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**Udog** · 09-24-2020, 09:58 AM

At the heart of each of us, whatever our imperfections, there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm, which is absolutely individual and unique, and yet which connects us to everything else.

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Six interesting spreads for this week’s college games:
— Florida State @ Miami (-14)
— Louisville @ Pittsburgh (-3)
— Tennessee (-3.5) @ South Carolina
— West Virginia @ Oklahoma State (-7)
— Kentucky @ Auburn (-8)
— Duke @ Virginia (-5.5)

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 201,617
Please wear a mask when you go out.

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Armadillo: Thursday's Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….

13) We talked yesterday about the LA Chargers’ QB situation; Wednesday afternoon, word came out that on Sunday, Tyrod Taylor was getting a pain-killing shot for bruised ribs before the game, when the Chargers’ team doctor accidentally punctured Taylor’s lung with the needle.

Oy.

Rookie QB Justin Herbert is likely to start again this week; it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, going forward. I’m thinking the Chargers might also have a new team doctor soon.

12) Thinking out loud here, but is it better to be the #3 seed in the American League than the #2 seed?

#3 seed would play the 2nd-place team with the worst record, which right now would be the Astros, who are 28-28.

#2 seed would play the #1 Wild Card team, which right now would be Cleveland, which is 32-24.

The #1 Wild Card team figures to be a team that ended the regular season on a roll; this is such a unique situation, no real way of knowing until it all plays out.

11) There could be extra games before the playoffs begin; St Louis may have to play a doubleheader on Monday if they’re still in contention to make the playoffs, then there is the possibility that three teams tie for the two Wild Cards in the National League- that could be very cumbersome.

10) Tuesday night in Washington, the Nationals beat Philly 9-8 when 32-year old rookie Yadiel Hernandez hit a walk-off homer for Washington. Hernandez is now the oldest player in MLB history whose first career home run was also a walk-off blast.

9) Tampa Bay 8, New York Mets 5— Rays win their first AL East tile since 2010.

8) RIP to the great running back Gale Sayers, 77, who passed away this week after suffering from dementia the last few years. RIP, sir.

Sayers was a great running back, fast, elusive- he scored six TD’s in a game against the 49ers, but he also hurt his knee in a later game against San Francisco and played only seven years in the NFL. Sayers was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he was 34.

7) Back in the early 70’s, ABC had a Tuesday night movie of the week, where the movies were made just for showing on TV, not in theaters. Brian’s Song was one of those, but what a cast: Billy Dee Williams, James Caan, Jack Warden.

The movie chronicled a great friendship between Sayers and teammate Brian Piccolo; Piccolo replaced Sayers when he got hurt, but Piccolo was discovered to have cancer, and he passed away way too young. Very sad movie, but Brian’s Song is one of the best-ever sports movies.

6) Miami 112, Boston 109 (Heat leads 3-1):
— Tyler Herro scored 37 points in 36:00 off the bench.
— Miami was +11 (19-8) in turnovers.
— Celtics took 40 3-point shots, 42 2-point shots.

5) It is interesting to me the total lack of major league catchers who are good hitters; JT Realmuto is far and away the best of the bunch, everyone else is hit-and-miss. Modern baseball values defense more than offense behind the plate.

4) Tuesday night was a rough night for an Australian gambler; this is from Ben Fawkes, who works for VSIN:

– This person wagered $228,733 on Lakers money line (-263) pre-game

– The person then cashed out for $97,624 in the 2nd quarter with Denver leading 44-32

– The person placed all that money on Denver -9.5

Denver won 114-106 after Alex Caruso made an unguarded layup w/ 1.6 sec left. Not good.

3) Random stat: Yu Darvish is having a great season for the Cubs; nine of his 11 starts have been at home at Wrigley Field, but in his two road starts, he’s allowed only one run in 13 innings.

2) Here is some obscure trivia: In many East Asian cultures, including China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan, the number 4 is considered unlucky.

You probably wouldn’t see a button indicating the 4th floor on an elevator because most apartment buildings and hospitals skip the number four altogether. In Beijing, it’s not even possible to get a vehicle license plate that has the number 4 on it. The Chinese word for the number 4 sounds much like the Chinese word for death., and that is why it is considered unlucky.

1) If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
AL East: Tampa Bay, New York
AL Central: Minnesota, Chicago
AL West: Oakland, Houston
AL wild cards: Cleveland, Toronto

NL East: Atlanta, Miami
NL Central: Chicago, St Louis
NL West: Los Angeles, San Diego
NL wild cards: Cincinnati, San Francisco

**Udog** · 09-24-2020, 10:01 AM

WNBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, September 24

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LAS VEGAS (19 - 5) vs. CONNECTICUT (13 - 13) - 9/24/2020, 7:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
CONNECTICUT is 5-5 against the spread versus LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 5-5 straight up against LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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MINNESOTA (15 - 9) vs. SEATTLE (19 - 4) - 9/24/2020, 9:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
SEATTLE is 8-3 against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
SEATTLE is 9-2 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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WNBA

Thursday, September 24

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Trend Report
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Minnesota @ Seattle
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Minnesota's last 9 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing Seattle
Seattle
Seattle is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota

Las Vegas @ Connecticut
Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Connecticut is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Las Vegas

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**Udog** · 09-24-2020, 12:33 PM

WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, September 24

Las Vegas @ Connecticut

Game 619-620
September 24, 2020 @ 7:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Las Vegas
114.634
Connecticut
116.516
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Connecticut
by 2
165
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Las Vegas
by 6 1/2
161
Dunkel Pick:
Connecticut
(+6 1/2); Over

Minnesota @ Seattle

Game 631-632
September 24, 2020 @ 9:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota
112.866
Seattle
117.969
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Seattle
by 5
160
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Seattle
by 7 1/2
164
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(+7 1/2); Under

**StarDust Bum** · 09-24-2020, 01:29 PM

Connecticut Sun vs. Las Vegas Aces

The Sun are a bit of an improbable story. While the 2019 runners-up probably fall short of a “Cinderella” moniker, it would be understandable if their tumultuous offseason and 0-5 start to 2020 left you with a bit of doubt regarding their chances to get back to the WNBA Finals.

