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**Udog** · 05-12-2019, 08:33 AM

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Odds to win the college football title next fall:

2-1— Clemson Tigers

5-2— Alabama Crimson Tide

7-1— Georgia Bulldogs

12-1— Ohio State Buckeyes

14-1— Michigan, Oklahoma

20-1— LSU, Auburn

**********

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

13) Tip of the cap to Dick Vitale, whose V Foundation gala raised $4.3M this week to fight pediatric cancer. Vitale works very hard on this fundraising effort; good for him.

12) Cubs 2, Brewers 1 (15)— Milwaukee is first team since the 1984 Indians to have their first two extra-innings games of a season go at least 15 innings.

It was the Cubs’ third walk-off win in their last five games.

11) Lakers signed Frank Vogel as their new head coach; he went 250-181 in six years as coach of the Pacers, then had two rough years in Orlando, going 54-110.

Apparently Tyronn Lue passed on the job because he didn’t want Jason Kidd as an assistant.

When Vogel was a kid, he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, because he could spin a basketball on a toothbrush, while he was brushing his teeth. Wonder if he can still do that.

10) Pro golfer Taylor Duncan hit his wife in the head with a shot this week; hope he wins a lot of money this week, to make up for it.

9) I traded Luis Castillo in my fantasy league (for Corey Seager) which looks like a terrible trade, but how about the Miami Marlins trading Castillo TWICE?

First the Marlins traded him to San Diego, but that deal got voided because one of the pitchers they got back from the Padres was hurt. Then they traded Castillo to Cincinnati, as part of a package for Dan Straily; I’m kicking myself for screwing up a fantasy league trade, and these geniuses bungle a deal when they run a franchise that is worth a billion dollars? Brilliant!!!

8) Lakers/Knicks are having a pretty good duel to see which team can be more dysfunctional, and right now, LA might be winning. Hard to tell who is making the decisions for the Lakers, but whoever it is, they’re also doing a terrible job.

When Luke Walton was gobbled up by Sacramento about ten minutes after the Lakers let him go, you got the idea that LA is a complete mess.

7) Baseball injuries:
— Tampa Bay put P Tyler Glasnow (forearm) on the IL; he is out 4-6 weeks.
— Phillies put P Vince Velasquez (forearm) on the 10-Day IL.

6) SouthPoint casino in Las Vegas put up an interesting college football prop bet Saturday:
Odds to win national title this coming season:
8-5: Alabama-Oklahoma-Ohio State
3-2: Clemson-Georgia-Michigan
12-5: Everyone else

5) College basketball transfer portal:
— California transfer Justice Sueing commits to Ohio State. Sit one year, play two. Averaged 14.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg. Someone wrote “Needs to work on his motor,” which really means “He doesn’t try hard all the time.” Pretty bright red flag right there.
— Pacific G Ajare Sanni is transferring to UC Santa Barbara.
— Memphis poached Little Rock grad transfer G Rayjon Tucker (41% of 3’s).
— Mbacke Diong removed his name from the portal, will stay at UNLV.

4) San Francisco Giants claimed OF Aaron Altherr on waivers from the Phillies.

A’s traded P Edwin Jackson to Toronto for cash; Blue Jays will be Jackson’s 14th team.

3) Golden State Warriors won three of the last four NBA titles, and the year they didn’t win was the year they went 73-9 in the regular season. Go figure.

2) A’s 3, Indians 2— Oakland’s third walk-off win in last four days.

1) The guy in Detroit who caught Albert Pujols’ home run Thursday (Pujols’ 2,000th RBI) had a change of heart and will give the ball to Pujols. Originally the guy had declined, saying he would just keep the ball. Apparently he turned down a few good offers of memorabilia combinations on Thursday, from both the Angels and Tigers.

One small problem…….now Pujols says he doesn’t want the ball; I’m wondering if he thinks a switch has been made, and wouldn’t be 100% this was the actual baseball he hit.

