2016 wnba thread news notes picks !

[CNOTES]

SEMIFINALS




#1 LYNX SWEEP #8 MERCURY 3-0


Game 3 (Lynx 82, Mercury 67) — Minnesota is Finals bound again, as they cruised past the Mercury in Game 3 to complete the sweep of their semifinal series. Maya Moore lead all scorers with 20 points, and Natasha Howard put in an impressive effort off the bench, finishing with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Box Score |


Game 2 (Lynx 96, Mercury 86) — Minnesota’s star power once again proved too much for the Mercury, and Maya Moore once again led the charge with 26 points. The Lynx took command in a dominating first quarter, outscoring Phoenix 35-24 in the opening frame. The teams combined for a WNBA Playoff record 62 free throws. Box Score | Olympians Lead Lynx | Brunson 2nd in Playoff Rebounding


Game 1 (Lynx 113, Mercury 95) — Behind 31 points from Maya Moore — including 15 in the first quarter — and with five more Lynx players scoring in double-figures, Minnesota set the WNBA regulation playoff scoring record with 113 points in their victory over Phoenix in Game 1 of their Semifinal matchup. Diana Taurasi poured in 25 points in the loss. Box Score | Moore Pours in 31 | Moore vs. Taurasi Duel






#2 SPARKS LEAD #4 SKY, 2-1


Game 3 (Sky 70, Sparks 66) — The Chicago Sky locked up on the defensive end in the second half, holding the Sparks to just 27 points over the final two quarters as they stormed back from a double-digit deficit to take Game 3. Courtney Vandersloot lead the Sky with 17 points, while rookie Imani Boyette stepped up in a big way, delivering a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Box Score |


Game 2 (Sparks 99, Sky 84) — Candace Parker and Jantel Lavender scored 20 points each to lead all scorers, and Nneka Ogwumike added 18 of her own as the Sparks cruised to a Game 2 victory. They knocked down 10 three-pointers on the evening, and held the Sky to just 38.5 percent shooting from the field. Box Score | Sparks Sink 10 Threes | Parker, Ogwumike Combine for 38


Game 1 (Sparks 95, Sky 75) — Fresh off Nneka’s MVP award and Jantel Lavender taking home Sixth Woman of the Year, the Sparks looked like a force to be reckoned with in their 20-point victory over the Sky. Ogwumike and Candace Parker combined for 57 points in the victory. Elena Delle Donne was ruled out for Chicago as she recovers from thumb surgery. Box Score | Parker Drops 30 Points | Ogwumike’s Double-Double

 

[CNOTES]

Sky force Game 4 against Sparks
October 2, 2016


ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) Chicago Sky rookie Imani Boyette didn't want to continue playing poorly in the WNBA semifinals.


The 6-foot-7 center averaged three points and 4.5 rebounds in two double-digits losses to the Los Angeles Sparks. Boyette played better - much better, scoring all 13 of her points after halftime and grabbing 11 rebounds as the Sky held off the Sparks 70-66 on Sunday to force a Game 4.


''I hadn't shown up in the series yet - the lights have been kind of bright,'' Boyette said. ''I've been guarding two of the best players, so I was very much a rookie this series. My teammates have done a really good job of encouraging me and staying on me.''


Boyette scored seven points in the third quarter as the Sky turned a nine-point deficit into a two-point lead going into the final quarter.


''She's a body down there, so she can't go ignored,'' league MVP Nneka Ogwumike said. ''We weren't prepared for that.''


Courtney Vandersloot added 17 points and Clarissa Dos Santos had 10 for the fourth-seeded Sky, who have been playing without leading scorer and rebounder Elena Delle Donne. The 2015 league MVP underwent right thumb surgery on Sept. 13.


''We were confident going into this game because we knew they hadn't seen our best yet,'' Vandersloot said.


Ogwumike had 16 of her 22 points in the first half and Kristi Toliver added 13 for the second-seeded Sparks, who won the first two games of the series at home by double digits.


The Sparks made 6 of their 33 shots beyond the arc.


''Their zone affected us. We didn't adjust,'' two-time MVP Candace Parker said.


Parker shot 3 for 14 from the field for nine points but grabbed 15 rebounds. She averaged 25 points in the other two games. League sixth woman of the year Jantel Lavender finished with six points for the Sparks.


Defending champion and top-seeded Minnesota has a 2-0 lead over Phoenix in the other semifinal series, with Game 3 later Sunday.


Toliver hit a 3 for a two-point Sparks lead with 1:30 left, but Boyette made two layups and Vandersloot hit a jumper for a four-point lead. Ogwumike missed a 3 with 8 seconds left, and Vandersloot made two free throws to seal it.


The Sky opened the third quarter with a 17-6 run to take the lead. Ogwumike and Parker were scoreless in the third, when the Sky outscored Los Angeles 19-8.


''Our defensive intensity, we were able to stop them a little bit in the second half,'' Vandersloot said. ''They scored eight points in the third quarter, and that's unheard for a team that skilled and that many offensive threats.''


The Sparks led by 15 in the first half, but the Sky scored the final six points of the second quarter to pull within nine.


''We got up by a lot, and we got a little frazzled,'' Ogwumike said.


Los Angeles won 95-75 and 99-84 in the other games.


''They were extremely hungry to win,'' Sparks coach Brian Agler said. ''We were like that in LA, but not quite like that here.''

