The Bum's 2017 WNBA Picks-Trends-News !

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY JUNE 10, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Atlanta Dream Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
8:00 PM Chicago Sky San Antonio Stars AT&T Center
10:00 PM Los Angeles Sparks Phoenix Mercury Talking Stick Resort Arena

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY JUNE 11, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Indiana Fever Washington Mystics Verizon Center
3:00 PM Seattle Storm New York Liberty Madison Square Garden
4:30 PM Minnesota Lynx Dallas Wings College Park Center

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY JUNE 13, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
10:00 PM Atlanta Dream Seattle Storm KeyArena
10:00 PM Dallas Wings Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center

SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 14, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM New York Liberty Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY JUNE 15, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Atlanta Dream Indiana Fever Bankers Life Fieldhouse
10:30 PM San Antonio Stars Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY JUNE 16, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:00 PM New York Liberty Dallas Wings College Park Center
10:00 PM Chicago Sky Phoenix Mercury Talking Stick Resort Arena

Updated Sat Jun 10 12:04 AM EDT

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LEAGUE STANDINGS

Rank Team W L PCT GB CONF HOME ROAD L-10 STREAK

#1 Minnesota Lynx8 0 1.000 - 3-0 3-0 5-0 8-0 W 8

#2 Washington Mystics6 3 0.667 2.5 4-0 4-1 2-2 6-3 L 1

#3 Seattle Storm5 3 0.625 3 1-2 4-1 1-2 5-3 L 1

#4 New York Liberty5 3 0.625 3 1-0 4-2 1-1 5-3 W 3

#5 Phoenix Mercury5 3 0.625 3 2-1 2-2 3-1 5-3 W 1

#6 Atlanta Dream4 3 0.571 3.5 2-3 2-1 2-2 4-3 L 2

#7 Los Angeles Sparks4 3 0.571 3.5 1-1 3-0 1-3 4-3 L 1

#8 Dallas Wings4 5 0.444 4.5 3-2 2-2 2-3 4-5 W 1

#9 Indiana Fever4 5 0.444 4.5 1-0 4-1 0-4 4-5 W 1

#10 Connecticut Sun2 5 0.286 5.5 1-3 0-2 2-3 2-5 W 1

#11 Chicago Sky1 7 0.125 7 1-4 0-4 1-3 1-7 L 5

#12 San Antonio Stars0 8 0.000 8 0-4 0-4 0-4 0-8 L 8

[StarDust Bum]

Saturday’s six-pack

Phil Steele’s top six 2018 draft-eligible QB’s in college football this season:

6) JT Barrett, Ohio State

5) Lamar Jackson, Louisville

4) Josh Allen, Wyoming

3) Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State

2) Josh Rosen, UCLA

1) Sam Darnold, USC

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Saturday’s List of 13: Clearing out a cluttered mind…….

13) If you don’t think Lebron James is one of the three most valuable players in the NBA, think again. He sat out the last 1:49 of the first quarter in Game 3— Golden State went on a 10-0 run, turning a 7-point deficit into a 3-point lead. Warriors won the game by 5.

If a team can’t survive its star sitting out two freakin’ minutes, he is a very valuable player.

12) Utah Valley State’s basketball team is coached by Mark Pope, who played for Kentucky for two years- he was on a national title team as a senior. His Wolverines open this season Nov 11 in Rupp Arena against Kentucky, then the next day, they play Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Utah Valley will start the season 0-2, with two very healthy paychecks and probably a lot of publicity for masochistic scheduling. They should also take a lot of pictures for the cover of their media guide- playing Duke/Kentucky should help their recruiting, long-term.

11) Cam Johnson finally got his release to transfer from Pittsburgh and will play basketball for ACC rival North Carolina as a graduate transfer this coming season.

10) Ohio State’s search for a basketball coach is on-going; there were rumors they offered the job to Creighton’s Greg McDermott, but turned the job down. Butler’s Chris Holtmann is the latest name in the rumor mill.

9) Western Kentucky had the #9 recruiting class in America this year, which is very surprising; they play in Conference USA- their games with Middle Tennessee should be fun this winter.

8) Eric Sogard hit .239 in 1,210 AB’s over six years with the A’s; thats a pretty big sample size. Now he is on the Milwaukee Brewers, batting leadoff and he is hitting .404. WTF?

Sogard played college ball at Arizona State; his coach was Pat Murphy, who is now the bench coach for the Brewers (Milwaukee manager Counsell played for Murphy at Notre Dame). Is it that simple, that playing for someone who has confidence in you can improve your performance this much?

