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NHL
Dunkel
Saturday, April 17
Dunkel
Saturday, April 17
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Sunday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in runs scored:
20— Ronald Acuna, Jr, Atl
17— Mark Canha, A’s
15— Starling Marte, Mia
13— Justin Turner, LAD
13— Eduardo Escobar, Ariz
12— Eight guys have scored 12 runs.
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 565,318
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“If you can’t tell who the sucker is in your first 30 minutes at the table, then YOU ARE the sucker.”
from the movie Rounders
Sunday’s quiz
When Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly played in the USFL, what team did he play for?
Saturday’s quiz
Don Mattingly was the Dodgers’ manager before Dave Roberts.
Friday’s quiz
In the movie Rocky, before Rocky Balboa fought Apollo Creed the first time, his record as a pro boxer was 44-20.
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Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday……..
13) In 2008, a guy named Sean Kazmar played in 19 games for San Diego, going 8-39 at the plate in his proverbial cup of coffee. Making the major leagues is a very big deal, but unfortunately he didn’t stay very long.
But Sean Kazmar never gave up; he kept playing at the AAA level— all in all, he’s come to the plate 6,619 times in minor league games and Friday, at age 37, the Braves brought him back to the major leagues. He got into the game Saturday at Wrigley; what a thrill that had to be.
12) Over his last five games, Steph Curry is 44-81 behind the arc, thats 54.3%. He’s scored 42.6 ppg in those games. This is an interesting argument, who is the greatest shooter in basketball history? Curry? Reggie Miller? Ray Allen? Rick Barry? Larry Bird? Klay Thompson?
I don’t have a strong opinion on this, but I do know that Steph Curry and the Warriors made shooting cool again— nowadays kids all over the country work their butts off on their shooting, which makes the game more fun to watch, because finding the open man and then making open shots is a lot of what makes basketball fun.
11) Cubs 13, Braves 4— Chicago was 5-11 with men in scoring position in this game; coming into the game, they had been 7-84 with RISP.
10) Dodger-Padre games this weekend have been unusually intense for April games; Dodgers pulled games out the last two nights, with a Road Runner/Wily Coyote feel to them. No matter what the Padres did, the Dodgers did better- they already lead the NL West by 4.5 games.
Friday night’s game got weird in extra innings:
— Once LA got ahead by three runs, San Diego brought in 2B Jake Cronenworth to pitch— he pitched some in college and the minors, but had never pitched in the majors. It was just weird, in such an intense setting, for them to wave the white flag like that.
— Pitcher David Price batted for LA and hit a sacrifice fly, his 2nd career RBI- he’s played almost his whole career in the American League.
— In Saturday’s game, Clayton Kershaw/Jurickson Profar exchanged words after a catchers’ interference call. No love lost between the two sides, but the Padres have a long ways to go before they’re at the Dodgers’ level.
— Mookie Betts made a GREAT diving catch in right-center field to end Saturday’s game; score would’ve been tied had he not made the catch.
9) Orel Hershiser was saying on the Dodger broadcast that he thinks the new extra-inning format will become a permanent thing. No inside info, just his opinion.
8) There is a high school in Tarpon Springs, FL where the school’s mascot is a “Sponger”, reflecting the town’s history of sponge diving— it is a guy wearing a big helmet, getting ready to go underwater to retrieve sponges.
7) Astros’ 1B Yuli Gurriel walked 12 times in 57 games last year; this year, he’s already walked 12 times in the Astros’ first 14 games.
6) In 1977, slugger Dave Kingman moved around a lot:
— 59 games for the Mets, hitting .209 with 9 homers.
— 56 games for the Padres, hitting .238 with 11 homers.
— 10 games for the Angels, going 7-36 with two homers.
— 8 games in the Bronx (4 of his 6 hits there were homers)
Back then, there were only four divisions in the major leagues, and Kingman played in all four of them that year. He was only on the Angels for ten days.
