Sunday’s 6-pack
Updated odds to win The Masters:
Even— Hideki Matsuyama
9-2— Xander Shauffele
10-1— Will Zalatoris, Justin Rose, Marc Leishman
17-1— Jordan Spieth
25-1— Corey Conners
80-1— Brian Harman
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 556,529
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“Golf is harder than baseball. In golf, you have to play your foul balls.”
Anonymous
Sunday’s quiz
What team did Alex Rodriguez begin his major league career with?
Saturday’s quiz
Joe Musgrove is a life-long Padres’ fan who wears #44 to honor former San Diego pitcher Jake Peavy.
Friday’s quiz
NBA’s Rockets were an expansion team in 1967; they played their first four seasons in San Diego, before moving to Houston.
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Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
13) This is very random, because it is 2:50am and my mind is wandering, but think back to a Giants-Eagles game in 1978, November 19 to be exact.
Giants were 5-6, Eagles 6-5, both teams fighting to become playoff contenders. Giants led 14-0 early, 17-6 after three quarters- they led 17-13 and were killing the clock when QB Joe Pisarcik tried to handoff to a running back, but the exchange was fumbled, the Eagles ran the fumble in for the game-winning TD that propelled them to their first playoff game in 18 years.
This game was unusually relevant for many reasons:
— Teams didn’t take a knee back then; this game started teams taking a knee.
— This was the first of four straight playoff years for the Eagles; they won the NFC in 1980.
— Eagles’ DB who scored the winning TD? Herman Edwards.
— Guy who coached the Giants that day? John McVay, Sean McVay’s grandfather.
— John McVay was fired after that season, replaced by Ray Perkins. Perkins coached the Giants for four years, then replaced Bear Bryant as the coach at Alabama.
— Eagles’ coach that day was Dick Vermeil, who had gone 9-19 his first two years in Philly; this game was the turning point for his program.
— Vermeil left the Eagles after the ’82 season, went on TV for 14 years, then returned to the NFL with the Rams in 1997— he won the Super Bowl there, in his third season as head coach.
You just wonder how many careers would’ve been different had that fumble never happened.
Major league leaders after nine days:
12) batting average:
.556— Yermin Mercedes, CWS
.471— Ryan Zimmerman, Wsh
.462— Ketel Marte, Ariz
.458— Nelson Crux, Minn
11) runs scored:
11— Jose Altuve, Hst
10— Mark Canha, A’s
9— Castellanos, Moustakas, Senzel, all on the Reds
8— Mike Trout LAA, Garrett Hampson Colo, Adam Eaton CWS
10) RBI’s::
14— Tyler Naquin Cin/Nate Lowe Tex
12— JD Martinez Bos
11— Kyle Tucker Hst, Jonathan India Cin
9) Mike Trout has been on base 22 of 39 times this season; he’s already walked 10 times.
8) Tampa Bay 4, New York 0— Why does Aaron Hicks bat third? He isn’t a good hitter.
— he’s a career .234 hitter, .331 OB%. For his CAREER
— he’s hitting .147 this year.
— He’s hit more than 15 homers once in his career.
— You put this guy between Judge and Stanton in the lineup? Why?
7) Arizona 8, Cincinnati 3— Reds are fun to watch; they have some guys who can hit, not sure how good their infield defense is. Suarez should be playing third. They have lot of outfielders; not sure what happens when Akiyama comes off the IL.
6) Manager AJ Hinch got suspended for a year because of the Astros’ cheating thing, then he went to Detroit— the Astros didn’t hire him back after his suspension.
Alex Cora got suspended for a year for the same thing, but the Red Sox brought him back as manager after the suspension was up. Whats the difference?
5) Alex Rodriguez and billionaire Marc Lore are teaming up to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA; Mr Lore used to be the CEO of Walmart eCommerce.
4) Candidate for Bad Beat of the Week: If you had A-Rod’s Timberwolves (+8.5) Friday night, you went to bed a bit queasy- they lost 145-136, in overtime to the Celtics in Boston.