7) Dallas Keuchel (neck) goes back on the DL, with no timetable for a return, which is ominous. Astros’ pitching is not at all deep.

6) St Louis Cardinals are 6-14 this season in games where the winning run scored from the 7th inning on.

5) Since 2013, alums of these schools have won the most money on the PGA Tour:
5) Oklahoma State $46M
4) Georgia Tech $47.2M
3) Arizona State $50.1M
2) UNLV $50.6M
1) Georgia $85.4M

4) Ohio State named Chris Holtmann basketball coach; he went 70-31 in three years at Butler, 34-20 in Big East play. Other than $$$, I’m not sure Ohio State is a better job than Butler, so I’ll be curious to see who the Bulldogs replace Holtmann with.

3) 3-on-3 basketball will be a sport in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo; how they going to decide who plays in that?

2) Thursday night, Robinson Cano called the batboy out during his at-bat and changed batting gloves; never saw that before. Then he got a hit. You can’t change bats during an at-bat unless the bat gets broken.

1) MSNBC is showing a movie on June 17th, which is unusual; All the President’s Men. I’m sure it is just a coincidence- it is the 45th anniversary of the break-in at the Watergate Hotel after all, but still, not like they’re trying to plant a seed in anyone’s mind or anything…….

[StarDust Bum]

Date W/L/T % Units

06/09/2017................ 2-4-0................ 33.33%............... -12.00
06/07/2017................ 1-1-0................ 50.00% .................-0.50
06/06/2017................ 5-1-0................ 83.33%.............. +19.50
06/04/2017................ 1-3-0................ 25.00%............... -11.50
06/03/2017................ 3-3-0................ 50.00%................. -1.50
06/02/2017................ 0-2-0................. 0.00%................ -11.00
06/01/2017................ 1-1-0................ 50.00%................. -0.50

Totals:.....................13 - 16................44.82%.................- 18.00

best bets:

06/09/2017................ 2 - 4 - 0................ 33.33%............... -12.00
06/07/2017................ 1 - 1 - 0................ 50.00% .................-0.50
06/06/2017................ 5 - 1 - 0................ 83.33%.............. +19.50
06/04/2017................ 1 - 3 - 0................ 25.00%............... -11.50
06/03/2017................ 3 - 3 - 0................ 50.00%................. -1.50
06/02/2017.................0 - 2......................00.00%................-11.00
06/01/2017................ 1 - 1 - 0................ 50.00%................ -0.50

Totals:......................13 -16 ....................44.82%................- 18.00

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA

Saturday, June 10

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
ATLANTA vs. CONNECTICUT
Atlanta is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games on the road
Atlanta is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Connecticut is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing Atlanta

8:00 PM
CHICAGO vs. SAN ANTONIO
Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing San Antonio
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games when playing San Antonio
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of San Antonio's last 23 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Antonio's last 7 games at home

10:00 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. PHOENIX
Los Angeles is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Phoenix's last 8 games when playing at home against Los Angeles


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WNBA
Long Sheet

Saturday, June 10

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ATLANTA (4 - 3) at CONNECTICUT (2 - 5) - 6/10/2017, 7:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 6-4 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 8-2 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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CHICAGO (1 - 7) at SAN ANTONIO (0 - 8) - 6/10/2017, 8:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 3-2 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 4-1 straight up against SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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LOS ANGELES (4 - 3) at PHOENIX (5 - 3) - 6/10/2017, 10:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 4-2 against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 4-3 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
4 of 6 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, June 10


Los Angeles @ Phoenix

Game 631-632
June 10, 2017 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
107.894
Phoenix
118.296
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Phoenix
by 10 1/2
168
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Phoenix
by 2
160
Dunkel Pick:
Phoenix
(-2); Over

Chicago @ San Antonio

Game 629-630
June 10, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago
104.635
San Antonio
105.513
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Antonio
by 1
156
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Chicago
by 1 1/2
160
Dunkel Pick:
San Antonio
(+1 1/2); Under

Atlanta @ Connecticut

Game 627-628
June 10, 2017 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
112.2.928
Connecticut
109.954
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Atlanta
by 3
166
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Connecticut
by 4
159
Dunkel Pick:
Atlanta
(+4); Over

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Dream (4-3) at Sun (2-5)
Date: June 10, 2017 7:00 PM EDT

The Connecticut Sun, who have played fewer home games than any team in the WNBA, come off a 2-1 road trip and host the Atlanta Dream at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night in Uncasville, Conn.