5) Red Sox 7, White Sox 4:
— Boston wore bright yellow jerseys with light blue hats; they looked like a cross between UCLA and the Oakland Invaders of the old USFL. No idea what that was about, but if a team is known as the RED Sox, maybe they should have some red in there.
4) White Sox are 6-8 under 76-year old Tony LaRussa; their bullpen has been a problem.
If you bet the Pale Hose in the first five innings of every game, you’d be 9-1-4, but overall, they are only 6-8. Managing the bullpen is this generation’s Rubik’s Cube for big league managers.
3) Looked into watching some Japanese baseball on TV late at night, but only thing I could find was a streaming service that charges $28 a month. Um, no thanks.
2) Jacob deGrom became the sixth pitcher ever to strike out nine guys in a row, in the Mets’ 4-3 win over the Rockies in the first game of a twinbill Saturday in Denver. deGrom was supposed to pitch in Philly on Thursday, but that got rained out, then Friday’s game in Colorado got snowed out, so he had some distractions to deal with as well.
1) Before the Indiana Hoosiers hired Mike Woodson as their new basketball coach, they offered Celtics’ coach (and former Butler coach) Brad Stevens $70M for seven years, which he declined.Comment
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23WASHINGTON -24 BOSTON
WASHINGTON is 15-21 ATS (-17.9 Units) against mistake free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the 2nd half of the year over the last 2 seasons.
25NY RANGERS -26 NEW JERSEY
NEW JERSEY is 0-11 ATS (-11.8 Units) in home games against good offensive teams - >=29 shots on goal, convert >=17% pp in the current season.
27PITTSBURGH -28 BUFFALO
PITTSBURGH is 19-22 ATS (-18.6 Units) against horrible power play killing teams-opp score on >19% of chances in the 2nd half of the year in the last 3 seasons.
29VEGAS -30 ANAHEIM
ANAHEIM is 6-22 ATS (-18.2 Units) in home games after 2 or more consecutive unders in the last 3 seasons.
31NY ISLANDERS -32 PHILADELPHIA
NY ISLANDERS are 1-8 ATS (-8.3 Units) in road games against good passing teams - averaging 5 or more assists per game in the current season.
NHL
Dunkel
Sunday, April 18
NHL
Sunday, April 18
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Trend Report
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Washington @ Boston
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games
Washington is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston
Boston is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 17 of Boston's last 25 games when playing at home against Washington
NY Rangers @ New Jersey
NY Rangers
NY Rangers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New Jersey
NY Rangers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing New Jersey
New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 12 of New Jersey's last 15 games when playing at home against NY Rangers
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Buffalo
Pittsburgh is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Buffalo
Buffalo
Buffalo is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Buffalo is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Vegas @ Anaheim
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Vegas is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Anaheim
Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 5 games
Anaheim is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Vegas
NY Islanders @ Philadelphia
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Islanders's last 7 games
NY Islanders is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing NY Islanders
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Philadelphia's last 11 games at home
Toronto @ Vancouver
Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Toronto's last 12 games when playing Vancouver
Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Vancouver's last 12 games when playing Toronto
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Monday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in RBI:
18— JD Martinez, Bos
16— Acuna, Turner, Lowe
15— Tyler Naquin, Cin
14— Devers, Franco, Haniger, Hosmer,
13— McKinstry, Moran, Shaw, Walsh
12— Seven guys have knocked in 12 runs.
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 566,549
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“Anyone want to sign this Romo guy for free? He’s from Wisconsin.”
Green Bay Packers’ scout after the 2003 draft, when Green Bay was deciding which undrafted players to sign
Monday’s quiz
Since 2008, which left-handed hitter has hit the most home runs?
Sunday’s quiz
When Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly played in the USFL, he played for the Houston Gamblers.
Saturday’s quiz
Don Mattingly was the Dodgers’ manager before Dave Roberts.
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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend……
13) AL East standings:
10-6- Boston
8-8- Tampa Bay
7-9- Toronto
7-9- Baltimore
5-10- Bronx
Have to be some coaches in the Bronx who are queasy about their future employment; season is almost 10% over, and they’re scoring 3.67 runs/game.