TIP-INS


Sparks co-owner Magic Johnson was in attendance. ... The Sparks scored at least 93 points in four of their previous five meetings with Chicago. ... During the regular season, Los Angeles led the WNBA with a 48.7 percent field goal percentage, while the Sky topped the league in scoring at 86.2 points.

STILL OUT


Delle Donne has missed nine straight games. She averaged 21.5 points to share the league scoring title with New York's Tina Charles.


UP NEXT


Game 4 is in Chicago on Tuesday night

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack


Odds to win the World Series:


7-4– Chicago Cubs


5-1– Texas Rangers


6-1– Boston Red Sox


7-1– Los Angeles Dodgers/Washington Nationals


14-1– Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays


20-1– New York Mets


25-1– Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants


**********


Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but………


13) Tennessee won their game Saturday at Georgia on a Hail Mary on the last play of the game; Pitt Panthers scored a pick-6 on the last play of their game against Marshall.


In both games, the PAT wasn’t tried after the TD, because time had run out, which was bad news for gamblers who had the two favorites, since both failed to cover by half a point.


12) Home teams are 13-3 vs spread in SEC conference games so far, 10-2 in Pac-12 games; in all the other conferences combined, home teams are 29-34 vs spread in conference play.


11) This year and last, Toronto Blue Jays are a combined 181-142, but just 35-53 in one-run games.


10) Heard some good news over the weekend; 71-year old Sam Wyche, the former NFL coach (Bengals/Bucs) received the heart transplant he needed. Has to be a weird thing, waiting for someone else to pass away (often unexpectedly) so you can have their heart.


9) Baylor has an odd football schedule; they’re off on both October 8 and 22 and play doormat Kansas on the 15th, so basically they have three open dates in a row. They should be unbeaten when they play TCU/Oklahoma back-to-back later on.


8) There were 12 catcher interference calls this year when Jacoby Ellsbury was hitting; with all the baseball I watch every night, think I saw one catchers’ interference the whole season. It doesn’t happen very often.


7) College basketball practices started last weekend; from reports on Twitter, every single practice went really, really well. Either that, or the team who had lousy practices stayed off of social media.


6) Had to laugh the other night; was watching a Bruins-Red Wings NHL preseason game- the announcers spent a good five minutes discussing how many teeth a certain player had knocked out by a slap shot last year. Losing 13, 14 teeth- that had to hurt. Hockey players are tough.


5) North Carolina’s punter is a 27-year old freshman from Australia.


4) BYU’s kicker is the grandson of former Cougars’ coach LaVell Edwards. Speaking of BYU, their first five games this year were decided by a total of 11 points.


3) I despise taunting penalties; either let ‘em talk a little, or just throw a flag and call it offsetting penalties. Picking out the instigator is stupid— it goes on the whole game. Very subjective as to who started what. NFL football is VERY over-officiated— too damn many penalty flags.


2) Evander Holyfield’s son is a freshman running back at Georgia.


1) Houston Astros were 28-25 in one-run games this year, ending a dismal streak from 2011-2015, where they went 93-148 in games decided by one run.

 

[CNOTES]

WNBA
Long Sheet


Tuesday, October 4


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


LOS ANGELES (28 - 9) at CHICAGO (20 - 18) - 10/4/2016, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LOS ANGELES is 21-32 ATS (-14.2 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 13-24 ATS (-13.4 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 12-26 ATS (-16.6 Units) in home games on Tuesday since 1997.


Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 8-2 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 8-2 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons


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








WNBA


Tuesday, October 4


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


8:00 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. CHICAGO
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Los Angeles's last 8 games when playing on the road against Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Chicago's last 15 games
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

 

[CNOTES]

WNBA
Dunkel


Tuesday, October 4




Los Angeles @ Chicago


Game 601-602
October 4, 2016 @ 8:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
112.989
Chicago
114.543
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Chicago
by 1 1/2
173
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
by 7
168
Dunkel Pick:
Chicago
(+7); Over

 

[CNOTES]

Sky force Game 4 against Sparks
October 2, 2016


ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) Chicago Sky rookie Imani Boyette didn't want to continue playing poorly in the WNBA semifinals.


The 6-foot-7 center averaged three points and 4.5 rebounds in two double-digits losses to the Los Angeles Sparks. Boyette played better - much better, scoring all 13 of her points after halftime and grabbing 11 rebounds as the Sky held off the Sparks 70-66 on Sunday to force a Game 4.


''I hadn't shown up in the series yet - the lights have been kind of bright,'' Boyette said. ''I've been guarding two of the best players, so I was very much a rookie this series. My teammates have done a really good job of encouraging me and staying on me.''


Boyette scored seven points in the third quarter as the Sky turned a nine-point deficit into a two-point lead going into the final quarter.


''She's a body down there, so she can't go ignored,'' league MVP Nneka Ogwumike said. ''We weren't prepared for that.''


Courtney Vandersloot added 17 points and Clarissa Dos Santos had 10 for the fourth-seeded Sky, who have been playing without leading scorer and rebounder Elena Delle Donne. The 2015 league MVP underwent right thumb surgery on Sept. 13.


''We were confident going into this game because we knew they hadn't seen our best yet,'' Vandersloot said.


Ogwumike had 16 of her 22 points in the first half and Kristi Toliver added 13 for the second-seeded Sparks, who won the first two games of the series at home by double digits.


The Sparks made 6 of their 33 shots beyond the arc.


''Their zone affected us. We didn't adjust,'' two-time MVP Candace Parker said.