3) Colorado Rockies’ OF Raimel Tapia walked Saturday, his first walk in his last 131 at-bats, which may explain why he got dropped from leadoff to the 6-spot in the order Saturday.
Tapia is hitting .258 this year, with a .281 on-base %age. That ain’t good enough to bat leadoff.
2) Marlins 3, Mets 0— Jacob deGrom has allowed one run in 14 IP this season, striking out 21 guys, but he doesn’t have a win, because the Mets usually don’t hit when he pitches. Guy is the best pitcher in baseball, with a 2.75 ERA, 1.05 WHIP in 184 career starts, but his record is only 70-51.
1) Happy 85th birthday to the great football coach John Madden, who became way more famous later on, as a TV analyst/pitch man. Had the pleasure of meeting coach Madden in St Louis in 1995, after a Rams’ game; good guy, very big guy, pretty much like he seems on TV.
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Hoop Trends for Saturday April 10
Vince Akins
ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Sacramento at Utah (9:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Jazz are 16-0 ATS (11.84 ppg) at home after Rudy Gobert had a double double last game.
ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Detroit at Portland (10:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Pistons are 0-13-2 ATS (-11.47 ppg) as a dog with less than two days rest coming off a 10+ point win.
OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Washington at Phoenix (10:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Wizards are 13-0 OU (18.96 ppg) on the road coming off a road win in which Bradley Beal was not their high scorer.
OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Philadelphia at Oklahoma City (9:10 p.m. ET)
-- The 76ers are 0-10 OU (-12.96 ppg) after Tobias Harris was their high scorer last game.
Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)Leave a comment:
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NBA
Saturday, April 10
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Trend Report
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Toronto @ Cleveland
Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games when playing Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
Cleveland
Cleveland is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 6 games when playing Toronto
LA Lakers @ Brooklyn
LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of LA Lakers's last 14 games when playing on the road against Brooklyn
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Lakers's last 6 games when playing Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Brooklyn's last 14 games when playing at home against LA Lakers
Sacramento @ Utah
Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Sacramento's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Sacramento's last 9 games on the road
Utah
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Utah is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games when playing Sacramento
Philadelphia @ Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Philadelphia's last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 6 games
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 20-2 SU in its last 22 games when playing Philadelphia
Oklahoma City is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
Houston @ Golden State
Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 7 games on the road
Houston is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Golden State
Golden State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Golden State's last 10 games when playing at home against Houston
Detroit @ Portland
Detroit
Detroit is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Detroit's last 8 games when playing on the road against Portland
Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Portland's last 6 games at home
Portland is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Detroit
Washington @ Phoenix
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing Washington
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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up
Saturday, April 10
Toronto @ Cleveland
Raptors (20-32)
— Toronto lost 17 of its last 21 games.
— Raptors are 0-7 ATS in their last seven road games.
— Over is 13-6 in their last 19 road games.
Cavaliers (19-32)
— Cleveland won its last two games, after an 0-5 skid.
— Cavaliers are 5-9 ATS in their last 14 home games.
— Last three Cleveland games went over the total.
— Toronto won six of last eight series games.
— Raptors are 1-5 ATS in last six visits to Cleveland.
— Over is 7-2 in last nine series games.
LA Lakers @ Brooklyn
Lakers (32-20)
— Lakers are 4-7 SU in their last 11 games.
— Lakers are 6-10 ATS in their last 16 road games.
— Under is 9-3 in their 12 games overall.
Nets (36-16)
— Brooklyn won 20 of their last 24 games
— Nets are 2-6 ATS in last eight home games.
— Under is 7-3 in last ten Brooklyn games.
— Nets won four of last five series games.
— Lakers are 2-2 ATS in last four visits to Brooklyn.
— Five of last six series games stayed under.
Philadelphia @ Oklahoma City
76ers (35-17)
— 76ers won seven of their last 11 games.
— Sixers are 7-4 ATS in their last 11 road games.
— Philly is 2-7 ATS if it played the night before.
— Under is 10-3 in Philly’s last 13 games.
Thunder (20-32)
— Thunder are 1-8 SU in their last nine games.
