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**Udog** · 11-30-2016, 07:33 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

— Duke 78, Michigan State 69– At some point in league play, we’ll probably hitch ourselves to the Spartans’ wagon. Not yet though.

— Tex-Arlington 72, Texas 61— Mavericks should be heard from in March.

— Oregon fired football coach Mark Helfrich; chances are they replace him with a big name.

— Grizzlies’ PG Mike Conley is out for six weeks with broken vertebrae in his back.

— Delaware State 79, St John’s 72— Very bad night for Chris Mullin.

— Mets are giving Yoenis Cespedes $110M for four years; I’m not going to mention that the A’s gave him away to Boston in 2014, for Jonny Gomes and two months of Jon Lester. Oy.

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Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: No list, I just research/rant about the Rams

While you were asleep late Sunday night, I was sitting here, doing some research. December 1 is this week (Thursday) and another football season is flying by. As a Rams fan (since 1966, the year of the first Super Bowl), this has been another dismal season.

I like Jeff Fisher well enough as a coach, but he is finishing his 5th season with the Rams and has yet to have a .500 season. Was trying to think of anyone else in the NFL who lasted this long with one team without a winning season. So I decided to research the topic. Here is some of what I learned:

— Here is Fisher’s resume with the Rams: 7-8-1/7-9/6-10/7-9/4-7.

Fisher inherited a dumpster fire from his predecessor, Steve Spagnuolo (10-38 in three years) and he has made the Rams competitive again. He gets credit for that.

When Spags was coaching the Rams, I knew when I got out of bed on Sunday morning that we were getting whupped that day. Now I am pretty sure the Rams will have a chance to win, but because the offense sucks, they probably won’t.

— I limited my search to the Super Bowl era, starting in 1966. During that time, only five NFL head coaches started their tenure in a city with four consecutive losing seasons. The rest either all got fired before that or had at least one .500 season or at least one winning season. Here are the five coaches:

Dan Hennng (Falcons) 1983-86: 7-9/4-12/4-12/7-8-1.
Sam Wyche (Bucs) 1992-95: 5-11/5-11/6-10/7-9
Joe Bugel (Cardinals) 1990-93: 5-11/4-12/4-12/7-9
Lou Saban (Broncos) 1967-71: 3-11/5-9/5-8-1/5-8-1 (fired in ’71, during a 4-9-1 year)
Jeff Fisher (Rams) 2012-16: 7-8-1/7-9/6-10/7-9/4-7

— The thing is, Fisher may already have a contract extension with the Rams, no one knows. He would be the only NFL coach in the last 50 years to start off with five consecutive losing seasons with a team and be offered a sixth year with the same team.

Coach Fisher has been an NFL head coach for 22 years, has been in the playoffs exactly six times. The ultimate irony is that his best year with the Tennessee Titans ended with a Super Bowl loss……to the Rams.

— Then there is this: I go back a little further, to 1960 and do the search again. Look for a coach who started his tenure with five consecutive losing seasons, was retained and wound up doing really well. It actually has happened……once and yes, you’ve heard of the guy.

Ever hear of Tom Landry?

Here are the Cowboys’ records their first five years as an NFL team:
0-11-1/4-9-1/5-8-1/4-10/5-8-1.

Despite five straight losing years, Landry was not fired, he was retained; Dallas went 7-7 in 1965 and in the seven years after that, they went 83-27-2 and split two Super Bowl appearances.

I know what you’re thinking: Dallas was an expansion team, but in a lot of ways, it is easier to build from scratch than it is to clean up a mess and then build a winner.

— Am I comparing Landry and Jeff Fisher? Not really, but I am saying that the only time in modern NFL history this scenario has played out, it worked out very well for the team that didn’t fire the coach. Stability has its advantages.

Rams just moved to a new city; they have a young QB who they finally let on the field and the kid looks like he can play a little. They have a really good defense and decent special teams.

I’d check with Norv Turner to see if he was interested in being OC and helping Goff turn into a quality QB, the way he did with Troy Aikman.

— I think way too much about this and still I don’t have a concrete opinion on what owner Stan Kroenke should do, but I do firmly believe he should keep GM Les Snead, who drafted Goff, Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley the last three years. Do not fire Les Snead.

This is a billion dollar franchise with a beautiful new stadium being built for the 2019 season; lot of money hangs in the balance. I hope the hell they make the right decision, whatever it is.

