2016 wnba thread news notes picks !

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Mercury (2-4) at Storm (2-4)
Date: June 03, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

Having put their early season struggles behind, the Phoenix Mercury can now concentrate on re-establishing their dominance over the Seattle Storm.

The Mercury head to Seattle for Friday night's matchup with a two-game winning streak and an opportunity to avenge a surprising home loss to the Storm two weeks back.

Of all the outcomes during the Mercury's unexpected 0-4 start, none was more surprising than an 81-80 defeat to Seattle on May 20. The Storm ended nine straight losses in the series by holding Phoenix to 37.5 percent shooting and rallying from an early 13-point deficit.

Phoenix (2-4) played closer to its expected status as a title contender over the final two games of the homestand. After shooting 53.2 percent and receiving 28 points from Diana Taurasi in Sunday's 93-77 win over Washington, all five starters finished in double figures in Tuesday's 99-90 victory over Connecticut.

The Mercury overcame a 14-point second-quarter deficit against the Sun by taking care of the ball and shooting nearly flawlessly from the foul line. They committed just four turnovers while forcing 21 and went 27 of 31 on free throws, with Brittney Griner finishing 9 for 9 while recording a season-high 21 points.

"One thing we do have is veterans on this team that have been through it all," Taurasi said. "Games like this you could easily let go and kind of just put your head down and stop."

Phoenix felt it let one get away against the Storm, as it missed its final seven shots and failed to stop Jewell Loyd down the stretch. The 2015 WNBA Rookie of the Year scored 12 of her career-high 30 points in the fourth quarter and banked in a go-ahead 12-footer with 2.9 seconds left.

Loyd's play has been the X-factor for Seattle (2-4), as she's amassed 56 points and shot 56.8 percent in the Storm's two wins and averaged 13.5 points while missing 12 of 13 3-point tries in their four losses. She was held to 11 points in Wednesday's 85-75 defeat at Indiana, where the Fever went 13 for 17 from the floor during a 31-point second quarter and led by as many as 22 in the third.

"In the second quarter they had a lot of energy, a lot of aggressiveness and we never matched it," Seattle's Sue Bird said. "It seemed like they were just constantly coming at us."

Breanna Stewart, the league's Rookie of the Month for May, had 22 points Wednesday and is averaging 19.3 over her last three games. The 2016 No. 1 overall pick was held to 4-of-15 shooting in last month's meeting with Phoenix.


WNBA HEAD TO HEAD

May 20, 2016 Score ATS Results
SEA « 81 Cover: 12.5
PHO 80 Under: 161
Tools: Recaps

Aug 12, 2015 Score ATS Results
SEA 66 Over: 149
PHO « 83 Cover: 3.5
Tools: Recaps

Jul 12, 2015 Score ATS Results
SEA 60 Cover: 4.5
PHO « 70 Under: 130
Tools: Recaps

Jul 10, 2015 Score ATS Results
PHO « 94 Cover: 7
SEA 79 Over: 173
Tools: Recaps

Jun 21, 2015 Score ATS Results
PHO « 84 Cover: 9.5
SEA 72 Over: 156
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Team Win Loss Percent GB Home Away Conf. Last 10 Streak

Atlanta Dream 5 1 0.833 0 2-0 3-1 3-1 5-1 W-4

Indiana Fever 3 3 0.500 2 3-1 0-2 1-1 3-3 W-1

Chicago Sky 3 4 0.429 2 1-2 2-2 2-1 3-4 W-2

New York Liberty 2 3 0.400 2 1-3 1-0 1-1 2-3 L-3

Washington Mystics 2 5 0.286 3 0-4 2-1 1-2 2-5 L-2

Connecticut Sun 1 5 0.167 4 0-2 1-3 0-2 1-5 L-4


WESTERN CONFERENCE

Team Win Loss Percent GB Home Away Conf. Last 10 Streak

Los Angeles Sparks 6 0 1.000 0 2-0 4-0 2-0 6-0 W-6

Minnesota Lynx 6 0 1.000 0 2-0 4-0 3-0 6-0 W-6

Dallas Wings 3 3 0.500 3 1-2 2-1 1-0 3-3 L-2

Seattle Storm 2 4 0.333 4 1-2 1-2 1-2 2-4 L-1

Phoenix Mercury 2 4 0.333 4 2-2 0-2 0-3 2-4 W-2

San Antonio Stars 1 4 0.200 4 1-2 0-2 0-2 1-4 L-1

Updated Fri Jun 3 3:07 PM EDT

[StarDust Bum]

