Saturday Trends and Indexes 4/18 (NBA, MLB, NHL, Misc.)

[Udog]

NBA


Saturday, April 18

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Tips and Trends
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Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers [ABC | 3:05 PM ET]

Pistons: "It's going to be a good challenge," Pistons center Rasheed Wallace said. "They've got a pretty good record, a pretty good home record and I know they are feeling themselves right now. "So I guess it's going to be like David vs. Goliath." The Pistons only broke 90 points once this season against the Cavs, who were the league's stingiest defensive team, holding opponents to 91.4 points per game. Detroit averaged just 81 and shot only 41 percent against Cleveland. Scoring has been a problem all season for the Pistons, who never recovered from the trade that sent Chauncey Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson.

The Pistons are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games following a SU loss.
The Under is 29-6 in the last 35 meetings.

Key Injuries - G Allen Iverson (back) is OUT for the season.

PROJECTED SCORE: 79

Cavaliers (-12, O/U 175): "They have a lot of experience," Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said of Detroit. "They've been in the playoffs. They are a dangerous team. It won't be easy. We expect a tough series." Cleveland took the season series 3-1, winning the most recent matchup 79-73 at home on March 31. That game was like most between the defensive-minded teams in recent years - tight, tough and tense where open shots are rare and one scoring run can be all it takes to win. "We know their personnel. We know what they like to do," Ilgauskas said. "When they call a play, we already know what it's going to be."

The Cavaliers are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 playoff games as a favorite.
The Favorite is 8-1 ATS in the last 9 meetings.

Key Injuries - F Ben Wallace (knee) is DOUBTFUL

PROJECTED SCORE: 91 (UNDER - Total Play of the Day)


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[pm530]

MLB
Baseball Today

SCOREBOARD

Saturday, April 18

Cincinnati at Houston (7:05 p.m. EDT). Aaron Harang (0.64 ERA) takes the mound for the Reds.

STARS

Friday

— Jason Kubel, Twins, completed the ninth cycle in Twins history with a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning that helped Minnesota to an 11-9 victory over the Angels.

— Mark Teahen, Royals, went 5-for-6 with a homer and three runs in Kansas City’s 12-3 rout of the Rangers.

— Ramon Hernandez, Reds, hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning that gave Cincinnati a 2-1 victory over the Astros.

— Jonathan Sanchez, Giants, allowed two hits and struck out four in 6 2-3 innings in San Francisco’s 2-0 win over Arizona.

— Scott Hairston, Padres, homered and hit a pair of doubles, driving in four runs in an 8-7 win over the Phillies.

— Ben Zobrist, Rays, went 2-for-2 with a homer and four RBIs in a 6-5 win over the White Sox.

— Paul Maholm, Pirates, allowed four hits and three walks in seven innings, striking out two in Pittsburgh’s 3-0 win over the Braves.

— Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals, had three hits including a pair of homers, driving in four runs in an 8-7 loss to the Cubs.

FIVE ALIVE

Mark Teahen made Royals fans forget all about injured third baseman Alex Gordon on Friday night, going 5-for-6 with a homer in a 12-3 rout of the Rangers. It was the first five-hit game for a Kansas City player since Mike Sweeney on July 9, 2005. Gordon is out for at least 10 weeks after having hip surgery.

BRONX BOMBERS

The New York Yankees hit five solo homers in a 6-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira, Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano all went deep.

TRI-CYCLE

Jason Kubel completed the ninth cycle in Twins history with a grand slam to cap a seven-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning and lift Minnesota past the Los Angeles Angels 11-9 on Friday night. It’s the third cycle in the majors this season following Orlando Hudson and Ian Kinsler.

TIME TO BUY A VOWEL

The jerseys worn in the first three innings by Adam Dunn and 3B Ryan Zimmerman had the team’s name misspelled as “Natinals.” They later donned tops with the team name spelled correctly.

WHO’S HOT

The A’s Andrew Bailey has not allowed a run in six appearances this season. … Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay have both reached safely in all 10 of Boston’s games. … Royals ace Gil Meche has a 2.25 ERA in three starts this season. … Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera had three hits in a 6-3 loss to Seattle on Friday and is batting .513. … Ryan Ludwick homered twice for the Cardinals in an 8-7 loss to the Cubs. Ludwick has a 20-game hitting streak and Chris Duncan an 11-game streak for the Cardinals. … Jeff Francoeur had three hits for Atlanta and is batting .526 (10-for-19) over his past five games.