For a team with an Opening Day payroll of $197,675,220, more is expected.
12) Russell Brandt writes an interesting article about football on espn.com; this week he told a story about the day Green Bay drafted Aaron Rodgers. Very interesting stuff.
NFL teams grade all players before the draft and assign them grades, as to which round they should be drafted in. For the 2005, the Packers had 20 players with first round grades, and they had the 24th pick. If no first round players are available, teams would look to trade out of the first roumd.
That year, when the 24th pick came around, only one player was available with a first round grade; Aaron Rodgers. Considering the Packers already had Brett Favre, this was a dilemma, but when no one called to ask about a trade, Green Bay drafted the player with the first round grade and things turned out pretty well.
11) NFL Draft is coming up in 10 days, so ESPN will obsess over that and the NBA and continue to ignore baseball, except on Sunday nights. Not sure why they do that, but they do.
10) I posted this yesterday:
Red Sox 7, White Sox 4:
— Boston wore bright yellow jerseys with light blue hats; they looked like a cross between UCLA and the Oakland Invaders of the old USFL. No idea what that was about, but if a team is known as the RED Sox, maybe they should have some red in there.
As it turns out, the jerseys represents the color scheme of the Boston Marathon, which is usually held on Patriots’ Day, which is today (Monday).
9) Mets 2, Rockies 1— Not sure what Colorado’s business plan is; they’re 4-12 this year, they dealt their biggest star (Nolan Arenado), will probably trade Trevor Story, their future isn’t very bright. Feel bad for manager Bud Black; he basically has zero chance to win with that roster.
Rockies have very good TV announcers; they’re going to spend lot of time pumping up Denver’s hosting the All-Star Game in July. Not much else to talk about.
8) In Denver, it is illegal to lend a vacuum to a next-door neighbor, but it’s perfectly okay to lend a vacuum to a friend down the street. No idea why, I’m just the messenger here.
7) This, from football expert Warren Sharp:
Over the last two years, the Cincinnati Bengals have held a lead at some point in 24 of their 32 games, but they won only six games of those 24 games. Not good.
6) Jay Bruce retired Sunday, ending his 14-year career in which he hit 319 homers.
5) They were talking about this on Sunday Night Baseball; over last decade, Cubs have developed only five pitchers who started a major league game, which is pretty bad. They made a priority of developing position players, and acquiring pitchers, via trades/free agency.
4) Indians 6, Reds 3— Shane Bieber is first pitcher ever to strike out 10+ guys in each of his first four starts of a season.
3) 47-year old Stewart Cink won the RBC Heritage golf tournament by four shots; his son was his caddy, which had to be cool.
Cink went 12 years without winning a PGA Tour event, before winning the Safeway Open last September; he had previously won this tournament twice, way back in 2000, 2004. Cink is also the fourth player to win twice in the same PGA Tour season after turning 47.
2) Most walk-off wins, since the start of the 2018 season:
28— A’s
22– Blue Jays
20— Braves, Brewers
Monday’s Oakland-Minnesota game has already been postponed, because of the Twins’ COVID issues; a doubleheader is scheduled Tuesday. Twins-Angels didn’t play Saturday or Sunday.
1) Braves 13, Cubs 4— Kyle Hendricks is first Cubs’ pitcher ever to give up four home runs in the first inning of a game.Comment
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35CAROLINA -36 TAMPA BAY
CAROLINA is 21-7 ATS (12.5 Units) against excellent power play teams- scoring on >17.5% of their chances in the current season.
37COLUMBUS -38 FLORIDA
COLUMBUS are 2-13 ATS (-13.1 Units) in road games against horrible power play killing teams-opp score on >19% of chances in the current season.
39DETROIT -40 DALLAS
DETROIT is 6-39 ATS (-36.9 Units) in road games after allowing 4 goals or more in the last 3 seasons.
41CHICAGO -42 NASHVILLE
NASHVILLE is 19-4 ATS (15.2 Units) vs. losing teams in the current season.