FRIDAY JUNE 3RD WNBA PICKS:

FRIDAY, JUNE 3

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

ATL at CONN 07:00 PM

ATL -6.5

U 167.0


IND at NY 07:30 PM

IND +5.0

U 156.5


WAS at CHI 08:30 PM

WAS +11.0

O 162.0


PHO at SEA 10:00 PM

SEA +6.5

O 168.0

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Saturday's six-pack

Numbers of entrants in last six Westgate SuperBook's NFL handicapping contests:

2010-- 347-- Since then, entrants have gone up 500.6%.

2011-- 517-- Entrance fee is $1,500, you pick five NFL games every week.

2012-- 745-- This has become so popular, Westgate is taking 8% out of prize pool this year to cover its own expenses for running it, estimated at $216,000.

2013-- 1,034-- Signups for this year's contest begin on July 1st.

2014-- 1,403-- Guy named Steve Fezzik actually won this contest two years in a row (2008, 09), and that is not easy to do.

2015-- 1,727-- Last year's winner took home $906,675.

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

13) Can't be much fun for ESPN's Mark Jackson calling the NBA Finals, seeing as he coached Warriors for three years before Steve Kerr took over, rallying Golden State from a 23-43 strike-shortened season to 98-66 his last two years, before an off-court between he and the front office led to his departure.

12) Not only is Golden State 140-24 in regular season under Kerr, they're 49-3 at home this season, just a remarkable record. Cleveland has to win at least one game in Oakland to even have a shot in this series.

11) One thing, though; you'd think Kerr would use a higher quality clipboard than the cheesy one he shattered during a timeout in Game 1. I'm guessing this could lead to an endorsement next season with whatever company makes those things.

10) Dwane Casey got a well-deserved 3-year contract extension from Toronto, after his Raptors made the Eastern Conference finals for the first time

9) Minnesota Twins have had a rough season, but Eduardo Nunez led off bottom of first inning of Thursday's game with an inside-the-park homer-it iwas the first inside-park homer for the Twins since moving to Minnesota in 1961.

8) Jose Reyes had his first rehab game rained out Wednesday, he went 0-3 in Game 1 of a DH Thursday, then sat out Game 2, I'm not really sure why- wouldn't he at least DH? Reyes went 1-3 with a homer and a walk Friday night.

Colorado is fairly set with LeMahieu/Story up the middle- it figures they have to eat a lot of Reyes' salary and trade him to a contender, right?

7) When Seattle overcame a 12-2 deficit to win in San Diego Thursday, they became the first MLB team since 1990 to win after trailing by 10+ runs.

6) Kevin Love and Klay Thompson were once Little League teammates in Lake Oswego, Oregon; wonder if their team was any good?

5) David Wright (neck), Hunter Pence (hamstring) are both out 6-8 weeks, big blows for their teams (Mets/Giants), which are both obviously contending.

4) Over last three years, Gonzaga is 25-24 vs spread as a favorite in WCC league games, but 7-2 vs spread in the WCC tournament- they peak at the right time.

3) All five of the Chicago Cubs' starting pitchers have an ERA under 3.00, latest in season that has happened in majors since the 1972 Dodgers.

2) I'm looking forward to going to the adidas Uprising basketball tournament in Las Vegas this summer; went to it last year. Very well-organized, lot of good players, all the coaches you see on TV during the winter are there recruiting. Seven games going on under one roof at the same time, plus decent food in the concession stand.

