Announcement

**Udog** · 06-08-2018, 01:13 AM

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

— Utah Valley coach Mark Pope signed a 2-year deal to stay with the Wolverines.

— In their last eight home games, Mets are 1-32 with men in scoring position.

— Patriots’ WR Julian Edelman is getting a 4-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing drugs.

— Patriots play Detroit in Week 3, by the way. Lions are now coached by Matt Patricia, who has been the New England defensive coordinator the last few years.

— Charles Barkley got to ride in the Goodyear Blimp Thursday.

— In their last 10 games, Dodger starting pitchers threw 35 innings, relievers 54.

**********

Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Random stuff with weekend here……

13) When Kevin Durant moved from the Thunder to Golden State as a free agent, he ruined the NBA playoffs. At least for a while.

Competitive balance is what makes sports interesting to watch; it is why the NFL is so damn popular, any team can win from year to year. The NBA is sorely lacking that right now- the same two teams met in the finals the last four years. No bueno.

12) Durant bolted a very strong Oklahoma City team that led Golden State 3-1 in Western finals two years ago; since then, the Warriors are 31-6 in NBA playoff games. 31 wins, 6 losses.

How the hell is a team supposed to beat Golden State four out of seven now when they’re 31-6 against the whole league when it counts the most? Houston came close this year, but it seems like the only way Golden State won’t keep winning titles is if they get a ton of injuries.

11) In their Game 3 win over Cleveland, the Warriors took 26 3-pointers, 44 shots in the paint, and only 11 2-point shots outside the paint.

Analytics people are pretty adamant about not taking 2-point shots outside the paint, but no matter where you shoot from, you still have to have guys who make those shots.

10) You can bet on just about anything, including teams in each quarter. In their last 20 games, Golden State Warriors are 15-5 vs spread in 3rd quarter.

9) 76ers and Bryan Colangelo “parted ways”, a nice way of saying they told hm to take a hike over Colangelo’s wife having burner Twitter accounts that criticized people, disclosed medical information that she obviously got from her husband.

It is unclear whether Colangelo knew that his wife was doing this. Doesn’t matter now.

8) Some things are so weird you couldn’t possibly make them up. Terrell Owens informed the Pro Football Hall of Fame he won’t attend his own induction ceremony in August, apparently because he is annoyed that he wasn’t voted in until his third year of eligibility. Oy.

7) Las Vegas Bowl ended its association with the Mountain West, starting in 2020, when the new Las Vegas domed stadium opens. From 2020 on, a Pac-12 team will play another power-5 team in the Las Vegas Bowl.

6) There was a cool article in the New York Times Thursday on Sammy Gelfand, the Warriors’ 31-year old analytics guy who has worked his way up from an internship with a sports agents’ firm to a member of the Golden State front office.

The guy is my hero, and I mean that. Hope he is enjoying the experience.

5) JT Realmuto doubled twice, hit a triple Wednesday, and was also hit by two pitches, which makes him the first player in the live-ball era, for any team, to have three extra-base hits and two hit-by-pitches in the same game.

4) Shohei Ohtani left Wednesday night’s game with Kansas City with a blister problem; Angels are playing well this year, but Ohtani has started only nine games, thrown around 50 innings.

3) Former Indiana/UAB coach Mike Davis is the new coach at Detroit Mercy; he had been at Texas Southern the last seven years. Now at least he can play some home games before conference play starts- at Texas Southern, all his non-league games were on the road.

2) They told an interesting story on the Rockies game Wednesday about Colorado pitching coach Steve Foster; in 1993, Foster was doing well pitching for the Reds- he was 26, and was a guest on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show in LA, where he threw some balls at milk bottles, like you would at the county fair. No big deal.

Foster pitched against the Dodgers that night, did well, but when he woke up the next day, his arm hurt badly and he never pitched again. He denies the Tonight Show caused any injury, and now he is a major league pitching coach. Go figure.

1— RIP Red Schoendienst, 95, a Hall of Famer who played/managed the Cardinals. He was 95 years old. People in St Louis referred to him as “Mr Cardinal” which is something when you realize that Stan Musial and Bob Gibson were also Cardinals.

