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**Udog** · 05-28-2016, 07:41 AM

Armadillo: Saturday's six-pack

-- Dr Henry Heimlich invented the Heimlich maneuver 42 years ago but had never saved anyone's life with it until Monday, when he saved a woman's life while she was choking on some hamburger. Dr Heimlich is 96 years old.

-- Cavaliers 113, Raptors 87-- Cleveland wins a dull series in six games.

-- Lebron James (and James Jones) have been in NBA Finals the last six years.

-- Average attendance at last eight Bronx @ Tampa Bay games: 12,646

-- Anthony Rizzo is hitting .149 vs lefties this year; he hit .294 against them LY.

-- Donald Trump will not debate Bernie Sanders after all, much to chagrin of TV networks who would've reaped a ratings bonanza had that debate taken place.

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

13) Atlanta is getting new baseball stadium and football stadium even though the ones Braves/Falcons use now are both less than 30 years old. To me, this is absurd in an era where cities have financial problems. I'm thinking publicly funded stadiums should have to be used for 40 years before they can be replaced.

12) My thought on spelling bee that ESPN televised this week: God bless these kids for being so smart, but go out and play for Pete's sake.

11) I'm guessing MLB Commissioner Manfred wasn't happy with the Astros game Thursday night; Houston starter Lance McCullers threw 108 pitches in five IP, with only seven of them put into play. Not a lot of action when out of 108 pitches, 16 are called strikes, 18 are swung at/missed, 21 are fouled off, seven are put in play.

10) There was flash flooding in Texas Thursday night, with dangerous conditions but channel 2's TV lady was out in the rain, on the air, telling people how dangerous it was. Who thought this was a good idea? The poor woman was soaked.

9) Much was made last year about Joe Maddon batting his pitcher 8th, but he hasn't done it this year and he didn't do it in LY's playoffs. Still haven't been convinced that batting a pitcher 8th gives a team any advantage at all. Some teams still do it, but also some TV analysts openly mock the idea.

8) Phillies are 14-4 in one-run games, 1-7 in games decided by 5+ runs.

7) Want to win a bar bet? Mark Lemke, former utility infielder of the Braves, holds MLB record for most plate appearances (3,664) without getting hit by a pitch.

6) Bryce Harper homered the other night with no batting gloves on; when he got back to the Washington dugout he took a pair of scissors and cut his batting gloves up into several pieces. Athletes can be very quirky people.

5) Former NFL QB Jon Kitna's son will be a walk-on QB at TCU this season.

4) Los Angeles Kings have taken the captain's "C" away from Dustin Brown-- he has been the Kings' captain since 2008, so this is a big deal.

3) North Carolina hoop coach Roy Williams had a knee replaced this week, so we wish him well with that. He should be healthy in time for July recruiting season.

2) Modern basketball: Draymond Green got an offensive rebound on the block, and turned and whipped a diagonal cross-court pass to Klay Thompson outside the arc, 25 feet from the basket. In today's game, thats a good play.

I'll sound old now, but 30 years ago, if you made that pass, you'd get yanked out of the game and maybe drug tested afterwards. The 3-point line has changed basketball (for the better) and made it a more interesting game.

1) Arizona Diamondbacks are having a really bad season; they put two starting pitchers on DL Friday, Shelby Miller and Rubby De la Rosa. Arizona traded a lot of their top prospects to get Miller, who is 1-6, 7.09 this season.

**Udog** · 05-28-2016, 07:45 AM

Memorial Day Weekend betting cheat sheet and action report

From the NBA Playoffs to the Indy 500 and everything in between our Memorial Day betting guide has all you need.

For many of us in the states, Memorial Day Weekend marks a chance to take a little time off, maybe grill up some good food and down an adult beverage or two. But sports – and therefore sports betting – isn’t taking any time off. So we give you a cheat sheet/action report smorgasbord of what you can feast on over the next three days.

