Thursday Trends and Indexes 6/25 ( MLB, WNBA, Misc.)

[pm530]

WNBA


Thursday, June 25

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Lady Luck: Today’s WNBA best bets
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Phoenix Mercury at Washington Mystics (-3.5, 176)

Phoenix needs to catch its breath.

The Mercury were one of the hottest teams to start the season but have stalled the past several games, including squandering a late lead and going scoreless in the final 2:43 of a 91-87 loss to San Antonio Tuesday. Phoenix leads the league offensively, averaging 91.4 points per game, but has averaged just 85.5 points per game the past two outings – both loses.

It doesn't get easier against Washington’s stingy defense, which is yielding just 75 points per game. If the Mercury are to crank up their offense, they will have to rely on star Diana Taurasi (22 ppg), who averaged 30 ppg in two wins against the Mystics last year. If Phoenix can force the tempo it should control the game. Washington will have a hard time keeping up after failing to score more than 81 points this year. Its lone loss was a 93-81 defeat to Atlanta.

Pick: Mercury +3.5

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[pm530]

Len’s Top Five


Thursday, June 25

Len's Top 5

Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for June 25, 2009 from Len Berman Sports.

1. Quick Hits

How about Shaq and LeBron James on the same team? Cleveland and Phoenix have worked out a deal that will send Shaquille O'Neal to the Cavaliers.

The NBA draft is tonight. With the first pick the LA Clippers will select Blake Griffin of Oklahoma.

Maria Sharapova, seeded 24th, was ousted in the 2nd round at Wimbledon.

The U.S. soccer team shocked Spain 2-0 in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

L.S.U. beat Texas 11-4 to win the NCAA baseball title.

Cheyenne Woods, Tiger's 18 year old niece, makes her pro golfing debut today in suburban Rochester, New York.

2. Open the Floodgates

Subscriber Hillary S. sent me last Friday's Op-Ed piece in the Times arguing that the Baseball Hall of Fame should let in every worthy player whether or not he used steroids. The writer said as far back as 1889 a pitcher named Pud Galvin ingested monkey testosterone to enhance his performance. Players of all stripes have used all kids of illegal stuff from the beginning of time. Not a bad argument. But I believe the steroid era is different. The connection between steroids and home runs is clear and evident. Home run records in baseball are sacrosanct. So what if an ancient pitcher ingested monkey hormones? But I do admit there's a part of me that says, "let the morons put whatever they want in their bodies and leave me alone." Why should we spend billions trying to catch the scoundrels when they'll always find new and ingenious ways to cheat?

3. You Know Things Suck When....

....when the weather at Wimbledon is better than New York.
....when you haven't even started your summer and they're already talking about football training camp.
....when you're a Knicks fan and you know it doesn't matter who they draft tonight, it won't make a difference.
....when you're a Knicks fan period.

4. Serve 'em Up

World Team Tennis starts up again in a couple of weeks. Maybe it's a blip on your radar, but I remember when it was a novel concept back in the 70's. The idea was to make tennis fun, not church. Fans were encouraged to cheer and make noise. The Boston Lobsters are in the league this year. Back then, they were owned by Robert Kraft, the Patriots owner. I went to a reception at his home and on hand was a young chubby player by the name of Martina Navratilova. The sports world has changed, so has Martina, but she's back on the Lobsters roster this year. Cool.

5. Red Card or Red Light?

Get CSI on the phone. The Egyptian soccer team claims they had money and belongings stolen from their hotel rooms after a big win against Italy in South Africa. But local media claimed it wasn't a robbery at all. The players were celebrating their upset victory by paying the money to hookers. Egyptian soccer officials claim it's all a bunch of lies, and that the stories got the players so upset they went out and lost their next game to the U.S. Yeah, that's believable.

Today's Birthday: Former Knicks center Willis Reed. 67.
Bonus Birthday: Former Miss America and sportscaster Phyllis George. 60.

Today in Sports: 41 year old Pancho Gonzalez beats Charlie Pasarell in the longest Wimbledon match (pre-tiebreakers) after Pasarell won the first set 24-22. 1969.
Bonus Event: Good thing for those two guys above, the first sneaker specifically for tennis is introduced. 1947.

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