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

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 10, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:00 PM Phoenix Mercury Dallas Wings College Park Center
8:00 PM San Antonio Stars Chicago Sky Allstate Arena

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 11, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:30 PM New York Liberty Atlanta Dream McCamish Pavilion
8:00 PM Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Target Center

SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY AUGUST 12, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Dallas Wings Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
7:30 PM Indiana Fever Washington Mystics Verizon Center
8:00 PM Atlanta Dream San Antonio Stars AT&T Center
10:00 PM Seattle Storm Phoenix Mercury Talking Stick Resort Arena

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY AUGUST 13, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Los Angeles Sparks New York Liberty Madison Square Garden

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY AUGUST 15, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Connecticut Sun Atlanta Dream McCamish Pavilion

Updated Wed Aug 9 1:04 AM EDT

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LEAGUE STANDINGS

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

#1 Minnesota Lynx - x21 3 0.875 - 11-0 11-1 10-2 8-2 W 1

#2 Los Angeles Sparks18 7 0.720 3.5 8-4 12-1 6-6 6-4 L 1

#3 Connecticut Sun16 9 0.640 5.5 8-4 9-3 7-6 8-2 W 4

#4 Washington Mystics15 10 0.600 6.5 10-2 9-2 6-8 5-5 W 1

#5 New York Liberty13 12 0.520 8.5 6-5 8-4 5-8 5-5 W 1

#6 Phoenix Mercury13 12 0.520 8.5 5-6 7-6 6-6 4-6 L 2

#7 Dallas Wings13 14 0.481 9.5 7-8 9-5 4-9 5-5 W 2

#8 Chicago Sky10 16 0.385 12 5-9 3-9 7-7 6-4 W 2

#9 Atlanta Dream10 16 0.385 12 4-9 7-6 3-10 2-8 L 5

#10 Seattle Storm10 16 0.385 12 5-7 8-6 2-10 3-7 L 4

#11 Indiana Fever9 18 0.333 13.5 4-8 6-7 3-11 2-8 L 1

#12 San Antonio Stars6 21 0.222 16.5 1-12 5-10 1-11 5-5 W 3

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA August Record: Best Bets ( BASED ON 5 UNITS )

DATE W-L-T % UNITS

08/08/2017..............3-3-0..............50.00%...................-1.50
08/06/2017..............4-2-0..............66.67%..................+9.00
08/05/2017..............3-1-0..............75.00%..................+9.50
08/04/2017..............4-6-0..............40.00%..................-13.00
08/03/2017..............0-2-0................0.00%..................-11.00


Totals...................14 - 14 - 0.............50.00%..................-7.00

DATE.......................ATS................TOTA L............OU................TOTAL

08/08/2017..............3 - 0..........+ 15.00.........0 - 3................- 16.50
08/06/2017..............2 - 1...........+ 4.50.........2 - 1.................+ 4.50
08/05/2017..............2 - 0...........+10.00........1 - 1...................- 0.50
08/04/2017..............3 - 2............+ 4.00........1 - 4..................-17.00
08/03/2017..............0 - 1.............- 5.50........0 - 1...................- 5.50


Totals....................10 - 3 - 0........+ 28.00.........3 - 10.................-35.00

[StarDust Bum]

Wednesday’s six-pack

— Georgetown dropped out of the PK80 tournament in November, which tells me they think they’ll be lousy this year. DePaul replaces them in the Phil Knight-themed tournament, which is a one-time-only deal, to honor Knight on his 80th birthday.

— There are rumors that Bryce Harper will bolt to the Cubs after the 2018 season; he and Kris Bryant grew up in Las Vegas and are friends.

— Braves’ SS Johan Camargo got carried off the field after he got hurt while jogging on the field for the start of the game. Seriously. He tripped, fell and hurt his right leg.

— ESPNU is airing a corn hole tournament during the day; WTF? Corn hole is trying to throw bean bags thru holes in a wooden board 20-25 feet away. Compelling TV.

— I’m not fond of Little League games being on national TV. Lot of pressure for 13-year olds.

— RIP Glen Campbell 81, a great singer who once sponsored the LA Open on the PGA Tour at Riviera CC.

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Wednesday’s List of 13: Random notes on AFC teams…..