No matter what, I’ll still sit there on Sundays and root like hell for the Rams; if that makes me a damn fool, then so be it.

**Udog** · 11-30-2016, 07:40 AM

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, November 30

Islanders lost last four games with Pittsburgh; Penguins won 5-0/3-2 in last two visits to Long Island. Under is 4-1 in last five series games. Pittsburgh is 4-5 in its last nine games, 2-3 in its last five on road; last four Penguin games went over total. Islanders lost six of last eight games; they’re 2-3 in last five home games. Under is 3-1-2 in their last six games.

Home side won last five Toronto-Calgary games; Maple Leafs lost four of last five games in the Saddledome, losing 4-3/6-3 in last two. Over is 5-2 in last seven series games. Leafs won in Edmonton last night; they’ve won last two games, are 1-3 in last four on road. Over is 8-3 in last 11 Toronto games. Flames are home for first time in 12 days; they lost two of last three home games. Under is 3-1 in their last four games.

Sharks won six of last seven games with Los Angeles; Kings lost last four visits here, outscored 17-10. Under is 3-1-1 in last five series games. San Jose beat Coyotes in OT last night; they’ve won four of last five games, but were outscored 7-4 in losing last three road games. Kings won their last five games, allowing nine goals; they won last four at home. Over is 3-1-1 in their last five games.

NHL

Wednesday, November 30

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Trend Report
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9:00 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. NY ISLANDERS
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in their last 6 games when playing NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing NY Islanders
NY Islanders are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the NY Islanders last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh

9:30 PM
TORONTO vs. CALGARY
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 7 games when playing Calgary
Toronto is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Calgary
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Calgary's last 7 games when playing Toronto
Calgary is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Toronto

11:30 PM
SAN JOSE vs. LOS ANGELES
San Jose is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Los Angeles
San Jose is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Los Angeles is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing San Jose
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

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**Udog** · 11-30-2016, 12:06 PM

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, November 30

San Jose @ Los Angeles

Game 5-6
November 30, 2016 @ 10:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Jose
10.889
Los Angeles
11.921
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 1
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
-140
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(-140); Over

Toronto @ Calgary

Game 3-4
November 30, 2016 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto
8.231
Calgary
10.064
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Calgary
by 2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Calgary
-115
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Calgary
(-115); Under

Pittsburgh @ NY Rangers

Game 1-2
November 30, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh
12.369
NY Rangers
10.722
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Pittsburgh
by 1 1/2
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh
-160
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Pittsburgh
(-160); Over

NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, November 30

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PITTSBURGH (13-6-0-3, 29 pts.) at NY ISLANDERS (7-10-0-4, 18 pts.) - 11/30/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 18-27 ATS (-17.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 74-96 ATS (-48.1 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
PITTSBURGH is 33-16 ATS (+10.6 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
NY ISLANDERS are 176-234 ATS (+456.9 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
NY ISLANDERS are 2-9 ATS (+13.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 1-9 ATS (-8.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 1-9 ATS (+11.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
NY ISLANDERS is 5-6 (+0.2 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 6-5-0 straight up against NY ISLANDERS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.6 Units)

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TORONTO (10-8-0-4, 24 pts.) at CALGARY (10-13-0-2, 22 pts.) - 11/30/2016, 8:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
CALGARY is 2-2 (+0.0 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
CALGARY is 2-2-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.0 Units)

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SAN JOSE (13-9-0-1, 27 pts.) at LOS ANGELES (12-9-0-1, 25 pts.) - 11/30/2016, 10:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 10-6 (+5.6 Units) against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 10-6-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
6 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-1.1 Units, Under=-0.4 Units)

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NHL
Short Sheet

Wednesday, November 30

Pittsburgh at NY Islanders, 8:05 PM ET
Pittsburgh: 31-12 SU after 5 straight games with 30 or more shots on goal
NY Islanders: 2-9 SU revenging a loss versus opponent

Toronto at Calgary, 8:35 PM ET
Toronto: 2-13 SU when playing their 2nd road game in 2 days
Calgary: 2-0 SU after a close loss by 1 goal in their previous game

San Jose at Los Angeles, 8:35 PM ET
San Jose: 1-6 SU after having won 3 of their last 4 games
Los Angeles: 7-1 SU off a home win

Announcement

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 11/30

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 11/30

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