43MINNESOTA -44 ARIZONA
ARIZONA is 14-4 ATS (12.6 Units) in home games when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%) in the last 3 seasons.
45OTTAWA -46 CALGARY
OTTAWA is 0-19 ATS (-20.9 Units) off a win by 2 goals or more over a division rival in the last 3 seasons.
47MONTREAL -48 EDMONTON
MONTREAL is 14-21 ATS (-17.5 Units) against mistake free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the current season.
49SAN JOSE -50 VEGAS
VEGAS are 18-3 ATS (13.3 Units) against poor defensive teams - allowing 2.85+ goals/game in the current season.Comment
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NHL
Dunkel
Monday, April 19
Comment
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NHL
Monday, April 19
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Trend Report
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Columbus @ Florida
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Columbus's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Columbus's last 7 games when playing on the road against Florida
Florida
Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Florida is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Columbus
Carolina @ Tampa Bay
Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Carolina's last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games
Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina
Tampa Bay is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Carolina
Detroit @ Dallas
Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing Dallas
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
Dallas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Chicago @ Nashville
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games when playing Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games when playing on the road against Nashville
Nashville
Nashville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Nashville's last 5 games when playing Chicago
Minnesota @ Arizona
Minnesota
Minnesota is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Arizona
Minnesota is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Arizona
Arizona
Arizona is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Arizona is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Ottawa @ Calgary
Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ottawa's last 6 games on the road
Ottawa is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Calgary
Calgary is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Calgary's last 5 games
Montreal @ Edmonton
Montreal
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 5 games when playing Edmonton
Montreal is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Edmonton's last 5 games when playing Montreal
San Jose @ Vegas
San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Jose's last 6 games when playing on the road against Vegas
San Jose is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Vegas
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing San Jose
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
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Tuesday’s 6-pack
NBA leaders in scoring:
31.1— Bradley Beal, Wash
31.0— Steph Curry, GSt
28.7— Damian Lillard, Port
28.6— Luka Doncic, Dal
28.4— Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milw
27.5— Zach LaVine, Chi
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 567,557
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“Although I would have rather won, tonight we rejoice in our democracy, we rejoice in the freedom of a wonderful people, and we accept their verdict. I thank the people of America for hearing my case.”
Walter Mondale, after losing the 1984 Presidential election.
Mr Mondale passed away Monday, at age 93. RIP, sir.
Tuesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has had a long, very successful coaching career; where did he have his first head coaching job?
Monday’s quiz
Since 2008, Jay Bruce is the lefty batter who has hit the most home runs (319)
Sunday’s quiz
When Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly played in the USFL, he played for the Houston Gamblers.
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Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….
13) QB Alex Smith retired Monday, ending a 16-year career; he suffered a severely broken leg in 2018, wound up having 17 surgeries, had his life threatened by infection, but fought back and wound up starting six games for Washington LY, winning five of them.
All in all, Smith had a 99-67-1 record as a QB; he was the first player taken in the 2005 draft, after playing for Urban Meyer at Utah. He’s also the answer to a future trivia question; he was the Chiefs’ QB before Patrick Mahomes.
If you get a chance to see the film ESPN did on Smith’s recovery (Project 11) it is worth your time. It is stunning, all he went through so he could play football again. Very tough guy, this Alex Smith. I am hoping he goes on TV so we can learn from him.
12) There isn’t enough “nice” in the world these days, but CNN’s Wolf Blitzer did a nice thing Monday night. This week is the 20th anniversary of Dr Sanjay Gupta working for CNN- they put together a highlight reel from the past 20 years of Dr Gupta on TV, and CNN showed it while Wolf Blitzer had him on the air Monday. It was pretty cool.
Dr Gupta is an accomplished neurosurgeon; over the past year, I’ve learned a lot from listening to him on TV. He didn’t get a haircut until he got his vaccine; I haven’t had a haircut since last summer because of that— now I look like Albert Einstein ��
Good news is my first vaccine shot is Sunday. Then, thanks to Dr Gupta, I can get my haircut.
