Sunday's Trends and Indexes - 4/8 (NBA, NHL, MLB, Misc.)

[Udog]

NBA
Short Sheet

Sunday, April 8

Early Game

Chicago at New York, 1:05 ET ABC
Chicago: 15-3 ATS off ATS losses in 2 of their last 3 games
New York: 9-0 Under off a road win

[Udog]

MLB
Short Sheet

Sunday, April 8

National League

Atlanta at NY Mets, 1:10 ET
Minor: 4-0 TSR vs. New York Mets
Niese: 23-11 Over as an underdog

Miami at Cincinnati, 1:10 ET
Zambrano: Miami 22-11 SU after scoring 8+ runs
Arroyo: 14-7 Under at home with a total of 8.5 to 10 runs

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 1:35 ET
Worley: 16-5 TSR in all games last season
McDonald: Pittsburgh 23-10 Under after scoring and allowing 3 runs or less

Colorado at Houston, 2:05 ET
Nicasio: Colorado 22-10 Under off a loss by 4+ runs
Norris: Houston 5-21 SU playing on Sunday

St. Louis at Milwaukee, 2:10 ET
Lynn: St. Louis 31-11 Over away vs. division opponents
Wolf: Milwaukee 15-1 SU at home on Sundays

Washington at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 ET
Zimmermann: Washington 12-33 SU away with a total of 9 to 9.5 runs
Samardzija: Cubs 14-4 SU at home off BB losses

LA Dodgers at San Diego, 4:05 ET
Harang: 8-2 TSR away with a total of 7 to 8.5 runs
Richard: 3-11 ATS as a home favorite of -150 or less

San Francisco at Arizona, 4:10 ET
Cain: 7-1 Under away with a total of 8 to 8.5 runs
Collmenter: 5-1 TSR at home with a line of +125 to -125

[Udog]

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, April 8

Early Game

Hot Teams
-- New York won/covered all seven home games under Woodson. Bulls won 12 of their last 14 road games.

Cold Teams
--

Wear-and-Tear
-- Bulls: Had last 2 nites off. Knicks: Had last two nites off.

Totals
-- Last four Chicago road games stayed under the total.

Back-to-Back
--

[Udog]

MLB
Short Sheet

Sunday, April 8

American League

Boston at Detroit, 1:05 ET
Buchholz: Boston 23-12 Over after scoring 2 runs or less
Scherzer: Detroit 16-3 SU after scoring 9+ runs

Toronto at Cleveland, 1:05 ET
Carreno: Toronto 15-7 SU after blowing a save
Lowe: 4-11 TSR with a total of 8 to 8.5 runs

Minnesota at Baltimore, 1:35 ET
Swarzak: Minnesota 10-31 SU vs. AL East opponents
Hammel: Baltimore 15-6 SU off BB games allowing 3 runs or less

NY Yankees at Tampa Bay, 1:40 ET TBS
Hughes: Yankees 44-14 SU in day games
Hellickson: 12-3 Under in home games

Kansas City at LA Angels, 3:35 ET
Sanchez: 6-13 TSR as a road underdog of +150 or higher
Santana: Angels 19-5 SU revenging a loss as a home favorite

Chicago White Sox at Texas, 8:05 ET ESPN
Floyd: White Sox 29-9 Under away off BB Unders
Harrison: Texas 40-14 SU as a home favorite of -150 or higher

[Udog]

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, April 8

Early Games

Not a lot of relevant info to give out this early in the season, but we'll do what we can for the first week or so, until some trends develop.

National League
Zambrano was 3-3, 6.43 in his last six starts for the Cubs; he is erratic, either real good or real bad- he is 3-2, 4.50 in his last five starts against the Reds. Arroyo was 1-2, 5.50 in his last six starts LY; he is 1-2, 4.54 in his last five starts vs Florida. Marlins/Reds split first two games of series, with Marlins getting 8 runs last night (had one in first 2 games).