The Sun lost their first four games of the season, including a loss to the Dream in the opener, before going on the road and coming back 2-5.

Saturday night, Pride Night for the Sun, is only their third home game of the season -- and they will have a different look for this game, in the wake of some roster moves.

With Alex Bentley taking a temporary leave from the team to play for the Belarus National Team in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Tournament, the Sun signed point guard Feyonda Fitzgerald to fill the roster spot. This week the Sun also sent Jordan Hooper to the Dream in exchange for a 2018 second-round draft pick.

"We're excited to have Fee as part of the team," said Sun coach and general manager Curt Miller. "She was the last player cut in the Indiana camp. She could easily have made that roster coming out of training camp.

"It brings us some athleticism in the backcourt while Alex is gone. She has a great change of pace, change of direction. She's a proven scorer at the collegiate level, but also a good passer. We're excited to get a quality player in here after Alex left."

Fitzgerald is Temple's all-time assists leader while finishing second in points.

The Dream have lost two straight after a 4-1 start, with Tiffany Hayes stepping in for Angel McCoughtry, who is taking the year off to rest, leading the offense.

Hayes, the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for May, leads the Dream with 19.6 points per game while grabbing 4.9 rebounds per game.

"I think she's taking a great load of the leadership on her shoulders, which is good for us," coach Michael Cooper told WNBA.com. "But I think she's trying to take a little too much of the scoring. I think that kind of hurts us in crucial times. You have to be able to pass the ball too (she is averaging just 1.4 assists per game), which will open it up more for you."

The Sun, who have been without Morgan Tuck (knee contusion) for the past two games (she will not play Saturday), are coming off an 85-77 win at San Antonio and are now home for two straight.

Courtney Williams came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting, and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Jonquel Jones just missed her third straight double-double with 14 rebounds and nine points after scoring a career-high 23 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in a 97-79 win at Chicago.

In the season opener, Hayes scored 19 points and the Dream overcame 20 points by Tuck and 21 rebounds from Jones in an 81-74 win over the Sun.

Layshia Clarendon is averaging 11.9 points, 6.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game for the Dream.

WNB HEAD TO HEAD

May 13, 2017 Score ATS Results
ATL « 81 Cover: 12
CONN 74 Under: 155
Tools: Recaps

Aug 28, 2016 Score ATS Results
CONN 73 Under: 160
ATL « 87 Cover: 10
Tools: Recaps

Jul 10, 2016 Score ATS Results
ATL « 67 Cover: 0.5
CONN 63 Under: 130
Tools: Recaps

Jun 12, 2016 Score ATS Results
CONN 87 Cover: 2.5
ATL « 93 Over: 180
Tools: Recaps

Jun 3, 2016 Score ATS Results
ATL « 83 Under: 160
CONN 77 Cover: 1
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Sky (1-7) at Stars (0-8)
Date: June 10, 2017 8:00 PM EDT

The Chicago Sky will be looking to double their win total for the season when they square off against the winless San Antonio Stars at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Saturday.

It will be the second Saturday in a row that the Stars have hosted a team that carried one victory into the Alamo City. On June 3, the Connecticut Sun hit San Antonio with only one win and left with their second by beating the Stars. It seems that if a team needs a win, it can find one in San Antonio.

The Sky (1-7) head into south Texas on the heels of Tuesday's 79-70 road loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, the reigning WNBA champions.

Courtney Vandersloot contributed 13 points and six rebounds in the loss while Allie Quigley and Stefanie Dolson added 12 and 10 points, respectively. That was the fifth straight loss for Chicago, which committed 19 turnovers in the defeat, with 13 of those coming on steals by the Sparks.

The Sky's only win of the season was on May 21 at Atlanta. Chicago is trying to find its way after former WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne left during the offseason to join the Washington Mystics.

"We look at the positives and look at the things we've improved on and continue to press forward," Chicago coach Amber Stocks said. "We are just trying to do the little things every day to get better. We are going to do what we do and do it with heightened intensity."

San Antonio (0-8) is off to the worst start in franchise history and has lost 11 consecutive home games dating back to last July, establishing a WNBA mark for home futility.

The Stars' latest loss was an 85-76 setback to the Seattle Storm at home on Tuesday. Guard Kayla McBride led San Antonio in scoring for the fifth time this year with 21 points while adding six rebounds. Guard Moriah Jefferson provided 10 points and five assists in the loss. McBride leads the Stars in scoring at 17.3 points per game and Jefferson paces the team in assists at 4.2 per contest.