Parker shot 3 for 14 from the field for nine points but grabbed 15 rebounds. She averaged 25 points in the other two games. League sixth woman of the year Jantel Lavender finished with six points for the Sparks.


Defending champion and top-seeded Minnesota has a 2-0 lead over Phoenix in the other semifinal series, with Game 3 later Sunday.


Toliver hit a 3 for a two-point Sparks lead with 1:30 left, but Boyette made two layups and Vandersloot hit a jumper for a four-point lead. Ogwumike missed a 3 with 8 seconds left, and Vandersloot made two free throws to seal it.


The Sky opened the third quarter with a 17-6 run to take the lead. Ogwumike and Parker were scoreless in the third, when the Sky outscored Los Angeles 19-8.


''Our defensive intensity, we were able to stop them a little bit in the second half,'' Vandersloot said. ''They scored eight points in the third quarter, and that's unheard for a team that skilled and that many offensive threats.''


The Sparks led by 15 in the first half, but the Sky scored the final six points of the second quarter to pull within nine.


''We got up by a lot, and we got a little frazzled,'' Ogwumike said.


Los Angeles won 95-75 and 99-84 in the other games.


''They were extremely hungry to win,'' Sparks coach Brian Agler said. ''We were like that in LA, but not quite like that here.''


TIP-INS


Sparks co-owner Magic Johnson was in attendance. ... The Sparks scored at least 93 points in four of their previous five meetings with Chicago. ... During the regular season, Los Angeles led the WNBA with a 48.7 percent field goal percentage, while the Sky topped the league in scoring at 86.2 points.


STILL OUT


Delle Donne has missed nine straight games. She averaged 21.5 points to share the league scoring title with New York's Tina Charles.


UP NEXT


Game 4 is in Chicago on Tuesday night

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Sparks (26-8) at Sky (18-16)
Date: October 04, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

Defense was the difference for the Chicago Sky with their season on the line and facing elimination in Game 3 of its WNBA playoff semifinal Sunday against Los Angeles Sparks.


The reward? Chicago earned a 70-66 win and another shot at Los Angeles in Game 4, set for Tuesday night at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. Los Angeles still holds a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series, meaning everything the Sky accomplished on Sunday will be for naught if it can't replicate the effort at least one more time.


Game 5, if necessary, will be played Thursday in Los Angeles.


The Sky held Los Angeles forward Candace Parker, who came into the game averaging 25 points in the first two contests in the series, to just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting from the floor. The Sparks shot just 36.6 percent as a team and just 18.2 percent from three-point range.


Los Angeles took a whopping 33 three-point shots in Game 3 after attempting 41 in the first two games of the series combined. Conversely, Chicago was just 1 of 3 from long-range and took 69 two-point shots.


Parker did corral 15 rebounds, 11 of them on the defensive end, and league MVP Nneka Ogwumike scored a game-high 22 points for Los Angeles.


Chicago got 17 points from Courtney Vandersloot and 13 points and 11 rebounds from rookie center Imani Boyette in Game 3. Vandersloot and Boyette scored Chicago's final 10 points of the game.


The Sky is still playing without star forward Elena Delle Donne, who on Sunday missed her ninth straight game after undergoing right thumb surgery on Sept. 13.


Los Angeles led by 15 points in the first half and by nine at halftime. Chicago outscored the Sparks 19-8 in the third quarter and clinched the game on a pair of free throws in the final seconds by Vandersloot.


The Sparks won Games 1 (95-75) and 2 (99-84) and have captured five of the six meetings between the two teams this season, including twice on Chicago's home floor with Delle Donne in the lineup. Los Angeles has scored at least 93 points in four of those victories.


The winner of this series will play defending champ Minnesota, who swept Phoenix in the other semifinal, in the WNBA finals beginning Oct. 9 in Minneapolis.




WNBA HEAD TO HEAD


Oct 2, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS 66 Under: 136
CHI « 70 Cover: 12
Tools: Recaps


Sep 30, 2016 Score ATS Results
CHI 84 Over: 183
LOS « 99 Cover: 3
Tools: Recaps


Sep 28, 2016 Score ATS Results
CHI 75 Over: 170
LOS « 95 Cover: 9.5
Tools: Recaps


Jul 13, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 77 Cover: 4
CHI 67 Under: 144
Tools: Recaps


Jun 14, 2016 Score ATS Results
CHI 85 Over: 183
LOS « 98 Cover: 5
Tools: Recaps


May 24, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 93 Cover: 10
CHI 80 Over: 173
Tools: Recaps

 

[CNOTES]

WNBA BEST BETS:


WLT PCT UNITS


ATS Picks 100-91-5 52.36% -50


O/U Picks 92-104-0 46.94% -11200


TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4


GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


LA at CHI 08:00 PM


CHI +7.5


O 166.0

 

[CNOTES]

WLT PCT UNITS


ATS Picks 100-92-5 52.08% -600


O/U Picks 93-104-0 47.21% -10700




SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9


GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


LA at MIN 03:00 PM


MIN -7.0


U 162.0

 

[CNOTES]

WNBA Finals features best matchup
October 8, 2016


All season long the Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks have been the best two teams in the WNBA.


Thanks to the new playoff format, the Western Conference teams will meet in the WNBA Finals. A year ago these two powerhouses would have played in the conference finals with the winner a huge favorite to win the championship. The Western Conference champion has won the league's title in six of the last seven years.