1) RIP Muhammad Ali, 74, for many years considered the most widely-recognized person on the planet, athlete or otherwise. He will be missed.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA

Saturday, June 4

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. SAN ANTONIO
Los Angeles is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against San Antonio
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
San Antonio is 15-6 SU in its last 21 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Antonio's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles

8:00 PM
DALLAS vs. MINNESOTA
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 7 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Dallas's last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing Dallas
Minnesota is 22-2 SU in its last 24 games when playing Dallas

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WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, June 4


Dallas @ Minnesota

Game 651-652
June 4, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Dallas
107.888
Minnesota
115.790
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 8
173
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 14
167
Dunkel Pick:
Dallas
(+14); Over

Los Angeles @ San Antonio

Game 653-654
June 4, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
113.933
San Antonio
106.820
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 7
141
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
by 10
147 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
San Antonio
(+10); Under

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WNBA
Long Sheet

Saturday, June 4

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DALLAS (18 - 18) at MINNESOTA (29 - 15) - 6/4/2016, 8:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 6-3 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 8-1 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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LOS ANGELES (15 - 22) at SAN ANTONIO (8 - 26) - 6/4/2016, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LOS ANGELES is 35-54 ATS (-24.4 Units) in road games in June games since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 4-12 ATS (-9.2 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 8-2 against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 6-4 straight up against SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Wings (3-3) at Lynx (6-0)
Date: June 04, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

Not many WNBA fans know that Dallas Wings coach Fred Williams is also a jazz musician who has released two albums.

While his creativity knows no bounds when he's putting together some smooth beats, his imagination is sure to be tested while concocting a game plan to slow down the unbeaten Minnesota Lynx.

The Lynx seek their second 7-0 start in three seasons Saturday night when they host Williams' Wings.

Minnesota is the league's best shooting team at 48.2 percent and is off to another strong start after Tuesday's 79-69 victory at New York. Maya Moore is among the league's leaders at 22.3 points per game for the Lynx, who took three of four meetings from the Wings last season when the franchise was the Tulsa Shock.

Williams' club was responsible for one of the Lynx's four home defeats in 2015, and he expects the challenge to be even greater Saturday.

"They have a lot of momentum going with an undefeated season and the crowd they pull in," Williams said. "With a team like that, you just have to take it a possession at a time and build on it."

Minnesota has been concerned with some complacency, seeing a 23-point lead cut to six against the Liberty. It was the second straight game the Lynx nearly blew a 20-point lead.

'It's something we definitely are aware of and are working on,' Moore said. 'Every team is going to make a run and we can't be as complacent with big leads.'

One key matchup to look for will be between centers Courtney Paris of Dallas and Sylvia Fowles of Minnesota. Paris averages 11.3 boards and Fowles 8.8 to rank among the league's best.

Fowles is second on the team with 13.8 points per game, with Seimone Augustus third at 12.3.

"They move the ball well and play a good offense," Wings guard Brianna Kiesel said. "Maya, Sylvia Fowles, and Lindsay Whalen play really well together. We just have to go out there and play our game."

Dallas (3-3) completed a 1-2 homestand with Sunday's 92-87 loss to Chicago. Odyssey Sims scored 23 points while Karima Christmas and Jordan Hooper each added 14.

Wings superstar Skylar Diggins is uncertain. She has played just once this season after knee surgery.

Minnesota is the unanimous top choice in the AP WNBA power poll while Dallas is No. 5.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Sparks (6-0) at Stars (1-4)
Date: June 04, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

A matchup between the team ranked No. 2 in the AP WNBA power poll against a team ranked second to last proved to be anything but straightforward.

Though the unbeaten Los Angeles Sparks prevailed over the San Antonio Stars, it was a tight affair and these teams meet again Saturday night to complete a home-and-home set.

Los Angeles (6-0) continued its best start since opening 9-0 in 2003 with a 68-61 home victory Thursday over San Antonio. Nneka Ogwumike had 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The Stars (1-4) never led but tied the game at 54-all with 6:28 left on Sydney Colson's steal and layup for her only basket of the game. The Sparks answered with a 9-0 run - with six points from Ogwumike - and were never threatened again.

Los Angeles led by as many as nine in the opening quarter before going on a field-goal drought of 8:12 to start the second as San Antonio got back into the game. The contest stayed tight throughout before the Sparks held on for their fourth straight victory over the Stars, ranked No. 11.

