury-ravaged pitching staff.

10) The save rule makes managers' jobs harder, because closers do not pitch as well if they come into a game with a 4+-run lead, which is not a save situation. Sometimes the manager figures the closer just needs work, but the Mets' closer Familia coughed up a 4-run lead in the ninth inning Friday night.

9) Washington Nationals are lucky Brandon Phillips vetoed his trade last winter; they wound up signing Daniel Murphy instead-- Murphy is a much better player.

8) In Saturday's Cincinnati-Milwaukee game, both starting pitchers hit the other with pitches, the first time that happened in a game since 2003, when Dan Haren and Matt Clement drilled each other in a Cardinal-Cub game.

7) With Lucas Duda hurt, the Mets traded for James Loney from San Diego; he is a good fielder who doesn't hit enough to be a regular corner infielder. He will be activated for their Tuesday game, when they face righty pitcher Mat Latos.

6) Not often a 20-point underdog wins in football; Tampa Bay Storm upset Arizona Rattlers in the Arena Lague this weekend. Tampa Bay had been winless this year.

5) First round matchups in a college hoop tournament in Cancun next fall: Purdue will play Utah State, Auburn will play Texas Tech. Not a bad tournament.

4) Martin Truex jogged in Charlotte's NASCAR race, dominating the 600-mile race. It was his first win this season.

3) Chris Webber is way better than Reggie Miller as an NBA game analyst; TNT got the better of the two conference finals. The Cleveland-Toronto games were all one-sided, and as a result got terrible TV ratings.

2) Jordan Spieth won at Colonial, meaning with the Memorial this week, Spieth, Day and McIroy all are coming in off a win in their last event.

1) Today is Memorial Day, when we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Thanks to all the brave men/women in our military.

**Udog** · 05-30-2016, 06:47 AM

Do teams making their Stanley Cup debut win it all?

Since 1995-96 just two teams have won the Stanley Cup in their first appearance. The Sharks will try to be the third.

Breath easy San Jose Sharks fans. No one can ever say you couldn't make it to the Stanley Cup Finals anymore.

Following Wednesday's 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, the Sharks advanced to the Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, becoming the first team to make their Stanley Cup debut since the 2006-07 Ottawa Senators.

So with that monkey off their back, the Sharks' focus shifts to the final task. The Stanley Cup.

But will the Sharks' inexperience, when it comes to the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, bite them (no pun intended) in the butt?

The Sharks are the eighth team since 1995-96 to make their Stanley Cup debut and in the previous seven occasions, a Stanley Cup rookie has hoisted the iconic trophy just twice. And one of those times it was only because two first-timers squared off for the Cup, when the Colorado Avalanche faced off against the Florida Panthers in 1995-96.

The last Stanley Cup rookie to win the Cup was the 2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning, who defeated the Calgary Flames in seven games.

The most concerning thing for bettors about the Sharks' first time visit to the final round of the NHL playoffs, is just how few total games Stanley Cup rookies have won.

Since 1995-96 teams making their Stanley Cup debut are a combined 13-23 (36.1 percent) in the final round and have won Game 1 of the series just twice. Meaning when it comes to totals, these teams making their first Stanley Cup appearance have been a decent under bet, going 20-13-3 (60.6 percent) in those series.

So it's not out of the question that the Sharks can hoist the Cup at the end of this series, but the numbers aren't necessarily in their favor.

**Udog** · 05-30-2016, 06:47 AM

NHL

Monday, May 30

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Monday's NHL Stanley Cup finals Game 1 betting preview: Sharks at Penguins
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Although the Penguins have gotten to the Stanley Cup finals due to a balanced offensive attack, captain Sidney Crosby is still their leader both on and off the ice.

San Jose Sharks at Pittsburgh Penguins (A: +135, H: -155, O/U: 5.5)

Series tied 0-0

Although the nickname implies otherwise, superstar Sidney Crosby is no longer a kid as he leads the Pittsburgh Penguins into the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in his 11-year tenure. While Crosby has a championship on his resume, the San Jose Sharks are in the Cup Finals for the first time beginning with Game 1 of the best-of-7 series Monday in Pittsburgh.

