Announcement

**Udog** · 11-06-2011, 08:00 AM

Sunday's betting tips: Rivers could rebound

Who’s hot

NFL: The 49ers are 7-0-1 ATS in their last eight overall and the over is 8-1 in their last nine against the NFC.

NFL: The Bengals are 4-0 ATS in their last four overall and 5-0 ATS in their last five road games.

NFL: The Saints are 6-1 ATS in their last seven home games and the under is 6-1 in their last seven against the NFC South.

NHL: The Stars are 8-2 in their last 10 overall.

Who’s not

NFL: The Rams are 1-7 ATS in their last eight overall and 0-5 ATS in their last five road games.

NFL: The Colts are 0-4 ATS in their last four overall and 1-4 ATS in their last five home games.

NFL: The Browns are 1-8-2 ATS in their last 11 overall and 1-7-1 in their last nine against the AFC.

NHL: The Lightning are 1-6 in their last seven road games.

Key stat

5 – Consecutive games in which Texans' running back Arian Foster has amassed more than 100 yards from scrimmage since playing in only one of his team's first three games due to injury. In his past two outings, Foster has 358 total yards and four touchdowns.

Houston is hosting the Browns on Sunday. In its preview of this game, NFL.com called Cleveland's run defense "stingy" and claimed that the unit stops the run "with gusto." Not so. The Browns are 26th in the NFL in run defense at 127.3 yards per game. They are giving up 4.0 yards per rush; decent, but far from "stingy."

Injuries that shouldn’t be overlooked

The Raiders' quarterback play two weeks ago against Kansas City was borderline legendary...for all the wrong reasons. Both Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer tossed three interceptions as Oakland got blown out at home by Kansas City.

It can only get better, and it has to because running back Darren McFadden is out due to a sprained right foot. Michael Bush will get his first start of the season in McFadden's place. Palmer, who replaced Boller in the Week 7 game, is getting the start on Sunday against Denver and will have to do some heavy lifting for the offense.

Biggest games on the slate

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (-3, 41.5)

New York Giants at New England Patriots (-9, 51)

Notable quotable

"They're the best of the best. If you don't like playing against the best, you're in the wrong business." – Bucs' cornerback Aqib Talib on the Saints, whom Tampa Bay visits on Sunday afternoon. The Bucs must be in the right business because they have won at New Orleans in each of their last two trips. Tampa also took care of the seasons earlier this season with a 26-20 victory on October 16.

Tips and notes

Chargers' running back Ryan Mathews has not practiced all week due to a groin injury and he is listed as questionable for Sunday's home game against the undefeated Packers. On the surface that does not seem to help San Diego's already-slim chances of pulling off the upset. But could it be a blessing in disguise? The Bolts will surely air it out and Philip Rivers is going up against a dreadful pass defense as he looks to rebound from Monday night's disaster against Kansas City. The Packers are giving up 288.9 passing yards per game, 31st in the entire league ahead of only New England.

The Florida Panthers are already 2-0 against Tampa Bay this season heading into Sunday's contest. They prevailed in their home opener 3-2 (in a shootout) on October 15 then outscored the Lightning 7-4 two days later in Tampa. If Florida wants to continue such success, though, it will likely have to end a disconcerting trend. The team has gone three straight games without scoring in the first period. After one period of those games they trailed 2-0, 2-0, and 1-0. The Panthers came back each time, won one of those, and lost in a shootout twice.

Kyle Busch will not be participating in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. The volatile Busch brother has been suspended by NASCAR for purposely wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution during Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race. Busch is currently seventh in the chase standings.

**Udog** · 11-06-2011, 08:03 AM

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Six most popular picks and six least popular picks in Hilton handicapping contest, which has 517 contestants, all of whom who pick five NFL games a week against the spread. They put up $1,500 each, so these are serious handicappers........

6) St Louis Rams 145
T4) Buffalo Bills 150
T4) San Diego Chargers 150
3) Cincinnati Bengals 152
2) San Francisco 49ers 165
1) Pittsburgh Steelers 178
27) Seattle Seahawks 51
28) Houston Texans 48
29) Oakland Raiders 43
30) Philadelphia Eagles 37
31) Dallas Cowboys 36
32) Arizona Cardinals 23

*******************

Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a college football Saturday......

13) LSU 9, Alabama 6. How does LSU win so much with the QBs on their team? Neither team trusted their QB much in this game, but Bama missed four field goals, three when game was scoreless, the other in OT. Point of interest that has nothing to do with this game: Philip Rivers' brother will be the LSU QB either this year or next. He's red-shirting this year.