Baltimore: With Flacco hurting, who will the QB be? Backup Mallett is shaky, at best. Ravens ran ball for only 91.4 yards/game LY (28th). Ravens lost their last six road games- they allowed 28.5 pts/game during 1-3 stumble at end of year, after they started season 7-5.

Buffalo: Another new head coach, and now they have 4th offensive coordinator in last four years; Bills finished 3-7 LY after a 4-2 start, were 2-6 in games decided by 7 or less points. Haven’t been in playoffs since 1999, longest drought in league, longer than even the Browns.

Cincinnati: Dropped from 7th in scoring in 2015 to 24th LY, then two offensive linemen left in free agency last winter. Missed playoffs LY for first time in six years, but Marvin Lewis is 0-7 in playoff games. Bengal fans have forgotten how bad the Bengals were before Lewis got there.

Cleveland: Who is the QB? Browns are 2-10-1 vs spread as a home underdog last two years- five of their 15 losses were by 6 or less points. Cleveland hasn’t won much; since 2010, Browns are 10-17-2 vs spread in game following a win. Cleveland last made the playoffs in 2002.

Denver: Have new coach, young QB’s, after going 9-7 in first season since Peyton Manning retired, missing playoffs for first time in six years. Broncos won last five season openers, all at home; they open at home against the Chargers on a Monday night this season.

Houston: Finished 9-7 in all three of O’Brien’s seasons; he is 16-5-1 vs spread as a favorite with the Texans, 12-4-1 at home— he is 9-15-1 as an underdog. Houston is 12-7-1 vs spread in game following their last 20 losses. How long before rookie QB Watson plays?

Indianapolis: How is Luck’s shoulder? Without him, Colts are screwed. Indy made playoffs in 12 of last 16 years, but missed the last two years (8-8/8-8). Colts finished 10th in yardage LY. Indy lost four of last five season openers- they visit the Rams in Week 1 this year.

Jacksonville: Tom Coughlin runs franchise now; they’re 22-74 the last six years, are -26 in turnovers in their last 32 games. Jags will try to run ball more to take pressure off QB Bortles, who is struggling in training camp this summer. Since 2012, Jax is 13-26-2 vs spread at home.

Kansas City: Chiefs are 43-21 in regular season under Reid, 1-3 in playoff games- they’re 11-2 vs spread as road favorites under Reid, 13-17 as home favorites. New OC Matt Nagy played in the Arena League for six years; Chiefs are +30 in turnovers in their last 32 regular season games.

LA Chargers: Year of transition; Bolts will play in 30,000-seat soccer stadium the next three years. Philip Rivers will be 36 in December; new coach Anthony Lynn has two very experienced coordinators, smart of him to do. Chargers were 8-16 vs spread at home the last three years.

Miami: Jay Cutler (68-71 career record) gets $10M to try and salvage the Dolphins’ season, with Ryan Tannehill (knee) out for at least half the year. In 11 years, Cutler is 1-1 in playoff games. Miami was 9-1 LY when they scored more than 17 points, 1-6 if they scored 17 or less points.

New England: Have had same OC/DC since 2012; they’re +40 in turnovers the last four years, are 17-8-3 vs spread as home favorites since ’13, covering last seven tries as a double digit fave. Offensive line was healthy LY, after using 39 different line combinations in 2015.

NJ Jets: Their long snapper is having a rough camp; they’re looking at new guys for that job. 38-year old McCown was signed for year to play QB; their two young backup QB’s are suspects. Since ’07, Jets are 5-13-1 vs spread as a home favorite in divisional games, but 8-3 as home dogs.

Oakland: Made playoffs LY for first time since 2002; they were +16 in turnovers LY, after being -23 in turnovers previous three years combined. Oakland is 12-3 vs spread on road under Del Rio, 8-2 as road dogs. Raiders made change at OC this year, promoting QB coach Downing.

Pittsburgh: Steelers were 4-5 at one point LY, then won nine games in row before losing AFC title game in Foxboro. Pitt is 18-12 vs spread as a favorite last two years, 9-3 as non-division home favorite the last three years; they’re 12-5 in last 17 games as a favorite of 3 or less points.

Tennessee: Had first winning season since 2011 LY; still haven’t made playoffs since 2008- their last playoff win was in ’03. Jumped from 30th to 11th in yards gained LY; six of their nine wins were by 6 or less points. Titans were even in turnovers LY; they were -24 from 2013-15.

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

— Over/under for the winning score at the PGA this weekend: 12.5 under par.