**Udog** · 06-08-2018, 01:13 AM

NBA Finals Game 4 betting preview and odds: Warriors at Cavaliers

Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers (+4.5, 215.5)

Warriors lead series 3-0.

The Golden State Warriors aim to finish off a four-game sweep of Cleveland when they visit the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals on Friday. Golden State is striving to win its third title in four seasons as well as become the first team to sweep the best-of-7 finals since the San Antonio Spurs dispatched the Cavaliers in four games in 2007.

The Cavaliers are the 14th team to fall behind 0-3 in the NBA Finals - the other 13 lost the series - and insist they aren't going to roll over. "We're going to keep fighting," Cleveland center Tristan Thompson told reporters. "It's the first team to four wins, right? We're on our home floor. For ourselves and for our fans, we've got to go out there and give everything we've got." The Warriors rode Kevin Durant's 43-point outing to Wednesday's 110-102 win in Game 3 and don't plan to let up on the pedal after blowing a 3-1 lead to the Cavaliers two years ago. "You never know, crazy things that can happen, turn of events in a series that could take place," Golden State forward Draymond Green told reporters. "So you have the opportunity to close out, you want to do that. So you come in, take full advantage of the opportunity in front of us."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ABC

SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):

LINE HISTORY: The Warriors opened as 5.5-point road favorites for Game 4 and as of Thursday night the pointspread is down slightly to 4.5. The total hit betting boards at 216 and is down to 215.5.

WHAT SHARPS SAY: "This is the same situation as last year when Golden State had a commanding 3-0 series lead in Cleveland. The Warriors were blown out in Game 4 last year when the Cavaliers won easily 137-116 as a 4.5-point home underdog. However, Golden State probably wanted to clinch the championship at home last year in Game 5, and they might now care more about getting a NBA Finals sweep this year. Also, Cleveland got a huge game from Kyrie Irving last year when he scored 40 points in Game 4, and he is of course no longer on the roster." - Steve Merril.

INJURY REPORT:

Warriors - SF A. Iguodala (Probable, Leg), SF C. Boucher (Out Indefinitely, Ankle).

Cavaliers - No injuries to report.

MATCHUP CHART:

ABOUT THE WARRIORS (73-29 SU, 45-56-1 ATS, 46-55-1 O/U): Durant reiterated Thursday that he will return to Golden State next season - the apparent plan is to opt-out of his current two-year, $51 million deal and sign a richer one. He said there is a different feeling with the team in its second NBA Finals with him on the roster. "It's just a different vibe because we've been through a season with each other already as champions, going through a whole season," Durant said at a press conference on Thursday. "So we know exactly what we need to do in order for us to win. We wanted to do that, focus on that as much as possible. The emotions, and all that stuff, doesn't really matter."

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (62-41 SU, 41-61-1 ATS, 48-53-2 O/U): LeBron James could be playing his final game for Cleveland before entering free agency and he said Thursday that he was against veteran Dwyane Wade being traded when the club shuffled its roster at the trading deadline. James ran down the Golden State roster and mentioned all the stars and their exploits before sliding in a mention that his squad also has some talented players. "We've had an opportunity to win two of these games in this three-game series so far, and we haven't come up with it," James said in a press conference. "Obviously, from a talent perspective, if you're looking at Golden State from their top five best players to our top five players, you would say they're stacked better than us."

TRENDS:

* Warriors are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 vs. Eastern Conference.
* Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games.
* Over is 6-1 in Warriors' last 7 NBA Championship games.
* Under is 11-5 in Cavaliers last 16 home games.
* Warriors are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

CONSENSUS:

52 percent of pointspread bets are on the favored Golden State Warriors while 60 percent of totals wagers are on the Over.

