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**Udog** · 09-09-2018, 02:09 AM

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Top 6 picks in the Westgate SuperBook NFL handicapping contest (3,123 entries)

1) Bengals +3 (1,218 picked them)

2) Rams -4 (1,052)

3) Ravens -7.5 (907)

4) Vikings -6.5 (854)

5) Texans +6.5 (848)

6) Broncos -3 (807)

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Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a college football Saturday

13) Colorado 33, Nebraska 28— Exciting game; Cornhuskers threw a couple passes in the end zone on the last series, after Colorado took the lead on a 40-yard pass to Laviska Shenault with 1:07 left. Shenault is a great player; he caught 10 passes for 177 yards and also carried the ball a couple of times. Reminds me of Tim Brown, the old Raider.

Colorado’s kicker is a 31-year old Australian who played pro soccer for ten years before deciding to go to college and trying football. He missed a 37-yard FG with 9:56 left, when Colorado trailed 28-27. He also made two FG’s and missed another one; he needs to do better.

12) Georgia 41, South Carolina 17— Dawgs looked very fast in this game, dominant performance; right at the start of the game, this kid on Georgia picked off a pass and ran it in for a TD, but he did what one or two kids does every year, and it drives me bleepin’ crazy.

Pet Peeve of the Day: When you’re scoring an uncontested touchdown, do not drop the ball just as you cross the goal line, because many times, YOU HAVEN’T CROSSED THE LINE YET.

Georgia kid did that here, but one of his teammates picked up the ball and saved his friend from being a complete moron, someone who has to be a “cool guy” and show off, but instead gets on SportsCenter as the guy who is so cool he cost his team a touchdown for no reason.

11) Bad Beat of the Day:
Florida Atlantic (-8) 33, Air Force 27— Down 33-20 late in the game, Air Force blocked a punt and ran it in for a TD with 0:50 left, to cover the 8-point spread.

10) Upsets of the Day:
— East Carolina (+16) 41, North Carolina 19
— Eastern Michigan (+15) 20, Purdue 19
— Kentucky (+13.5) 27, Florida 16
— Colorado State (+13.5) 34, Arkansas 27
— Navy (+7) 22, Memphis 21

9) South Florida 49, Georgia Tech 38— USF ran two kickoffs back for TD’s in the first quarter; last team to have two kick return TD’s in the same game? Cal Golden Bears, in 2014. So when you see that Tech outgained the Bulls 602-426, it is misleading, since USF had two fewer possessions, thanks to the kick returns.

8) Oklahoma 49, UCLA 21— It is weird watching the A’s late Saturday afternoon and they flash the Oklahoma score on the screen— Sooners’ QB Kyler Murray was Oakland’s 1st round draft pick back in June, and will be an outfielder in the A’s minor league system starting next year.

Oklahoma has really good receivers, and a lot of them; Murray is like a point guard, getting rid of the ball quickly to one of his very fast friends.

7) Mississippi State 31, Kansas State 10— K-State’s kicker is a kid named Blake Lynch; he is 5-foot-5 and up until a couple months ago, was a custodian in the K-State athletic department. Now he is on full scholarship; good for him.

6) Navy 22, Memphis 21— Tigers outgained Navy by 62 yards, but turned ball over four times (-3) and ran 30 less plays than the Middies. Navy scored the game-winning TD with 2:37 left, and outscored Memphis 13-0 in 4th quarter.

5) Kentucky 27, Florida 16— Last time Kentucky beat Florida in football, I had a full head of curly hair; Wildcats won 10-3 that day, way back in 1986- think I weigh less now, though. Anyway it was a long time ago- Kerwin Bell was the Gators’ QB that day, Galen Hall was the Florida coach. Jerry Claiborne was Kentucky’s coach.

4) Clemson 28, Texas A&M 26— Tigers held on to win in last minute on a rainy night in Texas. Not sure how teams at this level juggle two QB’s, like Clemson is trying to do.

3) Ole Miss 76, Southern Illinois 41— This is a misleading score, since Salukis are a I-AA team, and led 38-35 at halftime. Red Flag for the Rebels here, after their win LW over Texas Tech.

2) Minnesota 21, Fresno State 14— Visiting Bulldogs were on Minnesota 4-yard line with 1:25 to go, tried a halfback option pass, but it was a terrible pass and got picked off in end zone.

1) Kansas 31, Central Michigan 7— Jayhawks snapped a 46-game road losing streak; their last road win was September 12, 2009.

**Udog** · 09-09-2018, 02:10 AM

Storm beat Mystics 89-76 in Game 1

SEATTLE (AP) Jewell Loyd was unselfish in the deciding game of the WNBA semifinals, giving up her spot on the floor and choosing not to mess with what was going right for the Seattle Storm at the time.

Her decision appeared to be rewarded in Game 1 of the Finals.

''It's amazing how many times when you're thinking right like she (is), and you're unselfish like she was in Game 5, how you are rewarded the next time,'' Seattle coach Dan Hughes said.

Loyd made 9 of 12 shots and scored 23 points, league MVP Breanna Stewart added 20 points, and the Storm opened the Finals with an 89-76 victory over the Washington Mystics on Friday night.

The first WNBA Finals game in Seattle in eight years was a dominant performance by the home team, led by the guard who watched most of the fourth quarter of Seattle's Game 5 win over Phoenix in the semifinals. Loyd made the suggestion to Hughes not to change Seattle's lineup during that fourth quarter against Phoenix which meant she stayed on the bench.

And instead of sulking about her struggles for most of the semifinal series, Loyd became the leader of an efficient offensive performance from the top team in the league during the regular season.

''It helps when you're playing with people who are unselfish and set you up and keep giving you the ball. That's what makes this team special. Everyone is willing to make that extra pass regardless if you miss 100 shots and make the next 70, this team is going to give you the ball.''

Loyd scored 10 straight points during the second quarter when Seattle took control thanks to a 16-4 run, and combined with Stewart to score 20 of Seattle's first 22 points of the third quarter. Seattle led by 27 in the third quarter and 26 early in the fourth quarter.

Seattle shot 53 percent, outscored Washington 46-28 in the paint and had 21 assists on 33 field goals. Sue Bird, the hero of Game 5, scored just four points, but her points weren't needed on this night. Natasha Howard added 17 points making 7 of 8 shots.

Game 2 is Sunday.

''We were a step behind - they looked quicker than us,'' Washington coach Mike Thibault said. ''They made us pay for every defensive mistake for a stretch, and we made enough of them to help them.''

Washington's first Finals game in franchise history was mostly forgettable. Elena Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver both struggled shooting. Ariel Atkins led the Mystics with 23 points, but no other Washington player scored more than Natasha Cloud's 11 points.

Still dealing with a bone bruise in her left knee that forced her to miss one game of the semifinals, Delle Donne was 4 of 11, finishing with 10 points and didn't play the fourth quarter. Toliver scored just five points on 2 of 11 shooting, continuing to be either really hot or very cold with her shot in the postseason.

''I think our whole offense was a little bit stagnant. Instead of getting the ball and moving it side to side, we were hanging onto it on one side and staring at each other,'' Delle Donne said. ''We need to move a little bit more and make them chase it around like they were doing to us. As a whole, we were way too stagnant.''

EARLY CONTROL

Seattle led by 16 at halftime and yet was able to build the lead with minimal contributions from Stewart and Bird offensively. Stewart didn't make a field goal for the first 15 minutes. Bird had one field goal and three assists in the first half. The Storm didn't make a 3-pointer until Sami Whitcomb's corner 3 nearly halfway through the second quarter.

While Loyd was making everything in the first half, Washington's two standouts were struggling. Toliver and Delle Donne were a combined 3 of 12 in the first half with eight points and four turnovers. Delle Donne was hounded anytime she caught the ball in the post and Toliver was careless with the ball on the perimeter.

TIP-INS

Seattle took two of three from Washington in the regular season but the Mystics won the final matchup 100-77 late in the regular season. ... Before Game 1 Bird and Toliver were the only two players on either team to have played in the Finals. ... Among those in attendance were Jamal Crawford, Dejounte Murray, Nate Robinson, hip-hop star Macklemore and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

UP NEXT

The Mystics will try to earn a split in Seattle and take home-court advantage back to Washington. Including the playoffs, Seattle is 16-4 at home this season.

**Udog** · 09-09-2018, 02:10 AM

WNBA

Sunday, September 9

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Trend Report
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Washington Mystics
Washington is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Washington is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games
Washington is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Washington is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Washington is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Seattle
Washington is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing Seattle
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Washington is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing on the road against Seattle
Seattle Storm
Seattle is 18-7 ATS in its last 25 games
Seattle is 12-3 SU in its last 15 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Seattle's last 9 games
Seattle is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games at home
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Seattle is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Washington
Seattle is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 6 games when playing Washington
Seattle is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing at home against Washington

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**Udog** · 09-09-2018, 09:45 AM

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, September 9

Washington @ Seattle

Game 615-616
September 9, 2018 @ 3:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
115.940
Seattle
117.028
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Seattle
by 1
163
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Seattle
by 5
168
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(+5); Under

**Udog** · 09-09-2018, 01:01 PM

I've been waiting all morning for the Top Trends section to update. If, or when, the source updates, I'll add it....

WNBA
Long Sheet

Sunday, September 9

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WASHINGTON (25 - 15) at SEATTLE (30 - 10) - 9/9/2018, 3:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 5-4 against the spread versus SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
SEATTLE is 6-4 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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**Udog** · 09-09-2018, 10:22 PM

Storm beat Mystics for 2-0 series lead

SEATTLE (AP) A lot of Breanna Stewart in the closing minutes and one big defensive stop in the final seconds has the Seattle Storm on the cusp of a third WNBA title.

Stewart scored nine of her 25 points in the fourth quarter, Sue Bird came up with a key defensive play in the final 10 seconds, and the Storm held off the Washington Mystics 75-73 on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the WNBA Finals.

Seattle will head to Washington for Game 3 on Wednesday night needing only a split back east to claim the third title in franchise history. Since the WNBA went to a best-of-five format for the Finals in 2005, no team has lost the first two games and fought back to force a Game 5.

''It came down to a stop, and I thought we did a really good job,'' Seattle coach Dan Hughes said. ''This is a team that has grown defensively. All year, we have watched the defensive numbers get better and better and better and better and better I thought it was quite poetic that some of these games were going to come down to a stop.''

Stewart went nearly 18 minutes of game time without scoring, but was responsible for six of Seattle's final seven points as the Storm held off Washington's late rally. The league MVP got her touches in the closing minutes, while Washington didn't make sure star Elena Delle Donne got her opportunities. Delle Donne finished with 17 points but was scoreless in the fourth quarter and took just one shot.

Delle Donne scored on a three-point play late in the third quarter. It was her final points.

''I think we fell in love too much with me getting the ball on the block. I'm more than just a back-to-the-basket type of player. Playing in space opens up my teammates, also opens myself up,'' Delle Donne said. ''We've got to find a way to not become one-dimensional and just try to force it in.''

While Game 1 was a romp for Seattle, Game 2 was in the balance inside the final minute despite all that didn't go right for Washington. The Mystics didn't hit a 3-pointer for the first time all season. Delle Donne wasn't absent from the offense in the fourth quarter. The Mystics were outrebounded by 10 and had just 10 assists on 29 made baskets.

Yet the opportunity was there to go home with the series even.

Kristi Toliver's two key jumpers pulled Washington within 74-73 and when Stewart missed a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left, Washington had a chance to take the lead.

That's when Bird, the oldest player in the league, relied on her experience.

Toliver appeared open for a 3 and Bird lunged forward. That opened a lane baseline, but as Toliver was going by Bird was able to reach from behind and poke the ball free. The mad scramble ended up in a jump ball between Natasha Howard and Tianna Hawkins ended up in the hands of Jewell Loyd. Seattle was able to run seven seconds off the clock before Alysha Clark was fouled and her free throw gave Seattle a two-point lead. Washington was out of timeouts and couldn't advance the ball into the front court. Atkins' desperation half-court shot at the buzzer was well off.

Washington believed Bird had fouled Toliver, especially with Seattle having a foul to give.

''I got fouled going baseline. I think it was pretty blatant, pretty obvious,'' Toliver said.

''Sue Bird took the foul. Officials didn't understand that Seattle was actually trying to take the foul, ball got knocked loose on floor,'' Washington coach Mike Thibault said.

Bird insisted Washington's interpretation was wrong. She was going for the steal.

''Once she went by me, I did the good ol' Sue Bird move and was lucky to get a piece of the ball,'' said Bird, saying she's done that move since she was in college. ''I knew we had a foul to give, but that was not my intention at all.''

NO 3s

Toliver and Ariel Atkins both added 15 points for Washington, but got nothing from behind the 3-point line. Their season-low prior to Sunday was one. Toliver was 0 of 6 from deep.

''That's a huge facet of the game too. As a 3-point shooting team, we need some of those to go in,'' Toliver said.

BIRD'S BUCKET

Bird finished with 8 points but had one of the biggest shots of the game when she banked in a 35-footer midway through the fourth quarter as the shot clock was expiring. The basket gave Seattle a 68-63 lead.

''I did not call it, I did not mean it,'' Bird said. ''I'm glad it went in.''

TIP INS

Seattle has won seven straight Finals games dating to 2004. They have never lost a Finals game at home. ... Bird moved into second place on the all-time playoff assists list.

UP NEXT

Game 3 is Wednesday night in Washington.

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Sunday's WNBA Trends and Indexes - 9/9

Sunday's WNBA Trends and Indexes - 9/9

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