**Udog** · 05-12-2019, 08:38 AM

Hurricanes vs Bruins NHL betting picks and predictions: Expect plenty of lamp lighting in Game 2
Monty Andrews

The Hurricanes have been a sensational over play of late, exceeding the total in six of their previous eight games, including their previous three

A dominant third period in Game 1 has the Boston Bruins out in front in the Eastern Conference final – but the Carolina Hurricanes should make Game 2 a lot more competitive as the teams renew acquaintances Sunday at TD Garden.

Carolina actually led 2-1 after 40 minutes, but surrendered four third-period goals to a Bruins team that has now won four consecutive Stanley Cup playoff games. That said, the Hurricanes haven't trailed in the postseason since dropping the first two games of their first-round best-of-seven to Washington – and reeled off eight wins in the next nine games after that.
Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins (-160, 5.5)

Bruins lead series 1-0
Series Price: Hurricanes +225/Bruins -333

QUICK-HITTER

Boston has been truly dominant in the opening period so far in the postseason, scoring 14 goals in the first 20 minutes while surrendering only six goals over that span. It was well on its way to controlling the opening frame Thursday night, opening the scoring just 2:55 in, but Sean Kuraly's costly roughing penalty less than 45 seconds later set the stage for Carolina to even the score. The Hurricanes are a minus-7 in the opening 20 minutes, and with the Bruins still enjoying home-ice advantage, we like Boston to go into the first intermission with a lead.

PREDICTION: Bruins -0.5 first period line (+165)

PERIOD BET

While the Hurricanes have been largely inferior in the opening period, they've been an unstoppable force in the middle stanza in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Carolina has scored 12 times in the second period while surrendering an unfathomable five goals; it held Boston off the scoresheet in the second period of Game 1 en route to a 2-1 advantage after 40 minutes. The Bruins, meanwhile, are actually a minus-one in the second stanza so far in the postseason, and have seen just 10 total goals scored in the second period of their last 10 playoff games. We like a repeat of the Game 1 result at sky-high odds.

PREDICTION: Second period correct score: Hurricanes 1-0 (+550)

TEAM/PLAYER BET

The Bruins have been on a tear in the final period of their past four playoff games, scoring a whopping 11 goals while surrendering only three. They've converted multiple times in the final frame of all four of those games, and have kept the opponent from scoring in the third period of five of their past six contests overall. Carolina won't be pushed around like it was over the final 20 minutes of Game 1, but it's hard to bet against Boston closing out the scoring given how it has played of late – and it doesn't hurt, either, that Boston leads all playoff teams with 20 goals in the third period.

PREDICTION: Team to score last - Bruins (-145)

FULL-GAME TOTAL

The Hurricanes have been a sensational over play of late, exceeding the total in six of their previous eight games, including their previous three (averaging seven goals per game over that span). And these teams know a thing or two about putting the puck in the net, having combined for seven or more goals in seven of their past eight head-to-head encounters. Carolina should be able to generate enough shots to keep Rask and the Bruins' defense on its heels, while Boston's dangerous top-six and potent power play are a threat to put up big numbers every game. We like the O5.5 play in Game 2.

PREDICTION: Over 5.5 (+110)

FULL-GAME SIDE

Game 1 was certainly closer than the score would suggest, with Carolina actually outshooting the hosts while also winning the faceoff battle. But that third-period meltdown speaks to a larger issue that could the the Hurricanes' undoing: While Petr Mrazek has been mostly terrific in the postseason, his .907 save percentage doesn't look all that great. Boston counterpart Tuukka Rask, by comparison, has a .929 save percentage at home in the playoffs and has helped the Bruins post a plus-7 goal differential through eight games in Boston. It'll be close, but we favor the home side to come away with a one-goal win.

PREDICTION: Bruins winning margin - 1 goal (+225)

**Udog** · 05-12-2019, 08:40 AM

Preview: Hurricanes (46-29) at Bruins (49-24)

Brad Marchand isn't known for keeping his cool.