12) While defense ruled in Tuscaloosa, Oklahoma State held off the gritty Kansas State Wildcats 52-45, in a far more entertaining game played at the same exact time on another network. Weeden was 36-46 for 502 yards in the air, but the game was tied until OSU won it with a TD with 2:16 left. It should be noted that Weeden is 27, having played pro baseball.

11) Alabama gained 295 total yards, LSU 234; Baylor had 302 at the half, and they were losing 14-13. Bears gained 697 yards and won 42-39, with a defense only the players' mothers could love. Seriously, I'm not sure how many defensive linemen Baylor uses; I think they play 5-6 linebackers, as they go for speed over power. As a result, they get overpowered a lot.

10) Southern Mississippi won 48-28 at East Carolina, scoring on a punt return, a blocked punt and INT returns of 97-79 yards. Southern Miss's offense left the field in the first quarter trailing 7-0; next time they took the field. Golden Eagles led 21-7. Not sure I've seen that before.

9) Ohio State and Florida will go to bowl games because the coaches want the extra practice time, but they're both having dismal seasons and will be prime suspects to be upset in bowls. Bowls are very, very difficult to get a handle on for handicapping-- how do you determine who is motivated?

8) Rutgers trailed South Florida 17-3 with 7:38 to play, then ran a kickoff back for a TD and wound up beating the Bulls 20-17 in OT. Hard to think that a team from Florida would be winless in the lackluster Big East, but thats where the perenially underachieving Bulls sit right now.

7) So Wisconsin chokes badly against Michigan State/Ohio State the last two weeks, giving up long TD passes in the last minute of both games, but as soon as they get up against a cupcake, they make sure they hammer the poor bastards. Bully Badgers beat up on Purdue, 62-17. Big deal.

6) NC State is 5-4 after upsetting rival North Carolina 13-0; if State gets bowl eligible and Wisconsin loses another game, can we get bowl matchup between the Wolfpack and the Badgers? Russell Wilson against the team he got fired by. Wouldn't that be great theater?

5) West Virginia is a weird and probably poorly coached team; read once that when a team's performances are highly erratic, its coach's fault. If that is true, the lack of chemistry on the WVU staff, with the assistants hired by the previous coach (who got canned this summer) having to work for the new coach have created a dysfunctional atmosphere in Morgantown.

4) Just as I typed that, Joe Montana's son Nick, a redshirt freshman, came off the bench for one play for Washington and completed a 53-yard bomb for the Huskies. Then the starter came back in and the drive stalled when a U-Dub receiver dropped a wide open pass in the end zone. Oregon got a pretty good win 34-17 against the spunky but undermanned Huskies.

3) UCLA converted a 3rd-and-29 on the game-winning drive as they upset Arizona State 29-28 and took over first place in the Pac-12 South. Looks as if Rick Neuheisel is saving his job at his alma mater.

2) TCU was minus-5 in turnovers, but still survived their last trip out to Wyoming, beating the Cowboys 31-20 in game that was tied at the half. Not too often any football team is minus-5 in turnovers and wins. When they move to the Big 12, TCU's road trips are all going to be a lot harder than going to Laramie.

1) Does Alabama have a soccer team? If so, their coach might be losing one of his players on Saturdays for a while. After going 2-6 on field goals, I'm guessing the Crimson Tide might go shopping for a new kicker. Or two.