Minor was 3-1, 3.55 in his last seven starts LY, but didn't finish 6th inning in any of his last four outings; he is 2-1, 6.38 in his last four road starts, 2-0, 6.75 in four starts against the Mets, who won first couple games in this series. Niese just signed 5-year, $25M contract; he is 0-3, 7.13 in his last three starts, 1-2, 6.27 in last three home starts, 2-2, 7.48 in his last five starts against Atlanta.

Worley is 3-2, 3.58 in his last six starts; he didn't make any postseason starts for Philly LY. Worley gave up four runs in six IP in his only start vs Pittsburgh; he is 1-1, 4.97 in last two road starts. McDonald is 1-3, 1-3, 4.97 in his last seven starts, 1-1, 4.30 in last four at home. He is 0-2, 8.00 against the Phillies, lasting nine IP in the two games.

American League
Carreno is making first big league start for Toronto, which won its first two games this season, in 12-16 innings; he allowed two runs in 15.2 IP LY. 39-year old Lowe was 0-5, 9.51 in his last five starts LY; he is 2-1, 2.70 in his last three starts against the Blue Jays. This is his first start for the Indians.

Buchholz is making first start since last June 16; he was 3-0, 3.38 in his last seven starts, 3-0, 2.51 in his last five road starts, 1-1, 2.10 in his last five starts vs Detroit. Scherzer was 1-1, 5.65 in three playoff starts LY; he is 2-2, 6.00 in his last six starts overall, 0-2, 9.45 in three starts vs the Red Sox. Detroit won first two games in this series. 3-2/10-0.

Swarzak is 1-4, 6.34 in his last seven starts, 0-1, 8.71 in his last two on the road; this is his first start against Baltimore. Hammel was 2-2, 5.82 in his last seven starts for Colorado; this is his Oriole debut. He is 1-0, 3.00 in two career starts against the Twins. Baltimore is off to 2-0 start after winning 8-2/4-2 in first two games of this series.

Tampa Bay won first two games of series 8-6/8-7, as they get by early on without a closer; Hellickson is 1-1, 3.87 in his last five starts, 1-2, 3.38 in his last five at home-- he lost his only playoff start last fall. He is 1-1, 4.07 in four starts vs Bronx. Hughes was 1-1, 6.64 in his last four starts LY, after being 3-0, 1.37 in three starts before that-- he is 3-2, 3.66 in his last five starts against the Rays.

[Udog]

NBA
Short Sheet

Sunday, April 8

Cleveland at New Jersey, 6:05 ET
Cleveland: 25-8 Under after losing 4 of their last 5 games
New Jersey: 0-10 ATS at home off an ATS win

Philadelphia at Boston, 6:05 ET NBA TV
Philadelphia: Philadelphia 19-9 ATS off a combined score of 175 or less points
Boston: Boston 3-12 ATS off a road win by 10+ points

Detroit at Miami, 6:05 ET
Detroit: 32-16 ATS vs. Southeast Division opponents
Miami: 6-17 ATS at home off a loss

Toronto at Oklahoma City, 7:05 ET
Toronto: 11-3 Under after scoring 85 points or less
Oklahoma City: 20-9 ATS off a SU loss as a favorite

Utah at San Antonio, 7:05 ET
Utah: 13-3 Over away after playing BB games as a favorite
San Antonio: 11-3 ATS off a division game

Houston at Sacramento, 9:05 ET NBA TV
Houston: 3-13 ATS after winning 4 or 5 of their last 6 games
Sacramento: 11-3 ATS off 3+ losses

[Udog]

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, April 8

Not a lot of relevant info to give out this early in the season, but we'll do what we can for the first week or so, until some trends develop.

National League
Nicasio is 2-3, 3.55 in his last seven starts, 0-2, 7.20 in his last three on road; this is his first start against the Astros. Norris is 0-3, 5.29 in his last six starts, 1-2, 5.19 in his last three at home; he allowed five runs in five IP at Coors Field, in his only start against the Rockies. Teams split first two games this season.