A Minnesota series win would earn the Lynx four of the last six championships, including two straight. They'd be the first repeat champion since Los Angeles (2001-02). A win by the Sparks would be their first title since then and the first for star Candace Parker.


Here are some things to look for in the WNBA Finals that begin Sunday in Minnesota:


STAR POWER: Each team has a plethora of talent. Los Angeles is led by league MVP Nneka Ogwumike and Parker. Ogwumike had an incredible season, shooting a league-best 66.5 percent from the field, the second-highest mark ever. She averaged a career-best 19.7 points and 9.1 rebounds. Parker, who was left off the U.S. Olympic team, had another great season and is in the finals for the first time.


On the other side, Minnesota has an Olympic quartet of Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus. The group helped lead the U.S. to a sixth consecutive gold medal and has a chance at another WNBA title.


Both Parker and Moore have excelled when playing each other in the postseason. In five games, four won by Minnesota, Moore averaged 24 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Parker had 25.4 points, 11.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists.

GOING FOR FOUR: A championship would give Minnesota four, matching the Lynx with Houston for the most titles all-time in league history. The Comets won the first four championships in league history (1997-2000), but never made it back. The franchise folded after the 2008 season.


TIP-INS: The road team won all three games during the regular season. ... Minnesota's coach Cheryl Reeve won the league's coach of the year award. Los Angeles coach Brian Agler was the AP coach of the year. ... Sylvia Fowles was the consensus defensive player of the year and Jantel Lavender the sixth woman winner.

20 AND COUNTING: The league's 20th season has been stellar with all the metrics trending in the right direction. Attendance was up nearly 5 percent. So were merchandise sales, digital clicks and social media connection.

QUOTABLE: ''We're kind of meeting our match, if you will,'' Reeve said. ''How we get things done is a little different. But both teams can score, both can defend. It's going to be a fight.''

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Sparks (26-8) at Lynx (28-6)
Date: October 09, 2016 3:00 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS - The only thing standing between the Minnesota Lynx and a fourth WNBA championship is the Los Angeles Sparks.


The Lynx are the defending champions and have won the league title three times in the last five years. The core group of players during Minnesota's dominant run -- Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen -- is back for more against a Sparks club that hasn't clinched a title since 2002.


It's an unusual matchup that pits two Western Conference teams against each other in the Finals. That's because of the new format that seeds the eight playoff teams regardless of conference. As a result, the top-seeded Lynx open the Finals on Sunday as the host to the second-seeded Sparks.


The first time the two teams met in the regular season was a battle of unbeatens. The Lynx were 12-0 at the time and the Sparks were 11-0. It marked the first time in professional American sports that two undefeated teams met with at least 10 wins and no losses.


Minnesota won that game by three to improve to a 13-0 en route to a 28-6 regular-season record.


After sweeping Phoenix in three games in the conference semifinals, the Lynx will have waited an entire week between games. Los Angeles last played Oct. 4 after winning Game 4 against Chicago to advance to the Finals.


"It feels like we finished the regular season a long time ago," Whalen told WNBA.com. "I think we've practiced more in the last however many weeks than during the entire rest of the season."


The matchup features plenty of star power on both sides. Moore and Los Angeles' Candace Parker are both former MVPs, and the Sparks' Nneka Ogwumike finished third in the league in points per game during the regular season (19.7).


Minnesota was 2-1 in the three games against Los Angeles this season. That record means little now, though, in this best-of-five series.


"There's history between us over the years and history of this season," Parker told WNBA.com. "I'm careful to call it a rivalry because we haven't held up our end of the bargain; they've beaten us. I think we put ourselves in the position to hopefully make it that now."



WNBA HEAD TO HEAD


Sep 6, 2016 Score ATS Results
MIN « 77 Cover: 4
LOS 74 Under: 151
Tools: Recaps


Jun 24, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 94 Cover: 23.5
MIN 76 Over: 170
Tools: Recaps


Jun 21, 2016 Score ATS Results
MIN « 72 Cover: 4
LOS 71 Under: 143
Tools: Recaps

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack


— Gary Kubiak (migraines) will not coach the Broncos’ game in San Diego Thursday night.


— Navy-East Carolina game scheduled for Thursday was moved to November 19 because of flooding in the Greenville area.


— Baltimore Ravens fired OC Marc Trestman, replaced him with Marty Mornhinweg. We live in an inpatient society.


— Sacramento, Philadelphia will be first NBA teams with ads on their game jerseys, starting next season.


— Indians 4, Red Sox 3– Francona’s Tribe sweeps his former employer.


— Wow, Michael Bloomberg is running ads on FS1 supporting a soda tax in California; he would be pretty steamed if he looked in my kitchen.


**********


Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but…….


13) Titans-Dolphins game had total of only 111 plays Sunday; Eagles-Lions game had 113, Bills-Rams 116. By way of contrast, Texas-Oklahoma game had 168 plays, USC-Colorado 153.


You get lot more action, a lot more plays when you watch a college game.


12) Underdogs are 17-5 against the spread in NFL division games this season.


11) A high school kicker in Bluffton, SC made nine field goals in one game a couple weeks ago, and he even missed two other tries. Kid made 44-47 yard FGs; the other seven were all 36 or less yards. Quite a night for the young man.