— Since 2000, the average winning score at the PGA? 11-under par.

— NFL will hire 21-24 of its officials as full-time employees.

— Cubs lost catcher Wilson Contreras (hamstring) in Wednesday’s game.

— Mets traded Jay Bruce to Cleveland, as the Indians look for more punch from the left-hand side of the plate.

— RIP former umpire Ken Kaiser 72, who supplemented his income as a young man by also working as a professional wrestler.


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

13) Umpire Joe West was suspended for three games recently because he identified Adrian Beltre of the Rangers as the biggest complainer in the major leagues. Umpires are better off seen and not heard.

12) Apparently Jameis Winston will be a big part of Hard Knocks this summer; last year, Jared Goff was hardly on the show— it was almost like the Rams signed 3 or 4 scrubs that HBO could focus on in Hard Knocks, so the more prominent players could be left alone.

Bucs’ defensive coordinator Mike Smith went thru the Hard Knocks thing a couple years ago when he was coaching the Falcons— he wound up getting fired.

11) “Stay away from the QB….Stay away from the QB…..Stay away from the QB.”

Bucs’ coach Dirk Koetter, after a pass rusher bumped into Winston’s blind side during a passing drill. Quarterbacks wear a different color jersey during practice, so they don’t get touched.

10) One thing about NFL Films/Hard Knocks- they like showing players bowling on their days off. Happens every year.

9) Bucs’ coach Dirk Koetter has a pretty cool gadget in his office; a touchscreen like the one John King used on CNN during the elections. He can move guys on his depth chart just by touching, dragging the name to a different column. Easier that writing/erasing names on a board.

8) Cleveland Indians are in stretch of 41 games in 41 days, with one doubleheader, so at least there is one day off in there. Tribe had several rainouts, which created the logjam in games.

7) Last time the National League won the season series with the American League was 2003, but this year is closer than usual. AL won by 26+ games the last three years, but this year it is only 112-102 AL, going into Tuesday’s games.

6) Jaguars’ tackle Branden Albert retired, then when he was informed he had to return some of the money the Jags paid him, apparently wanted to unretire.

From ESPN.com: “Jaguars put him on the reserve/retired list, which means the team retains its rights to Albert because he’s under contract to the Jaguars for two more seasons. If Albert were to un-retire, the Jags would have the first option of his services. If they no longer want him, Albert would go through the waiver process and if no team claimed him he would become a free agent.”

5) The Electoral College system in our Presidential elections make no sense to me; they were saying that Republicans completely ignore California/New York because they know they can’t win those states. How do you ignore the two biggest states?

Our system needs updating; whoever gets the most votes should win. I’d rather Idaho and West Virginia get ignored than California and New York. No offense to Idaho and West Virginia.

4) Huge red flag for the Astros: In three starts since coming off the DL, Dallas Keuchel has allowed 14 runs in 12 IP. Lance McCullers is on the DL; Houston has huge pitching issues, which won’t matter until October.

3) Quote of the Day, part 2, from Charles Barkley:

“You want to be on a good team. You want to play with other great players. This notion where you want to be the man, I just think is so stupid. If I got a chance to play with another great player, I want to do that. The objective is to win.”

He is talking about Kyrie Irving wanting out of Cleveland.

2) If you want to buy 33.3% of an NFL team and have $660M to throw around, you can be a part-owner of the Tennessee Titans. One of Bud Adams’ daughters put her share of the team up for sale this week.

1) Apparently I’m out of touch with pop culture; these two “celebrities” are getting divorced, Twitter is blowing up over it, and I’ve never heard of either person. Very disappointed in myself.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Betting Recap - 7/31-8/6

League Betting Notes (Monday, July 31 through Sunday, Aug. 6)

-- Underdogs went 7-5 straight up (SU)
-- Underdogs went 8-4 against the spread (ATS)
-- Home teams posted a 11-1 SU record
-- Road teams posted a 10-2 ATS record
-- The 'over' went 7-5

Team Betting Notes

-- Atlanta (10-15) continues to sink like a stone, dropping their fourth consecutive game on Saturday on the road in Chicago (10-16) They're also 0-4 ATS over the span after a 6-1 ATS run from July 7-25.

-- Speaking of the Sky, they came alive with a pair of victories, just the third time this season they have pieced together consecutive wins. They're also a respectable 7-4 ATS over their past 11, and the 'over' has cashed in four of their past five home outings.