"We're pressing a little bit, especially at home, trying to get that first win," McBride said after the loss to Seattle. "There are things we need to fix and we are still learning how to play with each other. We just need to build a little more confidence and put things together."

The Stars had the worst record in the league in 2016, winning just seven of its 34 games, but things were not supposed to be so difficult this season.

San Antonio hired Vickie Johnson as its coach and owned the top overall draft pick, which it used to take Kelsey Plum, the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I history during her four-year career at the University of Washington.

Plum was added to a solid core that includes McBride and Jefferson and veteran forward Monique Currie. The team has struggled to get healthy (both Plum and Jefferson have missed time with injuries) and to gel in the early going.

"We have a young team and it takes a lot of focus from the start to be able to execute offensively and defensively," Johnson said. "We're not frustrated -- there are a lot of positive things that we are doing -- we just have to learn to close. We just need to pick up our intensity and make the opponent uncomfortable trying to execute their offense."

San Antonio and Chicago will meet three times this season. Following Saturday's matchup, the Stars will host Chicago again on June 30 and travel to Chicago on Aug. 10.


WNB HEAD TO HEAD

Sep 4, 2016 Score ATS Results
SA 73 Over: 170
CHI « 97 Cover: 12
Tools: Recaps

Jun 21, 2016 Score ATS Results
SA 75 Cover: 7.5
CHI « 81 Under: 156
Tools: Recaps

May 27, 2016 Score ATS Results
CHI 78 Over: 157
SA « 79 Cover: 9
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Sparks (4-3) at Mercury (5-3)
Date: June 10, 2017 10:00 PM EDT

Two early leaders in the race for WNBA MVP will meet for the first time this season when the Los Angeles Sparks play at the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday.

The Mercury (5-3) are led by 6-foot-9 center Brittney Griner, who has, for the first time, become the focus of the offense after an offseason in which the team changed 10 players on the roster. Griner is averaging a league-best 24.1 points per game and is coming off a career-best 38-point effort in a win at Indiana on Wednesday.

"She's played great all season," Mercury coach Sandy Brondello said. "We need her. We're still getting used to each other, getting that chemistry, but she's very reliable."

The defending WNBA champion Sparks (4-3) feature the reigning MVP in 6-2 forward Nneka Ogwumike, whose 22.1-point scoring average is second in the league. She had a season-high 28 in Friday night's 96-90 loss at the Dallas Wings.

Los Angeles' frontcourt also has veteran 6-4 center Candace Parker, a four-time first-team All-WNBA player. She is coming off a season-high 25 points against the Wings.

Griner has been known more as a shot-blocking defensive ace, twice earning the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award. While she is averaging 8.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks this season, she has showed an array of offense near the basket, using turnarounds, hooks and spot-up jumpers.

Some teams have no answer for her height, but Parker has seen plenty of the fifth-year pro. She had two double-doubles against Phoenix in 2016, averaging 19.0 points and 10.3 rebounds. Griner averaged 12 points and nine rebounds.

"Regardless of who we're playing she's 6-foot-8," Brondello said of Griner, who is listed as an inch taller. "She's playing great. (The goal) is to get the ball in there as much as we can without losing the flow of the offense."

The Mercury's second scoring option is guard Diana Taurasi, who is averaging 17.4 points. Guard Leilani Mitchell is a boost off the bench, scoring 12.6 points.

The Sparks are playing on back-to-back nights for the first time this season. They are 1-3 on the road.

Los Angeles won two of three meetings with Phoenix last season, although the Mercury did win the one game at home at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

The Sparks are averaging 85.6 points, second best in the league, with new starting point guard Chelsea Gray running the show. She is averaging 13.6 points and 4.1 assists.

"I think she's started off pretty well," Sparks coach Brian Agler told ESPN.com. "I know our team has a chance to be as good as it possibly can if she's playing well."

WNB HEAD TO HEAD

Sep 13, 2016 Score ATS Results
PHO 85 Over: 175
LOS « 90 Cover: 2
Tools: Recaps

Aug 28, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS 66 Under: 136
PHO « 70 Cover: 8.5
Tools: Recaps

Jun 17, 2016 Score ATS Results
PHO 71 Cover: 4
LOS « 77 Under: 148
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

ATL at CONN 07:00 PM

ATL +3.0

O 155.5

CHI at SA 08:00 PM

SA +1.0

O 162.5

LA at PHO 10:00 PM

PHO -2.0

O 162.5

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Capsules
June 10, 2017

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Jonquel Jones scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and the Connecticut Sun posted their first home victory of the season, beating the Atlanta Dream 104-71 on Saturday night.