10) Right now, there are 576 players in NBA training camps; by October 24, 126 of those guys will get released or sent to the D-League, thats 21.9% of them. Some will go to Europe, some will go get real jobs, most will go to the D-League. Thats part of why the summer league in Las Vegas is so interesting; making an NBA roster is really, really hard to do.


9) Giant-Packer game Sunday night was first NFL game in nine years where a team coming off a Monday night game played a team coming off a bye. Ironically, the Packers were the team off the short week in 2007- they beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead that night. Just an unusual scheduling quirk.


8) Major league umpire Joe West made his big league debut 40 years ago, when he was only 22 years old. He was on the field when Willie McCovey hit his 500th homer and he is still on the field, working the Toronto-Texas series this past week. Making the majors as an umpire at age 22 ain’t an easy thing to do.


7) Through five games, here are the Atlanta Falcons’ yards/pass attempt in each game:
7.7 vs Tampa Bay, 11.1 @ Oakland, 7.0 @ New Orleans, 12.0 vs Carolina, 8.3 @ Denver. Really strong numbers.


Atlanta OC Kyle Shanahan took a lot of grief the last few years, between the RGIII debacle in Washington in 2013 and the Falcons’ collapse last year. Haven’t heard his name mentioned much this season.


6) NFC East teams are 8-4 vs spread in non-divisional game, AFC West teams 9-6, best records of the eight divisions. NFC West teams are 3-6, so far the worst record of any division.


5) New York Knicks have finished last in the NBA in fast break points the last four years in a row. Wonder why that is? Because Carmelo Anthony doesn’t like to run; when the Knicks had a point guard who liked to push the ball (Jeremy Lin), he was sent packing- I wonder why?


Supposedly new Knicks’ coach Jeff Hornacek wants the Knicks to run; I hope the hell they do, would be a lot more fun to watch than Anthony jacking fadeaways at the end of the shot clock.


4) Only eight college hoop teams have made the NCAA tournament each of the last six years: in alphabetical order, Cincinnati, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, VCU and Wisconsin.


3) Love watching Kevin Pillar play CF for the Blue Jays; what a great fielder he is!!!!


2) Underrated football analyst who should be on network TV: former Arena League QB Sherdrick Bonner, who was a really good QB for the Arizona Rattlers. Bonner does Mountain West games on Root Sports and is very smart and pleasant. Seriously, he would be in the top five of NFL analysts right now.


1) We hear so much bad news on TV all the time these days; the media is fixated on negativity, everyone is complaining about something, the Presidential election has become such an avalanche of crap that a total jerk like Donald Trump still has a chance to win, just because he is really, really rich.


So it was excellent that a rare touching moment took place in a dugout interview last night during the Texas-Toronto game; Texas 3B coach Tony Beasley has been battling cancer- he has two chemo treatments and an operation on December 5 (his birthday) remaining— he sounds upbeat that he will emerge healthy again. We hope so.


What was touching was this: Beasley had to spend a lot of time at a hospital in Houston, getting treatments. Beasley told Turner’s reporter Matt Winer that the Texas Rangers players took up a collection to pay for Beasley’s hotel bills; his insurance covers the medical expenses, so while he gets treatment, he has no financial worries. As Beasley was telling the story, Elvis Andrus, one of Beasley’s infield pupils, hit a homer for the Rangers. Good stuff.


We can only hope that Beasley’s medical treatments are also a home run.

 

[CNOTES]

WNBA
Dunkel


Tuesday, October 11


Los Angeles @ Minnesota


Game 607-608
October 11, 2016 @ 8:00 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
114.911
Minnesota
122.811
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 8
164
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
by 5 1/2
160
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(-15 1/2); Over








WNBA
Long Sheet


Tuesday, October 11


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


LOS ANGELES (30 - 9) at MINNESOTA (31 - 7) - 10/11/2016, 8:00 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.


Head-to-Head Series History
MINNESOTA is 8-7 against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
MINNESOTA is 10-5 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
10 of 15 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons


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








WNBA


Tuesday, October 11


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


8:00 PM
LOS ANGELES vs. MINNESOTA
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Los Angeles's last 10 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Los Angeles is 3-13 SU in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Minnesota's last 10 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Minnesota is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against Los Angeles

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Sparks (26-8) at Lynx (28-6)
Date: October 11, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Lynx have been in this position before. It's not ideal, but the defending WNBA champions have overcome the same predicament in the past.


Down 1-0 in the WNBA Finals, the Lynx find themselves with work to do against the Los Angeles Sparks following L.A.'s 78-76 victory in Sunday's Game 1.


En route to the 2015 WNBA title, Minnesota fell in the first game against the Indiana Fever before eventually rallying to win the championship in five games.


"We were in this position last year," said Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen, who had 18 points in Sunday's loss. "You regroup, you see what you can do to recover and get back for Tuesday night. We have been a group that's been together for a long time and been a part of a lot of these, so that will be our focus."


Los Angeles' defense was a big reason the Sparks emerged victorious in Game 1. Brian Agler's team forced 16 Minnesota turnovers and converted those into 18 points at the other end.


It's unlikely that the Sparks will hold Lynx leading scorer Maya Moore scoreless in the first half Tuesday like they did Sunday, but another stout defensive effort against Moore and Co. certainly will be key for taking a 2-0 series lead.


"We respect her, and we respect that whole team, but we really respect what she can do," Agler said of Moore, who finished Sunday's game with 18 points. "It's not like we don't think that's going to happen. We know it's going to happen."