11) Tampa Bay Rays went 90-72 in 2018, then made the playoffs the last two years, so they’re doing great stuff with a very limited payroll- they made the World Series last year.
But they do some unusual things; they firmly believe that the starting pitcher shouldn’t face the opponents’ lineup more than twice. Last year, they took Blake Snell out of a World Series game when he was rolling; it went against the grain, it didn’t work and they got ripped for it.
Monday night in Kansas City, Josh Fleming had a 2-0 lead in the 6th inning- he had allowed only two baserunners, but when Whit Merrifield came up for his third AB, out came Kavin Cash and Fleming went to the showers. They have their philosophy, and they stick to it.
Tampa Bay’s bullpen held the lead last night, they improved to 9-8. Can’t argue with their results, but their tactics can make you shake your head.
10) In his first two starts, Washington’s Joe Ross threw 11 shutout innings, and one of those starts was against the Dodgers, so I sat down to watch him pitch last night, to see if I wanted to pick him up for my fantasy team. It didn’t go well.
Cardinals attacked Ross’s pitches like they were smashng a piñata; he gave up ten runs in 4.1 IP, as St Louis hammered the Nationals 12-5. Go figure.
9) Warriors 107, 76ers 96— Steph Curry made 10-17 3-pointers, scored 49 points, as he tries to carry the Warriors on his back to the playoffs.
8) Nuggets 139, Grizzlies 137, 2OT— Nikola Jokic scored 41 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, also had eight assists, as Denver improved to 37-20.
7) San Jose Sharks’ F Patrick Marleau played in his 1,768th career NHL game Monday night in Las Vegas, breaking the previous record, held by Gordie Howe. Anytime you break a record held by Gordie Howe, thats impressive.
6) Former Michigan quarterback Joe Milton will transfer to Tennessee; he’s going to graduate from Michigan next month, so he should be eligible to play this fall. Milton will have three years of eligibility left; he started five games LY, but was replaced near the end of the season.
5) Kind of an alarming stat: Roughly 40% of all college basketball players who enter Division I directly out of high school leave their initial school by the end of their sophomore year. This is a chaotic time for college coaches; you have to re-recruit all your players, every year.
I’m going to need a vacation in October to try and sort out who is playing where in college basketball next winter. Sounds like a good excuse to visit Las Vegas for the first time in two years.
4) If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets-Reds-Dodgers. Wild Card: Giants-Brewers
AL: Red Sox-Royals-Mariners, Wild Card: Angels-A’s
3) Texas Rangers’ new ballpark appears to be a pitchers’ park; under is 7-2 in first nine games there this season. My question is this: did they make it a pitcher’s park on purpose?
Keep hearing how baseball wants more offense, then they build a pitchers’ park. Go figure.
2) Red Sox 11, White Sox 4— Patriots’ Day is a holiday in Boston; Red Sox have played at home every Patriots’ Day since 1959— the Boston Marathon is usually run that day (it’ll be in October this year). Red Sox play their annual Patriots’ Day game at 11am.
This year’s game was over by 11:30; first six Boston batters got hits, they all scored and they cruised to an 11-4 win over White Sox ace Lucas Giolito, who had an awful hour on the mound- he threw 46 pitches in the first inning.
All in all, the Red Sox are 71-53 on Patriots’ Day.
1) White Sox’ DH Yermin Mercedes pitched the 8th inning, making him the first White Sox player to DH and pitch in the same game since Adam LaRoche, on July 31, 2015.
Here’s the thing: in both of those games, games played six years apart, the opposing starting pitcher was Nathan Eovaldi.Comment
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55CAROLINA -56 TAMPA BAY
CAROLINA is 21-7 ATS (12.5 Units) against excellent power play teams- scoring on >17.5% of their chances in the current season.
57COLUMBUS -58 FLORIDA
COLUMBUS are 2-13 ATS (-13.1 Units) in road games against horrible power play killing teams-opp score on >19% of chances in the current season.
59NY RANGERS -60 NY ISLANDERS
NY ISLANDERS are 13-2 ATS (10.4 Units) in home games against excellent power play teams- scoring on >17.5% of their chances in the current season.
