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**Udog** · 12-04-2019, 08:21 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Interesting NFL games this weekend:

— Cowboys (-3, 42.5) @ Bears

— Ravens (5.5, 43.5) @ Bills

— 49ers @ Saints (-3, 44)

— Broncos @ Texans (-9.5, 42)

— Chiefs @ Patriots (-3, 48.5)

— Seahawks (-1, 48) @ Rams

**********

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

13) Carolina Panthers fired coach Ron Rivera Tuesday; Rivera was 76-63-1 as Carolina’s coach, 3-4 in playoff games, making playoffs four times in nine years, but going 12-16 the last two years, which happens to be coincide with Carolina changing owners.

Carolina owner David Tepper is a really rich hedge fund guy, worth $11.6B. Really rich people aren’t very patient. Because of that, the Panthers will have a new coach next year.

Tepper Trivia (from Wikipedia): “Tepper keeps a pair of brass testicles in a prominent spot on his desk, a present from former employees. He rubs them for luck during the trading day to get a laugh out of colleagues.”

12) Big snowstorm here this week; snowed for roughly 38 straight hours, which is unusual, and left quite a mess behind. Just about everything was closed here Monday, even the ****.

Frustrating part for me is, because I still have a gas bubble in my eye as my detached retina heals, can’t do any snow shoveling, so was stuck in the house here. Things got worse when my DirecTV went out because of the snow with 7:00 left in the Monday night game- caught the end of the game on my laptop.

Finally, Tuesday morning, the plow guy did a great job on my driveway, the sun melted the slush off my satellite dish, but I had to brush two feet of snow off my Nissan Rogue. The driveway is a mess but driveable, my TV works, the car is running and things got back to normal, kind of.

11) Tuesday was the 6-week anniversary of my retina operation; they originally told me the gas bubble in my eye would be gone in six weeks; while it has gotten a lot smaller, the bubble is still there. I appreciate all the work the people at Retina Care Centers have done for me, but it’ll be an excellent day when the bubble goes away.

Woman on the Today Show, think her name is Savannah Guthrie, she tore her retina when she got drilled in the eye with a toy train that her 2-year old son hit her with.

“Torn retina” sounds worse than “detached retina”, but apparently it isn’t, since she avoided the surgery that I had. Was interesting to listen to her doctor talk about retina surgery on TV the other day. Learned a lot.

10) Louisville 58, Michigan 43- Wolverines shot 25.9% from floor as they lose for first time in eight games. Ugly game.

9) Duke 87, Michigan State 75- Spartans don’t often give up 80+ points at home; Tom Izzo is 2-12 SU in his career against Duke.

Michigan State retired Draymond Green’s number at halftime of this game; lot of the Golden State Warriors were there to support Green- they play in Charlotte tonite.

8) In their last five games, Baltimore Ravens scored 22 TD’s on 40 drives, with four of the five opponents having winning records.

7) Surprising stat: Cincinnati Bengals are 10-3 ATS in last 13 games as a road underdog,

6) Great dialogue from the movie Oceans Eleven:
Julia Roberts: “You’re a liar and a thief.”

George Clooney: “I only lied about being a thief.”

I’ve seen Oceans Thirteen a few times, but saw Oceans Eleven for the first time last night. Excellent movie.

5) New England cut K Kai Forbath after one game where he missed a PAT; the guy who replaces him will be the Patriots’ fifth kicker this year.

4) Eagles’ backup QB Josh McCown is QB coach for Myers Park HS in Charlotte, where his sons Owen and Aiden play; he had retired from the NFL when he took the coaching job, but when the Eagles called this summer, McCown un-retired.

With the Eagles’ blessing, McCown flies back to Charlotte on Mondays, to be there as the quarterbacks coach for high school practice when the game plan is installed for the week, and then again on Fridays for games.

In case you were wondering, Atlantic Aviation offers light jets for about $13,000-$14,000 per round trip from Philadelphia to Charlotte, though there are discounts for regular customers. McCown pays for all the plane trips.

ESPN.com has an interesting story today on McCown’s coaching.

3) Miami 81, Illinois 79— This game, played Monday night, had Illinois coach Underwood so annoyed that he used all four of his timeouts in the first half. At one point, Miami led 45-18 with 4:33 left in the first half- it was 50-31 at the half.

lllinois stormed back in the 2nd half, but fell short.

2) Mountain West has a full schedule of conference games tonight, something different for December 4th. San Diego State at New Mexico is probably the best of the five games.

1) There is the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, and then there is the relatively-new College Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, which has credibility issues.

Norm Stewart went 634-333 in 32 years as Missouri’s coach; he went 12-16 in NCAA tournament games, going 0-2 in regional final games. Nice resume; he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame n 2007, the second year the Hall of Fame existed.

Jerry Tarkanian went 761-202 in 30 years as a coach at UNLV, Long Beach State, Fresno State; he went 38-18 in NCAA tournament games, making four Final Fours, winning the 1990 national title. Tarkanian is in the Naismith HOF, but not the Collegiate Hall of Fame; why? How?