The Sun (3-5) opened the season with four losses, including their opener against the Dream. With just nine active players, Connecticut had five score in double figures. Shekinna Stricklen and Courtney Williams had 19 points each, Alyssa Thomas 18 and Jasmine Thomas 14.

Damiris Dantas led Atlanta (4-4) with 16 points. Bria Holmes, Elizabeth Williams and Brittney Sykes added 11 apiece. The Dream, who have lost three straight, had won five in a row over the Sun.

The Sun went ahead to stay midway through the first quarter and led 44-32 at halftime behind 10 points each from Stricklen and Williams. The Dream, which committed 21 turnovers, cut the lead to eight in the third quarter but the Sun pulled away from there.

The Sun were without with starting guard Alex Bentley, who is taking a temporary leave to play for Belarus in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Tournament.

SKY 85, STARS 81, OT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Allie Quigley scored nine of her 16 points in overtime, including back-to-back 3-pointers, and Stefanie Dolson finished with 25 points to help the Sky beat the Stars.

Tamera Young had 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Sky (2-7), who snapped a five-game skid.

Quigley hit 3s on consecutive possessions to spark a 12-2 that gave Chicago an 83-75 lead when Cappie Pondexter hit two free throws with 50 seconds left in overtime. Kayla McBride made two free throws on the other end and, after a steal by Moriah Jefferson, Kayla Alexander's putback pulled San Antonio within four with 26 seconds to go. Another steal and a layup by Jefferson made it 83-81 four seconds later but the Stars would get no closer.

Jefferson had 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and tied her career high with five steals for San Antonio (0-9). Dearica Hamby scored a season-high 17 points and McBride added 15.

SPARKS 89, MERCURY 87

PHOENIX (AP) - Chelsea Gray scored 24 points and tied her career high with eight assists to help the Sparks beat the Mercury.

Candace Parker finished with 14 points, Nneka Ogwumike added 13, and Essence Carson and Alana Beard scored 12 apiece for Los Angeles (5-3). Beard added a late steal that helped seal the win.

Brittney Griner's short hook shot pulled the Mercury (5-4) within two points with 2:03 to play and neither team scored again until Parker hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 47 seconds left to make it 87-82. Diana Taurasi answered with two free throws but, after Gray missed a shot on the other end, Beard stole a pass from Leilani Mitchell and was immediately fouled by Taurasi. Beard made the second of two free throws to give the Sparks an 88-84 lead. Taurasi hit a quick 3 to make it a one-point game but, after Gray made 1 of 2 free throws, Taurasi's potential winning shot from just inside half court fell short as time expired.

Taurasi led Phoenix with 27 points, including six 3-pointers. Griner added 21 points and nine rebounds.

[StarDust Bum]

Sunday’s six-pack

Phil Steele’s top six teams in college football this season:

6) Penn State— Have 15 starters back this season.

5) Oklahoma— Wonder if coaching change will lower their rating?

4) USC— Last three times they were preseason top 10, they finished 22nd once and out of top 25 twice

3) Florida State— Play Alabama, Clemson Florida this year; none of them at home.

2) Ohio State— First two times Urban Meyer lost a bowl game, he won national title the next year. Buckeyes lost their bowl LY.

1) Alabama— Jump up to #67 in experience this year, after being #126 LY.

*********************

Sunday’s List of 13: Wrapping up a sports Saturday…….

13) RIP Adam West, 89, TV’s Batman from the late 60’s, one of my favorite TV shows when I was a little kid, maybe my first favorite TV show. Late in his life, West did voiceovers for animated TV shows; Showtime did a special couple years ago on his family’s (successful) efforts to get their dad a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Lot of famous actors were guest villains on Batman; the show was great fun. RIP, sir.

12) I’m in a 16-team dynasty fantasy baseball league, which means you keep your players from year-to-year. Our league is 12 years old; I’ve had Giancarlo Stanton on my team since he was an 18-year old in the Class A Florida State League.

So I turn the Marlins’ game on Saturday and Ichiro Suzuki is already on first base, Yelich is batting— I figure they gave Stanton the day off, but no, he got drilled on the wrist and has already left the game. This is not good.

Jose Abreu got drilled on the knee Friday night and left the game— he’s on my squad too. No bueno when your two best hitters are both hurt, though Abreu did come back and played Saturday night.

11) Which reminds me of a story: I’m coaching a Little League All-Star tournament in Spring Valley, NY, about two hours south of where I live. This is 1995; my team needs to beat the same team twice in one night to win the title- they only had to beat us once to win.

So the first inning of the first game, one of our batters gets hit; then my pitcher gets hit in the head while batting in the same inning. Kid is lying on the ground; as we’re trying to make sure he is OK, have to tell the 2nd game pitcher to warm up to pitch this game.

Out of the blue, one of our fans (we’re in the third base dugout) yells out: “Stop throwing at our players!!!” Now this is a game in a foreign environment; the nightcap, if there is one, will be an actual night game under the lights— I don’t need this. Umpires did a good job of keeping most everyone calm.

Story has a happy ending; we win the first game, the kid who got hit in the head showed lot of guts by pitching (and winning) the second game. We advanced to Maryland for the next round of the tournament, a great example of the players carrying their coach!!!

10) Clark Griffith and Rockies’ manager Bud Black are only two men in baseball history who won 100+ games as a pitcher, and then 600+ games as a manager. Griffith wound up owning the Washington Senators; he was 237-146 in a career than spanned from 1891-1914.

9) Cardinals shook up their coaching staff Friday and also DFA’d SS Jhonny Peralta. Apparently the assistant hitting coach was put on a leave of absence; hard to believe their slump is that guy’s fault.

8) South Florida’s leading scorer Geno Thorpe (15.1 pts/game) will play at Syracuse next season as a graduate transfer. Hope he has some warm clothes.

7) Rays’ OF Kevin Keirmaier broke his hip on an awkward slide at 1B this week, is on the DL.

6) Detroit Lions’ LT Taylor Decker tore his labrum, could be out 4-6 months.

5) Houston Astros have some hard decisions to make; if Dallas Keuchel’s neck injury is serious, then they have to trade for one, probably two starting pitchers. Even if Keuchel comes back, the Houston pitching is shallow- they have a ton of good position players.

4) Milwaukee Brewers lost their last six extra-inning games.

3) Quote of the Day, part 2, from ESPN.com and Washington Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo, which refer to the rescheduling of a rained out Nationals-Orioles game to this past Thursday:

“It rained all day that day (May 11), and the forecast said it would rain until 9:30 or 10. I sat in Buck’s (Showalter) office at 6:30, and we talked about it for 20 minutes. He was 100 percent on-board. He didn’t say anything about not canceling the game.

Their GM [Dan Duquette] was nowhere to be found for three, four hours. We wanted to play the next day. They refused to play then, so the next [open] day was [Thursday]. They drove 32 miles to get there. We flew 3,000 [expletive] miles, and we beat their [behinds]. So quit your whining. Quit whining.”

2) College football teams with best turnover ratio last year:
Washington/Western Michigan, both +18. Ohio State +!5

Teams wth worst turnover ratio last year:
Purdue/Southern Miss, both -17, East Carolina/Bowling Green, both -16.

1) Three college football teams with most returning experience on the offensive line this year:
San Jose State, Tennessee, Auburn

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY JUNE 11, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Indiana Fever Washington Mystics Verizon Center
3:00 PM Seattle Storm New York Liberty Madison Square Garden
4:30 PM Minnesota Lynx Dallas Wings College Park Center

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY JUNE 13, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
10:00 PM Atlanta Dream Seattle Storm KeyArena
10:00 PM Dallas Wings Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center

SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 14, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM New York Liberty Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY JUNE 15, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Atlanta Dream Indiana Fever Bankers Life Fieldhouse
10:30 PM San Antonio Stars Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY JUNE 16, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:00 PM New York Liberty Dallas Wings College Park Center
10:00 PM Chicago Sky Phoenix Mercury Talking Stick Resort Arena

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY JUNE 17, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:00 PM Connecticut Sun Minnesota Lynx Target Center

Updated Sun Jun 11 2:04 AM EDT

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LEAGUE STANDINGS

Rank Team W L PCT GB CONF HOME ROAD L-10 STREAK

#1 Minnesota Lynx8 0 1.000 - 3-0 3-0 5-0 8-0 W 8

#2 Washington Mystics6 3 0.667 2.5 4-0 4-1 2-2 6-3 L 1

#3 Los Angeles Sparks5 3 0.625 3 2-1 3-0 2-3 5-3 W 1

#4 Seattle Storm5 3 0.625 3 1-2 4-1 1-2 5-3 L 1

#5 New York Liberty5 3 0.625 3 1-0 4-2 1-1 5-3 W 3

#6 Phoenix Mercury5 4 0.556 3.5 2-2 2-3 3-1 5-4 L 1

#7 Atlanta Dream4 4 0.500 4 2-4 2-1 2-3 4-4 L 3

#8 Dallas Wings4 5 0.444 4.5 3-2 2-2 2-3 4-5 W 1

#9 Indiana Fever4 5 0.444 4.5 1-0 4-1 0-4 4-5 W 1

#10 Connecticut Sun3 5 0.375 5 2-3 1-2 2-3 3-5 W 2

#11 Chicago Sky2 7 0.222 6.5 1-4 0-4 2-3 2-7 W 1

#12 San Antonio Stars0 9 0.000 8.5 0-4 0-5 0-4 0-9 L 9

[StarDust Bum]

Storm tries to bounce back against Liberty

In sports, it's usually best to have a short memory and not dwell on costly mistakes that result in a loss. But sometimes the revenge factor -- remembering the sting from a loss -- can be the difference between winning and losing.

When Seattle goes to New York for a 3 p.m. ET tipoff on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, players from both teams will have to figure out how to deal with memories from recent losses.

The Storm (5-3) fell apart Friday night, squandered a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and lost to the Indiana Fever. The Storm already had defeated the Fever twice this season.

Seattle shot 72 percent in the third quarter and then watched the Fever reel off 10 straight points to take control and earn the victory.

Storm point guard Sue Bird, who leads the league with 7.8 assists per game, sank two free throws at the 9:16 mark of the second quarter and moved into ninth place in the record books in all-time WNBA scoring. She finished with a season-high 11 points to go along with six assists.

"On this team, we have a lot of weapons," Bird told the Seattle Times before Friday's loss. "So for me as the point guard, I'm just trying to get everybody in the right spots and then make basketball plays. You just have to read what the defense gives you."

The Liberty (5-3) still feel the burn from an 87-81 loss on May 26 to the Storm in Seattle. New York led 63-53 with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

Then rookie Sami Whitcomb took over and scored 22 points on 6-for-8 shooting from 3-point range in under 15 minutes.

Whitcomb had played a total of nine minutes before her coming-out party in that win in May. On Sunday, she will be a marked woman.

"She's not getting the ball," New York small forward Shavonte Zellous told msgnetworks.com. "That's how close we're going to be on her."

Added Liberty guard Sugar Rodgers: "We scouted her. We didn't follow our game plan. I'm a shooter. And when a shooter gets it going, the rim gets big. She gets nothing if I can help it."

Since that loss, the Liberty have gone 3-1 and will be gunning for their fourth straight win on Sunday.

Tina Charles scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Liberty to a 76-61 home victory over Atlanta on Wednesday.

Rodgers scored 16 points, Zellous had 12 and Kiah Stokes pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds for the winners.

To avenge their loss to the Storm, the Liberty will have to keep not only Whitcomb in check, but also the one-two punch of Jewell Loyd (19.0 points per game) and Breanna Stewart (16.0).

Lloyd delivered 25 points in the loss to the Fever. Stewart chipped in 23 points and nine rebounds.

[StarDust Bum]

Delle Donne (groin) questionable to face Fever

Elena Delle Donne's groin injury turned an intriguing matchup against the Minnesota Lynx into a one-sided loss for the Washington Mystics.

Less than 48 hours later, the Eastern Conference leaders must get ready for battle on Sunday at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., against the Indiana Fever whether their leading scorer is ready or not.

Playing without Delle Donne and against the WNBA's lone undefeated team, Washington's four-game winning streak ended harshly with a 98-73 loss to the Lynx.

Minnesota led by 13 points after the first quarter and cruised from there behind 21 points from Sylvia Fowles. The Lynx shot 52.6 percent from the field and 11 of 24 on 3-point shots.

Washington (5-3) couldn't match that production without Delle Donne and Emma Meesseman, who is overseas with the Belgium national team. Tayler Hill scored 20 points and Ivory Latta had 15, but the Mystics committed 15 turnovers.

"It was a learning day ... for us," Hill said. "Minnesota is the best for a reason. They play well together, they're coached great over there. It's a learning curve for us. ... We still don't have all of our players here, so the chemistry will come as time goes on."

Acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Sky in January, Delle Donne is among the league leaders with 20.6 points per game. The 6-foot-5 forward is shooting 95 percent (57 of 60) from the free throw line.

Her status for Sunday's game remains uncertain, meaning the Mystics must prepare to rebound potentially without the 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player.