Crosby and fellow center Evgeni Malkin form one of the most lethal 1-2 combinations in the world, but the Penguins have relied on a deep and balanced roster to reach the Finals for the first time since winning the Cup in 2008-09. "We know how tough an opponent this is," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told reporters. "They've got two of the best players in the world. They're a deep team. It's a great challenge for us." San Jose poses a daunting challenge as well, after scoring at least five goals in six of its 18 postseason games behind an imposing power play and a high-scoring No. 1 line led by captain Joe Pavelski. Both teams rely on speed -- "It's going to be fast hockey," Crosby acknowledged -- and feature head coaches and starting netminders who weren't with their respective clubs last season.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVAS

PROBABLE GOALIES:

Sharks - Martin Jones (W/L: 12-6, GAA: 2.12, SAVE %: .918)

Penguins - Matt Murray (W/L: 11-4, GAA: 2.22, SAVE %: .927)

ABOUT THE SHARKS (58-33-9, 51-38 O/U): San Jose brought in DeBoer and made wholesale changes to the roster after failing to make the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons and the results have been impressive -- all but one of the team's victories in the last two rounds of the postseason have been by a margin of at least three goals. Pavelski has been immense with a playoff-best 13 goals while playing alongside veteran Joe Thornton (15 assists) and Tomas Hertl, as has a power-play unit that has converted on 17-of-63 chances. Defenseman Brent Burns is third in the postseason with 20 points, trailing only Pavelski and Logan Couture, who leads all players with 24 points and 16 assists. Offseason acquisition Martin Jones has registered three shutouts in the last seven games.

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (60-30-10, 45-37 O/U): While Crosby and Malkin each have 15 points, the team's leader is Phil Kessel, who has scored nine goals among his 18 points and is another reason why DeBoer calls the Penguins the "fastest team in the league." Linemate Nick Bonino, who has a team-high 12 assists, missed practice Sunday after he was hurt in Game 7 versus Tampa Bay, but coach Mike Sullivan insisted he "will be fine" for the series opener. Malkin's production has risen since he was paired with rookie speedster Bryan Rust, who scored both goals to eliminate the Lightning. Sullivan, promoted after Mike Johnston was fired in December, started Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 5 versus Tampa Bay before turning back to rookie netminder Matt Murray, who is 11-4-0 in the playoffs.

TRENDS:

* Sharks are 10-1 in their last 11 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Penguins are 5-1 in their last 6 vs. Western Conference.
* Over is 5-1-1 in Sharks last 7 vs. Metropolitan.
* Over is 6-1 in Penguins last 7 vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 5-1-1 in the last 7 meetings in Pittsburgh.

CONSENSUS: At the time of publication of this preview, the Pittsburgh Penguins are grabbing 61 percent of the public picks and Over 5.5 is leading the way in totals wagering at 54 percent.

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**Udog** · 05-30-2016, 06:51 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Monday, May 30

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SAN JOSE (58-34-0-8, 124 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (60-30-0-10, 130 pts.) - 5/30/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 31-32 ATS (-17.6 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 60-40 ATS (+10.6 Units) in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 42-21 ATS (+7.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 20-9 ATS (+9.5 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) in road games in non-conference games this season.
SAN JOSE is 44-27 ATS (+15.8 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive overs since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 17-8 ATS (+7.2 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent this season.
SAN JOSE is 33-15 ATS (+14.1 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
SAN JOSE is 27-12 ATS (+13.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 22-6 ATS (+14.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
PITTSBURGH is 72-95 ATS (-41.5 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 3-3-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.0 Units)

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Monday, May 30

San Jose-Pittsburgh
Sharks are in Stanley Cup finals for first time; Penguins are in for first time since winning Cup in 2009, its third Cup title. San Jose won six of last nine games with Pittsburgh; they split last four visits here. Five of last ten series games went OT, four to shootout- three of last four stayed under. Both teams are well-rested; Sharks had five days off, Penguins four. San Jose won its last two games in St Louis after losing three in row on road before that; over is 6-3-1 in their last ten games. Pitt split last four games; two of those four games went OT. Four of last five Penguin games went over total.

Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 6-7, Over 7-5-1

NHL

Monday, May 30

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
SAN JOSE vs. PITTSBURGH
San Jose4-1-1 SU in its last 6 games
San Jose is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games when playing Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games

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**Udog** · 05-30-2016, 08:47 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Monday, May 30

San Jose @ Pittsburgh

Game 51-52
May 30, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Jose
12.997
Pittsburgh
11.892
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Jose
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh
-150
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
San Jose
(+130); Under

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Monday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 5/30

Monday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 5/30

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