If you bring up Tarkanian’s issues with the NCAA and its rules, I’ll point out that Eddie Sutton was a 2011 inductee, which eliminates that issue.

If you tell me that Norm Stewart was a better coach than Tarkanian, well, you would leave me speechless, because you’re smarter than that.

**Udog** · 12-04-2019, 08:21 AM

In the Crease - Week 10
Joe Williams

Still the Champs

The St. Louis Blues have been red-hot, and they're not showing any signs of letting others take the Stanley Cup from them without a fight. The Blues are averaging 3.1 goals per game to rank 13th, while checking in sixth on the power-play. They're also fifth in goals against, ranking fifth in the NHL with just 2.5 goals per game while ranking sixth on the penalty kill, too. As such they enter the new week with a 18-5-3-3 record and 42 points, maintaining a healthy eight-point lead in the ultra-competitive Central Division. They continue to pile up wins, going 10-2 in the past 12 following a victory. And Jordan Binnington is still the one in net, going 13-4-2 with a 2.26 goals-against average and .926 save percentage, showing no signs of a regression. The bad news for everyone else is that backup Jake Allen has acclimated to a backup role and is now flourishing, too.

Looking Ahead

Wednesday, Dec. 4

St. Louis at Pittsburgh: The Blues have Jordan Binnington in between the pipes for a matchup against Matt Murray and the Penguins in a marquee matchup on Hump Day. The Blues will be playing their fourth game in six days, and they seem to excel in that situation. They're 5-0 in the past past five in the fourth game of a 4-in-6. They have won 20 of the past 28 games on the road, too, as they appear poised for another championship run, and they're skipping the part where they struggled early in the season, unlike last year. The Blues have won six of the past seven trips to the Steel City, and the road team is 6-1 in the past seven in this series.

Washington at Los Angeles: The road trip continues for the Caps in L.A., and you read about their dominance inside the Pacific Division above. They'll more than likely turn to rookie Ilya Samsonov to tend the cage in the second end of a back-to-back. They're 5-2 in the past seven when playing on no days of rest, and 21-9 in the past 30 as a road favorite, so don't discount them due to a perceived lack of rest or downgrade in net with their backup. They've fought through for the entire season. While the Kings entered the week with wins in seven of the past nine at Staples Center, they're just 6-22 in the past 28 against the Eastern Conference and 1-4 in the past five as an underdog. However, the Kings have been kryptonite to the Caps, for whatever reason, as Washington is 1-8 in the past nine trips to L.A., and 5-12 in the past 17 overall.

Thursday, Dec. 5

Vegas at N.Y. Islanders: The Golden Knights kicked off their road trip with a successful 4-1 result against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday night behind Malcolm Subban. He has made four straight starts for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury, and the Knights haven't missed a beat, winning three in a row. These teams have yet to meet this season, but Vegas swept the season series in 2018-19, including a 3-2 win on the Island as moderate favorites last Dec. 12. The under is 2-0-1 in the past three meetings in this series, and the over hit in the first-ever meeting back on Oct. 30, 2017, but that was a game featuring Maxime Lagace in net for Vegas. He is long gone from the organization.

Buffalo at Calgary: The Flames search for the season sweep against the Sabres after pushing past Buffalo in overtime in the first meeting on Nov. 27, an entertaining 3-2 battle between David Rittich and Linus Ullmark. Elias Lindholm sent the home folks away sad with the game-winning tally just 77 seconds into OT. That is one of 10 consecutive 'under' results for Calgary heading into the month of December, as the Flames are well rested since Nov. 30. The Sabres sit near the top of the Atlantic Division standings, but this will be a good measuring stick road trip to see exactly where they are. They throttled New Jersey 7-1 before heading out of town, including five first-period goals to chase Louis Domingue. While the 'over' has been the prevailing trend for the Sabres lately, the 'under' has hit in four straight against Western Conference foes.

Friday, Dec. 6

Los Angeles at Edmonton: The Kings travel to Edmonton, and the Oilers likely have had this one circled on the calendar for a while. L.A. smacked the Oil around on Nov. 21, winning 5-1 at Staples Center for one of the worst beatings administered to the Oilers this season. Jonathan Quick turned back the clock in that one, while Mike Smith didn't have it that night. He is likely be remain sidelined due to a lower-body issue, so it will likely be Mikko Koskinen in the crease for this one. That's probably a good thing, because Smith has started the first two meetings and Los Angeles is averaging 5.0 goals per game in the first two, with the 'over' 1-0-1. Edmonton was able to come away with a 6-5 win in the season opener Oct. 5 at home.

**Udog** · 12-04-2019, 08:27 AM

37COLORADO -38 TORONTO
COLORADO is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) off a home win in the current season.

39ST LOUIS -40 PITTSBURGH
ST LOUIS are 11-1 ATS (9.9 Units) when playing their 4th game in 7 days in the current season.

41OTTAWA -42 EDMONTON
EDMONTON is 9-2 ATS (6.8 Units) in non-conference games in the current season.

43WASHINGTON -44 LOS ANGELES
WASHINGTON is 7-1 ATS (6 Units) in road games against good offensive teams - averaging 29.5+ shots on goal per game in the current season.