"What I told (the team) was that we have a game just as important on Sunday, if not more so in many ways," coach Mike Thibault said. "You need to have short term memories about at least about Minnesota quickly.

"You need to flush it away and come in, when we walk in the gym tomorrow, be ready mentally to prepare for Indiana. A win on Sunday can take away (the loss to Minnesota)."

The Fever (4-5) can reach .500 with a second consecutive win. Erica Wheeler scored 19 points in Indiana's 83-80 victory over the Seattle Storm on Friday. Candice Dupree had 16 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

Natalie Achonwa 17 scored 17 off the bench after going scoreless in Indiana's 98-90 home loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.

"Achonwa was huge," coach Pokey Chatman said on the team's website. "What's interesting for Natalie is even if she doesn't have a great game on the stat sheet, she always manages to still make plays.

"She's a cerebral player. I really enjoy Natalie in terms of her basketball IQ as a post player, so I'm really happy that she bounced back."

Wheeler is playing a larger role because of Briann January's left Achilles tendon strain. She scored a career-high 24 points against Phoenix.

"My teammates are just telling me to keep going and going," Wheeler said. "That's how I am. I'll die for them, so I just keep pushing and pushing."

Washington won the season series 2-1 last season.

[StarDust Bum]

Lynx seek 9-0 start against Wings

Sylvia Fowles and the Minnesota Lynx look to make it nine straight wins to open the season on Sunday when they visit the Dallas Wings at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.

Fowles led the charge with 21 points and 11 rebounds as Minnesota (8-0) cruised to an easy 98-73 win over the Washington Mystics on Friday night, which was a historic evening for Lindsay Whalen.

Whalen passed Swin Cash to become the winningest player in WNBA history with her 295th career victory, scoring two points and dishing out six assists.

Maya Moore and Rebekkah Brunson each scored 17 for Minnesota.

"We don't feel like we have one player that has to carry the team," Fowles told reporters. "And when we're open, we're open and, if we're not, we make it our business to pass and get our teammates involved."

The Lynx have done a good job of that, as the team leads the league with 21.4 assists and in scoring with 86.1 points per game.

Dallas (4-5) also is riding high after a come-from-behind 96-90 victory over the defending champion Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night.

Glory Johnson scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help the Wings erase a double-digit deficit in a win that snapped the team's three-game losing streak.

Skylar Diggins-Smith chipped in 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Wings outscored the Sparks 32-19 in the fourth quarter.

It was the Wings' highest offensive output of the season. The Wings are averaging 84.7 points -- the third-highest scoring average in the league.

"This was a big step for us, especially for our young players," Dallas coach Fred Williams told the Dallas Morning News. "It tells me that we're a relentless team. We won't give up."

Minnesota edged Dallas 89-87 in their first meeting of the season on May 20, with Diggins-Smith scoring a team-high 22 points and Fowles totaling 27 points and 13 boards.

Dallas has declared Sunday's game "Nancy Lieberman Day" and will honor the former WNBA star for her contributions to the game and the Dallas-Forth Worth community.

Lieberman was the first overall pick of the Dallas Diamonds in 1981 in the Women's Professional Basketball League. She led the team to a WABA Championship three years later.

[StarDust Bum]

Date W/L/T % Units

06/10/2017................ 3-3-0................ 50.00%................ -1.50
06/09/2017................ 2-4-0................ 33.33%............... -12.00
06/07/2017................ 1-1-0................ 50.00% .................-0.50
06/06/2017................ 5-1-0................ 83.33%.............. +19.50
06/04/2017................ 1-3-0................ 25.00%............... -11.50
06/03/2017................ 3-3-0................ 50.00%................. -1.50
06/02/2017................ 0-2-0................. 0.00%................ -11.00
06/01/2017................ 1-1-0................ 50.00%................. -0.50

Totals:.....................16 - 19................45.71%.................- 19.50

best bets:

06/10/2017................ 3 - 3 - 0................ 50.00%................ -1.50
06/09/2017................ 2 - 4 - 0................ 33.33%............... -12.00
06/07/2017................ 1 - 1 - 0................ 50.00% .................-0.50
06/06/2017................ 5 - 1 - 0................ 83.33%.............. +19.50
06/04/2017................ 1 - 3 - 0................ 25.00%............... -11.50
06/03/2017................ 3 - 3 - 0................ 50.00%................. -1.50
06/02/2017.................0 - 2......................00.00%................-11.00
06/01/2017................ 1 - 1 - 0................ 50.00%................ -0.50

Totals:......................16 -19 .................45.71%..................- 19.50