Nevertheless, the Sun overcame that slow start and early depth concerns to peak at the right time. The team’s 10-12 regular-season record means little at this point; after 13- and 14-point victories over Chicago and Los Angeles, respectively, Connecticut is once again forging ahead with a workmanlike, underdog mentality, affectionately dubbed “DISRESPECT.”

Don’t expect that to stop anytime soon. Standing in the Connecticut’s way is a Las Vegas team that earned the No. 1 overall seed in the twilight of the regular season. After star forward A’ja Wilson was named league MVP on Thursday, the Aces are surely more confident than ever and they’re well-rested, too. Sunday will mark exactly a week since they last took the court. This could be a significant advantage for Las Vegas.

Then again, it’s the postseason and Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas has a way of shrugging off heavy workloads when the stakes are the highest. Her performance in 2019’s postseason was the stuff of legend: 16 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game in 37 minutes per contest, with several games featuring her for the entire 40. The Sun will no doubt be leaning on Thomas’ durability once again as they fight for the upset.

2020 regular season: Aces win, 2-0

The regular-season series between Connecticut and Las Vegas was one-sided in favor of Vegas. The Aces defeated the Sun 99-78 in mid-August, then won by double-digits again two weeks later. Wilson was magnificent in the series, shooting a combined 18-of-26 from the field and scoring 45 points, but it was big performances from Kayla McBride, Dearica Hamby and Jackie Young that put the Aces over the top.

The high scores of those games indicate a problem for Connecticut — a team that has relied on defense to win its games. The Aces want to get out and run — they led the WNBA in pace this season — and with a 46.9 percent effective field goal percentage, the Sun do not have the firepower to get into a shootout. They’ll need to load up on Wilson and try to make these games stingy half court battles to avoid a repeat of those regular-season results.

Minnesota Lynx vs. Seattle Storm

The fourth-seeded Lynx played like a top-four team for most of the regular season, and, although their second-round victory over the Mercury was a bit too close for comfort, all that matters in a single-elimination round is a win and they got it.

Cheryl Reeve’s team will now face its toughest test yet and one it has yet to solve in 2020: the No. 2 seed Storm. Seattle entered the 2020 season as one of the favorites to win the title and though the No. 1 overall seed ultimately slipped through its fingers, the extended period of dominance it showed in the regular season did little to dispel the notion that it is the team to beat.

With Breanna Stewart, Natasha Howard, Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd, the Storm boast a blend of length, athleticism and skill that, on paper, is unmatched. Factor Swiss-army knife forward Alysha Clark and a deep bench into the equation and you have all the makings of a championship team — especially in a season in which most other contenders are missing significant pieces.

Seattle hasn’t been invincible, however. It dropped both games to Las Vegas in the regular season and the health of Bird and Stewart has been a worry for weeks now. While the duo has played up to par while on the court, both players have missed time down the stretch due to nagging injuries.

Storm fans hope that was precautionary. Lynx fans hope it’s a sign of weakness. Minnesota recently got center Sylvia Fowles back from a calf injury after she missed much of the regular season; if she remains good to go while Seattle remains limited, it could help turn a mismatch on paper into a much more evenly-matched series.

2020 regular season: Storm win, 2-0
Just like the Sun and Aces’ regular-season series, recent history strongly favors the higher-seeded team here. Seattle dominated Minnesota 90-66 in late July and won comfortably again in their second meeting — a game in which Fowles did not play.

Minnesota does have the talent to make this series interesting though, and it goes well beyond Fowles. Second-year forward Napheesa Collier has been excellent all season long, averaging 16.1 points and nine rebounds per game while scoring the ball on a highly efficient 60.5 true shooting percentage. Meanwhile, point guard Crystal Dangerfield took home Rookie of the Year honors as the 2020 WNBA Draft’s No. 16 overall pick. She provided an unusually steady hand for a rookie in such a position and gave the Lynx the boost they needed before Odyssey Sims came back from pregnancy. The Lynx will need all these players to be consistent and at their best if they’re going to overcome the Storm’s waves of talent.

Semifinals – Begin Sunday, Sept. 20

Game 1 Seattle – 88 Minnesota – 86 (Storm leads series 1-0)
Game 2 Thursday, Sept. 24 Minnesota (4) at Seattle (2) 4:30PM PT ESPN2
Game 3 Sunday, Sept. 27 Seattle (2) at Minnesota (4) Noon PT ABC
*Game 4 Tuesday, Sept. 29 Seattle (2) at Minnesota (4) TBD
*Game 5 Thursday, Oct. 1, Minnesota (4) at Seattle (2) TBD

* – If Necessary

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Series Schedule

Game 1: CON 87, LVA 62: Recap | Box Score | Charts
Game 2: LVA 83, CON 75: Recap | Box Score | Charts
Game 3: Thursday, Sept. 24 – 9:30 PM ET (ESPN2)
Game 4: Sunday, Sept. 27 – 1:00PM ET (ESPN)
Game 5: TBD

Announcement

Thursday's WNBA Trends and Indexes - 9/24

Thursday's WNBA Trends and Indexes - 9/24

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