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**Udog** · 10-14-2010, 06:25 AM

Daily Sports Roundup: October 14

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Mountaineers get a visit from the Bulls, Kansas plays host to Kansas State, and the Flyers take to the ice at home against the Lightning.

Colliding on the gridiron . . .

There are two college football games on the schedule for Thursday, with Kansas State at Kansas, and South Florida at No. 25 West Virginia. The Wildcats (4-1 SU, 2-2 ATS) are listed as 2.5-point road favorites against the rival Jayhawks (2-3 SU, 2-2 ATS), with the total for that matchup set at 50.5. The ranked Mountaineers (4-1 SU, 3-1 ATS) are then big 10.5-point home favorites against the Bulls (3-2 SU, 1-3 ATS), with the oddsmakers putting that total at 43 points. The Mountaineers had no trouble with UCLA last time out, winning 49-10 at home behind 220 yards passing and three touchdowns from QB Geno Smith. Noel Devine ran for a pair of scores for West Virginia in that win.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Meanwhile, the National Hockey League has six games on tap for Thursday, with Carolina at Ottawa, St. Louis at Nashville, Detroit at Dallas, Edmonton at Minnesota, Florida at Calgary, and Tampa Bay at Philadelphia. The Flyers have started the season with a 2-0-1 record over their first three games, doubling up on the Avalanche 4-2 at home on Monday night. Jeff Carter scored twice for Philadelphia in that contest, with Claude Giroux and Darroll Powe providing one goal apiece. Rookie netminder Sergei Bobrovsky was solid between the pipes, stopping 25 of 27 Colorado shots on the night.

**Udog** · 10-14-2010, 06:25 AM

Bettors' best friend: Thursday's wagering tips

Lines to watch

Kansas State at Kansas – Kansas opened as a 4-point underdog, but is now at +3.

South Florida at No. 25 West Virginia - WVU opened at -12, but is now at -10

Weather to watch

Kansas State at Kansas – 16 mph winds are expected, blowing from one sideline to the other.

Who’s hot

Kansas State is 11-4 ATS in its last 15 meetings with Kansas.

South Florida has covered in each of its last four meetings with West Virginia.

Philadelphia Flyers are 25-8 in their last 33 home games.

The under is 37-15 in the Calgary Flames’ last 52 home games.

Who’s not

Kansas is 1-8 ATS in its last nine conference games.

St. Louis Blues are 9-27 in their last 36 meetings with the Nashville Predators and are 5-16 in their last 21 meetings in Nashville.

Detroit Red Wings are 1-5 in their last six games against the Dallas Stars.

Edmonton Oilers are 5-17 in their last 22 meetings with the Wild in Minnesota.

Key stat

5.8 – yards per carry opponents are averaging per carry against Kansas State. Kansas running back Daniel Thomas has 691 rushing yards with six touchdowns heading into the big rivalry game on Thursday, but has been held to fewer than 80 yards on the ground over his last two games.

Injuries that shouldn’t be overlooked

Josh Jenkins (knee), Brandon Hogan (arm), Stedman Bailey (ribs) West Virginia – Coach Bill Stewart says that all three of his banged-up starters should be good to go on Thursday. Jenkins has missed the last two games with a knee problem but is said to be close to 100 percent. Hogan (CB) and Bailey (WR) both left last week’s win over UNLV and didn’t return. They shouldn’t be hampered against the Bulls either.

Game of the day

South Florida at No. 25 West Virginia (-10, 43.5)

Notable quotable

"We get in our own way on offense - and that's football everywhere and I don't want to make it sound like it's just us. Defense is recognition and reaction and playing your rear end off, but offense is execution and that's not easy to do at this level with the defenses you're seeing and the personnel you're seeing and with the limited time you have with your kids. When you hurt yourself, that makes it even tougher and unfortunately turnovers have limited us." – West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen on his team’s turnovers. The Mountaineers didn’t give the ball up last week, marking the first time all season they didn’t have a turnover. WVU is 15-4 under Bill Stewart in turnover-free games.

Notes and tips

Last year South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels accounted for more yards than West Virginia’s entire offense, throwing for 232 yards and rushing for another 100 yards in a 30-19 victory. This year could be different. New Bulls coach Skip Holtz is trying to keep Daniels in the pocket more this year, with mixed results at best. Daniels has thrown seven picks while being sacked nine times this season.

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder says Carson Coffman will “probably” be his starting quarterback against Kansas. Coffman took the snaps with the No. 1 offense during practice this week but has been inconsistent this season and completed 14 of his 22 passes for 91 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 48-13 blowout loss to Nebraska.

Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson declared himself good to go for Thursday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes after leaving Monday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals. Alfredsson is just one of many Sens off to a slow start. The 37-year-old has one assist in the team's three losses this season and is a minus-2.

**Udog** · 10-14-2010, 06:39 AM

Thursday's six-pack

NFL trends with Week 6 coming up..........
-- Seahawks are 1-11 vs spread in game following their last 12 byes.

-- Chargers are 0-8 as a non-divisional road favorite.

-- Lions failed to cover their last six pre-bye games.

-- Saints are 0-9-1 vs spread in their last 10 regular season games.

-- Buccaneers covered two of their last 13 home games.

-- Jets covered five of last six after playing on Monday night.

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Thursday's List of 13: Random thoughts midway thru October

13) How oblivious am I? Had no idea there were 33 miners buried underground in Chile for two months, none at all, until I heard about it Tuesday night. Glad everyone is getting out safely, but I guess my grasp of current events isn’t too firm.

12) When a team loads the bases with no one out, math people claim the team will score an average of 2.4 runs per inning. Who am I to question math people?

11) Why some team hate sacrificing early in a game: When the leadoff man gets on first base, that team is expected to score 0.90 runs that inning; if he gets bunted over, that number actually drops, to 0.71 (Lord knows what it drops to if the bunt attempt fails). Especially in the American league, playing for the big inning is the preferred option.

10) Let me see, Rays were 2-0 when John Jaso caught in ALDS, 0-2 when Kelly Shoppach caught, so in the decisive Game 5, why was Shoppach catching? Jaso was 9-47 (.191) this year vs. lefty pitchers, that’s why, but how often do you see a guy bat leadoff for a team as part of a platoon, and get benched for the other half? Unless David Price had a clear preference for Shoppach catching him, playing Jaso was the right move. He is the better player.

9) In their three wins, Tennessee Titans won field position battle by 11-15-15 yards; in their two losses, they lost it by 11-14 yards. They’re +7 in turnovers in their wins, -7 in losses.

8) Worst-kept secret of this baseball season was that Fredi Gonzalez would be next manager of the Braves. Tough shoes to fill, but chances are most of the coaches will stay, which helps make for a smoother transition. Braves-Marlins becomes pretty good rivalry in NL East, especially if Bobby Valentine signs on in Miami.

7) This from Bluejaybanter.com: in the 2009 fiscal year, Creighton’s entire athletic budget was $13.14M. Duke’s basketball budget that year was $13.87M.

6) Patriots won their last seven post-bye games (5-2 vs. spread, all as favorite), scoring 32.2 ppg in last six.

5) Wow, Shaquille O’Neal looks strange in Celtic green.

4) 2009 Saints averaged 38.4 ppg in first five games of their Super Bowl season; this year through five games, defending champs are averaging 19.4 ppg.

3) Home team lost last six Lion-Giant games, with lowly Detroit winning last three visits to the Jersey Swamp (against Big Blue). Giants haven’t beaten the Lions at home in 20 years.

2) Tampa Bay Rays are expected to cut their $72M budget by 25% next year; either they get new stadium, or San Antonio/Las Vegas/Charlotte, here they come.

1) Before Tampa Bay-Texas series started, was talking with my 84-year old Bronx Bomber-hating dad, who grew up going to Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, rooting for the Dodgers; he thought the Rangers had a better chance than Tampa to beat the Bombers, because any team that bats Jorge Cantu 8th can outslug Bronx, and that’s how you beat them. We’ll see if he’s right or not.

**Udog** · 10-14-2010, 06:43 AM

NHL

Thursday, October 14

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Trend Report
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7:00 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. PHILADELPHIA
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games at home
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay

7:30 PM
CAROLINA vs. OTTAWA
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Carolina's last 6 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ottawa's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ottawa's last 6 games when playing at home against Carolina

8:00 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. NASHVILLE
The total has gone OVER in 9 of St. Louis's last 13 games on the road
St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 16 of Nashville's last 18 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Nashville is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing St. Louis

8:30 PM
DETROIT vs. DALLAS
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Detroit's last 10 games
Detroit is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Detroit
Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

8:30 PM
EDMONTON vs. MINNESOTA
Edmonton is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Edmonton is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota's last 9 games
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Edmonton

9:00 PM
FLORIDA vs. CALGARY
Florida is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games
Florida is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Calgary
Calgary is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
Calgary is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Florida

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Ice picks: Today's best NHL bets
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Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators (-185, N/A)

One of the main reasons the Ottawa Senators signed Sergei Gonchar in the offseason was to help a power play that hit on just 16.9 percent of its opportunities with the man advantage last year.

So far Gonchar has done nothing to help that until at all as the Senators continue to search for their first win of the year. Ottawa is 0-for-14 with the man advantage heading into Thursday’s game after going 0-for-5 in a 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals in their last game.

Right now the Sens have Gonchar lining up on the left side on the power play instead of the right, where he spent most of his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“It’s the beginning of the season and I’m a new addition to the power play, so maybe we’re not knowing each other well enough yet,” he told reporters. “It’s not only me being on the other side, but the other thing is guys learning from me, about how I bring the puck to the middle (of the ice) and the timing. The timing of it, when you’re under pressure, is so important.”

With the sort of firepower Ottawa has, it’s only a matter of time until the pucks start going in.

Pick: Senators

St. Louis Blues at Nashville Predators (N/A)

Look out for these young St. Louis Blues. Last year they finished on a great 23-15-4 run after Davis Payne took over behind the bench and they have most of the same group together this year.

The major difference? Jaroslav Halak in goal.

The Blues will still make mistakes out there, but this year they have Halak to clean up the mess. So far this year he’s doing just that, allowing only two goals through the club’s first two games of the year.

This visit to Nashville could be interesting. The Blues head into Thursday’s matchup having won just nine of their last 36 matchups against the Predators, including only five or their last 21 games at Nashville.

The Predators are playing the second half of a back-to-back here and could be ripe for the picking.

Pick: Blues

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**Udog** · 10-14-2010, 06:45 AM

NHL
Write-Up

Thursday, October 14

Hot Teams
-- Carolina won its first two games overseas, 4-2/2-1ot.
-- Lightning won their first two games, 5-3/4-3. Flyers won two of their first three games.
-- Predators won their first two games, 4-1/3-2. St Louis also won first two games, 2-1ot/5-1-- both games were at home.
-- Dallas Stars won first two games, both in OT, 4-3/5-4. Red Wings won two of their first three games.
-- Edmonton won its first two games, 4-0/3-2.

Cold Teams
-- Senators lost first three games, scoring four goals.
-- Minnesota lost its first two games, 4-2/2-1ot.
-- Panthers lost first two games of western trip, 3-2/2-1. Flames split first two games, winning only home game 3-1 vs Kings.

Series Records
-- Flyers won five in row over Tampa Bay, outscoring them 28-9.
-- Home team won last nine Carolina-Ottawa games; Hurricanes lost last four visits to this building.
-- Blues lost six of last seven games against Nashville.
-- Red Wings lost five of last six games against Dallas.
-- Home team is 11-1 in Edmonton-Minnesota games last two years; Oilers lost their last 13 visits to Twin Cities.
-- Flames won three of last four games vs Florida, with road team taking the last three.

Back-to-Back
Teams playing second straight night are 2-4 this season against teams that didn't play the night before. Tampa Bay/Nashville qualify for that distinction tonight, having both won last night.

Totals
-- Four of last five Philly-Tampa games went over total.
-- Over is 5-0-1 in Carolina's last six visits to Ottawa.
-- Seven of last eight St Louis-Nashville games stayed under total.
-- First two Dallas games went over the total. Under is 6-3-2 in last 11 Dallas-Detroit games.
-- Under is 11-5-1 in Oilers' last 17 visits to Minnesota.
-- Last three Calgary-Florida games stayed under the total.