-- Connecticut (15-9) vaulted to the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference, winning their third consecutive game against Phoenix (13-12) on Friday. The Sun have rattled off six straight victories at home, and they're 4-2 ATS during the stretch.

-- Dallas (13-14) topped Los Angeles (18-7) as 6 1/2-point underdogs on Sunday, winning and covering for the second straight outing. It was just the second time this season they have managed to win two or more games in a row.

-- Indiana (9-17) snapped a five-game skid with an 84-82 victory over Minnesota (20-3), a stunning win considering they were 13-point 'dogs even at home. The Fever were 0-2 SU/ATS in their first two games as double-digit underdogs.

-- The Sparks have managed just six wins over their past 10 outings, and they're just 5-5 ATS over the stretch. One thing that has been a point of consistency with L.A. is on totals. The 'under' is 9-2 over their past 11 outings, and 13-3 over the past 16.

-- New York (12-12) continues to scuffle, as they dropped back-to-back games on the road in San Antonio (6-21) and L.A.Since June 23 they're a dismal 5-8 SU and they're just 1-3 ATS over the past four. The 'over' has connected in four in a row for the Liberty. They'll face the Fever on Tuesday, a team they topped 85-84 on July 28 in the most recent meetings, also an 'over' result.

-- Phoenix (13-12) is having difficulties with injuries, and they continue to stumble along. They dropped both games on their east coast swing in Connecticut and D.C., and will look to right the ship in Dallas on Thursday. The Mercury routed the Wings 107-65 at home on May 27 in the most recent meeting, but that was revenge for a stunning 68-58 loss in the opener May 14.

-- The Stars have finally figured it out, winning and covering a season-high three straight games. All six of their victories have come as underdogs this season.

-- Seattle (10-15) has dropped three in a row, tying a season high. The Storm will look to get right in Connecticut on Tuesday. They lost their first trip to Connecticut back on June 29, losing 96-89 as 6 1/2-point underdogs, and they're 0-2 SU/ATS against the Sun this season.

-- Washington (15-10) bounced back after a stunning loss in San Antonio on Friday, bouncing the Mercury 85-80 on Sunday in D.C. The Mystics have won and covered four in a row at the Verizon Center.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, August 10


San Antonio @ Chicago

Game 609-610
August 10, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
San Antonio
107.244
Chicago
112.669
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Chicago
by 5 1/2
158
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Chicago
by 7
160
Dunkel Pick:
San Antonio
(+7); Under

Phoenix @ Dallas

Game 607-608
August 10, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Phoenix
110.277
Dallas
110.099
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Phoenix
Even
164
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Dallas
by 3
171 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Phoenix
(+3); Under




WNBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, August 10

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PHOENIX (13 - 12) at DALLAS (13 - 14) - 8/10/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 25-36 ATS (-14.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 21-34 ATS (-16.4 Units) after allowing 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 16-30 ATS (-17.0 Units) after scoring 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 6-17 ATS (-12.7 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 7-18 ATS (-12.8 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game after 15+ games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 7-6 against the spread versus PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX is 7-6 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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SAN ANTONIO (6 - 21) at CHICAGO (10 - 16) - 8/10/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN ANTONIO is 19-10 ATS (+8.0 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 18-9 ATS (+8.1 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 over the last 2 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) in road games against Eastern conference opponents over the last 3 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 15-6 ATS (+8.4 Units) in road games in non-conference games over the last 3 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 27-16 ATS (+9.4 Units) after allowing 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 4-12 ATS (-9.2 Units) in home games after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 13-26 ATS (-15.6 Units) in home games after allowing 75 points or more over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 4-3 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 5-2 straight up against SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
6 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA

Thursday, August 10

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
PHOENIX vs. DALLAS
Phoenix is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Phoenix is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas is 7-14 SU in its last 21 games when playing Phoenix
Dallas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Phoenix

8:00 PM
SAN ANTONIO vs. CHICAGO
The total has gone OVER in 8 of San Antonio's last 9 games when playing Chicago
San Antonio is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Chicago is 3-10 ATS in its last 13 games at home
Chicago is 3-10 SU in its last 13 games at home

[StarDust Bum]

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

PHO at DAL 08:00 PM

DAL -3.0

U 172.5

SA at CHI 08:00 PM

SA +7.0

O 159.5

[StarDust Bum]

Currie scores 29, Mercury hold off Wings 101-100 in OT
August 10, 2017

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Monique Currie scored 29 points, Danielle Robinson made two free throws for a three-point lead with 41.1 seconds left in overtime and the Phoenix Mercury beat the Dallas Wings 101-100 on Thursday night.