61NEW JERSEY -62 PITTSBURGH
NEW JERSEY is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in road games after allowing 4 goals or more in a loss to a division rival over the last 2 seasons.
65DETROIT -66 DALLAS
DALLAS are 13-20 ATS (-12.8 Units) against poor power play killing teams - opp score on >17.5% of chances in the current season.
71ANAHEIM -72 LOS ANGELES
ANAHEIM is 7-1 ATS (9.4 Units) in road games against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game in the current season.
73BOSTON -74 BUFFALO
BOSTON is 1-5 ATS (-9.4 Units) in road games against poor offensive teams - scoring <=2.55 goals/game over the last 2 seasons.
75TORONTO -76 VANCOUVER
VANCOUVER is 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) when playing 3 or less games in 10 days over the last 2 seasons.Comment
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NHL
Dunkel
Tuesday, April 20
Comment
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NHL
Tuesday, April 20
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Trend Report
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Boston @ Buffalo
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games when playing on the road against Buffalo
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Buffalo
Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing at home against Boston
Buffalo is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Columbus @ Florida
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Columbus's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Columbus's last 5 games when playing Florida
Florida
Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Columbus
Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
NY Rangers @ NY Islanders
NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Rangers's last 5 games when playing NY Islanders
NY Rangers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Islanders's last 5 games when playing NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Islanders's last 5 games at home
Carolina @ Tampa Bay
Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Carolina's last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Carolina's last 6 games
Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina
Tampa Bay is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Carolina
New Jersey @ Pittsburgh
New Jersey
New Jersey is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
New Jersey is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games at home
Detroit @ Dallas
Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Detroit is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
Dallas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Detroit
Toronto @ Vancouver
Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing Vancouver
Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
Anaheim @ Los Angeles
Anaheim
Anaheim is 18-2 ATS in its last 20 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 6 games
Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games at home
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Wednesday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the PGA’s Zurich Open (team event) this weekend:
7-1— Rahm/Palmer, Schauffele/Cantlay
9-1— Smith/Leishman
14-1— Finau/Champ, Morikawa/Wolff, Watson/Scheffler
20-1— Horschel/Burns, Kirk/Todd
27-1— Willett/Hatton
29-1— Bradley/Steele, Grace/Varner III
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 567,557
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“Two totally different basketball players. Jordan was a guy that he was going to make big shots. He’s going to take the ball every time and shoot it every time he has to. I think LeBron is an all-around basketball player.
If you ask me who’s a better all-around basketball player… LeBron James by far. He does everything. He passes the ball better than Jordan, He can dribble it a little bit better than Jordan… shooting-wise, I don’t think so, rebounding I think he did but Jordan did rebound; but they’re two different basketball players.”
Gary Payton
Wednesday’s quiz
Peyton Manning was the first pick of the 1998 NFL Draft; what other QB was the #2 pick?
Tuesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has had a long, very successful coaching career; his first head coaching job was at Boston University, from 1978-83
Monday’s quiz
Since 2008, Jay Bruce is the lefty batter who has hit the most home runs (319)
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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..
13) Now that transferring is all the rage in college basketball, I’m curious; how does it work?
— Does the player reach out to the school, or the school to the player?
— Is it legal for a coach to call a player at another school and try to poach him?
— Are third parties involved?
— Do players call other guys they know and try to get them to bolt to their school?
Last time I heard, there were over 1,300 names in the transfer portal for next year. Chaotic times in college basketball; would be a good Hard Knocks-type show to see how it all works.
12) Some of the more impactful basketball transfers this spring:
— Kid from Davidson jumped to Kentucky; he is a shooter
— Utah to Texas (Chris Beard is good at poaching)
— Georgetown to Maryland (lot of people bolting from the Hoyas)
— North Carolina to Auburn
— Rutgers to UCLA
11) Penguins 7, Devils 6:
— Pittsburgh led this game 6-0 after two periods.
— If you took the Devils +1.5 goals, hope you didn’t rip the ticket up.