The Sparks prevailed despite a quiet night from Candace Parker, who scored 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting although she added a season-high seven assists with five boards.

Kayla McBride scored 20 points and Kayla Alexander had a career-high 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her first double-double for the Stars, who held a 38-30 rebounding edge.

The growing pains continue for Moriah Jefferson, the No. 2 pick out of Connecticut. Jefferson scored five points in 21 minutes and has reached double digits in points just once.

The Sparks have won their last two visits to San Antonio after losing their previous three there.


WNBA HEAD TO HEAD

Jun 2, 2016 Score ATS Results
SA 61 Cover: 10.5
LOS « 68 Under: 129
Tools: Recaps

Aug 30, 2015 Score ATS Results
SA 52 Cover: 3.5
LOS « 60 Under: 112
Tools: Recaps

Aug 23, 2015 Score ATS Results
LOS « 90 Cover: 26
SA 59 Over: 149
Tools: Recaps

Aug 2, 2015 Score ATS Results
LOS « 80 Over: 158
SA 78 Cover: 3
Tools: Recaps

Jul 8, 2015 Score ATS Results
LOS 63 Under: 133
SA « 70 Cover: 10.5
Tools: Recaps

Jul 2, 2015 Score ATS Results
SA 81 Cover: 0
LOS « 86 Over: 167
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS:

WNBA 6/3 - 5 - 2

SATURDAY, JUNE 4

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

LA at SA 08:00 PM

LA -10.0

U 146.5


DAL at MIN 08:00 PM

MIN -14.0

O 164.5

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

From MSN.com, six things I didn't know about M&M's..........

-- M&M stands for Mars and Murrie, the partners who invented the candy.

-- M&M's were invented in 1941, but the public couldn't buy them until 1947.

-- During World War II, M&M's were sold exclusively to the US military as part of their food rations.

-- M&M's originally came in five colors: red, orange, yellow, green and violet.

-- The "M" didn't appear on the candy until 1950; it was a black "M" until 1954, when it was changed to white.

-- Red M&M’s disappeared for a decade from 1976 because a Russian study linked red food dye to cancer in humans. An undergrad at the University of Tennessee is responsible for that being found false, which brought the red M&M's back in '87.

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Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but.......

13) You don't think professional golf is hugely competitive? A freshman golfer at LSU qualified for US Open Monday. Kid named Sam Burns was one of two golfers out of six in a playoff to grab the last two spots at the Memphis qualifier. So a kid who was in high school last year qualified for the US Open- lot of good players.

12) Good news and bad news for Packer fans in Wisconsin: Aaron Rodgers has given up dairy products and is at his lightest weight since 2007, which is the good news.

Bad news is that Wisconsin is the Dairy State, where people wear plastic hats that looks like hunks of cheese. If giving up dairy products is good for you......

11) Leaders amongst starting pitchers in strikeouts per nine innings:
Jose Fernandez 13.3, Noah Syndergaard 11.5, Steven Strasburg 11.4

10) Ole Miss Rebels will be playing home football games on grass this season, for the first time since 2002.

9) Draymond Green was drafted 35th in the 2012 NBA Draft; he can recite (in order) all 34 guys taken ahead of him, not that he took it personally or anything.

8) Rumors during the day Monday had the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes (once the Hartford Whalers) moving to Las Vegas, which would put expansion on hold.

7) Sounds like Arizona basketball commit Terrance Ferguson will skip college and go play overseas next season- he'l sign an endorsement deal with Under Armour and be eligible for the 2017 NBA Draft. Ferguson is a shooting guard.

6) Mets' OF Juan Lagares has a partially torn ligament in his left thumb but didn't go on the DL, which seems odd. He hurt the thumb making a diving catch Saturday.

5) Mets' 2B Neil Walker was so popular in Pittsburgh that all the stadium workers gathered and gave Walker a huge ovation when he came out for batting practice before Monday's game, which wound up getting rained out. It was Walker's first game back in Pittsburgh since he was traded to New York last winter.

4) Steph Curry is out of the Olympics this summer, a smart move. Been couple long years in a row for Curry, that on top of health concerns in South America. LaMarcus Aldridge will also miss the Olympics with a hand injury.