**Udog** · 06-08-2018, 01:15 AM

NBA
Dunkel

Friday, June 8

Golden State @ Cleveland

Game 507-508
June 8, 2018 @ 9:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Golden State
127.753
Cleveland
127.655
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Cleveland
Even
209
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Golden State
by 5 1/2
216
Dunkel Pick:
Cleveland
(+5 1/2); Under

NBA
Long Sheet

Friday, June 8

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GOLDEN STATE (73 - 29) at CLEVELAND (62 - 41) - 6/8/2018, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GOLDEN STATE is 44-55 ATS (-16.5 Units) in all games this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 10-20 ATS (-12.0 Units) after a non-conference game this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 10-21 ATS (-13.1 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 25-36 ATS (-14.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
GOLDEN STATE is 15-25 ATS (-12.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season this season.
CLEVELAND is 22-10 ATS (+11.0 Units) on Friday nights over the last 2 seasons.
GOLDEN STATE is 67-44 ATS (+18.6 Units) in all playoff games since 1996.
GOLDEN STATE is 69-42 ATS (+22.8 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
CLEVELAND is 41-60 ATS (-25.0 Units) in all games this season.
CLEVELAND is 17-33 ATS (-19.3 Units) in home games this season.
CLEVELAND is 8-20 ATS (-14.0 Units) against Pacific division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 25-41 ATS (-20.1 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 12-21 ATS (-11.1 Units) in non-conference games this season.
CLEVELAND is 14-26 ATS (-14.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
GOLDEN STATE is 12-9 against the spread versus CLEVELAND over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE is 15-6 straight up against CLEVELAND over the last 3 seasons
11 of 20 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, June 8

Game 4
Warriors won their last five games, by 29-9-10-21-8 points; they shot 52% from floor in Game 3 after shooting 57% in Game 2- Durant scored 43 Wednesday as Curry was 1-10 on arc. When Warriors’ subs shoot a combined 11-16, they ain’t losing. Cavs won eight of their last nine home games, covered four of last five. Golden State won 10 of last 11 series games (8-3 vs spread), three of last four in Ohio. Over is 6-3 in last nine series games. Under is 10-3 in Warriors’ last 13 games, 6-2 in their last eight.

NBA Finals
GState 124-114 OT, -13, O217.5
GState 122-103, -11.5, O216.5
GState 110-102, -3.5, U216

NBA

Friday, June 8

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Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Golden State Warriors
Golden State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Golden State's last 13 games
Golden State is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Golden State is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Golden State's last 8 games on the road
Golden State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland
Golden State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Golden State's last 9 games when playing Cleveland
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Cleveland is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Cleveland is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games at home
Cleveland is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Cleveland's last 16 games at home
Cleveland is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Golden State
Cleveland is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Golden State
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland's last 9 games when playing Golden State

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**Udog** · 06-08-2018, 10:11 AM

WNBA
Long Sheet

Friday, June 8

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DALLAS (3 - 3) at INDIANA (0 - 6) - 6/8/2018, 7:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

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

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

CHICAGO (3 - 3) at PHOENIX (5 - 3) - 6/8/2018, 10:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

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

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

ATLANTA (3 - 3) at LAS VEGAS (1 - 5) - 6/8/2018, 10:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) as a road favorite of 3.5 to 6 points since 1997.
ATLANTA is 6-16 ATS (-11.6 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game over the last 3 seasons.
LAS VEGAS is 44-69 ATS (-31.9 Units) in home games after scoring 75 points or more since 1997.

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

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

WNBA

Friday, June 8

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is 5-14 ATS in its last 19 games
Atlanta is 5-14 SU in its last 19 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games
Atlanta is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Atlanta is 1-12 SU in its last 13 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games on the road
Atlanta is 4-12-1 ATS in its last 17 games when playing Las Vegas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games when playing Las Vegas
Atlanta is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Atlanta is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Las Vegas Aces
Las Vegas is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Las Vegas is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Las Vegas's last 6 games
Las Vegas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Las Vegas is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home
Las Vegas is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Las Vegas's last 9 games at home
Las Vegas is 12-4 ATS in its last 16 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 6 games when playing Atlanta
Las Vegas is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Las Vegas is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Las Vegas's last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta

Dallas Wings
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games
Dallas is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Dallas is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Dallas's last 21 games on the road
Dallas is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Indiana
Dallas is 5-12 SU in its last 17 games when playing Indiana
Dallas is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Indiana
Dallas is 2-11 SU in its last 13 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 6 games when playing on the road against Indiana
Indiana Fever
Indiana is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
Indiana is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games
Indiana is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Indiana is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home
Indiana is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Dallas
Indiana is 12-5 SU in its last 17 games when playing Dallas
Indiana is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Dallas
Indiana is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games when playing at home against Dallas