Los Angeles is in search of its first WNBA title since 2002. The current core of players is not as battle tested in the Finals like Minnesota. The Lynx are winners of three of the last five WNBA championships and are trying to become just the second franchise to win four titles.


In recent years, it's been the Lynx knocking the Sparks out of the Western Conference playoffs on their way to the Finals. With the new change to the WNBA's playoffs that seeds teams regardless of conference, Minnesota and Los Angeles have the opportunity to square off in the Finals.


For Sparks star Candace Parker, that means her first Finals comes against the defending champs.


"We're used to kind of meeting them before the finals, so it had a feel like before," Parker said. "I think in general at first obviously there's some nerves, but you kind of get lost in the game and just trying to execute."


That quest for a fourth ring has already gotten off to a bumpy start for Minnesota after losing at the buzzer on Sunday. Los Angeles hopes to keep that momentum going.


"Moving forward to Tuesday, we have to make sure we keep our same focus and same energy out there on the floor because we know they're a hungry team," Agler said. "They're trying to make history, and they're going to come after it."




WNBA HEAD TO HEAD


Oct 9, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 78 Cover: 8.5
MIN 76 Under: 154
Tools: Recaps


Sep 6, 2016 Score ATS Results
MIN « 77 Cover: 4
LOS 74 Under: 151
Tools: Recaps


Jun 24, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 94 Cover: 23.5
MIN 76 Over: 170
Tools: Recaps

 

[CNOTES]

Recap: Sparks 78, Lynx 76
Date: October 09, 2016 3:00 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) In a championship series filled with stars, Alana Beard sometimes can get lost with so much attention on Minnesota's four Olympians and the two MVPs in Los Angeles.


That's exactly what happened in the closing moments of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, and Beard hit a jumper from the baseline just before time expired to lift the Sparks to a 78-76 victory over the defending champion Lynx.


With the defense collapsing on Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike in the paint, Beard found herself all alone in the corner. She took the pass from Chelsea Gray and knocked down jumper with Maya Moore's in her face.


As the ball splashed through, Moore put her head in her hands, and the Sparks celebrated a thrilling victory, their second on Minnesota's court this season.


'You may not recognize the importance of her statistically for us a lot of times,' Sparks coach Brian Agler said. 'But her presence, her leadership, obviously how disruptive she can be defensively, and then for her to hit a shot like that, it was incredible.'


Kristi Toliver scored 19 points to lead Los Angeles and Parker had 14 points and nine rebounds in her finals debut. League MVP Ogwumike added 19 points for the Sparks in the opener of the best-of-five series.


Sylvia Fowles had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Lindsay Whalen scored 18 points for top-seeded Minnesota. Moore scored all 18 of her points in the second half to move into first place on the WNBA's career finals scoring list, but the Lynx committed 16 turnovers and got caught scrambling on the final possession of the game.


'I think we were more worried about not letting anyone get to the hole,' Fowles said. 'I'm not sure exactly what happened on that last play to make her get wide open. But we learned from this.'


There was a time not too long ago when Beard's name belonged on the marquee with players Parker and Ogwumike or Lynx stars Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen. She was the national player of the year at Duke, the No. 2 overall pick by the Washington Mystics in 2004 and a four-time All-Star before injuries set her back.


She re-emerged in Los Angeles as a defensive specialist, but she took center stage in Game 1. Before she hit the game-winner, Beard also had a spectacular block of a shot by Whalen and then a steal off an inbounds to set up Ogwumike's bucket for a 76-72 lead.


Moore scored on a coast-to-coast layup to tie the score at 76 with 24.7 seconds to play, but she helped aggressively on Gray's drive on the other end, leaving Beard open for just her second bucket of the game.


'I don't think I've ever hit a game-winner,' Beard said quietly. 'So it's pretty cool. Pretty cool.'


NEW LOOK: In years past these two teams never could have met in the finals because both are in the Western Conference. But the league changed its playoff format this year and seeded all of the teams based on record, not geography. The result in the first year could not have been better for the league with the top two teams throughout the season meeting.


'I don't think it's a fluke that we're here now in the finals,' Fowles said. 'I'm loving this new format.'


PARKER'S DEBUT: Parker has been one of the league's brightest stars for years, but has never been able to reach the league's biggest stage. She hit 5 of 12 shots and had three assists.


'At first obviously there's some nerves, but you kind of get lost in the game and just trying to execute,' Parker said. 'We had to take it possession by possession because you never know what's going to happen.'


MOORE'S MARK: The Minnesota star was 0 for 4 in the first half, but made 7 of 10 shots in the final two quarters to move past Diana Taurasi for first place on the WNBA's career scoring list for the finals. She set the mark with 5:20 to play after hitting a jump shot and converting the three-point play.


TOP 20: The WNBA hosted more than a dozen members of the top 20 players in league history for a halftime ceremony. Each player was presented with a ring to commemorate it. Whalen, Moore, Parker and Augustus all participated in the ceremony, and the league extended the length of halftime to allow them to receive their rings and then get back to the locker room to meet with coaches and teammates.


UP NEXT: Game 2 is on Tuesday in Minneapolis.

 

[CNOTES]

WLT PCT UNITS


ATS Picks 100-93-5 51.81% -1150


O/U Picks 94-104-0 47.47% -10200




TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11


GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


LA at MIN 08:00 PM

LA +6.5 *****


O 160.0 *****

 

[CNOTES]

Moore, Lynx even WNBA Finals at 1-1
October 11, 2016


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Maya Moore had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Minnesota Lynx even the WNBA Finals at one game apiece with a 79-60 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in Game 2 on Tuesday night.