The Boston Bruins' "Little Ball of Hate" has been suspended six times and fined on five more occasions during his NHL career, but it was his poise that helped his team take the lead in the series heading into Game 2 Sunday afternoon in Boston.

On Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against Carolina, with his Bruins trailing by a goal early in the third period, Marchand showed a different side.

The Hurricanes' Jordan Staal was called for boarding against Boston's Chris Wagner just 49 seconds into the period. Rookie Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton took exception, giving Staal a cross-check and then trying to put him in a headlock.

Marchand stepped in and pulled Clifton away to avoid offsetting penalties.

The Bruins tied the score on the ensuing power play and, after another Carolina penalty, converted again 28 seconds later to take the lead. They added two late goals for a 5-2 victory.

"He's turning over a new leaf, eh?" Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy joked when asked about Marchand. "Marchy ... listen, he's been in these big games. He's a Stanley Cup champion, so he understands maybe a little more than meets the eye sometimes. There's a time and a place where you really have to be disciplined."

The Bruins outscored Carolina 4-0 in the third period.

"I thought the third was the way we want to play," said assistant captain Patrice Bergeron, who scored the go-ahead goal off an assist from Marchand. "And not going to lie, the second goal got us going and got the momentum on our side, and then we got rolling."

Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who started his career with the Bruins after being selected by them in the first round of the 2011 draft, was whistled for two minor penalties in the third period -- including the one that led to the go-ahead goal.

"We had the lead in the third, took some penalties and gave them the lead," Hamilton said. "Tough to come back from that."

The Hurricanes had their six-game winning streak snapped, which dated to the final two games of the opening-round series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, which

Carolina won in seven games. The Hurricanes then swept the New York Islanders in four straight in the second round.

"This playoff, we've been successful holding leads, and we got kicked in the pants a little bit (Thursday)," Carolina captain Justin Williams said. "That hasn't happened in a while, and we've got to get the next one."

The Hurricanes missed an opportunity in the opener as Boston was without defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who leads the Bruins' skaters in ice time. McAvoy was suspended one game after a hit to the head of Columbus' Josh Anderson in the finale of the second-round series.

To make matters worse for the Hurricanes, McAvoy's replacement, Steven Kampfer, scored the opening goal in Game 1 less than three minutes in.

"We're not going to win if we don't play better than that," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We had spurts, but that's not going to be good enough at this time of the year. So we'll regroup and try to get better for the next game."

**Udog** · 05-12-2019, 08:42 AM

**Udog** · 05-12-2019, 08:46 AM

5Carolina -6 Boston
CAROLINA is 31-14 ATS (14.3 Units) against poor power play killing teams - opp score on >17.5% of chances in the 2nd half of the year in the current season.

NHL
Long Sheet

Sunday, May 12

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CAROLINA (54-32-0-8, 116 pts.) at BOSTON (58-29-0-9, 125 pts.) - 5/12/2019, 3:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CAROLINA is 19-48 ATS (+82.3 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 25-8 ATS (+13.7 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
CAROLINA is 38-18 ATS (+14.9 Units) second half of the season this season.
CAROLINA is 19-11 ATS (+31.8 Units) in road games after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 295-247 ATS (-105.3 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
BOSTON is 7-12 ATS (-12.3 Units) on Sunday games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 7-3 (+3.9 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 7-3-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+4.2 Units)

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NHL

Sunday, May 12

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Trend Report
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Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Carolina is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Carolina's last 8 games
Carolina is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Carolina's last 8 games on the road
Carolina is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Boston
Carolina is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Carolina's last 8 games when playing Boston
Carolina is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston Bruins
Boston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 7 games
Boston is 4-12 ATS in its last 16 games at home
Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
Boston is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Carolina
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Carolina
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Boston's last 8 games when playing Carolina
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina

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**Udog** · 05-12-2019, 09:34 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Sunday, May 12

Carolina @ Boston

Game 5-6
May 12, 2019 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Carolina
14.127
Boston
12.560
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Carolina
by 1 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-155
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Carolina
(+135); Under

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Sunday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 5/12

Sunday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 5/12

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