A kick in the grass

Among the first events of this big weekend is a soccer match across the pond: the Champions League final. Although the game will be played in Milan, Italy, it features two teams traveling in from the same city in Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, with a 2:45 p.m. Eastern start time Saturday.

“We booked it three ways,” said Jeff Stoneback, manager of The Mirage sportsbook on the Las Vegas Strip. Stoneback noted all three outcomes are based only on the score after the regulation 90 minutes and injury time. “Atletico Madrid is 2-1, Real Madrid is +130, and the draw is +220. A draw is usually our best scenario, but at this point, a draw would be a loser for us.

“Most tickets are on Atletico Madrid right now – almost double the tickets. But I’m sure by game time, we’ll see Real Madrid money. They’re a very public team, even here in the U.S.”

If you’re in Vegas and thinking of hitting The Mirage book for the game, get there early.

“Real Madrid draws a very large crowd,” Stoneback said.

High-stakes hoops

On Saturday night at 8:30 Eastern, the NBA Playoffs bring you Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, with defending champion Golden State again in a must-win situation at Oklahoma City. Online sportsbook Bookmaker.eu saw immediate action on the Thunder, who lead the best-of-7 series 3-2 and will try to close it out at home after failing to do so on the road in Game 5.

“The wiseguys were ready to pounce on any points with OKC as soon as we opened,” Bookmaker spokesman Scott Cooley told Covers. “Within five minutes, we had moved from Warriors -1.5 to Thunder -2. We should see some public money back on Golden State when the weekend bettors get involved, and that could drive the spread back down a point or two.”

I would drive 500 miles

The Indianapolis 500 is a Memorial Day Weekend tradition, and this year, it’s even more so with it being the 100th running of the prestigious race. Drivers should get the “Start your engines” command around 12:15 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.

“Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power are co-favorites to win the Indy 500, all currently listed at 6-1,” said Greg Sindall, senior oddsmaker for online site SportsInteraction. “But all the money is on Canadian James Hinchcliff, who is currently listed at 12-1. The public likes the feel-good story of going from a serious crash at last year’s race to the pole in this year’s race. I expect that is going to drive the public to back him right up to race time. I expect his odds to drop.”

A Coke, a smile and 600 miles

The Indianapolis 500 doesn’t have the market cornered on motorsports this weekend. A few hours later on Sunday, at 6 p.m. Eastern, NASCAR will take to the track with the Sprint Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C.

“We have co-favorites, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson, at 11-2,” said Aaron Kessler, supervisor of the Golden Nugget sportsbook in downtown Las Vegas. “Action has been light so far, with Joey Logano being one notable driver who’s been bet.”

Lord Stanley’s Cup

With an 8 o’clock Eastern faceoff on Monday night, the opening of the Stanley Cup Final will mark the closing of the huge weekend – unless Golden State beats Oklahoma City in the aforementioned NBA playoff game, which would force a Game 7 with a 9 p.m. Eastern tipoff. For now, though, Game 1 between the host Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks will serve as the nightcap.

On Friday at The Mirage, Pittsburgh was a -150 favorite in both Game 1 and for the best-of-7 series, with the takeback on San Jose at +130 to win the series. Since the game brings up the rear of the weekend, there hasn’t been a lot of action yet. But that will change.

“We’ll have some large wagers,” Stoneback assured. “Some hotel guests, some high rollers will bet the hockey with us, especially in the playoffs. We’ll take a dozen five-figure bets, easily.”

Tennis anyone?

The second Grand Slam of the year is well underway, with this weekend marking the midpoint of the two-week French Open in Paris. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic, the dominant force in men’s tennis the past few years, was the 4-5 favorite at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook at the tournament’s start. He’s probably even a larger favorite now after second choice Rafael Nadal (9-2) withdrew Friday with a wrist injury.

Had the tournament held form, Djokovic (14 Grand Slam titles) and fourth-seeded Nadal would have met next week in the semifinals.