Chicago Sky
Chicago is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Chicago is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games
Chicago is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games on the road
Chicago is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Phoenix
Chicago is 3-10 SU in its last 13 games when playing Phoenix
Chicago is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Phoenix's last 10 games
Phoenix is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games at home
Phoenix is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Chicago
Phoenix is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games when playing Chicago
Phoenix is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Chicago

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**Udog** · 06-08-2018, 11:42 AM

WNBA
Dunkel

Friday, June 8

Dallas @ Indiana

Game 301-302
June 8, 2018 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Dallas
110.633
Indiana
100.699
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Dallas
by 10
159
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Dallas
by 4 1/2
163 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Dallas
(-4 1/2); Under

Chicago @ Phoenix

Game 303-304
June 8, 2018 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago
102.306
Phoenix
112.266
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Phoenix
by 10
163
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Phoenix
by 8 1/2
166
Dunkel Pick:
Phoenix
(-8 1/2); Under

Atlanta @ Las Vegas

Game 305-306
June 8, 2018 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Atlanta
109.784
Las Vegas
101.936
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Atlanta
by 8
169
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Atlanta
by 4 1/2
161
Dunkel Pick:
Atlanta
(-4 1/2); Over

**StarDust Bum** · 06-11-2018, 01:52 AM

SUNDAY, JUNE 10
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

IND at NY 03:00 PM
IND +8.5
U 161.0

CHI at LA 05:00 PM
LA -12.0
O 165.5

LV at PHO 06:00 PM
PHO -12.0
U 169.0

ATL at SEA 07:00 PM
ATL +7.5
O 165.5

**StarDust Bum** · 06-11-2018, 01:54 AM

Diana Taurasi scores 25 points, Mercury beat Aces 72-66
June 10, 2018

PHOENIX (AP) Diana Taurasi scored 25 points, Brittney Griner had 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots and the Phoenix Mercury held off the Las Vegas Aces 72-66 on Sunday.

The Aces had a 10-1 run to close to 68-64 with about three minutes to go, but Griner had two blocked shots to give the Mercury (7-3) back-to-back defensive stops, and Taurasi hit a baseline 3-pointer to push the lead back to seven with 1:05 left.

DeWanna Bonner added 14 points and seven rebounds to help the Mercury win their fifth straight.

Phoenix had an 11-2 run to close the first half with 13-point lead and scored the opening basket of the third quarter to reach their largest lead at 52-37.

A'ja Wilson had 17 points for the Aces (1-7). Kayla McBride added 16, and Kelsey Plum had 12.

SPARKS 77, SKY 59

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Candace Parker scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting and blocked three shots in Los Angeles' victory over Chicago.

The Sparks (5-2) never trailed and went on a 17-3 run starting late in the third quarter and extending into the fourth to build to their largest lead at 69-45.

Nneka Ogwumike added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Chelsea Gray scored 10 of her 15 points after the break for Los Angeles.

The Sky (3-5) made 21 of 74 (28.4 percent) shots from the field and hit only one of their first 21 3-point attempts before making the last two when the game was out of reach.

Cheyenne Parker had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead Chicago. The Sky have lost five of six.

LIBERTY 78, FEVER 75

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - Marissa Coleman hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 16.1 seconds left to help New York beat winless Indiana.

With the game tied at 75, Coleman caught the ball on the wing and made the 3 against her former team. Coleman came to New York as a free agent in the offseason.

Indiana (0-8) had one last chance to tie it, but Kelsey Mitchell couldn't get a good look from behind the arc and her shot fell short. Mitchell finished with 19 points.

Sugar Rodgers led New York (3-4) with 16 points.

At 0-8, Indiana is off to the worst start in franchise history.

DREAM 67, STORM 64

SEATTLE (AP) - Tiffany Hayes scored eight of her 23 points in the fourth quarter and Angel McCoughtry had 15 points and 10 rebounds in Atlanta's victory over Seattle.

Damiris Dantas added 12 points, and Jessica Breland had six points, three steals and a season-high 14 rebounds, one shy of her career best. The Dream (4-3) have won three in a row.

Natasha Howard led the Storm (5-3) with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

Announcement

Friday's NBA and WNBA Trends and Indexes - 6/8

Friday's NBA and WNBA Trends and Indexes - 6/8

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