— OKC is 3-8 ATS in their last 11 home games.
— Over is 8-2 in their last ten home games.
— Thunder won eight of last ten series games.
— 76ers are 1-4 ATS in last five visits to Oklahoma.
— Four of last six series games went over.
Sacramento @ Utah
Kings (22-30)
— Sacramento lost its last five games.
— Kings are 6-9 ATS in their last 15 road games.
— Under is 6-3 in Sacramento’s last nine road games.
Jazz (39-13)
— Utah won 10 of its last 12 games.
— Jazz is 10-6 ATS in its last 16 home games.
— Under is 5-2 in Utah’s last seven games.
— Jazz won eight of last ten series games.
— Kings are 2-3 ATS in last five visits to Utah.
— Three of last four series games stayed under.
Houston @ Golden State
Rockets (14-38)
— Houston lost 28 of its last 31 games (7-24 ATS).
— Rockets are 4-11 ATS in last 15 road games.
— Houston is 6-3 ATS if it played the night before.
— Under is 5-2 in their last seven road games.
Warriors (24-28)
— Golden State lost eight of its last ten games SU.
— Warriors are 6-3 ATS in last nine home games.
— Under is 3-1 in their last four games.
— Warriors won four of last six series games.
— Rockets are 3-2 ATS in last five trips to the Bay Area.
— Over is 5-3-1 in last nine series games.
Washington @ Phoenix
Wizards (19-32)
— Wizards split their last eight games SU, covered last three games.
— Wizards are 8-5 ATS in last 13 road games.
— Washington is 7-4 ATS if it played the day before.
— Under is 7-2 in their last nine games
Suns (36-15)
— Phoenix won 28 of its last 35 games (23-12 ATS).
— Suns are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
— Washington won eight of last ten series games.
— Wizards are 3-2 ATS in last five visits to Phoenix.
— Over is 7-1 in last eight series games.
Detroit @ Portland
Pistons (16-36)
— Detroit lost seven of its last 11 games
— Pistons are 10-6 ATS since the All-Star break.
— Over is 5-2 in Detroit’s last seven games.
Trailblazers (30-21)
— Portland lost three of its last four games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Blazers are 1-3 ATS in last four home games.
— Under is 4-0 in Portland’s last four home games.
— Trailblazers won four of last five series games.
— Detroit is 3-1-1 ATS in last five visits to Portland.
— Four of last six series games stayed under.Leave a comment:
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521LA LAKERS -522 BROOKLYN
BROOKLYN is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) against Pacific division opponents in the current season.
523SACRAMENTO -524 UTAH
UTAH is 12-1 ATS (10.9 Units) in home games versus poor pressure defensive teams - forcing <=14 turnovers/game in the current season.
525PHILADELPHIA -526 OKLAHOMA CITY
OKLAHOMA CITY is 13-2 ATS (10.8 Units) after allowing 105 points or more 5 straight games over the last 2 seasons.
527WASHINGTON -528 PHOENIX
PHOENIX is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) after a division game in the current season.
529HOUSTON -530 GOLDEN STATE
HOUSTON is 3-13 ATS (-11.3 Units) when playing against a marginal losing team (Win Pct. 40% to 49%) in the current season.
531DETROIT -532 PORTLAND
DETROIT is 0-8 ATS (-8.8 Units) when playing against a marginal winning team (Win Pct. 51% to 60%) - 2nd half of the season in the last 3 seasons.Leave a comment:
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Saturday’s 6-pack
Updated odds to win The Masters:
4-1— Jordan Spieth
6-1— Justin Rose, Justin Thomas
8-1— Will Zalatoris
12-1— Tony Finau, Brian Harman
16-1— Hideki Matsuyama, Xander Shauffele
18-1— Marc Leishman
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 556,529
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“That was the one thing I didn’t want to break, the superstition of it. I didn’t want to have to go use the bathroom in the middle of a start.”
San Diego’s Joe Musgrove, who apparently drank 12 bottles of water during his no-hitter
Saturday’s quiz
Joe Musgrove is a life-long Padres’ fan who wears #44 to honor which former San Diego pitcher?