Lynn made two starts for the Cardinals last June (1-1, 5.23) with visitor winning both games; he only threw 34 innings in the majors last season. Cardinals won two of first three games, splitting first two here. He was in 10 playoff games LY, going total of only 11.2 IP. Wolf is 1-2, 7.89 in his lastfour starts, 4-1, 3.97 in his last five starts against the Redbirds.

Nationals rallied late to win first two games, 7-4/2-1. Zimmerman is 1-2, 3.52 in his last four starts, 1-1, 4.58 in his last three on road, 0-2, 6.50 in three starts against the Cubs. Former Notre Dame WR Samardzija starts for Cubs; he is 2-3, 7.77 in five career starts, none vs Washington.

Harang pitched for Padres LY; he was 2-2, 3.00 in his last four starts-- he was 3-2, 1.85 in last five starts at Petco Park, but is 0-4, 5.82 in his last five starts against San Diego. Lefty Richard is 3-0, 1.59 in his last three starts, 1-2, 2.14 in his last three at home-- he is 3-1, 2.33 in his last five starts vs LA, but Dodgers won first three games of this series.

Cain just signed $112M contract; he was 1-2, 3.89 in his last five starts LY, 1-2, 4.66 in his last three on the road, He is 3-2, 4.33 in his last five starts vs Arizona, 1-1, 4.33 in last two starts here. Collmenter is 2-1, 2.57 in his last three starts; he is 1-1, 5.25 in two starts against SF, and is 3-1, 3.38 in his last five home starts.

American League
Sanchez makes first AL start after coming over from Giants; he was 0-4, 6.19 in his last seven starts, failing to finish 5th inning in any of his last five outings. He allowed 10 hits, seven runs in 3.2 IP in his only start vs Anaheim. Santana is 0-3, 5.40 in his last four starts, 0-2, 5.40 in his last three at home. Teams split first two games in this series.

Floyd was 0-3, 4.40 in his last five starts LY, 1-1, 4.74 in his last three starts on road; he has a 1.29 RA in his last two starts vs Texas, allowing six hits in 14 IP. Harrison was 1-2, 6.11 in four playoff starts LY; he is 3-2, 3.96 in his last seven starts overall, 2-0, 2.49 in his last four tarts against the White Sox. Teams split first two games in series.

[Udog]

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Sunday, April 8

Hot Teams
-- New York won/covered all seven home games under Woodson. Bulls won 12 of their last 14 road games.
-- Nets won/covered three of their last four home games.
-- Celtics won eight of their last nine at home (7-1-1 vs spread).
-- Detroit covered five of its last seven road games.
-- Spurs won their last ten games (7-2-1 vs spread).
-- Rockets won six of their last nine games.

Cold Teams
-- Cavaliers lost nine of their last ten games, but covered last two.
-- 76ers lost four of their last five games.
-- Miami is 8-11 vs spread in its last 19 home games.
-- Raptors lost three of their last four road games. Oklahoma City lost last three games, by 6-5-5 points.
-- Jazz lost five of their last six games (0-6 vs spread).
-- Kings lost five of their last five home games.

Wear-and-Tear
-- Bulls: Had last 2 nites off. Knicks: Had last two nites off.
-- Cavaliers: 4th game/6 nites. Nets: 4th game/6 nites.
-- 76ers: 2nd nite in row, after 2 off. Celtics: 4th game/5 nites.
-- Pistons: 3rd game/4 nites. Heat: 4th game/6 nites.
-- Raptors: 4th game/6 nites. Thunder: 3rd game/5 nites.
-- Jazz: 3rd game/5 nites. Spurs: 4th game/6 nites.
-- Rockets: 2nd game/5 nites. Kings: 7th game/10 nites.

