Announcement

**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:14 AM

Daily Sports Roundup

Monday, November 9

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Spurs play host to the Raptors, the Tar Heels get their season underway, and the Steelers hit the gridiron versus Denver.

Colliding on the gridiron . . .

The Broncos play host to the Steelers on Monday night in the week's marquee NFL matchup. The Broncos (6-1 SU, 6-1 ATS) are coming off their first loss of the season, as they fell 30-7 in Baltimore last week. Kyle Orton went 23-of-37 for 152 yards passing in that loss, with no TD passes and no interceptions. Knowshon Moreno ran for 39 yards on 10 carries and found the end zone once.

Pittsburgh (5-2 SU, 2-5 ATS) got past Minnesota 27-17 in their last contest, as Ben Roethlisberger completed 14-of-26 pass attempts for 175 yards with one TD strike. Mike Wallace caught three passes for 72 yards and a touchdown in that win. The oddsmakers have the Steelers listed as 3-point road favorites for Monday night's matchup, while the total for the contest has been pegged at 40.

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The NBA has five games on tap for Monday, with Utah at New York, Minnesota at Golden State, New Orleans at the Clippers, Phoenix at Philadelphia, and Toronto at San Antonio. The Raptors fell to 3-3 on the season with a 129-101 loss to the Mavericks on Saturday; Chris Bosh had 26 points and 12 boards in that loss. The Spurs are now 2-3 on the year after losing to Portland 96-84 on Friday night. Richard Jefferson tossed in a team-high 19 points for San Antonio.

As well, the college basketball schedule gets underway Monday with four games on the slate - Alcorn State at No. 16 Ohio State, Albany at Syracuse, Murray State at No. 13 California, and also Florida International at No. 6 North Carolina.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, there's just one game on the National Hockey League schedule for Monday night, with Los Angeles at Chicago. The 10-5-2 Kings fell 3-1 to Nashville in their last game on Saturday, with Dustin Brown providing the team's only goal. Jon Quick stopped 22 of 25 Predators shots in that defeat. The 8-5-2 Blackhawks fell 4-3 in a shootout to Colorado on Friday night. Dustin Byfuglien, Duncan Keith, and Andrew Ladd had the goals for the Hawks in Friday's defeat.

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:15 AM

Bettor's best friend: Today's helpful tips

Monday, November 9

Put it in park

The San Antonio Spurs likely will be without guard Tony Parker vs. Toronto due to a sore left ankle. Parker, averaging a team-high 14.8 points, will be replaced in the starting lineup by George Hill. The Spurs are favored by 6.5 points with a total of 202.

This one counts

Syracuse plays its season opener vs. Albany and is favored by 20.5 points. The line opened as large as 24 points at some books and has been bet down, presumably due to the Orange's inexplicable exhibition home loss to Division II LeMoyne last week that exposed some defensive lapses. Syracuse lost starters Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris from last year's NCAA Tournament squad.

All that Jazz

Coming off a home loss to Sacramento the Utah Jazz begin a four-game road trip against the New York Knicks. The home team has won the last seven meetings, and the Knicks have covered the last nine, eight of them as an underdog. New York is getting four points but is just 1-6 against the sprwad this season. The total is 210.

Not so great Scott

LSU will be without leading rusher Charles Scott for the rest of the season due to a fractured collarbone. Scott, who has 542 yards and four TDs, was hurt on a long run in Saturday's loss to Alabama. His carries likely will be divvied up among Keiland Williams and Russell Shepard. Next week, the Tigers have Louisiana Tech, which nearly upset Boise State. No line has been established.

The state of Ward

The reeling Carolina Hurricanes will be without goalie Cam Ward for four weeks due to a cut near his groin. Carolina (2-11-3) already is without playmaker Eric Staal for another 1-3 weeks. The Hurricanes have not scored more than two goals in their last seven games and have lost a dozen in a row overall since Oct. 9. They host Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Good news, bad news

The good news is the Denver Nuggets went 5-2 without supersub J.R. Smith, who was serving a seven-game league suspension and returns Tuesday at Chicago. The bad news is that the two losses were games that forward Kenyon Martin missed all or part of due to a bone bruise in his left leg. Martin is day-to-day. There is no line yet, but Denver lost by double digits as a 1.5-point favorite last season at Chicago.

Pondering a sub QB

Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder, among the national leaders in total offense, has a separated right shoulder and will miss Saturday's game at Wake Forest. Ponder has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 2,716 yards, 14 TDs and seven interceptions. The junior will be replaced by redshirt freshman E.J. Manuel, who is 1-of-4 for four yards this season. FSU (4-5) is 2-7 against the spread and 7-2 vs. the over. The Seminoles are getting 4.5 points from the Demon Deacons.

Losing a bit of their bite

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry may be out for the season with a broken left forearm suffered in Sunday's win over the Baltimore Ravens. Henry was averaging a team-high 19.7 yards per catch playing in multiple receiver packages. The Bengals (6-2) have a half-game lead over Pittsburgh (5-2) atop the AFC North. They visit the Steelers next week. No line has been established.

Notable quotable

"That's like getting stabbed in the heart right there. You grind it out for like 10 minutes and finally score, and then in like a minute and a half we come right back."

-- New England Patriots guard Logan Mankins, describing Randy Moss' go-ahead 71-yard touchdown catch that came three plays after a 10-minute TD drive by Miami and propelled the Pats to a 27-17 victory.

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:16 AM

Six-pack for Monday

-- TCU is now lurking 4th in BCS standings behind Texas, Alabama, Florida; it is conceivable Frogs could play for the national title.

-- Florida State QB Ponder will miss the Wake Forest game this week with a shoulder injury.

-- Notre Dame's defense ranks 83rd out of 120 I-A teams.

-- Cleveland Browns supposedly targeted Mike Holmgren as their #1 choice to head up their football operations.

-- Asante Samuel's first name means "thank you" in Swahili.

-- Jimmie Johnson wrecked on Lap 3, and his lead dropped from 184 to 73 points over Mark Martin with two weeks left in NASCAR.

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Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday.......

13) TV analysts like to quote QB ratings like they are gospel; but to me, QBs are judged by a) Do they protect the ball? b) Do they move chains to improve field position? c) Are they productive in the red zone? and most importantly, d) What are they like in the 2:00 drill, with the game on the line? That is when QBs are made, not on the stat sheet.

12) Case in point, Philip Rivers in the Swamp Sunday night, as he led the Chargers 80 yards on eight plays in 1:46 for the winning TD. That was the personification of what makes a quarterback great. Not can he manage the game, handing off to a great runner-- given protection, can he carry the team on his shoulders and win the game? Rivers did Sunday.

11) Cardinals had 13 first downs on their first 20 plays in Chicago.....

10) Tom Brady is now 20-0 in Foxboro since they tore up the grass and put down FieldTurf.

9) I'm in the minority on this, but I like the Bucs' original uniforms.

8) Ravens have to sort out their kicking situation; they lost to Vikings because of it, and they lost a chance to tie Cincinnati because of it- they missed a 37-yard FG with 6:12 left that would have made it 17-10.

7) Why does the NFL throw flags for players celebrating, but Lambeau Leap is allowed? I'm just asking.......

6) Vince Young is now 20-11 as an NFL starter. Not too bad.

5) If I were a Packer fan, it wouldn't bother me that management let #4 walk; it would bother me a lot that the offensive line and special teams are a freaking joke. Bucs scored five TDs Sunday; a blocked punt, INT, and drives of 8 and 17 yards were our of them. Packers led 28-14 with 12:54 left, still lost by 10. To a previously winless team. Not good.

4) Lets check how teams did on first drive of each half: On the 1st drive of the game, teams scored six TDs, three FGs in four tries, turned ball over four times, punted nine times, lost ball on downs once. PPP: 4.25.

First drive of third quarter, teams scored six TDs, two FGs, three INTs and 13 punts. Points per possession: 4.00. Over was 6-6 Sunday.

3) Lions led 17-0 after the first quarter but couldn't cover as a 10-point dog, as Stafford threw his fifth pick of game, which was returned for TD with 0:22 left, giving Seattle a 32-20 win and Detroit investors a bad beat they won't soon forget. One of the worst I've ever seen.

2) If I were advising a gambler on how to win in the NFL, I'd tell him or her to wait until at least noon on Sunday; there is so much infornation now that comes in on injuries that is critical, that it is almost foolish to invest before you gather as much info as possible.

1) Case in point was Raven-Bengal game today; Baltimore DT Ngata was declared out of game around noon; he is a key part of DL, keeping enemy blockers away from Raven linebackers. Without Ngata, Ravens' defense against the run is greatly compromised. As soon as that was announced, Ravens became unplayable, Bengals became live.

From: Armadillo
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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:17 AM

NBA
Write-up

Monday, November 9

Hot Teams
-- Suns won six of their first seven games.
-- Clippers won last three games, by 3-28-3 points.

Cold Teams
-- 76ers lost two of last three games, scoring 84 ppg; this hasn't been the best of weeks for the city of Brotherly Love.
-- Knicks lost six of first seven games, losing last three by 12-9-15 pts. Utah lost three of its last four games.
-- Spurs lost last two games; home side is 5-0 vs spread in their games; San Antonio won its two home games by 17-19 points. Toronto is 1-2 on road, losing by 8-28 points.
-- Warriors lost four of their first five games (1-2 at home). Minnesota lost last six games, but covered three of last five.
-- Hornets lost four of their last five games.

Totals
-- Under is 3-2 in first five Phoenix road games.
-- Knicks' last three games all stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five Toronto games went over the total.
-- Three of last four Minnesota games stayed under the total.
-- Five of seven Clipper games stayed under the total.

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:17 AM

NBA

Monday, November 9

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
PHOENIX vs. PHILADELPHIA
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Phoenix's last 15 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Phoenix is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 games when playing Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games
Philadelphia is 6-13 SU in its last 19 games

7:30 PM
UTAH vs. NEW YORK
Utah is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New York
Utah is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing New York
New York is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
New York is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games

9:30 PM
TORONTO vs. SAN ANTONIO
Toronto is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against San Antonio
Toronto is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against San Antonio
San Antonio is 5-10 ATS in its last 15 games at home
San Antonio is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home

10:30 PM
MINNESOTA vs. GOLDEN STATE
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Minnesota is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Golden State
Golden State is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Minnesota
Golden State is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Minnesota

10:30 PM
NEW ORLEANS vs. LA CLIPPERS
New Orleans is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
New Orleans is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
LA Clippers are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games when playing at home against New Orleans
LA Clippers are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against New Orleans

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:18 AM

NBA

Monday, November 9

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Pick ‘n’ Roll: Today's best NBL bets
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Utah Jazz at New York Knicks (+4, 210)

The Jazz were a jubilant bunch following their win over the Spurs Thursday night. Utah dominated San Antonio from start to finish and forward Carlos Boozer even talked about how the win could lead to others down the road.

Point guard Deron Williams was a little bit more sceptic.

“We’ll see how we bounce back,” he told the Salt Lake Tribune. “We can’t just get hung up on this one and overlook Sacramento.”

Deron should open a psychic hot line because his fear became a reality Saturday night. The Jazz lost at home to the Kevin Martin-less Kings.

Utah led by as much as 15 points but got outscored 66-38 in the second and third quarters.

That shouldn’t make Jazz backers overly excited facing a New York team that can score in bunches. The Knicks haven’t scored over 100 points in each of their last three games so there should be some good value on the over.

Pick: Over

Toronto Raptors at San Antonio Spurs (-6.5, 202)

They may be nicknamed after a dinosaur, but the Toronto Raptors are toothless on the defensive end of the court. Toronto is allowing 108.2 points per game and looked clueless defending the Mavs on Saturday.

Dallas shot 62.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point land in the 129-101 beatdown.

“They went past us, and they shot over us,” Toronto coach Jay Triano told the Globe and Mail. “They had more movement and energy and had confidence in their shooting. Our energy level was low.”

The truth is this is a team made up of players not interested in working hard defensively and that’s not going to change.

San Antonio is trying to get comfortable with its new players, but that’s going to be more difficult with point guard Tony Parker watching from the bench. The Spurs’ leading scorer sprained his ankle against the Blazers and is expected to miss about a week’s worth of action.

Parker is the engine that makes San Antonio’s offense go. The Spurs will have a tough time keeping up offensively with Toronto.

Pick: Raptors

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:19 AM

NCAAB
Dunkel Index

Murray State at California
The Golden Bears look to take advantage of a Murray State team that is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 non-conference games. California is the pick (-13 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the Golden Bears favored by 18 1/2. Dunkel Pick: California (-13 1/2). Here are all of today's picks.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9

Game 711-712: Florida International at North Carolina
Dunkel Ratings: Florida International 49.358; North Carolina 82.875
Dunkel Line: North Carolina by 33 1/2
Vegas Line: North Carolina by 31
Dunkel Pick: North Carolina (-31)

Game 713-714: Murray State at California
Dunkel Ratings: Murray State 54.019; California 72.476
Dunkel Line: California by 18 1/2
Vegas Line: California by 13 1/2
Dunkel Pick: California (-13 1/2)

Game 715-716: Alcorn State at Ohio State
Dunkel Ratings: Alcorn State 31.381; Ohio State 72.083
Dunkel Line: Ohio State by 40 1/2
Vegas Line: Ohio State by 35 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Ohio State (-35 1/2)

Game 717-718: Albany at Syracuse
Dunkel Ratings: Abany 49.817; Syracuse 73.815
Dunkel Line: Syracuse by 24
Vegas Line: Syracuse by 20 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Syracuse (-20 1/2)

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:19 AM

NCAAB
Long Sheet

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Monday, November 9
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FLA INTERNATIONAL (13 - 20) at N CAROLINA (34 - 4) - 11/9/2009, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLA INTERNATIONAL is 112-149 ATS (-51.9 Units) in all games since 1997.
FLA INTERNATIONAL is 112-149 ATS (-51.9 Units) in all lined games since 1997.
FLA INTERNATIONAL is 17-32 ATS (-18.2 Units) as a road underdog of 12.5 or more points since 1997.
FLA INTERNATIONAL is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) in road games in November games since 1997.
FLA INTERNATIONAL is 30-53 ATS (-28.3 Units) in non-conference games since 1997.
N CAROLINA is 32-17 ATS (+13.3 Units) in November games since 1997.
N CAROLINA is 27-8 ATS (+18.2 Units) in non-conference games over the last 3 seasons.
N CAROLINA is 14-5 ATS (+8.5 Units) in all tournament games over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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MURRAY ST (19 - 12) at CALIFORNIA (22 - 11) - 11/9/2009, 11:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.
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ALCORN ST (6 - 25) at OHIO ST (22 - 11) - 11/9/2009, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
OHIO ST is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) in home games in all tournament games since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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ALBANY (15 - 16) at SYRACUSE (28 - 10) - 11/9/2009, 9:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:20 AM

NCAAB
Write-up

Monday, November 9

Florida International has three starters back from LY's 13-20 team; Isiah Thomas is the new coach- he brought in six new players, but it'll take a decent amount of time for them to gel. Nov 9 in Deandome isn't the best place to debut, against North Carolina squad that lost four starters from LY's national title team, but still has enough talent to be preseason #5 in Blue Ribbon Yearbook.

Murray State, Cal are both favorites in their leagues; Racers have three starters back from 19-12 team that went 13-5 in OVC. Murray coach Kennedy was a Cal assistant in the Jason Kidd era in mid-90's. Cal has four starters back from 22-11 team that is ranked 8th in Blue Ribbon. Montgomery starts four seniors. Both teams are perimeter-based.

Ohio State has all five starters back from 22-11 team that made NCAAs despite Lighty going down after seven games LY. Buckeyes don't have a true point guard, but they're an experienced team that bonded during trip to Canada in August. Alcorn State lost three starters from 6-25 team, so thats probably not so bad; Braves brought in seven new players, so this figures to be a tough baptism for them.

Boeheim goes for win #800 after Syracuse lost exhibition game to D-II LeMoyne last week; Orange were trying to play man, but should return to familiar 2-3 after losing to D-II Dolphins. Albany lost three starters from 15-16 team that went 6-10 in America East; they have eight new guys on their roster. Syracuse's best three players declared early for the draft last spring, so they're rebuilding.

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:20 AM

NCAAB

Monday, November 9

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
ALCORN STATE vs. OHIO STATE
No trends available
Ohio State is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Ohio State is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games

7:00 PM
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL vs. NORTH CAROLINA
Florida International is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Florida International's last 14 games
North Carolina is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
North Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

9:00 PM
ALBANY vs. SYRACUSE
No trends available
Syracuse is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Syracuse is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

11:00 PM
MURRAY STATE vs. CALIFORNIA
Murray State is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Murray State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
California is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
California is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:21 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

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Monday, November 9
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LOS ANGELES (10-5-0-2, 22 pts.) at CHICAGO (8-5-0-2, 18 pts.) - 11/9/2009, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 20-5 ATS (+12.8 Units) in home games when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 55-57 ATS (+135.0 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 4-4 (+0.8 Units) against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 4-4-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+3.9 Units)

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:21 AM

NHL
Write-up

Monday, November 9

Hot Teams
-- Los Angeles won three of its last four road games, but are 2-3 in last five games overall.

Cold Teams
-- Blackhawks lost three of their last four games.

Totals
-- Six of last seven Chicago games stayed under the total.

Series Records
-- Kings lost five of last seven visits to Chicago.

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:22 AM

NHL

Monday, November 9

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Trend Report
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8:30 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. CHICAGO
Los Angeles is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Los Angeles's last 9 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Chicago is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Chicago's last 12 games at home

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**pm530** · 11-09-2009, 05:22 AM

NHL

Monday, November 9

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Ice picks: Today's best NHL bets
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Los Angeles Kings at Chicago Blackhawks (-145, 5.5)

If you haven’t heard of Anze Kopitar, then you don’t know about the NHL’s fastest growing star. The Los Angeles Kings’ center has 27 points in 17 games this season, including two goals in the club’s 5-2 win over the Pens on Thursday.

The Kings have surrounded the Slovenian with quality wingers and the results are paying off. Kopitar plays with scrappy left winger Ryan Smyth and talented right winger Justin Williams.

“We’re looking for that line to be an elite line in the game,” LA coach Terry Murray told the Canadian Press. “When you have that kind of expectation on you (from) a coaching staff, then there is a need to respond, and I’m seeing a more consistent effort that shows (Kopitar) wants to be that player.”

It’s not just No. 1 line that’s winning games for the Kings. They’ve got great secondary scoring from Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov, Jarret Stoll and smooth skating defenseman Drew Doughty.

The Blackhawks boast just as much talent but they’re missing a few key bodies. They’re still waiting for Marian Hossa to play his first game in a Chicago jersey and Jonathan Toews hasn’t played since getting his bell rung last month.

Pick: Kings

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Announcement

Monday Trends and Indexes 11/9 (NBA, NCAAB, NHL, Misc.)

Monday Trends and Indexes 11/9 (NBA, NCAAB, NHL, Misc.)

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