Dallas scored the first six points of overtime, but Currie's 3-pointer from the corner put Phoenix ahead 99-98 with 58.9 seconds left. After Robinson's makes, Allisha Gray hit two free throws with 31.9 seconds left to pull Dallas to 101-100.

Phoenix had a pass stolen by Karima Christmas-Kelly with 16 seconds left, but the Mercury deflected a pass at the other end and Dallas didn't get off a final shot before the buzzer.

Robinson and Emma Cannon each added 17 points for Phoenix (14-12).

Glory Johnson had 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists for Dallas (13-15).

Johnson was fouled on a putback with 14.4 seconds left in regulation and she made the free throw to tie it at 90. Diana Taurasi's contested 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.

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Vandersloot leads Sky to win over SA
August 10, 2017

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) Courtney Vandersloot had 21 points and 10 assists for her fifth straight double-double and the Chicago Sky cruised past the San Antonio Stars 94-74 on Thursday night.

Allie Quigley added 17 points and a career-high nine assists for Chicago (11-16). Vandersloot was 9 of 11 from the field, with three 3-pointers, and Chicago shot 56.7 percent.

Last Saturday, Vandersloot became the first player in WNBA history to log four consecutive double-doubles with points and assists.

Dearica Hamby had 17 points and seven rebounds for San Antonio (6-22). Kelsey Plum had eight points and eight assists.

Chicago started the game on a 12-2 run and Vandersloot made a scoop shot with 1.1 seconds left in the first half to extend the Sky's lead to 51-37. She had 12 points and eight assists in the half.

The Sky led by at least eight points in the second half.

[StarDust Bum]

Friday’s six-pack

American League Wild Card standings:

1) New York 60-53

2) Seattle 59-56

3) Tampa Bay 0.5 games behind

4) Kansas City 1 GB

5) Minnesota 1.5 GB

6) LA Angels 2 GB

7) Baltimore 2.5 GB

8) Texas 4 GB

9) Toronto 4.5 GB

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Friday’s List of 13: Random stuff with the weekend here…….

13) Damned if you do, damned if you don’t: I know people who stopped watching the NFL last year because of the Colin Kaepernick/kneeling thing. Granted, these people aren’t avid fans, but they did stop watching games.

Now there is a petition with 130,000 names on it claiming THEY will boycott games if some NFL team doesn’t sign Kaepernick. The fact that he may have turned down Seattle’s offer to be a backup doesn’t seem to matter to these humans— maybe they want him to take Tom Brady’s place.

I don’t know, but if I never hear the word “politics” again, it’ll be too damn soon.

12) Mets saved $4M by trading Jay Bruce to the Indians. Its always good when the Wilpons can bank an extra $4M, seeing as how they’re friends with Bernie Madoff and all— a little extra change never hurt anyone.

Bronx Bombers offered $1M and two prospects for Bruce; the two prospects mustn’t be very good, or else the Mets just preferred cash.

11) 44-year old pitcher Bartolo Colon was in the big leagues before 17 of the current 30 major league stadiums were opened.

10) Houston Texans have five Clemson guys on their squad, a good college team to pick from. Never hurts to have players who are used to winning.

9) Scary story about Oakland University hoop coach Greg Kampe, who almost died this summer when six kidney stones that were lodged in his kidney became infected. He wound up in intensive care for five days— he is OK now, but in his early 60’s, sepsis is a very dangerous thing to have in your system. He was smart to go to the ER to get treatment.

Kampe is 583-424 in his head coaching career, all of which has been spent at Oakland.

8) If you care about such things, ESPN will have 28 consecutive hours of fantasy football coverage on its airwaves, starting Monday night at 7pm.

7) Mike Krzyzewski is having knee replacement surgery this week, so Duke’s basketball team has cancelled its summer trip to the Dominican Republic. Teams can only take one of those trips every four years; they’ll probably go next year now.

6) Odd Fact of the Day: A 91-year old woman in Thailand earned a college degree after spending more than 10 years studying for it— she got her diploma from the country’s king. Good for her.