On the women’s side, Serena Williams – now with 21 Grand Slam singles titles – has been even more dominant than Djokovic and entered the tournament as a 2-1 fave at the Superbook. Williams rolled through the first two rounds in straight sets and plays her third-round match Saturday in a tournament that has all the makings of another coronation.

Talkin’ baseball

If all that isn’t enough to whet your betting appetite, there’s of course plenty of baseball. That would include interesting weekend series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets,

Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals, and the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians.

That puts a bow on most of your weekend offerings. So before you throw a steak on the barbie, maybe go throw down a bet or two, as well.

**Udog** · 05-28-2016, 07:52 AM

NBA
Long Sheet

Saturday, May 28

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GOLDEN STATE (83 - 14) at OKLAHOMA CITY (66 - 32) - 5/28/2016, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 158-114 ATS (+32.6 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent since 1996.
GOLDEN STATE is 53-41 ATS (+7.9 Units) in all games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 42-34 ATS (+4.6 Units) when the total is greater than or equal to 210 this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 60-43 ATS (+12.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 42-29 ATS (+10.1 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 68-48 ATS (+15.2 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 27-36 ATS (-12.6 Units) after scoring 105 points or more this season.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 29-40 ATS (-15.0 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
OKLAHOMA CITY is 7-7 against the spread versus GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 9-6 straight up against OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
8 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Short Sheet

Saturday, May 28

Golden State at Oklahoma City, 9:05 ET
Golden State: 13-4 ATS after having lost 2 of their last 3
Oklahoma City: 27-36 ATS after scoring 105 points or more

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, May 28

Oklahoma City-Golden State (OC 3-2)
Thunder led 72-47/72-53 at half of their two home wins in this series. Warriors stayed alive by holding serve on their home court, but home side won/covered last four games in this series; three of five games in series stayed under the total. Warriors need to tighten up, play slower and also play better defense. Golden State is 10-5 in playoffs after going 73-9 during year. Oklahoma City is 6-2 at home in playoffs- they ended last two series at home.

Playoff tally: Favorites vs spread: 26-18, Over: 13-31
Second round: Favorites: 13-8, over: 12-9
Conference final: Favorites: 6-5, over: 5-5-1

NBA

Saturday, May 28

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Trend Report
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9:00 PM
GOLDEN STATE vs. OKLAHOMA CITY
Golden State is 2-13 SU in its last 15 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
Golden State is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games on the road
Oklahoma City is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing Golden State
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma City's last 6 games when playing Golden State

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**Udog** · 05-28-2016, 07:55 AM

WNBA
Long Sheet

Saturday, May 28

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CONNECTICUT (15 - 19) at SEATTLE (10 - 24) - 5/28/2016, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SEATTLE is 51-32 ATS (+15.8 Units) in home games after a non-conference game since 1997.
CONNECTICUT is 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) against Western conference opponents over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CONNECTICUT is 3-1 against the spread versus SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 4-0 straight up against SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA

Saturday, May 28

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Trend Report
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10:00 PM
CONNECTICUT vs. SEATTLE
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Connecticut's last 7 games when playing Seattle
Connecticut is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 6 games at home
Seattle is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home

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**Udog** · 05-28-2016, 09:50 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Saturday, May 28

Golden State @ Oklahoma City

Game 723-724
May 28, 2016 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Golden State
128.607
Oklahoma City
134.126
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Oklahoma City
by 5 1/2
225
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Oklahoma City
by 2 1/2
220
Dunkel Pick:
Oklahoma City
(-2 1/2); Over

**Udog** · 05-28-2016, 10:23 AM

WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, May 28

Connecticut @ Seattle

Game 651-652
May 28, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Connecticut
108.537
Seattle
109.920
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Seattle
by 1 1/2
146
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Seattle
by 5
151
Dunkel Pick:
Connecticut
(+5); Under

Announcement

Saturday's NBA and WNBA Trends and Indexes - 5/28

Saturday's NBA and WNBA Trends and Indexes - 5/28

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