Totals
-- Last four Chicago road games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 3-1-1 in last five Cleveland road games.
-- Last four Boston home games stayed under the total.
-- Last four Detroit games went over the total.
-- Four of last five Thunder games stayed under total.
-- Over is 9-3 in Utah's last twelve away games.
-- Over is 7-3 in Houston's last ten road games.

Back-to-Back
-- 76ers are 3-5 vs spread if they lost nite before. Celtics are 5-10-1 vs spread if they played nite before, but 3-2 at home.
-- Kings are 6-4 vs spread if they lost the nite before.

[Udog]

NHL Eastern Conference playoff betting cheat sheet

It took every game on the schedule, but the seeds in the Eastern Conference are finally set. Before the playoffs begin, check out these notes for navigating the postseason:

Best sleeper pick to win the East

The Philadelphia Flyers finished with 103 points. They have plenty of offense. They have more experience than the surface shows. And, when they take the ice next week, the Flyers will be participating in their 11th playoff series since 2008.

There’s a lot to like about Philadelphia, though we fully understand it’s hit or miss. Having won the season series versus Pittsburgh, 4-2, Philly knows how to contain Sidney Crosby and Co. And, though the Flyers will open on the road, they do have the horses to upset the Penguins in Round 1.

The Penguins, with all of their firepower, could turn out the lights on Philadelphia in a hurry. But for the price - 7-1 to win the East, 12-1 to win the Stanley Cup - you can do a lot worse than putting forwards Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, Jaromir Jagr and Scott Hartnell on your side.

Top hockey pool pick

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist gets the headlines in the Big Apple and sharpshooter Marian Gaborik leads the goal parade, but Brad Richards is the most complete Ranger out there. And he’s done it all before, unlike the aforementioned.

His season numbers weren’t what most fans would’ve expected from the summer’s marquee free agent, but he reached 25 goals and finished second on the team in points (66). Plus, Ottawa, which lost its last three regular-season games, isn’t exactly rolling into Round 1.

Goalie who could steal a series

There are younger, hotter, even flashier goaltenders in the Eastern Conference. But no one has more experience, more hardware and more incentive to win than the man known as “Marty.” Martin Brodeur’s career is coming to a close and, after missing the playoffs for the first time since 1996 last season, he and the Devils are on a mission to gain back some respect. New Jersey started that process by winning six in a row to close the regular season.

Florida will throw everything they can at Brodeur. And pound for pound, especially if given four home games, the Panthers might be a better bet overall in this matchup. But that’s exactly why we like Brodeur. In a series where the odds - and his age - may be against him, we think the man who has more Stanley Cup titles (three) than all of the other goaltenders in the East playoffs combined can steal the show.

Potential first-round upset

Hockey fans watched in amazement last postseason, as Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas made save after save. He still has the talent to do it all over again, but Washington is not a normal No. 7 seed. The Capitals have offense that journeys beyond Alex Ovechkin (38 goals) and, though this core group has frustrated Washington fans beyond belief, they are playing their best hockey of the season.

Boston has played with a Stanley Cup hangover, at times, and Bruins fans can’t be all that psyched about heading into a postseason in which they have the No. 2 seed strictly because they won an inferior division.

Series with the most potential overs

It took time for Philadelphia's prized free-agent acquisition, Ilya Bryzgalov to find a groove this season. It’s hard to believe the netminder didn't even start the Winter Classic. But he rallied and is surging into the postseason. That said, NHL bettors aren’t sure that any one goalie can stop these two offensive trains over the long haul.

Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury has been tremendous this season as well, but this series will feature nine players with 20 or more goals (five Penguins, four Flyers), and Sidney Crosby - limited to 22 games - is not one of them.

In the regular-season series between these state rivals, the over went 3-2-1. And after the Penguins’ 4-2 win over the Flyers Saturday, which pushed with the 6-goal total, Pittsburgh finished 44-31-8 over/under while Philadelphia checked in at 43-37-2 over/under.