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**Udog** · 10-12-2017, 08:29 AM

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

College football trends for this weekend:

— UConn is 8-19-1 in its last 28 games as a road underdog.

— Ohio U covered eight of its last ten true road games.

— Northern Illinois covered 7 of its last 9 games with Buffalo.

— Florida State covered its last six games against Duke.

— Minnesota covered 6 of its last 7 games with Michigan State.

— Northwestern is 5-10-1 vs spread in its last 16 games as a road favorite.

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

13) Red Sox fired John Farrell Wednesday; he went 432-378 as Boston’s manager, winning the World Series in his first season (2013) but winning only one playoff game (1-6) the last four years. Farrell had a health scare with cancer in 2015, but that is behind him now.

If the Red Sox hire Brad Ausmus, who worked with Boston GM Dave Dombrowski in Detroit, then it figures that the GM just thought that Ausmus is a better manager than Farrell.

This Tweet from writer Peter Abraham:
“Dombrowski said Farrell was fired for reasons he won’t disclose and that no level of team success would have prevented that.”

He would’ve fired Farrell even if the Red Sox won the World Series? Hard to believe.

12) Washington 5, Chicago 0- Game 5 is Thursday night at 8 in Washington.
New York 5, Cleveland 2— Indians lost last seven games when they had a chance to wrap up a series. New York-Houston ALCS starts Friday night.

11) New Jersey Giants suspended CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Wednesday when he came to practice and then went home without practicing- it apparently relates to something that happened on the sidelines during Sunday’s game with the Chargers.

10) Giants also lost 3 of their top 4 WR’s for the season in last week’s loss; of those four, only Sterling Shepard will be playing in Denver this weekend.

9) Utah Jazz big guy Rudy Gobert wears number 27 because he was the 27th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Not that he takes it personally or anything.

8) Butler Bulldogs are on their 4th basketball coach in the last six years, and they usually win. Texas Tech is on its 5th coach in eight years. Coaching can be a nomadic profession.

7) Guy named Tony Ressler owns the Atlanta Hawks; he is or was a minority owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. He has been married to actress Jami Gertz for 29 years— she was in movies like Less Than Zero, Sixteen Candles and Twister.

6) Minnesota Timberwolves have the longest active playoff drought in the NBA- 13 years.

5) Tennessee Vols are changing QB’s for their game with South Carolina this week; redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano gets the start over sophomore Quinten Dormady, who may transfer from Tennessee as a result of this.

4) Revenge in the CFL this week? On July 29, Calgary embarrassed Hamilton 60-1; Ti-Cats changed coaches shortly after that, and are now 4-2 in their last six games under new coach June Jones. Stampeders visit Hamilton this week on a serious roll; they’ve won 10 games in a row (8-1-1 vs spread).

3) South Alabama (+18) 19, Troy 8— Troy’s last game was an upset win at LSU, but teams that turn the ball over four times (-3) don’t win a whole lot.

2) Louisville brought in former Nevada/LSU coach Trent Johnson as an assistant, then fired assistant coach Jordan Fair, as fallout from the SneakerGate scandal continues to unfold.

1) If you have NBA TV and I think just about everyone does, Open Court is a good show to watch; there are two hour-long shows that were filmed this summer in Las Vegas, one with five NBA owners, the other with five coaches. Educational stuff if you like the NBA.

**Udog** · 10-12-2017, 08:49 AM

MLB
Dunkel

Thursday, October 12

Chicago Cubs @ Washington

Game 959-960
October 12, 2017 @ 8:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago Cubs
(Hendrcks) 14.921
Washington
(Gnzalez) 15.941
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Chicago Cubs
-125
7 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(+105); Under

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, October 12

Chicago @ Washington
Washington is 6-5 against the Cubs this season (over 6-5).

Hendricks is 2-0, 0.70 in his last four starts; his last six starts stayed under. Cubs are 6-6 in his road starts. He is 1-1, 1.93 vs Washington this season, 2-1, 1.39 in six postseason starts.

Gonzalez is 0-2, 7.54 in his last three starts; over is 3-1 in his last four starts. Washington is 8-8 in his home starts. Gonzalez is 0-0, 4.24 in five postseason starts.

Cubs won the World Series LY, their first title since 1908; this is their 3rd year in a row in the playoffs. Washington is in the playoffs for 4th time in six years- they lost in this round the previous three times. Nationals have never been in the World Series.

