The Bums 2019 WNBA News - Notes - Picks Thru The Playoffs !

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Top six picks for Week 4 in Westgate Super Contest:

6) Texans -4.5 (752)

5) Saints +2.5 (812)

4) Cowboys -2.5 (845)

3) Vikings +1.5 (861)

2) Patriots -7 (930)

1) Chiefs -6.5 (1,463)

2019 record: 12-6


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

13) Clemson 21, North Carolina 20— Tar Heels scored a TD with 1:17 left, then went for 2 points and the lead- they didn’t get it. Here is why I think that was a terrible idea:

— Recruiting is the lifeblood of all college football programs; for an underdog team like UNC, this was free advertising on national TV. You want the game to last as long as possible.
— Even if they lost in overtime, it would be a great headline: “Tar Heels take Clemson to OT”
— All the pressure, 100% of it, is on Clemson. Play as long as you can; maybe they’ll screw it up.

— The game was televised on ESPN; Mack Brown spent the last five years working for ESPN, so all the announcers did was talk him up. The more of this, the better.
— The more recruits see of your stadium and enthusiastic fans, the better for you.
— Even if they get the 2-point conversion, Clemson had 1:17 left to try and beat them.

12) Oklahoma 55, Texas Tech 16— Jalen Hurts was 16-23/413 passing; how long can Oklahoma keep coach Lincoln Riley from jumping to the NFL?

Hurts is now 30-2 as a starting QB in college; in a perfect world, Alabama-Oklahoma would hook up in a January bowl game, Hurts against his old team. Good theater.

11) Alabama 59, Ole Miss 31— Tua Tagovailoa was 26-36/418 and six TD’s; Devonta Smith caught 11 balls for 274 yards and five TD”s. Thats a full day.

10) Baylor 23, Iowa State 21— Bears blew a 20-0 4th quarter lead on a hot day in Waco, then drove 49 yards on 14 plays and kicked the winning FG with 0:34 left. ISU had taken the lead on an 88-yard TD pass with 3:52 left.

9) Michigan 52, Rutgers 0— Why is Rutgers in the Big 14? What do they bring to the league?

Scarlet Knights are now 3-26 SU in conference play since joining the league; they’ve been outscored 82-0 in two league games this season.

In three years of Big 14 basketball, Rutgers is 13-43 in conference games; they haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1991. i won’t even bring up that the Big 14 is a midwestern league and Rutgers is in freakin’ New Jersey.

It makes no sense; UConn would’ve been a better add, if they were so insistent on having an eastern team in the league. At least the Huskies are strong in basketball.

8) Arizona 20, UCLA 17— Arizona’s senior QB Tate sat this one out with an injury, but UCLA missed a short FG in last minute and falls to 1-4, and they trailed 49-17 in the game they won. Freshman QB Gunnell was 29-44/352 passing for Arizona.

7) Upsets:
— Houston (+7.5) 46, North Texas 25
— UMass (+7) 37, Akron 29
— Arkansas State (+7) 50, Troy 43
— Arizona State (+4) 24, California 17

6) SMU 48, South Florida 21— Mustangs are 5-0, averaging 44.4 ppg and they’ve beaten TCU.

5) Duke 45, Virginia Tech 10— This was the Hokies’ worst home loss since 1974; they haven’t had back/back losing seasons since 1991-92, but appear headed that way this year.

4) Utah 38, Washington State 13— Last week the Coogs led UCLA 49-17 late in the 3rd quarter; in their last 79:00 of play, Wazzu has been outscored 105-27. Not good. Tough coaching job for Mike Leach now, restoring his players’ confidence.

3) Houston 46, North Texas 25— Cougars’ new QB Tune was 16-20/124 passing, and ran for 100 yards; line moved 10 points towards North Texas after Houston QB King red-shirted, so this was a good result for the bookmakers.

AAC teams were 4-0 out of conference this week, 3-0 vs C-USA teams.

2) Wisconsin 24, Northwestern 15— Two of Badgers’ three TD’s were scored by their defense. Northwestern has now covered 15 of last 19 games as a road underdog.

1) Wyoming 53, UNLV 17— Wyoming ran the ball for 374 yards, and also averaged 10.2 yards per pass attempt. Ugly numbers. The new dome in Las Vegas opens next year; it is becoming less clear if Tony Sanchez will still be UNLV’s coach when next year gets here.

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WNBA Finals Cheat Sheet

The 2019 WNBA Finals will begin on Sunday Sept. 29 as the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics meet in a best-of-five series.

Oddsmakers at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook opened the Mystics as minus-300 favorites (Bet $100 to win $33) while the Sun have a return of plus-260 (Bet $100 to win $260).

Finals Schedule

Game 1 – Connecticut at Washington (Sunday, Sept. 29, 3:05 p.m. ET)
Game 2 – Connecticut at Washington (Tuesday, Oct. 1, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Game 3 – Washington at Connecticut (Sunday, Oct. 6, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Game 4 – Washington at Connecticut (Tuesday, Oct. 8, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Game 5 – Connecticut at Washington (Thursday, Oct. 10, 8:00 p.m. ET)

(1) Washington vs. (2) Connecticut

2019 Regular Season Meetings

May 25 – Connecticut (-5.5) 84 vs. Washington 69 (Under 166 ½)
June 11 – Connecticut (-3) 83 vs. Washington 75 (Under 166 ½)
June 29 – Washington (-7) 102 vs. Connecticut 59 (Under 161 ½)

Playoff Form

-- Connecticut won and covered all three matchups against Los Angeles in the semifinals as it pulled off the three-game sweep.

-- The Sun won by an average of 19 points per game and the defense only allowed 66.3 PPG, which helped the ‘under’ cash in every decision.

-- Washington advanced past Las Vegas in four games of the semifinals. Despite posting a 3-1 record in that series, the Mystics went 1-3 against the spread for bettors.

-- The Mystics averaged 94.3 PPG in their wins and were held to 75 in the lone loss. The ‘over’ went 3-1.

ATS Numbers

-- The home team won and covered all three encounters between the pair this season, with the results coming by an average of 33 PPG.

-- Connecticut owns a 17-19-1 ATS mark this season.

-- At home, Connecticut has gone 17-2 straight up and 12-7 ATS.

-- On the road, the Sun struggled to a 5-12-1 ATS mark for bettors despite a 9-9 record.

-- The point-spread hasn’t matter when the Sun have been listed as an underdog this season. Connecticut has gone 3-3 both SU and ATS in that role.

-- Including the playoffs, Washington has produced a 21-16-1 ATS mark this season.

-- At home, the Mystics have gone 16-3 SU and 12-16-1 ATS.

-- The club has produced a 13-6 SU and 9-10 ATS mark on the road.

-- Washington was listed as an underdog four times this season and it went 2-2 both SU and ATS in that role.

-- Coincidentally, the two setbacks came to Connecticut (see above).

-- Game 2, 4 and 5 will be played on one day of rest. The Sun went 10-5 SU and 8-7 ATS playing with the short break this season while Washington was a tad better at 11-3 SU and 9-5 ATS.

-- The pair will have three or more days of rest between the first and third installments. Both Connecticut (9-3 SU, 6-6 ATS) and Washington (9-2 SU, 4-6-1 ATS) have fared well with the extra rest.

-- Sticking with the above, Game 1 and 3 are afternoon matchups. Connecticut has gone 6-9 ATS in day games while the Mystics own a solid 10-4 ATS mark.

Total Talk

-- The ‘under’ went 3-0 in this year’s regular season meetings between the pair.

-- In 2018, the two clubs saw their total results go 2-2.

-- Make a note that Washington has scored 75, 69 and 68 points in their last three trips to the Mohegan Sun Arena.

-- Including the postseason, the Sun watched the ‘under’ go 20-17 while Washington was a great ‘over’ wager (23-15).

-- Connecticut saw both its home (10-9) and away (10-8) records lean to the low side.

-- Washington saw the ‘over’ go 12-7 at home and 11-8 on the road.

-- As mentioned above, Game 1 and 3 will be afternoon tilts and even though the Mystics were an ‘over’ club this season, the high side was just 8-6 in day games. Connecticut watched the ‘under’ go 10-5 in afternoon spots.

WNBA Finals - Notable Trends

-- Both teams are aiming for their first WNBA title. While the Mystics were swept by Seattle in the finals last year, the Sun haven't been here since consecutive appearances in 2004-05. They were coached by Mike Thibault, who now ironically leads Washington.

-- Favorites have gone 13-8 straight up and 9-11-1 ATS in the last five finals.

WNBA History

-- Home squads have produced a 12-9 straight up record during this span.

-- Total bettors have watched more ‘under’ tickets connect in the last dance with the low side holding a slight 12-9 lean.

Stats to Watch

-- Washington has been an offensive machine, ranked first in points (89.3), field goal percentage (46.9%) and free throw percentage (87.5%).

-- The Mystics also led the league in 3-pointers attempted per game (25.4) and they were second in percentage (36.6%) from downtown.

-- Connecticut was ranked third in 3-point shooting percentage (35.6%).

-- That effort helped the Sun averaged 80.8 PPG, which was ranked fourth. That number could’ve been improved but Connecticut was ranked last in free throw percentage (70.3 PPG).

-- Washington surrendered 77.2 PPG defensively, ranked fourth in the league. Connecticut was a few hairs behind at 77.9 PPG.

Players to Watch – Notable Quotes

Connecticut

The Sun have benefited by having a healthy year from their starting lineup; the team used the same five players to begin every game. Jasmine Thomas, Alyssa Thomas, Shekinna Stricklen, Courtney Williams and Jonquel Jones all have the ability to have big games, making them tough to game plan against.

The core of Alyssa Thomas (11.6 points, 7.8 rebounds), Jasmine Thomas (11.1, 5.1) and Jonquel Jones (14.6, 9.7) has been together since 2016. Point guard Courtney Williams (13.2, 5.6 and 3.2 assists) joined them in 2017. Jasmine Thomas says they're like a college team that is dominated by seniors and understand how to play with each other.

''We take pride in team basketball. That's what we have fun doing on the defensive and offensive end,'' said Jasmine Thomas. ''But I think we definitely have stars here. We have All-Stars; we have the best 3-point shooter in the league (Shekinna Stricklen - 3rd in the WNBA). We have people who are reaching milestones in their career so early. We do play team basketball, but we absolutely have stars.''

Washington

This Mystics team is very different than the one that got swept by Seattle last season.

The Mystics are led by forward Elena Delle Donne, who was named the 2019 WNBA MVP in a near-unanimous vote. Delle Donne averaged 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists and shot a league-high 97.4% from the free throw line.

Along side EDD is Emma Meesseman, who missed the 2018 season while preparing for the Women's World Cup with Belgium. Meesseman was a huge reason the Mystics were able to advance past Las Vegas, winning the series in Game 4 as she had 22 points in the win.

''We didn't have Emma. We're a different team when she's on it,'' Delle Donne said. ''We got a really good Connecticut team coming in. They are playing really great basketball. We'll focus on them and figure some things out.''

While the Mystics have been in this position before, only guard Kristi Toliver has won a title, doing so with Los Angeles in 2016. She had been sidelined with her own bone bruise before returning for the playoffs. She started in Game 4 of the series against Las Vegas - the first time she had done so in the playoffs.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, September 29


Connecticut @ Washington

Game 601-602
September 29, 2019 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Connecticut
112.245
Washington
122.830
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 10 1/2
179
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 7 1/2
165 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-7 1/2); Over




WNBA
Long Sheet

Sunday, September 29

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CONNECTICUT (26 - 11) at WASHINGTON (28 - 9) - 9/29/2019, 3:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CONNECTICUT is 5-12 ATS (-8.2 Units) in road games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) in road games revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 2-9 ATS (-7.9 Units) in road games after scoring 75 points or more this season.
WASHINGTON is 33-14 ATS (+17.6 Units) as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) in home games on Sunday games this season.
WASHINGTON is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) in home games vs. division opponents this season.
WASHINGTON is 40-61 ATS (-27.1 Units) in home games when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
CONNECTICUT is 7-3 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 6-4 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA

Sunday, September 29

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Trend Report
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Washington Mystics
Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Washington is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games
Washington is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games at home
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Washington's last 11 games at home
Washington is 3-8-1 ATS in its last 12 games when playing Connecticut
Washington is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Connecticut
Washington is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 games when playing at home against Connecticut
Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Connecticut
Washington is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games when playing at home against Connecticut
Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Connecticut is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games
Connecticut is 5-10-1 ATS in its last 16 games on the road
Connecticut is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Connecticut is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Washington
Connecticut is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing Washington
Connecticut is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
Connecticut is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games when playing on the road against Washington
Connecticut is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Connecticut's last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington

[StarDust Bum]

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

CONN at WAS 03:00 PM

CONN +8.5

O 166.0

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Delle Donne leads Mystics to 95-86 Game 1 win over Sun
September 29, 2019
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WASHINGTON (AP) With the Connecticut Sun rallying, Elena Delle Donne wouldn't be denied down the stretch for the Washington Mystics in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

The league's MVP scored two big baskets for Washington after Connecticut had cut its deficit to four in the fourth quarter and the Mystics held off the Sun 95-86 on Sunday.

''It's nice to have a weapon like that that can make those plays because there's not very many that can,'' Washington coach Mike Thibault said.

Delle Donne scored 22 points and Ariel Atkins had 21 for the Mystics, who earned their first finals win in franchise history. They were swept last year by Seattle in their only other appearance in the championship round. Delle Donne was battling a bone bruise in last year's finals.

''It feels great to know that I'm able to actually give everything I have,'' Delle Donne said. ''Last playoffs I gave everything I had, but that was about 70 percent. Just physically I wasn't there. So, to be back and to be feeling good and to have my body working properly.''

Kristi Toliver, who suffered her own bone bruise this year, added 18 points for the Mystics. Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Tuesday night in Washington.

The Mystics were up nine at the half and extended the lead to 17 in the third quarter before Connecticut rallied within four twice in the final period. Delle Donne - the league's MVP - answered each time for Washington with a basket. Her jumper with 4:56 left made it 82-76 and started a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach.

''Obviously a go-to player down the stretch that they can play through and made some big plays,'' Connecticut coach Curt Miller said of Delle Donne. ''But like Alyssa Thomas is an elite defender, and when she bodies up on 99 percent of the people in the league and they've picked up their dribble, she usually gets them stopped. But we all know that EDD's step-through in that last movement to the basket where she leans in and can create space and get her shot off is the only person in the world that does that.''

Atkins followed with a 3-pointer that made it a nine-point game and then corralled an offensive rebound that Toliver finished off with a finger roll down the lane with 3:16 left.

''Ariel Atkins contribution was huge today, from making her first three of the game to being aggressive,'' Thibault said. ''That looked like the Ariel from last year in the playoffs, and that offensive rebound she got late in the game was a huge saver for us. It gave us the last piece of momentum that we needed.''

The Sun could only get within eight the rest of the way.

Courtney Williams scored 26 points and Alyssa Thomas added 20 to lead Connecticut, playing the finals for the first time since 2005.

After a tight first 6 minutes Mike Thibault inserted Emma Meesseman into the lineup playing all three of Washington's bigs together. It was a lineup that Connecticut didn't see during the three regular season meetings. Delle Donne missed the first game because of knee pain. Meesseman missed the other two games because she was with the Belgium national team

The pair along with LaToya Sanders helped Washington go on a 12-0 run to close the quarter and give the Mystics a 30-17 lead.

''It's something we talked about,'' Sun guard Jasmine Thomas said of getting off to a good start. ''They score the ball so well and play so well together, we can't have a flat start. The first quarter start being making a big difference in Game 2. ''

The Mystics were up 55-46 at the half.

TIP-INS: The Mystics hit their first 13 free throws before Meesseman missed one in the third quarter. The team, which shot 87.5% from the line during the regular season, finished 17 for 21. ...

TURTLE REUNION

Maryland was well represented in the finals with five of coach Brenda Frese's former players seeing court time in Game 1. Washington had Shatori Walker-Kimbrough ('17), Tianna Hawkins ('13) and Toliver ('09) while the Sun had Brionna Jones ('17) and Thomas ('14).

Only Toliver won a championship in college and she's also the only one to win a WNBA title, doing so with Los Angeles in 2016.

Frese was in attendance.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY OCTOBER 1, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:00 PM Connecticut Sun Washington Mystics The Entertainment and Sports Arena

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY OCTOBER 6, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:30 PM Washington Mystics Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena


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WNBA SEPT. PLAYOFFS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/29/2019.......1-1-0.......50.00%........-0.50
09/22/2019.......0-4-0........0.00%.......-22.00
09/19/2019.......2-1-1........66.67%......+4.50
09/17/2019.......1-3-0........25.00%......-11.50
09/15/2019.......3-1-0........75.00%.......+9.50
09/11/2019...... 3-1-0 .......75.00% ......+9.50

Total.............10 -11-1.......47.61%........-10.50


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BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS............. ..UNITS...............O/U..............UNITS...........TOTALS


09/29/2019..............0 - 1................-5.50...............1 - 0.............+5.00............-0.50
09/22/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00.............0 - 2..............-11.00...........-22.00
09/19/2019..............1 - 0................+5.00..............1 - 1..............-0.50............+4.50
09/17/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00..............1 - 1.............-0.50............-11.50
09/15/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50
09/11/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50

Totals......................3 - 7 ...............-19.50................7 - 4...........+13.00............-6.50

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

Payrolls for the 10 playoff teams in baseball:

New York $203,897,446
Washington $197,203,691
LA Dodgers $196,279,677
St Louis $162,620,267
Houston $158,053,000
Milwaukee $122,530,400
Minnesota $119,651,933
Atlanta $115,247,089
A’s $92,178,833
Tampa Bay $60,084,133


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Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but……

13) Three years ago, the Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years; Sunday, they fired manager Joe Maddon, who led them to that title.

When he was in Boston, Cubs GM Theo Epstein fired manager Terry Francona after the 2011 season; Francona won two World Series in eight years with the Red Sox, Boston’s first World Series titles in 86 years.

Not a lot of loyalty there, in either case.

Maddon is 65 years old and made $6M this year; his successor will be younger and a lot cheaper.

12) The analytics crowd in baseball doesn’t value the field manager as much as they should; teams live/travel together for 7+ months. Having the right manager makes all the difference.

If you read this site, you know I love numbers, but those guys aren’t playing fantasy baseball, managers have to deal with fragile egos and huge egos and convince guys to accept what is best for the team- they have to have real life people skills. You think major league players like to be platooned constantly?

My point is this; maybe it isn’t Joe Maddon’s fault the Cubs faded down the stretch; maybe the roster Theo Epstein gave him just wasn’t good enough.

11) Angels fired manager Brad Ausmus after only one season, a year where one of their starting pitchers was found dead in his hotel room on a road trip; not exactly an ideal scenario.

Popular wisdom is that the Angels will go after former Angel coach Maddon to be their next manager.

10) Pirates fired manager Clint Hurdle, who was 735-720 in nine years managing the Pirates, with three playoff appearances. From 2013-15, Pirates were 280-206, and made the playoffs all three years. He also led the Rockies to a World Series; pretty strong resume.

9) Cleveland Indians won 93 games this year, the most by any non-playoff team since 2000, when the Mets went 94-68 but missed the playoffs by a game.

8) Pete Alonso hit 53 homers for the Mets this year; 31 of them came with the bases empty.

7) Friday night against the Dodgers, San Francisco became the first team since the 1950 Cardinals to score 2 or less runs in a game, while stranding 17+ runners on base.

6) Monthly sports betting handle:
May: Nevada $317.3M, New Jersey $318.9M
June: Nevada $322.5M, New Jersey $317.3M
July: Nevada $235M, New Jersey $251M
August: Nevada $287.7M, New Jersey $293.5M (Pennsylvania $109M)

5) Early in his career, Dodger SS Corey Seager irritated LA officials with the number of swings he took before, during and after games; they thought he overdid it. Seager was obsessed with perfecting his swing; when he had to miss 2018 with elbow/hip injuries, he became more coachable this year and had a solid 2019, hitting .272 with 84 RBI.

4) 10 years ago, the under-18 U.S. national baseball team had Tony Wolters, Nick Castellanos, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado on it, as well as pitchers Kevin Gausman, Robbie Ray and Jameson Taillon. Pretty good team; half of the 20 players made the major leagues.

3) Rutgers fired football coach Chris Ash before baseball season ended, which is unusual. Not a lot of college football coaches get the boot before Columbus Day.

2) Steelers 27, Bengals 3:
— This was a bad football game; the Bengals’ offensive line was terrible.
— Andy Dalton was sacked eight times; he averaged 2.3 yards/pass attempt.
— Two of Pittsburgh’s three TD’s were on drives of less than 50 yards.

1) I know he is just an actor and he isn’t the characters he portrays, but I would still be queasy if Robert DeNiro was mad at me.

[StarDust Bum]

WNBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, October 1

Connecticut @ Washington

Game 603-604
October 1, 2019 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Connecticut
112.304
Washington
122.772
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 10 1/2
166
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 8
169 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-8); Under




WNBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, October 1

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CONNECTICUT (26 - 12) at WASHINGTON (29 - 9) - 10/1/2019, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CONNECTICUT is 5-13 ATS (-9.3 Units) in road games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 5-12 ATS (-8.2 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 this season.
CONNECTICUT is 0-6 ATS (-6.6 Units) in road games after a division game this season.
CONNECTICUT is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) in road games revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 2-9 ATS (-7.9 Units) in road games after allowing 75 points or more this season.
CONNECTICUT is 2-10 ATS (-9.0 Units) in road games after scoring 75 points or more this season.
WASHINGTON is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points this season.
WASHINGTON is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games vs. division opponents this season.
WASHINGTON is 198-249 ATS (-75.9 Units) after a division game since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
CONNECTICUT is 7-4 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 6-5 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA

Tuesday, October 1

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Trend Report
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Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 17-6 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Connecticut's last 9 games
Connecticut is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Connecticut is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home
Connecticut is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing Washington
Connecticut is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
Connecticut is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
Washington Mystics
Washington is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Washington is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games on the road
Washington is 4-8-1 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Connecticut
Washington is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut

[StarDust Bum]

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

CONN at WAS 08:00 PM

WAS -7.5

O 172.0

[StarDust Bum]

Jones helps Sun even series as Delle Donne exits for Mystics
October 1, 2019
By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) Jonquel Jones scored 32 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, and the Connecticut Sun took advantage of Elena Delle Donne's early injury exit to beat the Washington Mystics 99-87 in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Tuesday night and even the series.

Alyssa Thomas added 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Courtney Williams had 22 points for the Sun, who dominated the paint after the 6-foot-5 Delle Donne departed in the first quarter with back spasms.

Connecticut outrebounded Washington 41-27 overall and 17-6 on the offensive glass. Jones, who didn't have an offensive board in the first game, had a WNBA Finals record nine. She also only took eight shots in the series opener, which Connecticut lost 95-86.

''I was disappointed in Game 1,'' Jones said. ''Disappointed with my lack of getting offensive boards, I had to make a change.''

In Game 2, Emma Meeseman scored 22 points off the bench for Washington after spelling Delle Donne early in the first quarter and Tianna Hawkins added 16. Washington's bench outscored Connecticut's 52-9.

Kristi Toliver was the Mystics' only starter in double figures with 13 points. Delle Donne finished scoreless after taking just two early shots.

''She's such a big part of what they do. You don't want to wish injury on anyone, but we knew it was a chance to steal one here,'' Jones said.

Even so, after Connecticut put together an early run following Delle Donne's departure and led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, the Mystics fought back from a 10-point halftime deficit to tie it briefly.

Aerial Powers converted a three-point play before adding a slashing layup on Toliver's feed to cut it to 71-69 late in the third following a 7-0 spurt. Toliver's runner evened it at 76-all with 8:14 left in the game.

The Sun responded with a 6-0 spurt to take the lead for good. Jones hit a putback before Williams added a pair of inside buckets, the latter after two offensive rebounds to make it 82-76.

A REACH FOR THE SUN

Connecticut has now won four games this postseason, one shy of the team record of five.

TIP INS

Sun: Jones passed her Game 1 scoring total of 12 points when she hit a layup 4:25 left in the first half to reach 14. She had 18 points and 10 rebounds by halftime. ... G Layshia Clarendon (right ankle) did not play after coach Curt Miller said Monday she was questionable for the game. Clarendon hasn't played in a live game since June 16.

Mystics: Delle Donne also missed the teams' first regular season meeting in 2019, an 84-69 Sun victory on May 25. ... C LaToya Sanders picked up a technical for a defensive 3-second violation with 39 seconds left in the first half, and Hawkins committed the same offense midway through the third quarter.

UP NEXT

The series shifts to Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Arena for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY OCTOBER 6, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:30 PM Washington Mystics Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena


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WNBA SEPT./ OCT. PLAYOFFS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD



10/01/2019.......1-1-0.......50.00%.........-0.50
09/29/2019.......1-1-0.......50.00%.........-0.50
09/22/2019.......0-4-0........0.00%........-22.00
09/19/2019.......2-1-1........66.67%.......+4.50
09/17/2019.......1-3-0........25.00%......-11.50
09/15/2019.......3-1-0........75.00%.......+9.50
09/11/2019...... 3-1-0 .......75.00% ......+9.50

Total.............11 -12-1.......47.82%........-11.00


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BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS............. ..UNITS...............O/U..............UNITS...........TOTALS

10/01/2019..............0 - 1................-5.50...............1 - 0.............+5.00............-0.50
09/29/2019..............0 - 1................-5.50...............1 - 0.............+5.00............-0.50
09/22/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00.............0 - 2..............-11.00...........-22.00
09/19/2019..............1 - 0................+5.00..............1 - 1..............-0.50............+4.50
09/17/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00..............1 - 1.............-0.50............-11.50
09/15/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50
09/11/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50

Totals......................3 - 8 ...............-25.00..............8 - 4...........+18.00............-7.00

[StarDust Bum]

Wednesday’s 6-pack

Interesting college football spreads this weekend:

— Oregon State @ UCLA (-5.5)

— Iowa @ Michigan (-3.5)

— Northwestern @ Nebraska (-3.5)

— Air Force (-3) @ Navy

— TCU @ Iowa State (-3.5)

— Auburn (-3) @ Florida

Quote of the Day
“Falling down is part of life; getting back up is living.”
Anonymous

Wednesday’s quiz
Who won/lost the last time the World Series was a sweep?

Tuesday’s quiz
Sam Darnold played his college football at USC.

Monday’s quiz
Clint Hurdle managed the Colorado Rockies in their one World Series appearance.

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Wednesday’s Den: NFL stats after four weeks……

13) Best red zone offenses:
Seattle 6.25 ppp, Cowboys 6.08, Ravens 6.07

Worst red zone offenses:
Dolphins 2.67, Bengals 3.00, Raiders 3.62

12) Best offenses on drives that start 75+ yards from goal line:
Ravens 3.76 ppp, Chiefs 3.19, Chargers 2.88

Worst offenses on drives that start 75+ yards from goal line:
Jets 0.37, Dolphins 0.52, Bucs 0.88

11) Best red zone defenses:
Patriots 2.50, 49ers 2.88, Steelers 3.57, Chiefs 3.76

Worst red zone defenses:
Browns 6.60, Dolphins 6.16, Colts 5.67, Saints 5.57

10) Best defenses on drives that start 75+ yards from goal line:
49ers 0.38, Patriots 0.39, Bills 0.77, Bears 0.84

Worst defenses on drives that start 75+ yards from goal line:
Dolphins 3.05, Cardinals 3.03, Chiefs 2.67, Falcons 2.56

9) QB’s with most passing yards:
Mahomes KC 1,510, Ryan Atl 1,325, Goff LAR/Rivers LAC 1,254

8) QB’s with most touchdown passes:
10— Brissett-Jackson-Mahomes
9— Prescott-Stafford-Wentz-Winston
8— Ryan-Wilson

7) RB’s with most rushing yards:
McCaffrey 411, Cook 410, Fournette 404, Chubb 398

6) Players with most receiving yards:
KAllen 452, Kupp 388, Godwin 386, Adams 378

6) Teams that scored the most points:
135— Chiefs/Ravens
123— Buccaneers
122— Patriots
117— Rams

5) Offenses with most plays of 20+ yards:
Chiefs 27, Chargers/Ravens 23, Lions 22, Falcons 21

4) Offenses that have gained most yards/game:
Ravens 482.5, Chiefs 474.8, Cowboys 425.2, 49ers 421.0

3) Defenses that allowed fewest yards/game:
Patriots 243.0, Bills 280.8, 49ers 283.3, Panthers 287.5

2) Best net punting average:
Redskins 48.5, Giants 46.8, Cardinals/Saints/Eagles 44.8.

1) Best turnover ratios:
+6— Bears/Patriots
+5— Titans
+4— Packers/Jets/Steelers

Worst turnover ratios:
-7— Dolphins
-5— Falcons/Giants/Broncos/Bengals
-3— Panthers/Rams/Redskins

[StarDust Bum]

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