Saturday Trends and Indexes 01/06

[pm530]

Six-Pack for Saturday

Six notes on college basketball as the first big Saturday of conference play is upon us.........

-- Butler is still #3 in the RPI; Florida is #51. Lesson here is that the RPI doesn't matter until after the Super Bowl.

-- Davidson ranks 10th in country in Tempo, playing with a lot of new players; they're 78th in defensive efficiency, 123rd on offense (out of 336). Coach McKillop is tbe best coach in country nobody knows.

-- Top four in country in offensive efficiency: Air Force- Florida-Arizona-Texas A&M.

-- Top four in defensive efficiency: Texas A&M-UConn- Maryland-Fresno State.

-- And yes, I think Texas A&M will be darkhorse team in the Final Four this spring.

-- Princeton is getting 45.4% of its points behind arc, most in country; Manhattan gets 14.4% of theirs, least in USA.

[pm530]

Saturday's List of 13: Random thoughts on a Friday night

13) Tomorrow is January 6, and it is supposed to be over 60 here in America's second-favorite city. Lets just say we don't see 60 degrees often at this time of year. Its a little eerie.

12) You get Mike Breen and Hubie Brown calling an NBA tilt on a Friday night, and its a solid two hours of television.

11) Has a defending NBA champ ever looked worse than the Heat does right now?

10) If I was a Cleveland Indian fan, it wouldn't excite me a lot that our closer in '07 will be Keith Foulke.

9) Why do athletic directors hire search firms to help them in hiring a new coach? Isn't that their job? Or is it because the search firm helped the AD get the job he currently has, so the AD is returning the financial favor?

8) Southern Mississippi has a punter named Barefoot.

7) Marist has a hooper named Wilfred "Spongy" Benjamin, UNLV has a point guard named Wink Adams.

6) Chiefs have one of NFL's best running backs, playing at a Colts team that struggles against the run. The coin flip could actually be important in this game, since Indy will definitely want the ball first, to get that extra possession.

5) Oregon State hooper Sasa Cuic is fluent in five languages: English-Croatian-Serbian-Italian-Dutch.

4) Raiders will have their fifth coach in last seven seasons in 2007; in other words, it wasn't Art Shell's fault!!!!! Raiders are challenging the Lions as worst-run franchise in the NFL.

3) Speaking of which, Rod Marinelli fired Donnie Henderson, his defensive coordinator, and hired Joe Barry, who happens to be married to Marinelli's daughter. Now, Barry might be the best defensive coordinator since Buddy Ryan, but when you are an inept organization like Detroit, you lack credibility.

2) After he sits out next season, Bill Cowher will be perfectly positioned to be coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2008.

1) Cowher is the 7th NFL coach to spend 15+ seasons in his first head coaching job; the other six coaches are all Hall of Famers. Cowher will be, too.

[pm530]

Dunkel Index - Pro Basketball

NBA
Dunkel



Saturday, January 6

LA Clippers at Atlanta
The Clippers have struggled on the road all season (3-12) and have lost two of their first three on the current six-game road trip with the only win coming against an under-manned Miami team. But L.A. has an opportunity to pick up a rare road victory tonight in Atlanta. The Hawks have lost eight straight with the last six all coming by double digits. The last home win came all the way back on November 29 against Charlotte. The Clips look like a good pick to cover the Vegas line (-3 1/2) in this one according to Dunkel, which has L.A. favored by 6. Dunkel Pick: LA Clippers (-3 1/2). Here are all of today's games.

Game 501-502: LA Clippers at Atlanta
Dunkel Ratings: LA Clippers 118.147; Atlanta 112.142
Dunkel Line & Total: LA Clippers by 6; 199 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: LA Clippers by 3 1/2; 190 1/2
Dunkel Pick: LA Clippers (-3 1/2); Over

Game 503-504: New Jersey at Cleveland
Dunkel Ratings: New Jersey 118.484; Cleveland 126.524
Dunkel Line & Total: Cleveland by 8; 173 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Cleveland by 6; 187 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (-6); Under

Game 505-506: Indiana at New Orleans
Dunkel Ratings: Indiana 117.232; New Orleans 114.322
Dunkel Line & Total: Indiana by 3; 180 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Indiana by 9 1/2; 178
Dunkel Pick: New Orleans (+9 1/2); Over

Game 507-508: Detroit at Chicago
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit 120.736; Chicago 127.478
Dunkel Line & Total: Chicago by 6 1/2; 189 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Chicago by 4 1/2; 190
Dunkel Pick: Chicago (-4 1/2); Under

Game 509-510: Utah at Denver
Dunkel Ratings: Utah 118.173; Denver 120.877
Dunkel Line & Total: Denver by 2 1/2; 202 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Utah by 3; 208 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Denver (+3); Under

Game 511-512: Portland at Sacramento
Dunkel Ratings: Portland 110.666; Sacramento 125.518
Dunkel Line & Total: Sacramento by 15; 192 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Sacramento by 9; 194 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Sacramento (-9); Under

Game 513-514: Seattle at Golden State
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle 111.237; Golden State 120.827
Dunkel Line & Total: Golden State by 9 1/2; 219 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Golden State by 9 1/2; 217
Dunkel Pick: Neutral; Over

[savage1]

Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears #19 and #20 were for yesterday's games.

[pm530]

Thanks Savage, too many things going on at once this morning! ...update with correct info will follow.

[pm530]

NBA - Write up **CORRECTED**

NBA
Write up

Saturday, January 6

Hot Teams
-- Cavaliers won five of their last six games. Nets won three in a row, allowing 86.3 ppg.
-- Kings won three of last four home games, but lost in double OT to Lakers in last game, a brutal loss.
-- Warriors won last five home games (4-1 vs spread).

Cold Teams
-- Clippers are 2-5 vs spread in last seven road games. Hawks lost last eight games (0-7 vs spread in last seven).
-- Pacers lost last two games, allowing 106.5 ppg. Hornets lost 17 of their last 21 games.
-- Chicago lost last two games, after winning 16 of previous 19. Pistons lost three of their last four games.
-- Utah lost three of its last four road games. Denver lost four in a row, by 10,4,11,19 points.
-- Blazers lost four in row, six of last seven games.
-- Seattle lost three in row, five of last six games.

Series Records
-- Clippers beat Hawks twice LY, 92-77/102-95.
-- Nets beat Cavaliers 113-11 in Swamp Dec 20; they're 3-2 in last five games vs Cleveland.
-- Indiana won two of last three games against the Hornets.
-- Ben Wallace faces old mates for first time; last season, Bulls were 0-4 vs Detroit LY: 110-82/92-79/106-101/95-87.
-- Home side won three of four Denver-Utah games last season.
-- Kings won three of last four vs Portland, winning by 24-16-20
-- Home side won both Warrior-Sonic games this season.

Back-to-Back Situations
-- Clippers are 6-3 vs spread if they played the night before.
-- Cavaliers are 1-6-1 vs spread if they played night before.
-- Bulls are 4-0 vs spread at home if they played on road night before.
-- Utah is 2-5 vs spread if it played the night before.
-- Portland is 2-5 vs spread on front end of back/back.
-- Warriors are 6-3 vs spread on front end of back/back.

Totals
-- Over is 8-4-2 in last fourteen Clipper games.
-- Four of last five New Jersey games stayed under the total.
-- Last four Hornet games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 10-4 in Detroit's last fourteen games.
-- Four of last five Utah games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 10-5 in Portland's last fifteen games.
-- Six of last nine Warrior games stayed under the total.

[pm530]

NHL - Write-up **CORRECTED**

NHL
Write up


Saturday, January 6

Hot Teams
-- Flyers won three of last four games.
-- New Jersey won four of its last five games. Senators won five of their last six games.
-- Rangers won last three games, allowing five goals.
-- Toronto won last two games, 5-1/10-2, both vs Boston.
-- Avalanche won last two games, 5-3/4-2. Minnesota is 3-1 last four games it played.
-- Predators won six of their last eight home games. St Louis is 6-2 in its last eight games.
-- Flames won three of their last four games. Dallas is 5-3 in its last eight road games.
-- Red Wings won four of last five games, but lost 9-4 in its last game Thursday.
-- Sharks won last two games, 4-2/9-4.

Cold Teams
-- Bruins lost last three games, outscored 20-3.
-- Canadiens lost three of their last four games.
-- Islanders lost last five games, outscored 14-6. Carolina lost last three games, got shut out in last two.
-- Thrashers lost three of last four games. Washington lost five of its last six games.
-- Buffalo lost its last two games, 6-3/4-2.
-- Kings lost six of their last nine games (3-2 in last five).
-- Columbis is 0-5 in game following its last five wins.

Series Records
-- Flyers won three of four vs Bruins LY, going 2-0 in Boston.
-- Home side won both Devil-Senator games this season.
-- Montreal won three of four against Rangers last season.
-- Home side is 3-0 in Islander-Carolina games this season.
-- Road team won four of five Atlanta-Washington games TY.
-- Sabres, Leafs split pair in Buffalo earlier this season.
-- Colorado is 2-0 vs Minnesota this season: 4-1/2-1.
-- Nashville is 4-0 vs Blues this season, with all four wins by a single goal, and last three in OT/SO.
-- Home side won four of last five Dallas-Calgary games.
-- Detroit is 2-0 against the Kings this season, 6-2/3-1.
-- Home side won four of last five Columbus-San Jose games.

Back-to-Back Situations
-- Flyers are 3-4 on front end of back/back.
-- Devils are 8-1 on front end of back/back.
-- Canadiens are 2-4 on front end of back/back.
-- Thrashers are 4-5 if they played the night before.
-- Buffalo is 5-2 if it played the night before.
-- Colorado is 0-2 on road, if they played home game nite before
-- Nashville is 7-2 if it played the night before.
-- Detroit is 4-3 on front end of back/back.
-- Columbus is 4-6 if it played the night before.

Totals
-- Over is 11-4-1 in Bruins' last sixteen games.
-- Five of last seven Devil road games went over the total.
-- Under is 4-1 in Rangers' last five games.
-- Seven of last eight Islander games stayed under total.
-- Under is 4-1-1 in Atlanta's last six games.
-- Under is 11-4 in Buffalo's last fifteen games.
-- Over is 3-1-1 in Colorado's last six games.
-- Under is 10-1-1 since St Louis changed coaches.
-- Over is 4-0-1 in Calgary's last five games.
-- Six of last seven LA games went over the total.
-- Four of last five San Jose games went over the total.

[Udog]

Six-Pack for Saturday

Six notes on college basketball as the first big Saturday of conference play is upon us.........

Butler is still #3 in the RPI; Florida is #51.Lesson here is that the RPI doesn't matter until after the Super Bowl.

Davidson ranks 10th in country in Tempo, playing with a lot of new players; they're 78th in defensive efficiency, 123rd on offense (out of 336). Coach McKillop is tbe best coach in country nobody knows.

Top four in country in offensive efficiency: Air Force- Florida-Arizona-Texas A&M.

Top four in defensive efficiency: Texas A&M-UConn- Maryland-Fresno State.

And yes, I think Texas A&M will be darkhorse team in the Final Four this spring.

Princeton is getting 45.4% of its points behind arc, most in country; Manhattan gets 14.4% of theirs, least in USA.

[Udog]

Saturday's List of 13:

Random thoughts on a Friday night

13) Tomorrow is January 6, and it is supposed to be over 60 here in America's second-favorite city. Lets just say we don't see 60 degrees often at this time of year. Its a little eerie.

12) You get Mike Breen and Hubie Brown calling an NBA tilt on a Friday night, and its a solid two hours of television.

11) Has a defending NBA champ ever looked worse than the Heat does right now?

10) If I was a Cleveland Indian fan, it wouldn't excite me a lot that our closer in '07 will be Keith Foulke.

9) Why do athletic directors hire search firms to help them in hiring a new coach? Isn't that their job? Or is it because the search firm helped the AD get the job he currently has, so the AD is returning the financial favor?

8) Southern Mississippi has a punter named Barefoot.

7) Marist has a hooper named Wilfred "Spongy" Benjamin, UNLV has a point guard named Wink Adams.

6) Chiefs have one of NFL's best running backs, playing at a Colts team that struggles against the run. The coin flip could actually be important in this game, since Indy will definitely want the ball first, to get that extra possession.

5) Oregon State hooper Sasa Cuic is fluent in five languages: English-Croatian-Serbian-Italian-Dutch.

4) Raiders will have their fifth coach in last seven seasons in 2007; in other words, it wasn't Art Shell's fault!!!!! Raiders are challenging the Lions as worst-run franchise in the NFL.

3) Speaking of which, Rod Marinelli fired Donnie Henderson, his defensive coordinator, and hired Joe Barry, who happens to be married to Marinelli's daughter. Now, Barry might be the best defensive coordinator since Buddy Ryan, but when you are an inept organization like Detroit, you lack credibility.

2) After he sits out next season, Bill Cowher will be perfectly positioned to be coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2008.

1) Cowher is the 7th NFL coach to spend 15+ seasons in his first head coaching job; the other six coaches are all Hall of Famers. Cowher will be, too.