— Penguins are first NHL team EVER to win a game, when they were outscored by 5+ goals in the third period. NHL teams are now 1-279 when outscored by 5+ goals in third period.
10) New York Knicks have won seven games in a row, covered ten in a row; Tom Thibodeau may be Coach of the Year in the NBA this year, as the Knicks figure to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
9) Last year, Atlanta Braves were 24-6 when they scored first; this year, they’re 3-5.
8) Guy named Brad Spielberger posted info on whether NFL GM’s tend to trade up or down in NFL Drafts. Some interesting stuff……..
— Bill Belichick, Patriots 13 Up, 23 Down
— Les Snead, Rams 9 Up, 15 Down
— Rick Spielman, Vikings 9 Up, 24 Down
— Mickey Loomis, Saints 10 Up, 0 Down
— Thomas Dimitroff, Falcons 12 Up, 3 Down
— Dave Gettleman, Giants 5 Up, 0 Down
7) NFL schedule is usually out by now; think it isn’t being released for a couple more weeks, at least. Three things have to happen before I schedule my next vacation:
— get my two vaccine shots
— get my enhanced drivers’ license, so I can fly after October 1
— see the NFL schedule, so I can pick the right weekend to go.
Halloween is a Sunday this year; that weekend is the early favorite for a visit.
6) NBA teams that go over the total the most:
64.3%— Pelicans
59.6%— Pacers, Nets, Bucks
58.9%— Nuggets
55.4%— Kings
5) Last four times Giants’ backup catcher Curt Casali started, San Francisco pitchers tossed a shutout. Maybe he should play more.
4) This is Austin Barnes’ 7th year on the Los Angeles Dodgers; he has a secure job as the backup catcher- he also plays some other positions. Barnes has never batted more than 262 times in a season, but LA made the playoffs in all six of his major league seasons, so could be they see him as a good luck charm.
3) Weird fact of the day: Remember the old TV series Columbo, with Peter Falk? He wore a scruffy overcoat all the time, and didn’t seem all that smart, until the last 20 minutes of the show, when he solved the crime every week.
Anyway, in Budapest, Romania, there is a statue of Falk’s Columbo character on a street corner. No idea why, but saw a picture of it yesterday.
2) Washington DC has more people living there than live in either Vermont or Wyoming.
1) Got a message the other day that I’ve been on Twitter for 12 years; time flies when you’re having fun. I spend a ridiculous amount of time scrolling thru Twitter, but I’ve learned a lot there and much like this site, it is free. You can’t beat free.Comment
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1NASHVILLE -2 CHICAGO
NASHVILLE is 10-0 ATS (10.2 Units) against poor possession teams-averaging 3+ less shots on goal than opp in the current season.
5MINNESOTA -6 ARIZONA
ARIZONA is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) in home games after allowing 4 goals or more in the current season.
7SAN JOSE -8 VEGAS
VEGAS are 20-3 ATS (15.3 Units) against poor defensive teams - allowing 2.85+ goals/game in the current season.
77MONTREAL -78 EDMONTON
EDMONTON is 10-0 ATS (10 Units) in home games against poor defensive teams - allowing 2.85+ goals/game in the current season.
NHL
Wednesday, April 21
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Trend Report
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Nashville @ Chicago
Nashville
Nashville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Nashville's last 7 games when playing Chicago
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games when playing Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chicago's last 8 games when playing at home against Nashville
Minnesota @ Arizona
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games when playing on the road against Arizona
Minnesota is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Arizona
Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Arizona's last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
Arizona is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
San Jose @ Vegas
San Jose
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Jose's last 7 games when playing on the road against Vegas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Jose's last 6 games on the road
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing San Jose
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Montreal @ Edmonton
Montreal
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 5 games when playing Edmonton
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 6 games
Edmonton
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Edmonton's last 5 games
Edmonton is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
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NHL
Dunkel
Wednesday, April 21
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Thursday’s 6-pack
Active leaders in career games pitched:
790— Joe Smith
777— Tyler Clippard
738— Sergio Romo
733— Joakim Soria
695— Oliver Perez
639— Kenley Jansen
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 567,557
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“Put a tent on that circus.”