3) Colorado pitcher Tyler Chatwood on road this year: 5-0, 0.65 ERA, 0.84 WHIP. Too bad he has to make half his starts at high altitude at Coors Field. .

2) Pittsburgh 3, San Jose 1-- Penguins lead series 3-1, are one win away from their fourth Stanley Cup championship.

1) If you get shot in the leg at a nightclub, and your story is "I was too drunk to remember what happened" you might have a deeper problem than an injured leg. I'm just saying.........Aqib Talib is the same guy who once grabbed a gun from his mother to shoot at his sister's boyfriend. Oy.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA

Tuesday, June 7

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
PHOENIX vs. MINNESOTA
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Phoenix's last 10 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Phoenix is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota's last 7 games at home

10:00 PM
NEW YORK vs. LOS ANGELES
New York is 9-1-1 ATS in its last 11 games on the road
New York is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games on the road
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 7 games when playing at home against New York

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WNBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, June 7


Phoenix @ Minnesota

Game 651-652
June 7, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Phoenix
108.709
Minnesota
123.319
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 14 1/2
168
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 10
164 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(-10); Over

New York @ Los Angeles

Game 653-654
June 7, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
New York
110.639
Los Angeles
120.554
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 10
146
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
by 8
150
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(-8); Under

--------------------

WNBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, June 7

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PHOENIX (2 - 5) at MINNESOTA (7 - 0) - 6/7/2016, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PHOENIX is 14-29 ATS (-17.9 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 6-16 ATS (-11.6 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 2-9 ATS (-7.9 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 7-17 ATS (-11.7 Units) in May, June, or July games over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 0-7 ATS (-7.7 Units) on Tuesday over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 8-19 ATS (-12.9 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 3-13 ATS (-11.3 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
PHOENIX is 27-12 ATS (+13.8 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive overs since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 9-7 against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 8-8 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
12 of 16 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NEW YORK (4 - 3) at LOS ANGELES (7 - 0) - 6/7/2016, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 29-17 ATS (+10.3 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 12-3 ATS (+8.7 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 16-4 ATS (+11.6 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 9-2 ATS (+6.8 Units) in June games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 75-49 ATS (+21.1 Units) in road games against Western conference opponents since 1997.
NEW YORK is 75-49 ATS (+21.1 Units) in road games in non-conference games since 1997.
NEW YORK is 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) in road games after scoring 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 12-26 ATS (-16.6 Units) in home games over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 6-18 ATS (-13.8 Units) in home games in May, June, or July games over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 25-43 ATS (-22.3 Units) in home games on Tuesday since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 1-11 ATS (-11.1 Units) in home games against Eastern conference opponents over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 1-11 ATS (-11.1 Units) in home games in non-conference games over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 82-111 ATS (-40.1 Units) after a win by 10 points or more since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
NEW YORK is 3-2 against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
NEW YORK is 3-2 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Betting Recap - 5/30-6/5
June 5, 2016

League Betting Notes (Monday, May 30 through Sunday, June 5)

-- Favorites went 12-2 straight up (SU)
-- Favorites went 9-5 against the spread (ATS)
-- Home/road teams posted a 7-7 SU record
-- Road teams posted a 8-6 ATS record
-- The 'over/under' went 7-7


Team Betting Notes

-- The final day of the week provided the biggest shocker to date. Washington (3-6) pulled off the biggest upset of the season, dropping Atlanta (6-2) down in Georgia to cash +425 on the moneyline. The Mystics were just one of two underdogs to win straight up in 13 games.

-- If you want to make money, hammer the 'over' in Washington's games. The over has hit in each of their nine games to date. They have games in Dallas Wednesday, and home against Minnesota Saturday.

-- Indiana (4-4) has been rather erratic during the early going, and they had been poor on the road. However, the Fever won and covered as six-point favorites at Connecticut (1-7) by an 88-77 count Sunday. Despite the win Indiana is still just 1-3 SU and 2-2 ATS on the road.

-- The 'over' Sunday for Indiana snapped a four-game 'under' run. The Sun has seen the 'over' hit in three of their past four heading into Friday's home game against Seattle.