**Udog** · 11-06-2011, 08:22 AM

NHL
Long Sheet

Sunday, November 6

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DALLAS (9-3-0-0, 18 pts.) at CAROLINA (5-5-0-3, 13 pts.) - 11/6/2011, 1:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 9-2 ATS (+11.0 Units) in all games this season.
DALLAS is 9-2 ATS (+11.0 Units) first half of the season this season.
DALLAS is 36-24 ATS (+11.7 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 3 seasons.
CAROLINA is 31-58 ATS (+98.0 Units) first half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
CAROLINA is 5-13 ATS (-10.4 Units) in home games after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
DALLAS is 3-1 (+1.9 Units) against the spread versus CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 3-1-0 straight up against CAROLINA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.9 Units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAMPA BAY (6-5-0-2, 14 pts.) at FLORIDA (6-4-0-2, 14 pts.) - 11/6/2011, 5:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
TAMPA BAY is 84-167 ATS (+305.7 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 28-71 ATS (+116.4 Units) in road games in November games since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 63-49 ATS (+113.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
FLORIDA is 126-146 ATS (+291.3 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 since 1996.
FLORIDA is 37-60 ATS (-37.0 Units) in home games in November games since 1996.
FLORIDA is 115-142 ATS (-65.6 Units) in home games first half of the season since 1996.
FLORIDA is 73-114 ATS (+193.7 Units) when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.
FLORIDA is 5-12 ATS (-9.1 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
FLORIDA is 9-5 (+4.9 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
FLORIDA is 9-5-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
8 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.1 Units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WINNIPEG (5-6-0-1, 11 pts.) at NY RANGERS (5-3-0-3, 13 pts.) - 11/6/2011, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NY RANGERS are 18-6 ATS (+9.9 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
WINNIPEG is 6-3 (+4.5 Units) against the spread versus NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
WINNIPEG is 6-3-0 straight up against NY RANGERS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+2.8 Units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VANCOUVER (6-7-0-1, 13 pts.) at CHICAGO (8-2-0-3, 19 pts.) - 11/6/2011, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
VANCOUVER is 152-152 ATS (+340.9 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
CHICAGO is 231-263 ATS (-46.1 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
CHICAGO is 116-139 ATS (-69.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record in the first half of the season since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 11-10-0 straight up against VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
10 of 18 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.3 Units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CALGARY (5-6-0-1, 11 pts.) at COLORADO (7-5-0-1, 15 pts.) - 11/6/2011, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
COLORADO is 50-43 ATS (+6.4 Units) first half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 7-19 ATS (-13.6 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 7-19 ATS (-18.7 Units) in home games revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
COLORADO is 4-13 ATS (-11.3 Units) in home games after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CALGARY is 8-5 (+0.1 Units) against the spread versus COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
CALGARY is 8-5-0 straight up against COLORADO over the last 3 seasons
8 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.0 Units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Udog** · 11-06-2011, 08:26 AM

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, November 6

Hot teams
-- Dallas Stars won nine of their first twelve games.
-- Rangers won last three games, outscoring foes 12-6.
-- Chicago won its last three home games, scoring 13 goals.

Cold teams
-- Hurricanes lost five of their last seven games.
-- Panthers lost three of their last four games, last two in SO. Lightning lost six of their last seven road games.
-- Winnipeg lost six of its nine road games.
-- Canucks lost five of their last seven road games.
-- Avalanche lost four of their last five games. Calgary is 2-3 in its first five road games.

Totals
-- Under is 3-0-1 in last four Dallas road games.
-- Six of eight Tampa Bay road games went over the total.
-- Four of last five Ranger games went over the total.
-- Five of last seven Chicago home games went over the total.
-- Under is 4-0-1 in Colorado's home games.

Series records
-- Dallas Stars beat Carolina twice LY, 4-1/2-1so.
-- Lightning lost four of last five games against Florida.
-- Rangers lost eight of last eleven games against Winnipeg.
-- Canucks are 6-3 in last nine games against Chicago; they scored in OT of Game 7 to oust Blackhawks from playoffs last spring.
-- Flames won five of last seven games against Columbus.

**Udog** · 11-06-2011, 08:31 AM

NHL

Sunday, November 6

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1:30 PM
DALLAS vs. CAROLINA
Dallas is 2-6-1 SU in its last 9 games ,when playing on the road against Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games when playing on the road against Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 6 games when playing at home against Dallas
Carolina is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Dallas

5:00 PM
TAMPA BAY vs. FLORIDA
Tampa Bay is 6-16 SU in its last 22 games when playing on the road against Florida
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games on the road
Florida is 16-6 SU in its last 22 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Florida's last 17 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay

7:00 PM
VANCOUVER vs. CHICAGO
Vancouver is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games on the road
Vancouver is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing Chicago
Chicago is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing Vancouver
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Chicago's last 9 games at home

7:00 PM
WINNIPEG vs. NY RANGERS
Winnipeg is 8-3 SU in their last 11 games when playing NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Winnipeg's last 5 games when playing NY Rangers
The total has gone OVER in 5 of the NY Rangers last 6 games at home
NY Rangers are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games

8:00 PM
CALGARY vs. COLORADO
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Calgary's last 6 games when playing on the road against Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Calgary's last 6 games
Colorado is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Calgary
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Colorado's last 6 games when playing at home against Calgary

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Udog** · 11-06-2011, 08:34 AM

NHL

Sunday, November 6

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ice picks: Sunday's best NHL bets
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks (-142, 5.5)

Familiar foes--and not particularly friendly foes--will be squaring off for the first time this season when Vancouver pays a visit to Chicago on Sunday night.