5) With Padres leading 3-2 at Cincinnati Thursday with one out and tying run on second with one out in the bottom of the 7th inning, manager Andy Green changed pitchers, replacing righty Kirby Yates with lefty Brad Hand with a 2-2 count on Joey Votto.

Not sure how many times I’ve seen this before, but it is very few. Hand is San Diego’s closer, but to close this win, he had to get eight outs!!! Unusual strategy.

Votto walked, Adam Duvall struck out, then Scooter Gennett hit a grand slam, making Green’s strategy a complete disaster. Have no idea what he was thinking; the San Diego TV guys said this: “…..some interesting decisions by Andy Green”

4) UAB has brought back its football team this year, after it was gone for a couple years; the mayor of Birmingham says the team’s return will have a $50M positive impact on the city’s economy.

Maybe he thinks the Crimson Tide are moving from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham.

3) Mets had a deal to send Neal Walker to the Bronx at the trade deadline, but when Bronx acquired Sonny Gray, they scuttled the Walker deal, using Walker’s medical records as the excuse why. Mets’ brass wasn’t amused, which may be why Jay Bruce is in Cleveland now.

That and the thing about Bronx not wanting to absorb Bruce’s contract, which the Indians did.

2) Quarterbacks are valuable; there are reports that the Bengals turned down a 2nd-round pick for backup QB AJ McCarron. That is surprising.

1) Atlanta Falcons had six games LY where they had a +3 or better turnover ratio; thats going to be really difficult to replicate this season. Numbers people think Atlanta will regress some this season, and thats before factoring in the fact that they have two new coordinators this year.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Basketball Trend Report

NEW YORK (13 - 12) at ATLANTA (10 - 16) - 8/11/2017, 7:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 2-10 ATS (-9.0 Units) in August or September games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) in road games when playing with 2 days rest this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
NEW YORK is 6-4 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
NEW YORK is 7-3 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

LOS ANGELES (18 - 7) at MINNESOTA (21 - 3) - 8/11/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LOS ANGELES is 175-223 ATS (-70.3 Units) after scoring 75 points or more since 1997.
MINNESOTA is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) on Friday this season.
MINNESOTA is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 8-8 against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 10-6 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
10 of 16 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA

Friday, August 11

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Trend Report
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7:30 PM
NEW YORK vs. ATLANTA
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games on the road
Atlanta is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games when playing New York
Atlanta is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games at home

8:00 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. MINNESOTA
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 7 games on the road
Los Angeles is 4-15 SU in its last 19 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota's last 7 games when playing Los Angeles
Minnesota is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games

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FRIDAY AUGUST 11, 2017

Los Angeles
@
Minnesota
Game 613-614
August 11, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating: Los Angeles
113.683
Minnesota
121.212
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total: Minnesota
by 7 1/2
166
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total: Minnesota
by 5 1/2
159 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota
(-5 1/2); Over

New York
@
Atlanta
Game 611-612
August 11, 2017 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating: New York
108.458
Atlanta
111.945
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total: Atlanta
by 3 1/2
163
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total: Atlanta
by 1
160
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta
(-1); Over

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Liberty (13-12) at Dream (10-16)
Date: August 11, 2017 7:30 PM EDT

Red-hot Tina Charles and the New York Liberty head to Atlanta on Friday to take on the struggling Dream in an Eastern Conference battle between a pair of playoff contenders.

Charles, the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for July, has continued to roll in August. She scored 26 points to lead the Liberty past Indiana on Tuesday, snapping a two-game slide for New York.

The Liberty (13-12) enter Friday's road test in fifth place in the league standings. They will face an Atlanta squad that has dropped five straight games to fall into ninth place. The top eight teams qualify for the postseason.

Three of the Dream's losses during their current skid came against the juggernaut Minnesota Lynx, who own the best record in the league. Atlanta played the Lynx tough on Tuesday and had a lead late in the third quarter. But the Dream faltered down the stretch, scoring just eight points in the fourth quarter and lost to Minnesota for the ninth consecutive time.

"I think we just need to stay mentally tough going into the fourth quarter," Atlanta guard Bria Holmes told reporters after the loss to the Lynx. "Just staying together as one. Most of the games we lost have been in the fourth quarter. We just need to stay together. We just need to play for 40 minutes. We can't just let up and complain. If something doesn't go our way, we need to keep fighting and playing through everything."