Sylvia Fowles had 13 points and 15 boards and Minnesota held Los Angeles to 32.9 percent shooting to bounce back from a last-second loss in Game 1. Seimone Augustus scored 14 points and Minnesota dominated on the glass, 46-32, to pull away.


Nneka Ogwumike had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sparks, who head back home for the next two games in the best-of-five series. Candace Parker was quiet with six points on 3-for-12 shooting.


The Lynx are trying to become the first back-to-back champions in the league since the Sparks repeated in 2002. A win in this series would also give Minnesota its fourth championship, which would tie the Lynx with the Houston Comets for most in league history.


Last year the Lynx lost Game 1 at Target Center to the Indiana Fever, but rebounded to win that series in five games. But they know they face an even more capable challenger this year with the star-studded Sparks.


Neither team led by more than five points during an air-tight Game 1 that Los Angeles won at the buzzer on a jumper from Alana Beard. The first 16 minutes of Game 2 were just as competitive, but Moore and the Lynx seized control in the final four minutes of the second quarter.


After going scoreless in the first half of Game 1, Moore got rolling during a 17-3 blitz to close the period. She hit two 3-pointers and a layup, then picked Parker's pocket and heaved a three-quarter length outlet to a streaking Lindsay Whalen for a three-point play and a 37-25 lead.


Moore had 12 points in the first half and the Lynx took much better care of the ball after coughing it up 11 times in the first half of Game 1.


The Sparks made things interesting with a 14-0 run in the third quarter that made the score 44-41, but Augustus and Moore took over in the fourth to turn back the charge.


Ogwumike, the league MVP, scored just two points in the final period and the Sparks were 3 for 20 on 3-pointers for the game.

RECORD RATING: The WNBA instituted a new playoff format this year that seeded teams based on record, not geography. It resulted in the two best teams during the regular season meeting in the finals despite both playing in the Western Conference. Game 1 drew an average audience of 597,000, the most-watched Game 1 ever on ABC, the network announced on Tuesday. It peaked with 693,000 viewers and was the most-watched Game 1 since 1998 broadcast across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.


UP NEXT: Game 3 is Friday in Los Angeles.

 

[CNOTES]

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 14, 2016
Time (ET) Away Home Site
9:00 PM Minnesota Lynx Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center


SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY OCTOBER 16, 2016
Time (ET) Away Home Site
8:30 PM Minnesota Lynx Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center
Updated Thu Oct 13 1:04 AM EDT

 

[CNOTES]

Preview: Lynx (28-6) at Sparks (26-8)
Date: October 14, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS -- Los Angeles Sparks coach Brian Agler had just finished with a split in the first two games of the WNBA Finals in Minnesota and was asked about his feeling heading back home for two games.


The home-court advantage in the series had seemingly flipped in Los Angeles' favor when the Sparks took Game 1 with a buzzer-beating, game-winning shot by 12-year veteran Alana Beard. Following the Game 2 loss, Agler didn't seem at ease despite heading to Los Angeles with a split.


"You know, I'm glad we won a game," Agler said, almost tentative of his team's chances against the defending champion Lynx. "You're sitting back and saying, 'Well, that team has got to win on the road. That's going to be very important,' and it is, there's no question about it. But from my seat now, I don't really look at it that way. I just sort of focus on the next game...


"Our focus right now is to win one more game. That's what we want to do. We want to win one more game, and then we'll see where we stand and we'll go from there."


Minnesota won Game 2 on Tuesday night, 79-60, finally pulling away in what had been a close series until the second quarter on Tuesday. Game 3 is Friday at the Galen Center.


Agler's hesitancy is fitting a series against the Lynx, who are seeking their fourth championship in six years. Last year, Minnesota lost the first game on its home court before beating Indiana in five games. The Lynx won Game 2 at home before going on the road and taking back the home-court advantage with a Game 3 win in Indiana.


"We have a lot of confidence," Minnesota guard Seimone Augustus said after 14 points in Tuesday's victory. "Like you said, we were in this position before, last year. And, I mean, the thing for us is we know what we needed to do."


The Lynx have been in a similar position not only in recovering from a blown Game 1. Minnesota's core has been around during their championship runs.


Augustus, Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson have been key players on each of the championship teams. Even relative newcomer Sylvia Fowles has played nine WNBA seasons and was on last year's title team, winning the Finals MVP.


Los Angeles features one player with Finals experience in seldom-used center Ann Wauters.


The inexperience might have shown on Tuesday when the Sparks' couldn't counter the Lynx big runs.


"Everybody just kind of has to do a better job of helping one another," Los Angeles guard Kristi Toliver said. "Sometimes it's hard in an environment like this, and it just feels like everything is going a mile a minute. You kind of just have to take a pause sometimes, and I think (Tuesday) we didn't take that pause."


Los Angeles led the league during the regular season by shooting 48.7 percent from the floor. On Tuesday, the Sparks shot just 32.9 percent (23 of 70). League MVP Nneka Ogwumike took just six shots, making five in a 14-point performance.


Meanwhile, the Lynx controlled the boards with a 46-32 rebounding advantage.


"I think there's only one statistic that maybe there's a separator between the two teams, and it's rebounding," Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. "So, we might as well try to use it to our advantage, and it gives you the extra possessions. We got some good hustle plays."