WHO’S NOT

Blue Jays OF Alex Rios finished 0-for-4 on Friday against Oakland and is hitless in his past 14 at-bats. … The Orioles have lost all four of Jeremy Guthrie’s career starts at Fenway. … Washington has dropped eight of nine to open the season. The Nationals left 12 men on base and the game drew 19,026 for the smallest crowd in the two-year history of Nationals Park. … Troy Tulowitzki struck out for the fifth time in eight hitless career at-bats against Dodgers right-hander Jonathan Broxton. … The Diamondbacks have been shut out twice this season, both times with right-hander Dan Haren on the mound.

FAST STARTS

Seattle (8-3) has tied the franchise’s best 11-game start, and has the best record in the American League. … The Florida Marlins (9-1) won their fifth straight game on Friday night and are off to their best start in franchise history. The Marlins’ previous best start to a season came in 1997 and 2004, when they opened each year 8-1. … Picked to finish last in the NL West after going 63-99 in 2008, the Padres are off to an 8-3 start.

POWER SURGE

Alfonso Soriano has five homers in Chicago’s first 10 games and two game-winning shots this week. … Carlos Pena homered for the fifth time in six days in the Rays’ 6-5 win over the White Sox.

MILESTONES

Friday’s 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies was manager Joe Torre’s 2,159th in the regular season, overtaking Bucky Harris for sixth place on the career list. Torre’s next target is Sparky Anderson at 2,194. … Jason Bay of the Red Sox earned his 500th career RBI on his second-inning homer.

LOSING FIZZ AFTER 7-UP

The Orioles ran up a 7-0 lead against Brad Penny and the Red Sox, but Boston rallied for a 10-8 win on Friday night. The Red Sox bullpen threw six scoreless innings.

SPEAKING

“Just to join that 500 club, you know. Now I can say I’m in the club and, you know, it’s like getting your degree. Nobody can never take that away from you.”—Gary Sheffield after hitting his 500th homer in the New York Mets’ 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

SEASONS

April 18

1899 - John McGraw, only 26, made his managerial debut with the Orioles. He led them to a 5-3 victory over the New York Giants, a team he later managed for more than 30 years.

1916 - Philadelphia's Grover Alexander pitched his first of 16 shutouts of the season with a win over the Boston Braves.

1923 - In the first game played in Yankee Stadium, a record crowd of 72,400 watched Babe Ruth lead the Yankees to victory over the Red Sox with a home run.

1945 - In his major league debut, one-armed outfielder Pete Gray got one hit in four at-bats in the St. Louis Browns' 7-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

1950 - The first opening night game was held in St. Louis. The Cardinals, behind a complete game by Gerry Staley and home runs from Red Schoendienst and Stan Musial, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2.

1982 - The Atlanta Braves defeated the Astros 6-5 in Houston to set a National League record as they won their 11th straight game to start the season.

1987 - Philadelphia's Mike Schmidt hit his 500th home run with two outs in the ninth to rally the Phillies to an 8-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium.

1997 - Roger Pavlik of the Rangers became the first AL pitcher to walk the first four batters of the game in a 6-5 loss to Toronto.

2000 - Adam Kennedy tied a club record with eight RBIs and came within a double of the cycle as the Anaheim Angels defeated Toronto 16-10. A hot dog promotion at the SkyDome went awry as fans got splattered with bits of wiener when they fell apart in midair after being shot from the "Hot Dog Blaster.'' Although the hot dogs repeatedly disintegrated, promoters continued shooting them into the stands.

2005 - The New York Yankees scored 13 runs in the second inning of a 19-8 win over Tampa Bay. The last time New York scored 13 runs in an inning was June 21, 1945, in the fifth inning of a 14-4 victory at Boston.

2005 - Tim Hudson outpitched Roger Clemens, and rookie Ryan Langerhans had a pinch-hit homer in the 12th inning to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 1-0 victory over the Houston Astros.

