Announcement

**Udog** · 04-19-2018, 10:54 AM

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

2018 Kentucky Derby odds:

Justify +225

Mendelssohn +525

Bolt d’Oro +575

Audible +675

Magnum Moon +725

Good Magic +825

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Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud

13) Interesting article in Forbes magazine, written by K. Sean Pickard, about athletes and the taxes they pay. From the article:

“LeBron James was the highest-paid athlete in the U.S. last year with more than $80 million from salary and endorsements. King James will pay his fair share of taxes, but the level of complication for James and his financial team when they are filing is off the charts since he earned money in at least the 21 states where NBA teams are located.”

12) From Sports Illustrated, on NFL players and their taxes:

“One All-Pro’s 2016 filing was 400 pages long. He spoke with his tax accountant on a near-daily basis, calling before scheduling a bye-week vacation to income tax-free Florida that saved him $20,000. And this is a guy who has played on the same team his entire career.”

This is the tax formula, for a player who earns $13M a year:

($13,000,000 x 1 day x 13.3% tax rate / 170-day season).

So spending his bye week in a tax-free state can save an NFL player a significant amount of money.

11) It was 29 degrees in Dodge City, KS at 5am Tuesday; by 3:00 Tuesday afternoon, the temperature had risen to 93 degrees, which is just a little weird.

10) Tuesday night’s Price-Ohtani pitching matchup in Anaheim was Angels’ first home sellout on a Tuesday in four years. Ohtani got a blister on his pitching hand and left after throwing 66 pitches in two innings, allowing three runs.

9) This is the first time the Toronto Raptors have ever led a playoff series 2-0.

8) Brayden McNabb scored the series-winning goal for Las Vegas in their 1-0 win over the Kings Tuesday; it was Los Angeles that left him unprotected in the expansion draft, and the Golden Knights picked him up. Quite a season the expansion Knights are having, a team in their first-ever season still alive in the NHL playoffs.

7) Oakland reliever Ryan Dull struck out four White Sox in the 8th inning Tuesday night, he is the first A’s pitcher ever with four strikeouts in an inning at home (4th all-time).

6) Justin Timberlake owns a small part of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

5) Two years ago, the Phillies’ mental skills department was essentially nonexistent. Now they have two full-time staffers and an intern. Mental. skills.

Phillies’ GM Matt Klentak: “Like a lot of things in our business, it’s tough to quantify the importance of it, but we know it’s very important. You can tell talking to current players, ex-players, coaches – anybody that’s played the game knows there’s a tremendous amount of failure that goes along with it. Trying to identify ways to help players minimize the periods of failure even by one day can have an enormous impact on a player, on a team and on a franchise. We’re seeking as best we can to put our players in a position to succeed.”

24 of 30 major league teams have a mental skills coach; learning how to deal with failure is seen as a very big deal now.

4) Richmond Spiders tossed sophomore G De’Monte Buckingham off its basketball team for a violation of athletics department policy. Buckingham was the A-14 Rookie of the year two years ago; last year he averaged 12.2 ppg, third on the team, and a team-best 7 rpg

It won’t be hard for Buckingham to find a new home, maybe even at a higher level.

3) A’s 12, White Sox 11 (14)— Matt Olson got his first career walk-off hit off James Shields as the gritty Oaklanders rallied back from a 6-1 deficit to win their 4th straight game. Game took just under six hours to play; the two starting pitchers combined to get only seven outs.

2) RIP Erin Popovich 67, wife of San Antonio Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich; the couple were married for 40 years and have two children, two grandchildren.

1) Baseball teams have 25-man rosters, for teams who make the playoffs, you need more than 25 guys to get thru a season.

In 2012, the A’s went 94-68, won the AL West on the last day of the season, but they were only 46-44 on July 18 when a sub infielder named Brandon Hicks hit a walk-off homer to beat Texas 4-3, a win that started Oakland on a 7-game winning streak.

A’s wound up beating the Rangers out by a game; Hicks hit only .174 for the A’s that season in 22 games (64 AB) but that hit was huge— without it, they probably don’t make the playoffs.

**Udog** · 04-19-2018, 12:16 PM

Thursday's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds

The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue Thursday with a pair of Game 4's - the Maple Leafs are hosting the Bruins while, in Columbus, the Blue Jackets will take on the Capitals.

Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs (-105, 6)

Bruins lead series 2-1.

Almost left for dead after the first two games of their Eastern Conference first-round series, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a chance to level the best-of-seven set when they host the Boston Bruins in Game 4 on Thursday night. The Maple Leafs absorbed a pair of beatings at Boston's TD Garden by a combined 12-4 score, but reversed the momentum with a 4-2 home win on Monday night.

ABOUT THE BRUINS (52-21-9-3, 38-42 O/U): Boston's top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak was all the rage in the opening two games, combining for a collective 20 points, but the unit was blanked in Game 3. Pastrnak, who had six points in Game 2, has six goals and seven assists in seven meetings versus Toronto this season. Bruins rookie D Matt Grzelcyk is expected back in the lineup after sitting out Game 3.

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (50-28-5-2, 43-35 O/U): While Boston's top line dominated the first two games, Toronto's No. 1 unit was floundering by being held off the scoresheet, but star forward Auston Matthews provided the biggest moment for the Maple Leafs by netting the tiebreaking goal in Game 3. Frederik Andersen allowed eight goals in four periods in the first two contests, but his 40 saves Monday were his highest total since Feb. 20. Mitch Marner had two assists Monday to give him 13 points in seven games versus Boston this season.

SERIES PRICE (PER SPORTS INTERACTION):

LINE HISTORY: The Leafs opened the betting as slight -115 favorites however action on the Bruins pushed that moneyline over the fence to Boston -115 by Thursday morning. 52 percent of Covers Consensus users are siding with the Bruins in this contest. The total hit betting boards at 6 and has yet to move.

INJURY REPORT:

Bruins - D Matt Grzelcyk (Probable, Lower Body), D Adam McQuaid (Questionable, Upper Body), D Brandon Carlo (Out For Season, Ankle), LW Anders Bjork (Out For Season, Shoulder).

Maple Leafs - C Leo Komarov (Out, Lower Body), C Nazem Kadri (Elig Sat, Suspension), LW Joffrey Lupul (I-R, Conditioning).

MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:

* Bruins are 0-5 in their last 5 road games.
* Maple Leafs are 1-5 in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Over is 3-0-2 in Bruins last 5 overall.
* Over is 7-0-1 in Maple Leafs last 8 vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Bruins are 0-5 in the last 5 meetings in Toronto.

Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets (-115, 5.5)

Jackets lead series 2-1.

Fresh off their second straight overtime loss, Alex Ovechkin generated both headlines and raised eyebrows after declaring that the Washington Capitals would return to the District of Columbia tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets at two victories apiece in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Halfway there after a double-overtime win, the visiting Capitals look to make Ovechkin's words ring true in Game 4 on Thursday.

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (50-26-8-1, 48-35 O/U): Ovechkin recorded his second straight two-point performance when he notched a pair of assists in his 100th career playoff game before Lars Eller ended Tuesday's marathon after the puck caromed off him and into the net for a 3-2 win. Braden Holtby earned his keep on Tuesday with 33 saves, prompting coach Barry Trotz to declare the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner the starter the following day. "I don't think there's any doubt about that," Trotz said of Holtby, who answered a 1-5-2 mark with a gaudy 4.82 goals-against average and .854 save percentage from Feb. 11-March 5 with a solid 5-1-0 record in his final six regular-season starts.

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (47-30-4-4, 43-42 O/U): Former Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin scored and set up a goal in Game 3 to give him seven points (two goals, five assists) in the series and 20 (four goals, 16 assists) in the eight-game stretch. Cam Atkinson joined defenseman Seth Jones with an assist on Tuesday to extend their respective point streaks, with the former riding a 12-game stretch (10 goals, seven assists). Two-time Vezina Trophy winner G Sergei Bobrovsky owns a .925 save percentage after facing 133 shots in three contests of the series.

SERIES PRICE (PER SPORTS INTERACTION):

LINE HISTORY: The Blue Jackets opened as -120 favorites and as of Thursday morning that number is down slightly to -115. Covers Consensus betting action is split with 51 percent of the selections on the Capitals. The total hit betting boards at 5.5 and has not moved.

INJURY REPORT:

Capitals - LW Andre Burakovsky (Out, Upper Body).

Jackets - C Alexander Wennberg (Questionable, Upper Body), LW Lukas Sedlak (Out Indefinitely, Head).

MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:

* Capitals are 6-0 in their last 6 road games.
* Blue Jackets are 11-2 in their last 13 vs. Eastern Conference.
* Over is 5-1 in Capitals last 6 overall.
* Over is 8-1 in Blue Jackets last 9 overall.
* Capitals are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.

**Udog** · 04-19-2018, 12:21 PM

NHL
Dunkel

Thursday, April 19

Boston @ Toronto

Game 1-2
April 19, 2018 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Boston
11.797
Toronto
10.645
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-115
6
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(-115); Under

Washington @ Columbus

Game 3-4
April 19, 2018 @ 7:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
11.053
Columbus
12.492
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Columbus
by 1 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Columbus
-115
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Columbus
(-115); Under

NHL
Long Sheet

Thursday, April 19

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BOSTON (52-21-0-12, 116 pts.) at TORONTO (50-28-0-7, 107 pts.) - 4/19/2018, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 35-41 ATS (-18.9 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 19-10 ATS (+30.3 Units) when trailing in a playoff series since 1996.
TORONTO is 11-1 ATS (+9.8 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 9-7 (+3.7 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 9-7-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
7 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.3 Units, Under=-0.5 Units)

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WASHINGTON (50-26-0-9, 109 pts.) at COLUMBUS (47-30-0-8, 102 pts.) - 4/19/2018, 7:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 51-35 ATS (+6.2 Units) in all games this season.
WASHINGTON is 19-13 ATS (+5.7 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
WASHINGTON is 8-1 ATS (+6.8 Units) in road games in April games over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 16-9 ATS (+6.7 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
WASHINGTON is 27-17 ATS (+7.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 10-6 (+1.5 Units) against the spread versus COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 10-6-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.5 Units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NHL

Thursday, April 19

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Trend Report
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Boston Bruins
Boston is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games
Boston is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Boston's last 10 games on the road
Boston is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing Toronto
Boston is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Boston is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 16 of Toronto's last 23 games
Toronto is 17-2 SU in its last 19 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Toronto's last 16 games at home
Toronto is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Boston
Toronto is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Boston
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Boston

Washington Capitals
Washington is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games
Washington is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Washington is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Columbus
Washington is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Columbus
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Washington's last 13 games when playing on the road against Columbus
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
Columbus is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Columbus's last 9 games
Columbus is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Columbus is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Columbus's last 6 games at home
Columbus is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Washington
Columbus is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Columbus's last 5 games when playing Washington
Columbus is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Columbus's last 13 games when playing at home against Washington

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Announcement

Thursday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/19

Thursday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 4/19

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