-- Los Angeles (7-0) continues to hum along, winning each of their games this week. The Sparks also put the brakes on a two-game non-cover run. One thing which has been consistent is the 'under', hitting in three straight games heading into this showdown with New York Tuesday.

-- Minnesota (7-0) also remained perfect, routing Dallas (3-4) Saturday. The Lynx covered for the first time in three games as a nine-point or greater favorite. The 'under' is now 5-0 in the past five for the Lynx.

-- The Wings have dropped three in a row, and they're 0-4 ATS over their past four outings heading into Wednesday's home game against the Mystics.

-- New York (4-3) picked up an impressive road win in Seattle (3-5) Sunday night, although the Storm certainly made it close down the stretch with an impressive fourth quarter comeback. The 'under' is 4-1 in five home games for the Liberty, and the 'over' is 2-0 in each of their two road outings. New York has allowed 71 or more points in six of their seven games to date.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Mercury (2-5) at Lynx (7-0)
Date: June 07, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

The Minnesota Lynx will try to stay perfect Tuesday against a team they already have handled twice this season.

Minnesota is one of two teams off to a 7-0 start in the WNBA -- the Los Angeles Sparks are the other -- and it will be going for its third victory over the struggling Phoenix Mercury, which enters the matchup at 2-5.

The Lynx won 95-76 at Target Center on May 14 and 85-78 in Phoenix on May 25.

Forward Maya Moore has been at the forefront of everything for the Lynx. The league's Western Conference Player of the Month for May posted her two highest-scoring efforts of the season against Phoenix, with 27 in the first game and 34 in the second.

The Mercury, even with guard Diana Taurasi back after taking a season's hiatus in 2015, are winless in three road games. Taurasi is averaging 20.0 points per game, fourth in the league. Moore is second at 21.0.

Phoenix is also getting 14.4 points per game from forward Penny Taylor, who returned to the franchise this season after sitting out 2015. Taurasi and Taylor were part of the Mercury's championship squads in 2007, 2009 and 2014.

But the Mercury rank last in the league in scoring defense (88.6 points per game allowed), while the Lynx are second (72.6) and lead the WNBA in steals at 11.4 per game. Minnesota has held four consecutive opponents to under 15 points in the first quarter.

"I thought we got some deflections and some good stops out there on defense," Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen said on WNBA.com after an 80-63 win over the Dallas Wings on Saturday. "We were able to get out and run."

The Lynx and Sparks are chasing the best start in WNBA history -- a record that belongs to the 2012 Lynx, who reeled off 10 consecutive victories at the beginning of the season.

"We just have a group that came out of the gates and said, 'We don't want to be a team that lets games early in the season get away from us because we weren't quite ready,'" Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve told WNBA.com.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Liberty (4-3) at Sparks (7-0)
Date: June 07, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

The Los Angeles Sparks will be going for the eighth consecutive victory to start the season when they play host to the New York Liberty on Tuesday.

The Sparks are off to their best start since going 9-0 in 2003.

They already have a road win over the Liberty this season, but needed overtime to pull out a 79-72 decision on May 21. Nneka Ogwumike scored 25 points and had 15 rebounds to lead the Sparks, who erased an eight-point deficit in the final 1:20 of regulation. Candace Parker added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles that night.

The Sparks are coming off back-to-back wins over the San Antonio Stars. New York (4-3) opened a three-game road trip with an 86-78 victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday night. Tina Charles led four players in double figures with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Charles was selected the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. She is averaging league-highs in points (21.4 per game), rebounds (11.6) and minutes (35.6).

Swin Cash of the Liberty said there is a little something different about the Sparks this season.

"Playing against them in the past there have been times where it's like L.A. is gonna let you back in the game or you might be able to win it, whereas you see their guards exuding a certain level of confidence and being able to execute more inside," Cash told WNBA.com.

The Sparks lead the league in 3-point shooting, making 42.5 percent of their attempts. Kristi Toliver has made 16 of 33 shots from 3-point range.

New York is the second-best team in the WNBA at 3-point defense, allowing opponents to make just 25.4 percent. Only Los Angeles is better, giving up a scant 20.4 percent from behind the arc.

The Sparks will be one of two teams trying for an 8-0 start on Tuesday night. The other is the Minnesota Lynx, who play host to Phoenix (2-5).

[StarDust Bum]

June's WNBA Record: 12 - 5

TUESDAY, JUNE 7

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

PHO at MIN 08:00 PM

MIN -10.5

O 166.5


NY at LA 10:00 PM

LA -7.5

U 151.0

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Odds to win the College World Series, with Super Regionals this week

-- 5-1-- Florida, Louisville, Mississippi State, Texas A&M

-- 6-1-- Miami-- Stadium is named after A-Rod, but he never played there.

-- 7-1-- LSU-- Les Miles should coach first for a couple innings.

-- 10-1-- Texas Tech-- Wouldn't want to pitch in Lubbock if wind is blowing out.

-- 12-1-- South Carolina-- Not a lot of northern teams on this list.

-- 25-1-- Coastal Carolina, Arizona, Cal-Santa Barbara

**********

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

13) Sauerkraut got a lot of support from e-mailers today, which baffles me, but that is what makes life interesting-- we like different things.

12) I was also informed that the world's largest sauerkraut factory is in Phelps, NY, near where a friend of mine's grandfather lives. You learrn new stuff every day.

11) Speaking of which, it is now illegal to sit on a sidewalk in Saratoga Springs, NY, where the six-week horse racing meet is held every summer. Not sure if the mayor is a guy who sells benches, but that seems like a dumb thing to have as a law.

10) Maria Sharapova was suspended for two years, which means she is likely to lose as much as $50M in income during that time. Sharapova has been the world's highest-paid female athlete for the last 11 years, but that streak is over now.

9) A Uber driver from Boulder, CO won $1M in a World Series of Poker tourney this week, after being down to one $500 chip at one point in the tournament. Something you rarely read about are people who try to become pro poker players and fail; this guy went bust couple years ago, moved to Colorado and started driving for Uber, then built up some cash and took a shot in this year's WSOP and hit it big. Good for him.

8) Jacksonville Jaguars paid WR Allen Hurns $40M for four years this offseason, now find out Hurns is allergic to grass; no bueno. Will they switch to Field Turf?

7) Washington 11, White Sox 4-- James Sheilds faced 17 batters in his White Sox debut and seven of them scored, not what the struggling Pale Hose needed. He threw 84 pitches and got six outs. Chicago is 6-20 in its last 26 games.

6) Braves' play-by play Chip Caray, grandson of Harry, son of Chip, has improved a lot as a play-play guy; he used to be awful. Haven't listened to Braves' games much the last few years because I don't have any Braves on my fantasy team, but I have this year and Chip is pretty good now. He has a very good partner in Joe Simpson.

5) Phillies young pitching star Vince Velasquez left Wednesday's game after two pitches, never a good sign. Apparently some kind of biceps issue. Last thing Phillies need right now is a pitching injury. Last thing anyone needs, actually.

4) Why I like Phil Martelli as a college hoop coach; St Joe's is 12-3 vs spread in its last 15 conference tournament games, 11-4 vs spread as a road underdog in conference games. He has good players and he lets them play, which gives them confidence.

3) Rumors in NYC this week that St John's assistant coach Barry Rohrssen is off to another job, possibly to be replaced by former NBA star Mitch Richmond. St John's gets to play the Big East tournament on its home court every year, yet they are 0-7 vs spread in last seven Big East tournament games.

Then there is Providence, which covered its last seven Big East tourney games.

2) Cavaliers 120, Warriors 90-- 10 of last 12 Cleveland games were decided by 11+ points. Golden State is 3-5 on the road in playoffs. Still think all playoff series should be best-of-3 and the Finals best-of-5. Much more dramatic that way.

1) Tonight was Golden State's 102nd game this season, not counting the handful of preseason games they play; it was Cleveland's 99th game. NBA is a long season, then the draft is June 23, and the NBA Summer League is in Las Vegas starting July 8. Not a lot of rest for the executives of the good teams.

Regular season ended in mid-April, so the lesser teams have had some time off.