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**Udog** · 01-26-2018, 08:05 AM

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

Early look at some Super Bowl props:

— Will team that scores first win? Yes -$155, No, +$135

— Team with more offensive plays: Patriots, -$140, Eagles +$120

— Will there be a TD on defense/special teams? No -$160, Yes +$140

— Will there be a lead change in second half? No, -$170, Yes, +$150

— Team with longest made field goal: Patriots, -$130, Eagles +$110

— Team with longest scoring drive: Patriots -$120, Eagles, even

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

13) Miami Marlins had the best outfield in baseball last year; now they’re all gone. Christian Yelich got dealt to Milwaukee Thursday, for OF Lewis Brinson and three minor leaguers.

Marlins might as well fire all their ushers; ain’t going to be lot of fans in their home ballpark this year. Looking forward to seeing what the Marlins’ over/under win total will be.

12) Vince McMahon is bringing the XFL back in January 2020; eight teams, 10-game schedule. Sounds like it is going to be more mainstream this time around, unlike 2001, when there were lot of gimmicks involved.

There are rumors on the Interweb that McMahon is using this as a way to tell NFL owners he wouldn’t mind buying the Carolina Panthers when Jerry Richardson sells them.

Some college basketball thoughts from the past few nights:
11) Penn State 82, Ohio State 79— Tony Carr scored 28 points, nailed a 40-footer at the buzzer to hand the Buckeyes their first conference loss. Penn State is much-improved.

10) Wyoming 104, Nevada 103, 2OT— Great game late Wednesday night; high altitude got the Nevada kids in the overtimes- they don’t have a lot of depth because they have several transfers sitting out for next season. First conference loss for the Wolf Pack.

9) Oklahoma 85, Kansas 80— Lon Kruger made sure the shots were more spread around for this game; Trey Young only took nine shots, had nine assists, playing the whole 40:00.

8) Fresno State 69, UNLV 63— Very bad beat if you took the Rebels, +4.5; they fouled a Fresno player with 0:03.5 left, down 2- the kid made both foul shots. UNLV then threw a pass to mid-court, but the passer stepped over the line before he threw the pass, Fresno got the ball under the hoop and UNLV fouled again, wound up losing by six.

7) South Carolina 77, Florida 72— When an SEC team beats Kentucky, there is a hangover; Gators actually had a revenge motive over South Carolina here after losing to Gamecocks in Elite 8 last year, but they lost to Carolina at home.

6) Miami 78, Louisville 75 OT— Two really good teams here; Louisville is little underrated because Pitino is gone, but they’ve still got really good players.

5) USC 69, Stanford 64— Trojans avenged their loss in Palo Alto when Stanford nailed a shot from half-court at the buzzer. Cardinal started season 6-8, but they’re healthier now and aren’t an easy out in the Pac-12.

4) Loyola, Chi 80, Drake 57— Ramblers take over first place in the Missouri Valley.

3) Richmond 77, Duquesne 73 OT— Spiders won their last four games after starting season 3-13.

2) Santa Barbara 70, Cal State-Fullerton 65— Titans lost by 18 in the Thunderdome eight nights ago, but jumped out to a 14-point lead in this game before the Gauchos stormed back late and swept the season series. Max Heidegger scored 28 for UCSB— he was 12-12 on foul line.

1) Bad Beat of the Night— Towson State (-7) 96, William & Mary 82 OT— Tribe led by 10 at the half, by 6 with 3:39 left, but got outscored 17-3 in overtime- they were 16-37 on arc but they did not cover. Tigers shot 64.6% inside the arc- they’re 15-7 now.

**Udog** · 01-26-2018, 08:26 AM

NHL is on its All-Star break this weekend.

**Udog** · 01-26-2018, 07:07 PM

These teams are the best and worst bets from the first half of the NHL season
Ashton Grewal

Here’s a quick look from a betting perspective at the best and worst of the season’s first four months.

Best bet

Vegas Golden Knights (+19.59 units)

The Golden Knights are one of the biggest stories in all of sports right now and did the impossible by making headlines on ESPN during the NFL playoffs. A $100 wager on each Vegas game this season would have turned a profit of $1,959. Puckline players (those who bet with a 1.5-goal spreads) are enjoying Vegas’ success here too with the club sporting a 34-14 ATS record.

The Golden Knights are second in the league in points with 68 and their odds to win the Stanley Cup sit at 10/1 after opening as high as 500/1.

Worst bet

Arizona Coyotes (-21.71 units)

The squad with the fewest points in the NHL is also the league’s least profitable one. The Coyotes are second last in goals for per game (2.34) and third worst in goals allowed 3.36. Max Domi, who tallied 18 goals and 52 points in his rookie season three years ago, has found the back of the net just three times in 50 games for Arizona.

Best Over bet

New York Islanders

The average goals scored per game in an NHL game this season is 5.78 and the average total scored in an Islanders game is 6.96. Yowzers. New York is dead last in goals allowed, second in goals for and possess the second least effective penalty kill in the league.

The Over is 32-15-3 in the Islanders’ 50 games, but the Under is 2-0 in their last two entering the break. New York is catching more 6.5-goal totals so look for the club’s Over/Under record to balance out in the season’s second half.

Best Under bet

San Jose Sharks

The Under is 29-18-1 for a 61.7 percent win rate in San Jose games. The Sharks were the best under team on ice a year ago and the Over has cashed in just 37.7 percent of their games over the last season and a half.

Joe Thornton, the club’s second leader in points, is set to miss an extended period after undergoing surgery to repair an MCL.

Best Home bet

Vegas Golden Knights

The NHL’s newest team is taking advantage of its opponents’ interest in the nightlife on the Strip. The "Vegas flu" has helped the Golden Knights win 19 of their 24 home games with a 1.38 goal differential.

The Winnipeg Jets have been nearly as good with 17 victories in 21 home dates. Winnipeg leads the league in goals for on home ice at 3.95. A devoted Jets fan would be up $805 or 8.05 units if they bet $100 on Winnipeg in all of its home games.

Best Road bet

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Bolts have as many wins in their home rink as they do outside of Tampa Bay. The Lightning are 17-9 straight up in 26 away games and up 5.62 units on the road this season.
The Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights have both turned a slightly higher profit on the road but have fewer victories.

Futures

The Lightning opened among the top favorites to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup despite missing the playoffs a year ago. Turns out the prognosticators and oddsmakers were right about Tampa Bay. The Bolts have the shortest odds to win the Cup at 11/2.

The NHL teams, besides Vegas, that saw the biggest adjustment to their odds to win the Stanley Cup are the New Jersey Devils (100/1 to 20/1), the Winnipeg Jets (40/1 to 12/1) and the Edmonton Oilers (10/1 to 45/1).

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Friday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 1/26

Friday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 1/26

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