Moore, who was third in MVP voting behind Ogwumike and New York's Tina Charles, was the star of Game 2. Moore scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the game, and keyed a 17-3 lead in the second quarter as the Lynx took control of the game and changed the outlook of the series.


"It's a series," Toliver said. "I said after Game 3 when we lost in Chicago (in the semifinals) that we weren't going to sweep them, and we're not going to sweep now in the Finals. We're still a confident group. We still feel good.


"We came here to do what we wanted to do, and that was to get one (win). We feel pretty good about that, and now we need to take care of business at home."




WNBA HEAD TO HEAD


Oct 11, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS 60 Under: 139
MIN « 79 Cover: 12
Tools: Recaps


Oct 9, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 78 Cover: 8.5
MIN 76 Under: 154
Tools: Recaps


Sep 6, 2016 Score ATS Results
MIN « 77 Cover: 4
LOS 74 Under: 151
Tools: Recaps


Jun 24, 2016 Score ATS Results
LOS « 94 Cover: 23.5
MIN 76 Over: 170
Tools: Recaps


Jun 21, 2016 Score ATS Results
MIN « 72 Cover: 4
LOS 71 Under: 143
Tools: Recaps

 

[CNOTES]

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack


— Dodgers 4, Nationals 3– Kershaw got last two outs to close game out, two days after he threw 110 pitches in Game 4. Thats why you pay the guy $31M a year. Break for Cubs, who won’t see Kershaw until Game 3 now.


— Florida visits LSU November 19 in a makeup game; Bayou Bengals go to Gainesville in both 2017 and 2018.


— In his great career, WR Larry Fitzgerald has caught TD passes from 13 different Cardinal QB’s.


— Since August 2014, half the 30 major league teams have hired a new chief baseball executive. Lot of impatient owners out there.


— Thru five weeks in the NFL, no kickoffs have been run back for a TD; last time that happened was 1979.


— Open Court on NBA TV has some good discussions with both NBA coaches/GMs that were filmed in Las Vegas this summer. Good stuff.


— Big Sky conference has 12 hoop teams; 8 of the 12 teams have either 4 or 5 starters back from LY. Will that make it harder to win on the road?


**********


Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Things I’m looking for this weekend


13) Cam Newton should be back at QB for the 1-4 Panthers, who visit the Superdome this week. Saints allowed 34+ points in three of their four games, had their bye last week, while Carolina is traveling on short week after the Monday night loss to Tampa Bay.


12) Tennessee Vols have had a brutal schedule: Florida-Georgia-A&M the last three weeks, now Alabama on the third Saturday in October. Vols have been gritty and resilient- beating Bama is a tall order, even in Neyland Stadium. One thing in Tennessee’s favor; Crimson Tide has only played one close game- if this one is close, the Volunteers are in familiar territory.


11) Who will have more fans in Miami Sunday, the Steelers or Dolphins? Pittsburgh fans are usually everywhere, but Steelers are just 12-21-1 as road favorites the last nine years. Miami scored total of 24 points in losing its last two games. Steelers are 4-0 if they allow 16 or less points.


10) Ole Miss QB Kelly got in a fight at his brother’s high school game during his bye week; I’m sure the Ole Miss coaches were thrilled to hear that. Rebels lost 53-52 in OT to Arkansas LY; this figures to be a high scoring, fun game to watch.


9) Colin Kaepernick starting for the 49ers means that thru six weeks, 8 of 32 (25%) NFL teams have started at least two QB’s this season. Will it helps the 49ers? Kaepernick is more mobile, throws a better deep ball— he is 29-20 as an NFL QB, Gabbert 9-31, but Gabbert was also on a terrible Jaguars team.


8) North Carolina beat Miami 59-21 LY; what is the over/under on the number of times Miami coaches brought that up this week? Problem is, Miami had their rivalry game with Florida State last week and it is tough to get really fired up two weeks in a row.


7) League championship series get underway in baseball, but first, I have a question.


Cubs pinch-hit for Addison Russell in Game 4 against the Giants. When was the last time a guy with 95+ RBI during the regular season got pinch-hit for in a big spot in a playoff game?


6) Northwestern covered its last six visits to Michigan State; now they’re visiting a Spartan squad that lost three games in row for first time in seven years.


5) Eagles-Redskins is an intriguing game. Wentz played well in Eagles’ loss LW, but they did lose, after entering their bye week 3-0. Redskins have won three games in row and pass the Eagles in the standings with a win here.


4) Total in the West Virginia-Texas Tech game is 83; kickoff is noon ET, which is 11am in Lubbock, more stupid scheduling for TV purposes.


3) Oakland is 4-1, with three wins by 3 or less points. Chiefs have been dismal on road so far, but Andy Reid is 11-4 vs spread coming off a bye. Big rivalry game in the Coliseum, with the Raiders fired up for their first playoff spot since 2002.


2) Texas-San Antonio won as a 17-point home underdog LW; now they’re a 3-point road favorite at Rice this week, a historic soft spot for the favorite. Rice is 0-5, allowing 40.2 pts/game, so they’re impossible to back, but this will be an interesting result.


1) St Louis Cardinals drafted Joe Namath in the 1965 NFL Draft; Jets drafted him in the AFL Draft. How would the football world have changed if Namath had played for the Redbirds? Arizona had extra time to prep after playing on Thursday last week; they’re hoping get QB Palmer (concussion) back this week.