NHL
Long Sheet

Wednesday, December 4

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COLORADO (16-8-0-2, 34 pts.) at TORONTO (13-12-0-4, 30 pts.) - 12/4/2019, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 4-10 ATS (-7.1 Units) in December games over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 105-91 ATS (+205.8 Units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more since 1996.
COLORADO is 134-111 ATS (+256.7 Units) in road games in non-conference games since 1996.
TORONTO is 13-16 ATS (-6.0 Units) in all games this season.
TORONTO is 29-26 ATS (-9.5 Units) in a home game where the total is 6 or more over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 13-16 ATS (-5.4 Units) first half of the season this season.
TORONTO is 7-13 ATS (-11.7 Units) when playing on back-to-back days over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
COLORADO is 3-2 (+2.2 Units) against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
COLORADO is 3-2-0 straight up against TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
4 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+4.0 Units)

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ST LOUIS (18-5-0-6, 42 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (14-9-0-4, 32 pts.) - 12/4/2019, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ST LOUIS is 79-58 ATS (+6.0 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 16-7 ATS (+23.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 290-207 ATS (+29.7 Units) in non-conference games since 1996.
ST LOUIS is 23-14 ATS (+37.5 Units) in road games after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 9-3 ATS (+5.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 9-3 ATS (+5.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season this season.
PITTSBURGH is 58-55 ATS (-2.0 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ST LOUIS is 3-2 (+1.6 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
ST LOUIS is 3-2-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.8 Units)

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OTTAWA (11-16-0-1, 23 pts.) at EDMONTON (17-9-0-3, 37 pts.) - 12/4/2019, 9:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
EDMONTON is 9-2 ATS (+7.0 Units) in non-conference games this season.
OTTAWA is 9-3 ATS (+12.4 Units) after playing 3 consecutive road games over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 10-14 ATS (-9.4 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
EDMONTON is 86-101 ATS (-77.4 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
OTTAWA is 2-2 (+1.9 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
EDMONTON is 2-2-0 straight up against OTTAWA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 3 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.0 Units)

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WASHINGTON (20-4-0-5, 45 pts.) at LOS ANGELES (11-15-0-2, 24 pts.) - 12/4/2019, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 137-88 ATS (+23.0 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 31-21 ATS (+9.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more over the last 2 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 12-3 ATS (+8.5 Units) in road games first half of the season this season.
WASHINGTON is 8-1 ATS (+6.7 Units) after 3 or more consecutive overs this season.
LOS ANGELES is 11-28 ATS (-17.7 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 29-60 ATS (+91.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 2-2 (+0.0 Units) against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 2-2-0 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.1 Units)

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NHL

Wednesday, December 4

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Trend Report
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto is 6-14 ATS in its last 20 games
Toronto is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games when playing Colorado
Toronto is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Toronto's last 9 games when playing at home against Colorado
Colorado Avalanche
Colorado is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Colorado is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
Colorado is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Colorado is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 6 games when playing Toronto
Colorado is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Colorado's last 9 games when playing on the road against Toronto

Pittsburgh Penguins
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games
Pittsburgh is 6-12 ATS in its last 18 games at home
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Pittsburgh's last 22 games at home
Pittsburgh is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games when playing St. Louis
Pittsburgh is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against St. Louis
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
St. Louis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of St. Louis's last 12 games
St. Louis is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
St. Louis is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games on the road
St. Louis is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Pittsburgh
St. Louis is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh

Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Edmonton is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Edmonton's last 5 games at home
Edmonton is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Ottawa
Edmonton is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Edmonton's last 5 games when playing Ottawa
Edmonton is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Ottawa
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Ottawa's last 15 games
Ottawa is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Ottawa is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Edmonton
Ottawa is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Ottawa's last 5 games when playing Edmonton
Ottawa is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Edmonton

Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Los Angeles's last 14 games
Los Angeles is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Los Angeles is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games at home
Los Angeles is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
Los Angeles is 12-5 SU in its last 17 games when playing Washington
Los Angeles is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
Washington Capitals
Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games
Washington is 12-3 ATS in its last 15 games on the road
Washington is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Washington's last 11 games on the road
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
Washington is 5-12 SU in its last 17 games when playing Los Angeles
Washington is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles

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**Udog** · 12-04-2019, 12:32 PM

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, December 4

Colorado @ Toronto

Game 37-38
December 4, 2019 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Colorado
10.962
Toronto
12.095
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Toronto
-125
6 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Toronto
(-125); Under

St. Louis @ Pittsburgh

Game 39-40
December 4, 2019 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
12.494
Pittsburgh
10.314
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis
by 2
8
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh
-120
6
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis
(+100); Over

Ottawa @ Edmonton

Game 41-42
December 4, 2019 @ 9:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Ottawa
9.763
Edmonton
11.661
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Edmonton
by 2
8
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Edmonton
-200
6 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Edmonton
(-200); Over

Washington @ Los Angeles

Game 43-44
December 4, 2019 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
11.036
Los Angeles
11.750
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
-150
6 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(+130); Under

Announcement

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 12/4

Wednesday's NHL Trends and Indexes - 12/4

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