Atlanta (10-16) and New York have split their two previous games this season. The Dream beat the Liberty in their most recent meeting 81-72 on July 2 in Atlanta. Rookie guard Brittney Sykes had 19 points, and point guard Layshia Clarendon scored 15 points and handed out nine assists to help Atlanta overcome a 21-point performance from Charles.

Charles had 18 points and 15 rebounds in the Liberty's 76-61 home win over Atlanta on June 7.

"Tina does such a good job of being consistent and not taking plays off," Atlanta forward Elizabeth Williams told the team's website. "Every play, every second she's either posting up, she's moving, she's forcing you to defend her at all times."

July was a WNBA-high 10th time Charles has been named player of the month during her eight-year career.


WNB HEAD TO HEAD

Jul 2, 2017 Score ATS Results
NEW 72 Under: 153
ATL « 81 Cover: 13.5
Tools: Recaps

Jun 7, 2017 Score ATS Results
ATL 61 Under: 137
NEW « 76 Cover: 10.5
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Liberty (13-12) at Dream (10-16)
Date: August 11, 2017 7:30 PM EDT

Red-hot Tina Charles and the New York Liberty head to Atlanta on Friday to take on the struggling Dream in an Eastern Conference battle between a pair of playoff contenders.

Charles, the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for July, has continued to roll in August. She scored 26 points to lead the Liberty past Indiana on Tuesday, snapping a two-game slide for New York.

The Liberty (13-12) enter Friday's road test in fifth place in the league standings. They will face an Atlanta squad that has dropped five straight games to fall into ninth place. The top eight teams qualify for the postseason.

Three of the Dream's losses during their current skid came against the juggernaut Minnesota Lynx, who own the best record in the league. Atlanta played the Lynx tough on Tuesday and had a lead late in the third quarter. But the Dream faltered down the stretch, scoring just eight points in the fourth quarter and lost to Minnesota for the ninth consecutive time.

"I think we just need to stay mentally tough going into the fourth quarter," Atlanta guard Bria Holmes told reporters after the loss to the Lynx. "Just staying together as one. Most of the games we lost have been in the fourth quarter. We just need to stay together. We just need to play for 40 minutes. We can't just let up and complain. If something doesn't go our way, we need to keep fighting and playing through everything."

Atlanta (10-16) and New York have split their two previous games this season. The Dream beat the Liberty in their most recent meeting 81-72 on July 2 in Atlanta. Rookie guard Brittney Sykes had 19 points, and point guard Layshia Clarendon scored 15 points and handed out nine assists to help Atlanta overcome a 21-point performance from Charles.

Charles had 18 points and 15 rebounds in the Liberty's 76-61 home win over Atlanta on June 7.

"Tina does such a good job of being consistent and not taking plays off," Atlanta forward Elizabeth Williams told the team's website. "Every play, every second she's either posting up, she's moving, she's forcing you to defend her at all times."

July was a WNBA-high 10th time Charles has been named player of the month during her eight-year career.


WNB HEAD TO HEAD

Jul 2, 2017 Score ATS Results
NEW 72 Under: 153
ATL « 81 Cover: 13.5
Tools: Recaps

Jun 7, 2017 Score ATS Results
ATL 61 Under: 137
NEW « 76 Cover: 10.5
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Sparks (18-7) at Lynx (21-3)
Date: August 11, 2017 8:00 PM EDT

Things haven't changed much since the WNBA's first Game of the Year.

The Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks are still the top two teams in the league, in line to get byes into the best-of-five playoff semifinals.

The teams meet Friday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., in a rematch of the Lynx's 88-77 home win on July 6.

Both teams lost on Sunday. Minnesota lost 84-82 on the road against the Indiana Fever in its first game without point guard Lindsay Whalen, who broke a bone in her hand during an Aug. 3 win over Atlanta. She had surgery the next day.

While the usual timeframe for recovery from such an injury is 3-to-4 weeks, head coach Cheryl Reeve is confident her point guard will return.

"We're going to have Lindsay back, that's the great thing," Reeve told reporters. "She's going to play again this season. The healing has begun."

Guard Renee Montgomery, a 10-year veteran, has run the point in Whalen's absence.

"I'm just going to bring high energy at all times" Montgomery said. "Ball pressure and pace. Same things I brought off the bench I'm going to bring into the starting lineup. I'm not going to change what I do, I'm just going to be doing it in a different position."