Friday’s quiz
NBA’s Rockets were an expansion team in 1967; they played their first four seasons in San Diego, before moving to Houston.
Thursday’s quiz
Andrew Dice Clay played Lady Gaga’s father in A Star is Born.
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Saturday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..
13) Padres 3, Texas 0:
— Joe Musgrove threw a no-hitter for San Diego.
— Padres have played 8,206 games; this was their first no-hitter.
— San Diego has thrown 30 one-hitters, been no-hit 10 times themselves.
— Only Texas baserunner was a hit batsman.
— Musgrove grew up in San Diego, is a lifelong Padre fan.
12) Way back when, July 21, 1970; Padres were playing the Mets at home. San Diego’s 2nd year in the major leagues. Clay Kirby was throwing a no-hitter through 8 innings, but San Diego still trailed 1-0; they pinch-hit for Kirby in the bottom of the 8th (future Toronto manager Cito Gaston was the pinch-hitter).
The relief pitcher gave up two runs in the top of the 9th, Padres lost 3-0, but 51 years later, they finally get their first no-hitter.
11) Victor Caratini was San Diego’s catcher last night.
Last season, there were two no-hitters in the major leagues, Lucas Giolito for the White Sox, Alec Mills for the Cubs.
Catcher for Alec Mills’ no-hitter? Victor Caratini.
10) Seattle got four outs from newly acquired P James Paxton this season, before his arm blew out and now he needs Tommy John surgery and is out for the next year-plus.
9) 41-year old Rich Hill pitches for Tampa Bay: he’s had an interesting career:
2005-08— 18-17, 4.37 in 64 games (54 starts) for the Cubs.
2009— 3-3, 7.80 in 14 games (13 starts) for Baltimore
2010-12— allowed four runs in 31.2 total IP in relief, for Boston.
2013— allowed 30 runs in 38.2 IP in 63 relief stints for Cleveland.
2014— faced four batters for the Angels, didn’t get any of them out
2014— allowed one run in 5.1 IP in 14 relief stints for Bronx.
2015— 2-1, 1.55 in four starts for Boston
2016— 9-3, 2.25 in 14 starts for the A’s
2016-19— 30-16, 3.16 in 68 starts for the Dodgers
2020— 2-2, 3.03 in eight starts for Minnesota.
2021— Now he pitches for Tampa Bay. Quite a career.
8) Tejay Antone is a relief pitcher for the Reds; his father played football at Oklahoma, was on the Sooners’ 1975 national title team.
7) Cincinnati Bearcats fired basketball coach John Brannen Friday; this season a lot of players complained about the coach, some of them transferred and when you go 12-11 at a school that is used to winning, people aren’t very loyal.
Brannen went 32-21 in two years at Cincinnati, after going 81-51 in four years at Northern Kentucky.
I read a fairly long article about the situation, which didn’t name any specific complaints that the players had, other than Brannen had rules about what players could/couldn’t wear at team functions— stuff like that appears to have turned the players against him.
This season was probably lot harder on the players than we realize— they were basically alone all the time, even when they ate. Tensions ran high; apparently at Cincinnati, they boiled over.
6) Clippers’ defensive stalwart Patrick Beverley broke a bone in his left hand, had surgery on it, is out a minimum of 3-4 weeks.
5) Duncan Robinson is in his third year in the NBA, scoring 13.1 ppg for Miami; he’s scored 12.2 ppg in his pro career, is a career 42.5% shooter behind the arc. Not bad for a kid who played his freshman year of college at Division III Williams College.
He transferred from Williams to Michigan after one year; this almost never happens. D-3 basketball is good quality, but there is generally a huge gap in size/athletic ability between those levels. Kids in Division III are paying to go to college, plus they play ball.
Robinson actually scores more now than he did in college; he scored 9.3 ppg in three years at Michigan. Shooting is at a premium in the NBA, especially 6-7 guys who can shoot.
4) Hawks 120, Bulls 108:
— Chicago’s Zach LaVine scored 39 points in first half, but Chicago’s whole team was outscored 67-42 in the second half.
— Much-improved Atlanta has spurted since hiring Nate McMillan as its coach; they’re 28-25 and are the #5-seed in the East.
3) Dodgers 1, Nationals 0— Justin Turner’s 6th-inning homer was the only run, as LA won its home opener, and got its World Series rings, which are very large.
2) Angels 7, Toronto 1— Shohei Ohtani knocked in four runs for the 6-2 Angels.
1) A’s 6, Houston 2— Sean Manaea pitched six stellar innings, as Oakland got a much-needed win. Lowrie, Olson, Canha homered for the A’s.Leave a comment:
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Hoop Trends for Friday April 9
Vince Akins
ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Minnesota at Boston (7:40 p.m. ET)
-- The Celtics are 11-0 ATS (11.86 ppg) at home with rest after they had 3 or fewer double digit scorers.
ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Charlotte at Milwaukee (9:10 p.m. ET)
--The Hornets are 0-15 ATS (-12.07 ppg) as a road dog coming off a game as a favorite.
OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Washington at Golden State (10:10 p.m. ET)
--The Wizards are 13-0 OU (16.92 ppg) on the road with less than two days rest off a win as a road favorite.
OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Houston at LA Clippers (10:10 p.m. ET)
--The Rockets are 0-15-1 OU (-8.28 ppg) as a dog with rest after playing as a home dog.
Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)Leave a comment:
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NBA
Friday, April 9
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Trend Report
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Indiana @ Orlando
Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing Orlando
Indiana is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Orlando
Orlando
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Orlando's last 5 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Orlando's last 5 games
Minnesota @ Boston
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 6 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Minnesota's last 11 games on the road
Boston
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
Memphis @ New York
Memphis
Memphis is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Memphis is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New York's last 8 games
Philadelphia @ New Orleans
Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Philadelphia's last 8 games on the road
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing New Orleans
New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Orleans's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 19 of New Orleans's last 25 games at home
Chicago @ Atlanta
Chicago
Chicago is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Atlanta
Atlanta is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Atlanta is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
Charlotte @ Milwaukee
Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Charlotte's last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte's last 6 games
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Charlotte
Milwaukee is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Charlotte
San Antonio @ Denver
San Antonio
San Antonio is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Antonio's last 8 games when playing on the road against Denver
Denver
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against San Antonio
Washington @ Golden State
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games when playing Golden State
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games
Golden State
Golden State is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Golden State's last 7 games when playing Washington
Houston @ LA Clippers
Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games on the road
Houston is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing LA Clippers
LA Clippers
LA Clippers is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games at home
LA Clippers is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home
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NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up
Friday, April 9
Indiana @ Orlando
Pacers (23-27)
— Indiana is 4-4 SU in its last eight games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Pacers are 4-2 ATS in their last six road games.
— Over is 6-2 in Indiana’s last eight road games.
Magic (17-34)
— Orlando lost 16 of its last 20 games.
— Magic is 6-2 ATS in last eight games overall.
— Over is 6-2 in their last eight home games.
— Indiana won last four series games.
— Pacers covered two of last three visits to Orlando.
— Last six series games went over the total.
Minnesota @ Boston
Timberwolves (13-39)
— Minnesota lost eight of its last 11 games.
— Wolves are 5-3 ATS in their last eight games overall.
— Under is 7-4 in their last 11 games.
Celtics (26-26)
— Boston won three of its last four games.
— Celtics are 3-7 ATS in their last ten home games.
— Under is 9-0 in their last nine home games.
— Celtics won/covered last seven series games.
— Minnesota is 0-4 ATS in last four visits to Boston.
— Over is 8-2 in last ten series games.
Memphis @ New York
Grizzlies (26-23)
— Memphis won its last four games SU.
— Grizzlies are 10-1 ATS in last 11 games overall.
— Over is 6-1 in last seven Memphis road games.
Knicks (25-27)
— New York lost five of their last six games.