AL Wild Card
NYY 8-4 Minn -$255, O7.5

NL Wild Card
Ariz 11-8 Colo -$148, O8.5

Hous 8-2 Bos, -$120, O7
Hous 8-2 Bos, -$185, O8.5
Bos 10-3 Hst, +$117, O9.5
Hst 5-4 Bos, -$118, O8
Astros win series, 3-1

Clev 4-0 NYY -$130, U8.5
Clev 9-8 NYY (13), -$210, O7
NYY 1-0 Clev, -$109, U8.5
NYY 7-3 Clev, -$150, O7.5
NYY 5-2 Clev, +$165, N7
New York wins series, 3-2

Cubs 3-0 Wash +$135, U7.5
Wash 6-3 Cubs, -$117, O8.5
Cubs 2-1 Wash, +$105, U7.5
Wash 5-0 Cubs, -$109, U7

LA 9-4 Ariz -$270, O7.5
LA 8-5 Ariz, -$142, O8
LA 2-1 Ariz, -$115, U8
Dodgers win series, 3-0

MLB

Thursday, October 12

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Trend Report
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8:08 PM
CHI CUBS vs. WASHINGTON
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi Cubs's last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Chi Cubs's last 15 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Washington's last 15 games when playing Chi Cubs

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**Udog** · 10-12-2017, 09:50 AM

MLB
Long Sheet

Thursday, October 12

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CHICAGO CUBS (94 - 72) at WASHINGTON (99 - 67) - 8:05 PM
KYLE HENDRICKS (R) vs. GIO GONZALEZ (L)
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO CUBS are 94-72 (-11.4 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 33-34 (-9.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
WASHINGTON is 71-37 (+20.7 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 186-111 (+37.8 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 24-25 (-15.3 Units) against the money line in home games after a win this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 6-5 (+1.2 Units) against CHICAGO CUBS this season
7 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+4.7 Units)

KYLE HENDRICKS vs. WASHINGTON since 1997
HENDRICKS is 3-2 when starting against WASHINGTON with an ERA of 2.17 and a WHIP of 1.018.
His team's record is 4-2 (+2.1 units) in these starts. The OVER is 1-5. (-4.5 units)

GIO GONZALEZ vs. CHICAGO CUBS since 1997
GONZALEZ is 3-3 when starting against CHICAGO CUBS with an ERA of 3.24 and a WHIP of 1.095.
His team's record is 5-6 (-2.3 units) in these starts. The OVER is 4-5. (-1.2 units)

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**Udog** · 10-12-2017, 10:53 AM

Thursday's NLDS playoff betting preview and odds: Cubs at Nationals

Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals (A: -115, H: -105, Total: 7.5)

Series tied 2-2

With an assist from the weather, the Washington Nationals have forced a winner-take-all matchup against the visiting Chicago Cubs on Thursday in their National League Division Series. Stephen Strasburg’s stellar start in Washington’s 5-0 win in Game 4 on Wednesday sent the series back to the nation’s capital and left the Nationals with plenty of flexibility with their pitching staff.

Strasburg threw seven strong innings despite manager Dusty Baker’s announcement a night earlier that Chicago-area native Tanner Roark would start Game 4. That leaves Roark and left-hander Gio Gonzalez as potential Game 5 starters and gives Washington a fully stocked bullpen - including ace Max Scherzer - for the decisive contest. The Cubs’ bullpen is slightly more taxed after burning Game 2 Jon Lester on Wednesday, but Chicago will have Kyle Hendricks on the mound as he looks to continue a recent history of strong postseason performances. The Cubs have scored only eight runs in the series and managed just three hits in Wednesday’s setback.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TBS

INJURY REPORT:

Cubs - RP K. Uehara (Out Indefinitely, Knee).

Nationals - S. Drew (Out Indefinitely, Abdominal), LF R. Raburn (Out Indefinitely, Shoulder), SP J. Ross (Out For Season, Elbow), CF A. Eaton (Out For Season, Knee).

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Kyle Hendricks (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. TBA

Hendricks outdueled Strasburg in Game 1, allowing two hits and three walks while registering six strikeouts over seven scoreless innings. The 27-year-old has gotten the ball for the Cubs’ last two series clinchers – Game 6 of last year’s NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Game 7 of the World Series versus Cleveland. He is 2-1 with a 1.98 ERA in eight postseason starts.

Baker told reporters after Game 4 he is “not sure yet” who will start on Thursday and his decision will be based on who is the best fit. Gonzalez allowed three runs and three hits over five innings in Game 2 as the Nationals got him off the hook with a late rally. Roark has not started since Sept. 27 and gave up eight runs in 5 2/3 frames over his last two regular-season appearances (one start).

TRENDS:

* Cubs are 0-7 in their last 7 road games vs. a left-handed starter.
* Cubs are 6-1 in Hendricks' last 7 starts vs. National League East.
* Nationals are 2-6 in their last 8 playoff home games.
* Under is 10-1 in Hendricks' last 11 road starts.
* Under is 6-0-2 in Nationals' last 8 home games vs. a right-handed starter.
* Under is 4-0 in Hendricks' last 4 starts vs. Nationals.
* Cubs are 2-7 in their last 9 games with Jerry Layne behind home plate.

CONSENSUS: The public is siding with the home underdog Nationals at a rate of 60 percent and the Over is picking up 55 percent of the totals action.

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Thursday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 10/12

Thursday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 10/12

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