2007 - Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox faced the minimum 27 batters in a 6-0 no-hit victory over the Texas Rangers. Buehrle walked Sammy Sosa with one out in the fifth, then promptly picked him off first base.

Today's birthdays: Billy Butler 23; Miguel Cabrera 26; Alberto Gonzalez 26, Brian Buscher 28

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[Udog]

NBA
Write-Up


Early Game

Saturday, April 18

First round, NBA playoffs

Celtics are without Garnett (kneee); their GM is still in hospital after he had heart attack during week, so lot of distractions. Home side won all three Celtic-Bull games this season, with Chicago losing by 16-18 here; two of the three games went over. Boston is 12-2 in last 14 games, with six of last seven going over. Bulls are 5-2-1 in last eight as an underdog.

[Udog]

MLB
Write-Up


Saturday, April 18

Weird night Friday; eight of 15 teams that won trailed in the 7th inning or later; Red Sox trailed 7-0, A's 5-1, Rays 5-2, Seattle 3-0 in four other games, and they all won too. Unusual amount of comebacks Friday.

Hot Pitchers
-- Johnson is 2-0, 0.57 in two starts this season.
-- Santana is 1-1, 2.13 in two starts, splitting pair of 2-1 decisions.
-- Lohse is 2-0, 1.69 in two starts this season. Dempster is 1-0, 4.50 in two starts this season.
-- Harang is 1-1, 0.64 in two starts this season. Rodriguez has 3.00 RA in his two starts this season.
-- Billingsley is 2-0, 0.57 in two starts this season.

-- Cahill has 3.00 RA in his first two big league starts.
-- White Sox are 2-0 in Buehrle starts (1-0, 2.38). Kazmir is 2-0, 2.84 in his two starts this season.
-- Millwood is 1-0, 0.64 in two starts this season. Greinke is 2-0, 0.00; he has a 25-inning scoreless streak going.
-- Bedard is 1-0, 2.03 in two starts this season.

Cold Pitchers
-- JJ Reyes is 0-7, 6.91 in his last thirteen starts. Snell is 0-2, 9.00 in '09.
-- Olsen is 0-2, 14.63 in two starts this season (13 runs/8 IP).
-- Gallardo is 1-1, 6.94 in two starts this season.
-- Davis is 0-2, 4.15 so far this season. Lincecum is 0-1, 7.56 in 2009.
-- Myers is 1-1, 5.14 in two starts this season. Hill is 2-5, 8.53 in his last eight starts.
-- Rockies are 0-2 when Cook starts this season (0-0, 9.72).

-- Tallet has made six big league starts, last of which was in 2006 with the Blue Jays-- five of the six came earlier with Cleveland.
-- Oliver is making first start since 2004 with the Astros; he's made 228 career starts. Slowey has 7.94 RA in two starts this season.
-- Carmona is 0-2, 9.00 in two starts this season. Wang is 0-2, 28.93; 15 of 33 batters he has faced wound up scoring.
-- Eaton is 1-6, 8.33 in his last eight starts. Beckett is 1-1, 3.46 in two starts this season.
-- Jackson is 0-0, 4.05 in two starts this season.

Hot Teams
-- Cardinals won seven of their last nine games. Cubs won four of six.
-- Marlins won nine of their first ten games.
-- San Diego won seven of its last eight games.
-- Cincinnati won four of its last five games.
-- Dodgers won last six games by combined score of 41-13.

-- Toronto won eight of its first twelve games.
-- White Sox won four of their last six games.
-- Royals won four of their last five games.
-- Mariners won seven of their last eight games. Detroit won four of its last six games.

Cold Teams
-- Nationals lost eight of their first nine games.
-- Braves lost last four games, allowing 24 runs. Pirates are 0-4 in game following a win this season.
-- Brewers lost five of their last six games. Mets lost five of last eight.
-- Phillies lost three of their first four home games.
-- Rockies lost four of their last five games.
-- Arizona lost seven of its last nine games. Giants lost six of their last seven games, outscored by total of 42-16.

-- Indians lost eight of their first eleven games.
-- Red Sox lost six of their last nine games, but won last two. Orioles lost last two games, allowed 54 runs in last five.
-- Rays lost five of their last eight games.
-- Rangers lost six of their last seven games.
-- Angels lost three of first four road games. Twins lost five of their last seven games.

Totals
-- Last four St Louis games all went over the total.
-- Four of last five Florida games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last seven Pittsburgh games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 6-0-1 in Philadelphia's last seven games.
-- Four of last six Milwaukee games went over the total.
-- Six of Reds' last eight games went over the total. Last five Houston games stayed under.
-- Five of last seven Dodger games went over the total.
-- Over is 7-2-1 in San Francisco games this season.

-- Nine of eleven Cleveland games went over the total.
-- Eight of last nine Oakland games went over the total.
-- Eight of ten Baltimore games went over the total.
-- Seven of ten White Sox games stayed under the total.
-- Seven of ten Kansas City games stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five Minnesota games went over the total.
-- Three of last four Detroit road games stayed under the total.

Umpire stats will make their first '09 appearance next week.

[Udog]

NHL
Write-Up


All Remaining Games

Saturday, April 18

NHL Playoffs

Rangers won last two games vs Washington, after losing previous five; Rangers lost seven of last nine visits here, with six of nine staying under total, but they won Game 1 4-3, despite getting out shot 35-21. Rangers won last four games overall, allowing eight goals. Capitols were 2-7 on power play in Game 1- they had man advantage for 12:13.

Bruins are 8-2 in last ten games vs Montreal, winning last six, with two overtime wins- they outshot Montreal 39-28 in Game 1 win. Canadiens lost last five games in Boston, outscored 23-12. Bruins won nine of last eleven games, with last four going over total. Montreal lost its last five games, outscored 18-10.

Columbus lost seven of last nine games; they had only eight shots on the Detroit goal in last two periods of Game 1, were 0-5 on power play, in 7:55 with man edge. Eight of last ten series games stayed under the total. Red Wings win in Game 1 was just their third in last nine games. Wings outshot Columbus 34-21 in their opening win.

Chicago is 5-0 against Calgary this season, winning Game 1 0:12 into OT third fastest win in playoff OT history. Blackhawks won seven of their last eight games; under is 9-2-1 in their last twelve. Flames are just 4-7 in last eleven games; under is 11-2-1 in their last 14 games. Both sides were 0-3 on power play in Game 1. Flames had just four shots in 3rd period.

[Kaptain]

as always fellows....THANKS for all that you guys do....Much appreciated

[pm530]

Thanks Kapt

Best of luck to you and all hands at BC!

[pm530]

NBA
Write-up


Full card

Saturday, April 18

First round, NBA playoffs

Celtics are without Garnett (knee); their GM is still in hospital after he had heart attack during week, so lot of distractions. Home side won all three Celtic-Bull games this season, with Chicago losing by 16-18 here; two of the three games went over. Boston is 12-2 in last 14 games, with six of last seven going over. Bulls are 5-2-1 in last eight as an underdog.

Cavaliers went 39-2 at home this season; they're 3-1 against Detroit this year, winning by 21-6 here- all four series games this season went under the total. Cavs covered five of their six games. Detroit lost its last three games, is 5-9 in its last 14, 1-5 vs spread in their last six games as a dog. Three of last four games went over the total.

Spurs are without Ginobili; they split four games with Dallas this year, going 1-1 in each gym-- both games in Dallas went over, both games in this building stayed under. Spurs won last four games, but are just 4-11 vs spread in last 15 games as a favorite. Dallas won seven of its last nine games, but is 5-8 vs spread in last 13 games as an underdog.

Home side won all four Houston-Portland games this season, but three of the four were decided by four points or less-- all four games got over the total. Rockets won last five games, but failed to cover their last three games as an underdog. Portland won six in row, 10 of last 11 games- the Blazers are 12-1 vs spread in last 13 tries as a favorite.

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[pm530]

Six-pack for Saturday

-- Padres won last two games, despite trailing 3-0/5-0 after first inning. Six of the eight NL winners Friday night came from behind to win after the sixth inning-- has to be long time since so many teams did this.

-- Dan Haren is 0-3, 1.89; Arizona scored two runs in his three starts.

-- Justin Verlander struck out seven of first 12 hitters he faced, then gave up five runs in fifth inning as Seattle beat the Tigers 6-3.

-- Baltimore led 7-0 at Fenway with its best starting pitcher on mound, and still lost 10-8. David Ortiz, though, is hitting a feeble .158.

-- Nick Markakis leads the big leagues with 15 RBI. Carlos Pena leads with six home runs. Christian Guzman is leading with .515 BA, but he just went on the disabled list Friday.

-- Jason Kubel hit for cycle, Twins scored seven in bottom of 8th to nip the banged-up Angels 11-9. Halos are without Guerrero (torn muscle in chest) for the next month. Red Sox trailed 7-0; A's trailed 5-1, but both teams rallied to win. Big night for comebacks.

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[pm530]

Tale of the Tape: NBA against the NHL.............

Item: Commissioners
NBA-- David Stern
NHL-- Gary Bettman
This is a mismatch along the lines of Georgia Tech 222, Cumberland 0, the most one-sided game in college football history. Edge: NBA

Item: How game starts........
NBA-- Jump ball.
NHL-- Face off.
Its easier for an official to drop a puck on the ice than to toss a ball up in the air between two 7-footers. Edge: NHL

Item: Substitutions
NBA: Check in at scorers' table.
NHL: Changing on the fly.
You ever jump over a wooden barrier while carrying a stick, wearing ice skates? Yeah, me either......Edge: NHL

Item: Cheerleaders
NBA: Most of them dress like hookers, not that its a bad thing.
NHL: Logistics of ice rink aren't good for cheerleaders. Edge: NBA

Item: Dominant franchise
NBA: Boston Celtics-- In their glory days, were coached by a short, annoying man with a cigar.
NHL: Montreal Canadiens-- Have been successful with lot of coaches Night before Thanksgiving, 1975, I sat in second row under basket in Boston Garden for Celtics-Sonics game with buddy of mine, who just hates the Celtics. People threw popcorn at us the whole game. As for the Canadiens, well, I'm a Bruin fan........Edge: Push

Item: Greatest-ever coach
NBA: Phil Jackson-- Once coached minor league ball here in Albany.
NHL: Scotty Bowman-- Once made Stanley Cup finals with a team in each of its first three years in existence (St Louis Blues). Also, he doesn't date the owner's daughter. Edge: NHL

Item: Watching on television
NBA: Excellent analysts on TV-- Hubie Brown, Doug Collins, Jeff Van Gundy, and the underrated Mark Jackson.
NHL: No sport loses more when you watch it on TV. Edge: NBA

Item: Safety for fans
NBA: Basketball fans are pretty safe, unless Ron Artest is playing or Charles Barkley is within spitting range.
NHL: Fans at each end have to watch game through mesh, since a fan got killed by a flying puck a few years back. Edge: NBA

Item: Best Team Name
NBA: San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers
NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs
When a team's logo is also the symbol on its country's flag, thats big. Plus, Spurs were originally the Dallas Chapparals. Edge: NHL

Item: Way to break tie games
NBA: Keep playing until someone wins.
NHL: 5:00 of OT, then shootout. Not a big shootout fan- I'd rather teams just keep playing until someone wins. Edge: NBA

Item: Geography
NBA: One NBA team in Canada, where very few people give a rat's ass about basketball, anyway.
NHL: Ten teams in Sun Belt of United States, while hockey hotbeds like Winnipeg, Quebec City, Hamilton and Saskatoon are teamless. Why an NHL team is in Nashville is a bizarre mystery. Edge: NBA

Item: Playoff format
NBA: Best-of-7 is too long for basketball, where most games follow mostly the same storylines.
NHL: With all the odd bounces a puck takes, every hockey game is a unique event, which lends itself to longer series. Edge: NHL

Item: Championship Trophy
NBA-- Larry O'Brien trophy. Does anyone under 40 even know who Larry O'Brien was? This should be renamed after Bill Russell.
NHL-- Stanley Cup-- Greatest trophy in sports. Edge: NHL

College basketball is my favorite sport, but I'm not as crazy about the NBA, since they tend to emphasize stars too much; NHL's playoffs are just a tremendous event. I lean towards liking the NHL better; it seems like more of a team game than the NBA does.

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