— Knicks are 6-3 ATS in their last nine home games.
— Under is 9-3 in New York’s last 12 games.
— Memphis won three of last four series games.
— Grizzlies are 4-2 ATS in last six trips to Manhattan.
— Four of last six series games stayed under the total.
Chicago @ Atlanta
Bulls (22-28)
— Chicago lost seven of its last 11 games SU.
— Bulls are 8-2 ATS in their last ten road games.
— Chicago is 5-4 ATS if it played the night before.
— Under is 7-3 in their last ten games.
Hawks (27-25)
— Hawks is 13-5 SU since they changed coaches.
— Hawks are 7-1 ATS in their last eight home games.
— Over is 7-3 in their last ten games.
— Chicago won seven of last ten series games.
— Bulls covered their last five trips to Atlanta.
— Three of last four series games stayed under.
Philadelphia @ New Orleans
76ers (35-16)
— 76ers won seven of their last ten games.
— Sixers are 7-3 ATS in their last ten road games.
— Under is 9-3 in Philly’s last 12 games.
Pelicans (22-29)
— New Orleans lost four of its last five games.
— Pelicans are 1-3 ATS in their last four home games.
— Over is 4-1 in their last five games.
— Philly won last four series games.
— 76ers are 2-2-1 ATS in last five visits to New Orleans.
— Under is 5-3 in last eight series games.
Charlotte @ Milwaukee
Hornets (26-24)
— Charlotte won six of its last nine games SU.
— Hornets covered seven of their last nine games.
— Under is 12-3 in Charlotte’s last 15 games.
Bucks (32-19)
— Milwaukee is 3-5 SU in its last eight games.
— Bucks are 1-4 ATS in last five home games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Bucks are 3-4 ATS if they played the night before.
— Over is 10-5 in Milwaukee’s last 15 games.
— Bucks won seven of last eight series games.
— Hornets are 1-2-1 ATS in last four visits here.
— Over is 6-4 in last ten series games.
San Antonio @ Denver
Spurs (24-24)
— San Antonio lost four in row, nine of its last 11 games.
— Spurs are 4-1 ATS in last five road games.
— Over is 8-4 in Spurs’ last dozen games.
Nuggets (33-18)
— Denver won its last seven games (6-1 ATS)
— Nuggets are 4-2 ATS in last six home games.
— Over is 6-3 in Denver’s last nine home games.
— Spurs lost 106-96 here on Wednesday.
— Nuggets won six of last eight series games.
— Spurs are 1-4 ATS in last five visits to Denver.
— Over is 7-3 in last ten series games.
Washington @ Golden State
Wizards (18-32)
— Wizards lost 12 of their last 16 games SU.
— Wizards are 3-4 ATS in last seven road games.
— You’re reading ***************.com
— Under is 6-2 in their last eight games
Warriors (24-27)
— Golden State lost seven of its last nine games SU.
— Warriors are 6-3 ATS in last nine home games.
— Over is 5-2-1 in their last eight home games.
— Golden State won six of last seven series games.
— Wizards are 3-2 ATS in last five visits to the Bay Area.
— Over is 6-1 in last seven series games.
Houston @ LA Clippers
Rockets (14-37)
— Houston lost 27 of its last 30 games (7-23 ATS).
— Rockets are 4-10 ATS in last 14 road games.
— Under is 5-1 in their last six road games.
Clippers (35-18)
— Clippers won nine of their last 11 games.
— Clippers are 12-4 ATS in last 16 games at Staples.
— Four of Clippers’ last five games stayed under the total.
— Teams split last ten series games.
— Rockets are 4-2 ATS in last six series games played here.
— Over is 5-2 in last seven series games.Leave a comment:
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501INDIANA -502 ORLANDO
ORLANDO is 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) in home games revenging a same season loss vs opponent in the current season.
503MEMPHIS -504 NEW YORK
NEW YORK is 12-2 ATS (9.8 Units) after 2+ road games in the current season.
505CHICAGO -506 ATLANTA
CHICAGO is 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) in road games as a dog of 3.5 to 9.5 in the current season.