These two Western Conference rivals have faced each other in three straight playoffs. Last season, the Canucks blew all of 3-0 lead but then recovered to win Game 7 on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

“The rivalry is definitely in place," Blackhawks' head coach Joel Quenneville said on Friday. "When you play them three years in a row in the playoffs, there’s something going on there. I’m sure it will make for a first exciting game of the season."

When asked about his team's perceived disdain for Vancouver, Quenneville responded, “When you play them three years in a row I think we have a little more ammo than most teams."

Speaking of ammo, the Blackhawks have just that when it comes to the offensive end of the ice. They have scored at least three goals in four consecutive outings and in eight of their last nine. Chicago is fourth in the NHL in both goals per game and shots per game.

Pick: Blackhawks

Calgary Flames at Colorado Avalanche (-123, 5.5)

Colorado may have some kind of mental block when it comes to going up against Calgary. The Avalanche have dropped six in a row in this series dating back to last November. None went to overtime and only two of those losses came by one goal.

In their lone meeting this season on October 26, the host Flames took care of Colorado 4-2. Left wing Rene Borque scored two goals and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 34 of 36 shots to lead Calgary.

Don't count on home-ice advantage allowing the Avalanche to turn the tide. They are an atrocious 1-4 at home so far this season compared to an outstanding 6-1-1 record on the road.

Kiprusoff, who is 5-4 with 2.33 GAA, has been heating up. Letting in five goals against Vancouver on Tuesday was an aberration as opposed to a rule. Aside from that performance he has allowed two or fewer goals in five consecutive outings.

Pick: Flames

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Udog** · 11-06-2011, 09:20 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Tampa Bay at Florida
The Lightning look to take advantage of a Florida team that is 2-8 in its last 10 games as a home favorite. Tampa Bay is the pick (-105) according to Dunkel, which has the Lightning favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-105). Here are all of today's picks.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Game 51-52: Dallas at Carolina (1:30 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Dallas 10.847; Carolina 11.580
Dunkel Line & Total: Carolina by 1/2; 6 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Carolina (-120); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Carolina (-120); Over

Game 53-54: Tampa Bay at Florida (5:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay 12.167; Florida 10.930
Dunkel Line & Total: Tampa Bay by 1; 4 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Florida (-115); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-105); Under

Game 55-56: Winnipeg at NY Rangers (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Winnipeg 11.198; NY Rangers 11.876
Dunkel Line & Total: NY Rangers by 1/2; 5
Vegas Line & Total: NY Rangers (-175); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NY Rangers (-175); Under

Game 57-58: Vancouver at Chicago (7:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Vancouver 12.526; Chicago 11.480
Dunkel Line & Total: Vancouver by 1; 6
Vegas Line & Total: Chicago (-150); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Vancouver (+130); Over

Game 59-60: Calgary at Colorado (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Calgary 10.911; Colorado 11.198
Dunkel Line & Total: Colorado by 1/2; 6
Vegas Line & Total: Colorado (-125); 5 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (-125); Over

**Udog** · 11-06-2011, 02:22 PM

NHL
Short Sheet

Sunday, November 6

DALLAS at CAROLINA, 1:30 PM ET
DALLAS: 9-2 SU first half of the season
CAROLINA: 8-20 SU after allowing 5 goals or more

TAMPA BAY at FLORIDA, 5:00 PM ET
TAMPA BAY: 17-4 SU revenging 2 consecutive losses to opponent as a favorite
FLORIDA: 35-55 SU in home games in November games

WINNIPEG at NY RANGERS, 7:00 PM ET
WINNIPEG: 3-6 SU as an underdog
NY RANGERS: 21-11 SU when playing on back-to-back days

VANCOUVER at CHICAGO, 7:00 PM ET
VANCOUVER: 47-18 SU after 1 or more consecutive unders
CHICAGO: 3-12 SU after a road game where both teams score 3 or more goals

CALGARY at COLORADO, 8:00 PM ET
CALGARY: 21-58 SU in road games off a close road loss by 1 goal
COLORADO: 50-43 SU first half of the season

** (TC) Denotes Time Change

Announcement

Sunday's Trends and Indexes - 11/6 (NHL, CFL, Misc.)

Sunday's Trends and Indexes - 11/6 (NHL, CFL, Misc.)

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment