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**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 08:42 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Updated NFL over-under win totals for 2018:

— New England Patriots 11.5, over -$116

— Pittsburgh Steelers 10.5, under -$116

— Philadelphia Eagles 10, over -$125

— Minnesota Vikings 10, over -$125

— Green Bay Packers 10, under -$135

— New Orleans Saints 9.5, over -$135

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Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Mid-week musings…….

13) Kentucky Expo recently had an autograph session with members of the old Kentucky Colonels of the ABA, a team that got screwed over bigtime when the ABA folded in 1976.

The Colonels were awesome; their last five years in the ABA, they went 281-139, winning the ’75 (2nd-to-last) ABA title. Hubie Brown coached the Colonels their last two seasons; they had players like Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Louie Dampier, Maurice Lucas.

12) When the ABA folded, the Spurs, Nets, Pacers, Nuggets got absorbed into the NBA; the owners of the Spirits of St Louis were paid off to go away (an excellent story for another day), and that left the Colonels as the odd team out, since only four teams would go to the NBA.

11) John Y Brown owned the Colonels; he had gotten rich from buying KFC from the original Colonel Sanders. He turned a $2M investment into $284M in seven years.

The NBA paid Brown $3M to fold the Colonels and then bought half-interest in the NBA’s Buffalo Braves— he bought the other 50% the next year, then wound up trading the Braves franchise for the Boston Celtics- the guy that bought the Braves then moved them to San Diego, where they became the Clippers.

10) Think about how this all changed the course of history:
— Maurice Lucas went to Portland and the Blazers won the NBA title in his first year there.
— Buffalo Braves wound up losing their team.
— Spurs might’ve disappeared forever had the Colonels gone to the NBA.
— Brown somehow wound up being Governor of Kentucky.

9) When the 2017-18 NBA regular season ended earlier this month, there were 265 players with G League experience on NBA rosters. 17 of 30 first-round draft picks from the 2017 NBA draft spent some time in the G-League this season.

8) This past season in the G-League, players were either on an A contract that paid $28,000 or a B contract that paid $26,000. Next year, all G-League players will be paid $35,000.

7) NFL rushing yards per game leaders last year:
Ezekiel Elliott 98.3, Todd Gurley 87.0, Le’Veon Bell 86.1

6) When you think about Charlie Blackmon’s big numbers, most people would credit the thin air in Denver, but Blackmon has already hit nine homers on the road this season, one at home.

5) Giants put Johnny Cueto (elbow) on the DL.

4) A’s/Mariners will open the 2019 season in Japan, March 20-21; last time this happened was in 2012 and the A’s made the playoffs that year, so I won’t complain about it.

3) Since 2005, Cleveland Browns have drafted seven QB’s in rounds 1-3 of the draft; none of those seven guys is currently a starter in the league.

2) Braves 3, Mets 2— Third time Noah Syndergaard has allowed 10+ hits in a game; first two times were in 2015, when he was a rookie.

1) Siena finally decided on a basketball coach, after weeks of bungling their coaching search; they hire former Mount St Mary coach Jamion Christian, who was 101-95 in six years with the Mountaineers, 67-39 in NEC games.

It is getting way more difficult to be a mid-major or low major coach now, since players transfer at the drop of a hat— it is a form of free agency. If a program at a higher level doesn’t recruit well, they just poach a good player from a lower level, like they are a farm club.

**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 08:42 AM

Wednesday's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs betting preview and odds

Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continues Wednesday night with Game 3 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins and also Game 4 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Boston Bruins (-145, 6)

Series tied 1-1.

The Tampa Bay Lightning made a strong response physically to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series and will try to match that effort when they visit the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night for Game 3. The Lightning totaled 42 hits and center Brayden Point rebounded from a rough series opener (minus-5 rating) to register a goal and three assists in the 4-2 victory Monday in Game 2.

The Lightning have a 67-44 edge in shots over the first two games and the Bruins hope to turn those numbers around at home, where they went 28-8-5 this season - including a pair of wins against Tampa Bay.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVA

SERIES PRICE (PER LV SUPERBOOK):

LINE MOVES AND BETTING ACTION: The Bruins opened as -135 favorites for Game 3 at home and as of Tuesday night that moneyline is up to -145. 59 percent of early wagers are on the favored B's. The total hit betting boards at 6 and has yet to move off that openeing number.

INJURY REPORT:

Lightning - LW Adam Erne (Questionable, Lower Body).

Bruins - D Brandon Carlo (Out For Season, Ankle), LW Anders Bjork (Out For Season, Shoulder).

GOALIE SHOWDOWN:
W L OTL GAA Save % SO
Andrei Vasilevskiy 44 17 3 2.62 .920 8
Tuukka Rask 34 14 5 2.36 .917 3

ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (59-25-3-2, 53-33 O/U): Coach Jon Cooper said he never considered taking Point, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson off the assignment of checking Boston’s top line after Game 1 and the trio responded by each scoring a goal Monday. Tampa Bay has yet to get a point from its top line of J.T. Miller, captain Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov in the series, but the trio registered 12 shots on net combined and Miller had six hits Monday.

ABOUT THE BRUINS (55-24-9-3, 41-44 O/U): Boston’s top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak had four assists Monday after posting three goals and 11 points in Game 1, but should get better matchups on home ice Wednesday. “I know they had a good game, but I think it’s more on us,” Pastrnak told reporters. “We’ve got to be better Wednesday.” Rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who regularly pairs with captain Zdeno Chara, scored his first career playoff goal Monday and has four points to go along with a plus-5 rating in the first nine games of the postseason.

MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:

* Lightning are 17-4 in their last 21 Conference Semifinals games.
* Bruins are 22-6 in their last 28 home games.
* Over is 16-5-2 in Lightning's last 23 road games.
* Over is 11-2-4 in Bruins' last 17 home games.
* Lightning are 7-33-4 in the last 44 meetings in Boston.

Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks (-130, 5.5)

Knights leads series 2-1.

The Vegas Golden Knights frittered away a two-goal lead for the second time in as many games and were staring at the possibility of trailing in a playoff series for the first time. William Karlsson would not let it happen, delivering the decisive tally in overtime to give Vegas a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series entering Wednesday's Game 4 at the San Jose Sharks.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVAS

SERIES PRICE (PER LV SUPERBOOK):

LINE MOVES AND BETTING ACTION: The Sharks opened as -155 home favorites for Game 4 and steady, early action on the Golden Knights has pushed the moneyline down to -130 as of Tuesday night. 54 percent of wagers are on the underdog Knights. The total hit betting boards at 5.5 and has yet to move.

INJURY REPORT:

Golden Knights - D Clayton Stoner (Out Indefinitely, Abdominal).

Sharks - RW Joonas Donskoi (Questionable, Lower Body), C Joe Thornton (Questionable, Knee).

GOALIE SHOWDOWN:
W L OTL GAA Save % SO
Marc-Andre Fleury 29 13 4 2.24 .927 4
Martin Jones 30 22 6 2.55 .915 4

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (57-24-5-3, 45-41 O/U): Marc-Andre Fleury rescued Vegas in overtime with a spectacular glove save, reaching out to snatch Logan Couture's point-blank blast from the slot to set the stage for Karlsson's heroics. Karlsson's winning goal capped another superb performance from the Golden Knights' top line as he combined with Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith for seven points in the game and 19 so far through the first three games of the series. Karlsson, who has one goal and one assist in the first-round sweep of Los Angeles, has torched the Sharks for seven goals and five assists in seven meetings this season.

ABOUT THE SHARKS (50-28-8-3, 41-45 O/U): Is the time right for the return of veteran center Joe Thornton, who has been practicing with the team but has not played since Jan. 23 while recovering from surgery on his medial collateral ligament? Joonas Donskoi (lower body) is questionable for Wednesday after sitting out Game 3, which forced DeBoer to elevate Chris Tierney to the No. 1 line in place of Donskoi and insert Barclay Goodrow at center on the third line, with the latter move not proving to be fruitful. DeBoer has typically ruled Thornton out one day prior to each game but declined to do so Tuesday, listing the 38-year-old as day-to-day.

MATCHUP CHART:

TRENDS:

* Golden Knights are 9-1 in their last 10 vs. a team with a winning record.
* Sharks are 21-5 in their last 26 vs. Pacific.
* Over is 4-1-1 in Golden Knights' last 6 road games.
* Over is 6-1 in Sharks' last 7 home games.
* Golden Knights are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.

**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 08:54 AM

NHL

Wednesday, May 2

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Trend Report
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Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games
Tampa Bay is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
Tampa Bay is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 16 of Tampa Bay's last 23 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games when playing Boston
Tampa Bay is 3-15 SU in its last 18 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston Bruins
Boston is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Boston is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games at home
Boston is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing Tampa Bay
Boston is 15-3 SU in its last 18 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay

Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Vegas is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games
Vegas is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Vegas is 17-8 ATS in its last 25 games on the road
Vegas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vegas's last 6 games on the road
Vegas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing San Jose
Vegas is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vegas's last 7 games when playing San Jose
San Jose Sharks
San Jose is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games
San Jose is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
San Jose is 12-5 SU in its last 17 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 7 games at home
San Jose is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Vegas
San Jose is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 7 games when playing Vegas

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**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 09:29 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, May 2

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TAMPA BAY (59-25-0-5, 123 pts.) at BOSTON (55-24-0-12, 122 pts.) - 5/2/2018, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 14-5 ATS (+6.9 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game this season.
TAMPA BAY is 60-30 ATS (+8.3 Units) in all games this season.
TAMPA BAY is 20-6 ATS (+12.4 Units) in the second round of the playoffs since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 229-234 ATS (+493.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
BOSTON is 274-235 ATS (-103.3 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
BOSTON is 25-28 ATS (-26.8 Units) in home games after a division game over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 38-42 ATS (-33.4 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 10-5 (+5.7 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 10-5-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.2 Units)

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VEGAS (57-25-0-7, 121 pts.) at SAN JOSE (50-28-0-11, 111 pts.) - 5/2/2018, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 26-10 ATS (+13.6 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
SAN JOSE is 20-9 ATS (+9.0 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
VEGAS is 58-32 ATS (+19.4 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 13-6 ATS (+6.8 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
VEGAS is 26-10 ATS (+12.7 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
VEGAS is 31-16 ATS (+13.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 180-151 ATS (-79.8 Units) in home games after a division game since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 19-29 ATS (-14.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 5-2 (+2.3 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 5-2-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.1 Units)

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**Udog** · 05-02-2018, 02:56 PM

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, May 2

Tampa Bay @ Boston

Game 55-56
May 2, 2018 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Tampa Bay
11.195
Boston
12.594
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Boston
by 1 1/2
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-130
6
Dunkel Pick:
Boston
(-130); Under

Vegas @ San Jose

Game 57-58
May 2, 2018 @ 10:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Vegas
13.050
San Jose
11.548
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Vegas
by 1 1/2
7
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Jose
-130
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Vegas
(+110); Over

Announcement

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 5/2

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 5/2

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