507MINNESOTA -508 BOSTON
MINNESOTA is 2-14 ATS (-13.4 Units) after a game where they allowed a shooting pct. of 55% or higher in the last 3 seasons.
509PHILADELPHIA -510 NEW ORLEANS
NEW ORLEANS are 31-47 ATS (-20.7 Units) in home games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game in the last 3 seasons.
517WASHINGTON -518 GOLDEN STATE
WASHINGTON is 25-44 ATS (-23.4 Units) in road games versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting <=24 free throws/game in the last 3 seasons.
519HOUSTON -520 LA CLIPPERS
LA CLIPPERS are 92-65 ATS (20.5 Units) as a favorite in the last 3 seasons.Leave a comment:
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Friday’s 6-pack
Updated odds to win The Masters:
4-1— Justin Rose
15-2— Jordan Spieth
12-1— Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm
14-1— Justin Thomas
16-1— Hideki Matsuyama
18-1— Webb Simpson
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 556,529
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.
Quote of the Day
“There’s more talent around the league than there’s ever been. From a talent standpoint, the league is in a good space. But as pure basketball lovers — who love competition at the highest level — I think they gotta catch up in that department………They soft as hell……”
Draymond Green
Friday’s quiz
NBA’s Rockets were an expansion team in 1967; where did they play their first four seasons, before moving to Houston?
Thursday’s quiz
Andrew Dice Clay played Lady Gaga’s father in A Star is Born.
Wednesday’s quiz
Art Fleming was the host of Jeopardy!, before Alex Trebek.
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Friday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here……..
13a) Least shocking story of the month: After two seasons with Oklahoma State, assistant coach Cannen Cunningham and the program have mutually agreed to part ways.
Cannen Cunningham is Cade Cunningham’s brother; hiring Cannen and paying him a quarter million bucks is how Oklahoma State landed the best recruit in the country (Cade) last year. Now he is going to go help manage his younger brother’s career in the NBA. Go figure.
Where does the NCAA draw the line on stuff like this: can a recruit’s mother be hired as a secretary and be paid a six-figure salary? Could a sibling be hired as a personal trainer, at $125K a year? What is legal and what isn’t? Inquiring minds would like to know.
13) Early Thursday morning I’m sound asleep when I hear these very loud noises just outside my bedroom window. Some kind of machinery, lot of people talking. Awesome.
Turns out the nice lady across the street was getting her driveway resurfaced. At 8:06am.
Three trucks, some kind of a steamroller, and 4-5 guys chopping away at the old driveway, before the new surface could get put down. Lot of loud noises, not a lot of sleep.
They finished around 3:00 in the afternoon. Driveway looks nice; just wish they had done it later in the day.
12) Wednesday, Washington Nationals intentionally walked Freddie Freeman in both the first and second inning of their 7-6 loss to the Braves. I wondered how often that happens.
So I asked the great researcher Doug Kern on Twitter; turns out the last time that happened was in 2009, when Detroit walked Albert Pujols intentionally in both the 1st/2nd innings.
11) Hello friends, must be quite a week for Jim Nantz; college basketball national title game on Monday night, then off to Augusta for The Masters all weekend. Pretty good week.
I am told his backyard has a par-3 hole in it, but when is the guy ever home? He does NFL in the fall, golf in spring/summer, college basketball all winter. Its good to be him.
10) Mets 3, Marlins 2— Mets had bases loaded, two outs in 2-2 game, bottom of 9th, Miami pitcher throws a strike, Michael Conforto sticks his elbow out, lets the ball hit it and the Mets walk off with a controversial win.
None of the umpires had the onions to say Conforto let the ball hit him; Mets’ TV guys Keith Hernandez/Ron Darling even said he did. Play isn’t reviewable, which is embarrassing. Rule needs to be changed.
9) White Sox 6, Royals 0— Complete game for Lance Lynn, on 111 pitches. First CG of the young season; Chicago’s bullpen has been dismal so far- Tony LaRussa had to be glad to see this.