Montgomery had six assists in the Lynx's 81-72 win at Atlanta on Tuesday.

Reeve praised Whalen's floor leadership, calling her "the head of the snake."

"I don't need Renee Montgomery to try to be Lindsay Whalen," Reeve stressed. "That is probably the biggest thing."

Montgomery, who had been Minnesota's top bench player, added, "I'm going to play my game. Just in a different role."

While Minnesota is 21-3, with a 3 1/2-game lead in the standings, Friday's game might be more crucial for Los Angeles.

The Sparks (18-7) are just two games up on third-place Connecticut.

Head coach Brian Agler's team will need an improvement over its performance in Sunday's 85-79 loss in Dallas.

"They just outplayed us," Agler said, according to the website Swish Appeal. "I don't think it's about playing in Dallas, I think that Dallas is just a different type of team.

"They're very aggressive, they get to the free throw line a lot, it's a lot of second shots and that's a big part of how they have success. Tonight, we didn't do a very good job dealing with that."

The Sparks didn't deal well with the Wings on the boards.

Dallas had a 47-31 rebounding advantage and grabbed 16 on the offensive end, while Los Angeles had just four.

"I mean, obviously, it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to," Sparks forward Candace Parker said.

"But they're a good team, they're fighting position, as are we. So, I think, obviously, them outrebounding us by 16 wasn't in our favor."

This is the second of five road games in 12 days for Los Angeles, which is just 6-6 away from home this season.

The Sparks will face the New York Liberty on Sunday afternoon before heading to Washington and Chicago.

Minnesota will meet the Storm in Seattle on Sunday.

The third and final regular-season meeting of the 2016 WNBA Finals participants is scheduled for Aug. 26 in Los Angeles.


WNB HEAD TO HEAD

Jul 6, 2017 Score ATS Results
LOS 77 Under: 165
MIN « 88 Cover: 4.5
Tools: Recaps

Oct 20, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 77 Cover: 6.5
MIN 76 Under: 153
Tools: Recaps

Oct 16, 2016 Score ATS Results
MIN « 85 Cover: 7
LOS 79 Over: 164
Tools: Recaps

Oct 14, 2016 Score ATS Results
MIN 75 Over: 167
LOS « 92 Cover: 16
Tools: Recaps

Oct 11, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS 60 Under: 139
MIN « 79 Cover: 12
Tools: Recaps

Oct 9, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 78 Cover: 8.5
MIN 76 Under: 154
Tools: Recaps

[StarDust Bum]

FRIDAY, AUGUST 11

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

NY at ATL 07:30 PM

ATL -2.5

U 158.5

LA at MIN 08:00 PM

LA +5.5

O 162.0

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA Capsules
August 11, 2017

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Chelsea Gray scored 23 points, Candace Parker had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Minnesota Lynx 70-64 on Friday night.

Minnesota's Rebekkah Brunson caught Maya Moore's airball and put it in to get the Lynx within 66-63 with 49.3 seconds left. Nneka Ogwumike answered with a baseline jumper for her first basket of the game with 28 seconds left.

Sylvia Fowles missed a shot in the lane and Gray made two free throws with 14.6 seconds remaining for a seven-point lead.

Odyssey Sims added 14 points for Los Angeles (19-7) and Ogwumike scored three points to reach 3,000 for her career.

Fowles had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota (21-4). Brunson added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Moore scored 12.

The Lynx unveiled their new logo for next season at halftime.

LIBERTY 83, DREAM 77

ATLANTA (AP) - Shavonte Zellous had 20 points, Epiphanny Prince scored all four of her points in the final 30 seconds, and the Liberty held off the Dream.

New York led by double figures for much of the game but Atlanta used a 9-0 fourth-quarter run to pull to 71-65 with 4:44 left.

After a timeout with 49.5 seconds left, Atlanta's Brittney Sykes hit a 3-pointer from the corner to get the Dream within 75-74. Prince answered with her first basket of the game, a pull-up jumper, to extend New York's lead to 77-74. Atlanta's Layshia Clarendon missed a 3-pointer and Prince made two free throws with 19.9 seconds left for a five-point lead.

Tina Charles had 15 points and eight rebounds for New York (14-12). Sugar Rodgers added 12 points.

Sykes scored 16 points for Atlanta (10-17), which lost its sixth straight.