**Udog** · 10-14-2010, 10:28 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Florida at Calgary
The Panthers look to take advantage of a Calgary team that is 2-5 in its last 7 games as a favorite from -150 to -200. Florida is the pick (+140) according to Dunkel, which has the Panthers favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Florida (+140). Here are all of today's picks.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14

Game 51-52: Tampa Bay at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay 11.749; Philadelphia 12.510
Dunkel Line & Total: Philadelphia by 1; 5
Vegas Line & Total: Philadelphia (-170); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (-170); Under

Game 53-54: Carolina at Ottawa (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Carolina 10.511; Ottawa 11.459
Dunkel Line & Total: Ottawa by 1; 6 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 55-56: St. Louis at Nashville (8:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: St. Louis 13.473; Nashville 12.300
Dunkel Line & Total: St. Louis by 1; 5
Vegas Line & Total: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 57-58: Detroit at Dallas (8:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit 12.438; Dallas 11.719
Dunkel Line & Total: Detroit by 1/2; 6
Vegas Line & Total: Detroit (-135); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Detroit (-135); Over

Game 59-60: Edmonton at Minnesota (8:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Edmonton 10.012; Minnesota 11.304
Dunkel Line & Total: Minnesota by 1 1/2; 6
Vegas Line & Total: Minnesota (-135); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (-135); Over

Game 61-62: Florida at Calgary (9:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Florida 11.221; Calgary 10.176
Dunkel Line & Total: Florida by 1; 4
Vegas Line & Total: Calgary (-160); 5
Dunkel Pick: Florida (+140); Under

**Udog** · 10-14-2010, 10:31 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Thursday, October 14

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TAMPA BAY (2-0-0-0, 4 pts.) at PHILADELPHIA (2-0-0-1, 5 pts.) - 10/14/2010, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 65-143 ATS (+259.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 10-29 ATS (+49.7 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 8-4 ATS (+14.6 Units) when playing on back-to-back days over the last 2 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 94-89 ATS (-82.0 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more since 1996.
PHILADELPHIA is 7-15 ATS (+22.2 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 52-56 ATS (-52.1 Units) in home games when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHILADELPHIA is 6-2 (+3.0 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
PHILADELPHIA is 6-2-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
5 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.3 Units)

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CAROLINA (2-0-0-0, 4 pts.) at OTTAWA (0-2-0-1, 1 pts.) - 10/14/2010, 7:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
OTTAWA is 4-4-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.0 Units)

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ST LOUIS (2-0-0-0, 4 pts.) at NASHVILLE (2-0-0-0, 4 pts.) - 10/14/2010, 8:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
NASHVILLE is 7-5 (+1.2 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
NASHVILLE is 7-5-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
7 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.5 Units)

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DETROIT (2-0-0-1, 5 pts.) at DALLAS (2-0-0-0, 4 pts.) - 10/14/2010, 8:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 21-10 ATS (+10.5 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 41-41 ATS (-39.6 Units) in home games when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1996.
DALLAS is 9-19 ATS (-10.2 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 6-2 (+7.0 Units) against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 6-2-0 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+0.6 Units)

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EDMONTON (2-0-0-0, 4 pts.) at MINNESOTA (0-1-0-1, 1 pts.) - 10/14/2010, 8:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MINNESOTA is 117-94 ATS (-7.2 Units) after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 7-5 (+1.3 Units) against the spread versus EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 7-5-0 straight up against EDMONTON over the last 3 seasons
5 of 8 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.4 Units)

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FLORIDA (0-2-0-0, 0 pts.) at CALGARY (1-1-0-0, 2 pts.) - 10/14/2010, 9:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
FLORIDA is 68-108 ATS (+177.6 Units) when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
FLORIDA is 1-1 (+0.9 Units) against the spread versus CALGARY over the last 3 seasons
CALGARY is 1-1-0 straight up against FLORIDA over the last 3 seasons
2 of 2 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.1 Units)

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Announcement

Thursday's Trends and Indexes 10/14 (NHL, Misc.)

Thursday's Trends and Indexes 10/14 (NHL, Misc.)

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