8) Shohei Ohtani won’t make his next start Sunday against Toronto; he has a blister on his pitching hand. Ohtani went 1-5 as the Angels’ DH Thursday night; he is hitting .280.
7) In 1969, when MLB first went to divisional play, they also added four expansion teams that year- Padres, Royals, Expos, Seattle Pilots. All four expansion teams won their first game that season. Expos are the Washington Nationals now; Pilots are the Milwaukee Brewers.
6) Rory Mcilroy shot +4 (76) in the first round of The Masters Thursday; not only that, on the 7th hole, he hit a shot that struck his dad on the leg. Not good.
5) Read Thursday that actor Don Johnson is re-booting his old TV show Nash Bridges for a run on USA Network, not sure if it is one movie or if it’ll be a series again. Nash Bridges ran on CBS from 1996-2001; Johnson played a San Francisco cop whose partner was played by Cheech Marin, who is also returning for the re-boot.
4) G-League’s Erie BayHawks are moving to Birmingham, AL next season.
3) Arizona State has already poached transfers this spring from Toledo, Boston College, Robert Morris; the kid from Toledo is Marreon Jackson- he scored 18.1 ppg, grabbed 6.1 rpg and dished out 5.9 assists/game. He is expected to be a big help for the Sun Devils, who had four players transfer out of Tempe after the season.
2) UCLA basketball coach Mick Cronin parlayed his Bruins’ run to the Final Four into a two-year contract extension.
1) Thursday would’ve been Catfish Hunter’s 75th birthday; he passed away in 1999, at age 53.
James Augustus Hunter was my boyhood hero; on his rookie baseball card, in 1965, they spelled his name wrong on the back (Tim, not Jim) and when 5-year old me saw that, I adopted him as my favorite player, prompting strange looks from my dad. In 1965, not many kids in upstate New York rooted for the Kansas City A’s.
Catfish Hunter won 233 career games, nine of them in the postseason; he threw a perfect game in 1968, and knocked in three of the four runs the A’s scored that game. He won five World Series rings and won inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.Leave a comment:
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Hoop Trends for Thursday April 8
Vince Akins
ATS Play ON Trend of the Day
Matchup: Phoenix at L.A. Clippers (10:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Suns are 10-0 ATS (10.50 ppg) with less than two days rest after allowing at least points in the paint last game.
ATS Play AGAINST Trend of the Day
Matchup: Chicago at Toronto (7:40 p.m. ET)
-- The Bulls are 0-10 ATS (-6.45 ppg) after a game as a road favorite in which they had at least 5 turnovers more than their season-to-date average.
OU Play OVER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Portland at Utah (10:10 p.m. ET)
-- The Trail Blazers are 10-0 OU (16.90 ppg) as a dog off a loss in which they scored at least 15 more points in the first than the second half last game.
OU Play UNDER Trend of the Day
Matchup: Chicago at Toronto (7:40 p.m. ET)
-- The Raptors are 0-13 OU (-17.38 ppg) at home off a loss in which they shot under 40% from the field.
Trends are verified using Sports Data Query Language (SDQL)Leave a comment:
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NBA
Thursday, April 8
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Trend Report
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LA Lakers @ Miami
LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of LA Lakers's last 7 games
LA Lakers is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Miami
Miami
Miami is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing LA Lakers
Miami is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Chicago @ Toronto
Chicago
Chicago is 10-2 ATS in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Chicago is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago
Toronto is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games when playing Chicago
Cleveland @ Oklahoma City
Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing Oklahoma City
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cleveland's last 7 games
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Oklahoma City's last 11 games at home
Milwaukee @ Dallas
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games on the road
Milwaukee is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games at home
Phoenix @ LA Clippers
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games
LA Clippers
LA Clippers is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Phoenix
LA Clippers is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Phoenix
Portland @ Utah
Portland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Portland's last 5 games on the road
Portland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Utah
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Utah is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
Detroit @ Sacramento
Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing on the road against Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 6 games when playing Sacramento
Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Sacramento's last 6 games when playing Detroit
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