Mets’ TV guy Gary Cohen, after the Cubs scored seven runs in the 4th inning Wednesday, helped by a couple errors by the Mets.
Thursday’s quiz
When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, who did they beat?
Wednesday’s quiz
Peyton Manning was the first pick of the 1998 NFL Draft; Ryan Leaf was the #2 pick.
Tuesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has had a long, very successful coaching career; his first head coaching job was at Boston University, from 1978-83
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Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
13) Braves 4, Bronx 1— Atlanta starter Ian Anderson blanked New York for 6.2 innings last night; he went to Shenendehowa HS in Clifton Park, NY, about 15 miles north of Armadillo World HQ. Pretty strong performance 160 miles south of home.
Knicks 137, Hawks 127 OT— 10-15 miles away at Madison Square Garden, Kevin Huerter scored 17 points for Atlanta; he also went to Shenendehowa, before going to Maryland.
Pretty cool coincidence for two high school friends/teammates.
12) Knicks, by the way, have now won eight games in a row, covered 11 in a row; they’re the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Going to be an interesting vote between Tom Thibodeau and the Suns’ Monty Williams, for NBA Coach of the Year.
11) Arizona 8, Cincinnati 5:
— Strong candidate for Bad Beat of the Week, if you had Reds/under. Cincinnati led this game 3-0 in ninth inning, but Josh VanMeter hit a 3-run tater to tie the game, then the Snakes scored five runs in the 10th inning.
— Reds gets Castellano back from suspension Thursday, a big deal for their lineup.
10) Marlins 3, Orioles 0:
— Trevor Rogers is 2-1, 1.64 in four starts; he’s looking pretty good.
9) A’s 13, Twins 12 (10):
— Weird game; after not scoring a run in a doubleheader Tuesday, Minnesota scored 12 runs here and still loses— their defense fell apart in the last inning.
— Hector Cruz homered twice for the Twins.
— Minnesota had 18 hits, but they pinch-ran for Josh Donaldson in the 10th inning and it badly compromised their infield defense, which cost them the game.
8) Cubs 16, Mets 4:
— Things got so bad that 3B Luis Guillorme pitched the bottom of the 8th inning.
— When Javier Baez batted in against Guillorme, he hit lefty for only the third time in his career, so as not to screw up his righty swing against a position player.
— When the home team announcer says “Put a tent on this circus” after a bad half-inning, you know the team’s defense needs some work.
7) From 2000-09, 95 position players pitched in big league games. Since 2010, 310 position players have toed the rubber. White Sox used two position players to pitch in Monday’s loss.
6) Pacers 122, Thunder 116— Oklahoma City lost its last 12 games; their last win was way back on March 31. Thunder has a boatload of draft picks coming up over the next few years; they’re going to need them.
5) Braves 4, Bronx 1— New York has scored 3 or fewer runs in 11 of 17 games; they’re 6-11. Not sure how the batting coach keeps his job— you can’t fire the players.
4) Bad news for the Padres; P Dinelson Lamet left Wednesday’s start after 29 pitches with tightness in his forearm, a bad omen as he tries to recover from last year’s injury issues.
San Diego gets talked up a lot as a viable rival for the world champion Dodgers but they’re 10-10 and looking very average.
3) Evil bastard alert: Hong Kong police arrested a 19-year old guy who bilked a 90-year old woman out of $32M. The woman lives in Hong Kong’s most expensive neighborhood; the evil bastard has obviously never heard of the term “karma” before.
2) Genius alert: Houston Rockets’ guard Kevin Porter Jr will miss time because of a violation of the NBA’s health/safety protocols after he visited a Miami strip club with teammate Sterling Brown- Brown was assaulted in a fracas at the club.
1) NFL schedule gets released May 12 at 8pm; its not so much who you play as when you play them. That would be a great reality show, how they make the schedule, how they pick which games are in primetime.Comment
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