Cnotes 2020/2021 NHL Season Long Trends, News, Notes, Picks !

[Udog]

NHL

Tuesday, April 27

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Trend Report
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Buffalo @ NY Rangers
Buffalo
Buffalo is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo's last 5 games on the road
NY Rangers
NY Rangers is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Buffalo
NY Rangers is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Buffalo

Boston @ Pittsburgh
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Boston's last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Boston
Pittsburgh is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home

Detroit @ Columbus
Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing Columbus
Detroit is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Columbus's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Columbus's last 5 games when playing Detroit

NY Islanders @ Washington
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of NY Islanders's last 16 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of NY Islanders's last 11 games
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Washington's last 9 games
Washington is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing NY Islanders

Philadelphia @ New Jersey
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Philadelphia's last 7 games on the road
New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Jersey's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Jersey's last 7 games when playing at home against Philadelphia

Tampa Bay @ Chicago
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 14-2 SU in its last 16 games when playing Chicago
Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Chicago's last 15 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay

Florida @ Nashville
Florida
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Florida's last 6 games on the road
Florida is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Nashville
Nashville
Nashville is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Nashville is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home

Carolina @ Dallas
Carolina
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Carolina's last 9 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Carolina is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Dallas
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Dallas is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home


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[Udog]

Wednesday’s 6-pack
States with the biggest (legal) sports betting handles in March:
$860M— New Jersey
$641M— Nevada
$560M— Pennsylvania
$384M— Michigan
$317M— Indiana
$301M— Colorado
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 572,201
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“I do feel like I’m being targeted every night. I have felt like I’ve been targeted, but I am just going to continue to play as hard as I can, I want the Philly fans to know that I am out there giving 130 percent every night. The calls might not go my way, I might seem a little frustrated, but I am out there to help this team win a championship.”
Dwight Howard, who has 15 technical fouls this season

Wednesday’s quiz
Who was the Mets’ manager, last time they played in a World Series?

Tuesday’s quiz
When Catfish Hunter threw a perfect game in a 4-0 win for the A’s in 1968, the future Hall of Famer who knocked in three of Oakland’s four runs was……..Catfish Hunter. This was five years before the DH. Catfish was a pretty good hitter.

Monday’s quiz
Seven active NFL QB’s have thrown six TD passes in a game:
Brady, Fitzpatrick, Foles, Mahomes, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Trubisky

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

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings

13) Julius Erving listed his top two all-time NBA teams; they raised some eyebrows.
1st team:
— Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain

2nd team:
— Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Again, this is Julius Erving saying this, not me. We all have our own opinions.

12) Indians 7, Twins 4:
— Minnesota was 36-24 last year; they’re 7-15 this year.
— Twins are 0-7 in one-run games, 0-5 in extra innings.
— Franmil Reyes hit two homers for Cleveland.

11) Dodgers’ 1B Max Muncy had a stretch over the weekend where he reached base nine out of ten times, but problem is, he didn’t have any hits in that span, just 8 walks and a HBP.

In his last nine games, Muncy is 1-26, with 12 walks.

10) These Kentucky Derby notes are from ESPN’s Chris Fallica:
— Last time a horse won the Kentucky Derby from the #14 post? 1961 (Carry Back)
— Since then, eight horses from the 14-post have been top three betting choices.
— Last five years, the 14-post has been a top-4 betting choice all five years, but only one of those horses cracked the trifecta.

9) Dallas 133, Golden State 103
— Mavericks ended the first quarter on a 25-0 run.
— Dallas made 18-35 shots behind the arc.
— Apparently Golden State had been playing better since they stopped practicing; their last practice was April 8, but they got squashed in this game.

8) 38-year old Arthur Smith is the Atlanta Falcons’ new head coach; his father is the guy who founded FedEx. The younger Smith played college football at North Carolina, was recently the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.

7) Blue Jays 9, Nationals 5:
— Vladimir Guerrero Jr becomes youngest player in MLB history with a 3-HR, 7 RBI game.

6) Baseball stuff:
— Bronx Bombers acquired LHP Wandy Peralta and a player to be named later from San Francisco Giants in exchange for OF Mike Tauchman.
— Reliever Jerry Blevins retired after a 13-year career, spent with four teams.

5) 29-year old Drew Valentine is the new basketball coach at Loyola Chi, replacing Porter Moser, who bolted to Oklahoma. Valentine graduated from college only eight years ago.

4) NHL is going to get a lot more exposure, with NBC Sports Network going off the air this summer. NHL has new deals with ESPN/Turner; will Charles Barkley give his hockey picks before games?

3) 529 different players have played in at least one NBA game this season.

2) There is going to be a 6-team baseball draft league, leading up to July’s amateur draft, with all six managers being former major league players. Amateur players who are hoping to be drafted will play ball; I’m assuming they’ll use wooden bats, which they don’t use in college.

Baseball draft has traditionally been the first week in June, with the short season leagues getting underway couple weeks later, but those leagues are out of business now, as MLB took over the minor leagues, starting this season.

1) If you’ve hit more sacrifice flies than you’ve been walked/hit bye pitch, then your on-base %age will actually be lower than your batting average. Sacrifice bunts don’t count as at-bats, but sacrifice flies do.

 

[Udog]

35VANCOUVER -36 OTTAWA
OTTAWA is 150-140 ATS (-4 Units) in home games after covering 4 or 5 of their last 6 against the spread since 1996.

37ST LOUIS -38 MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA is 17-3 ATS (14.3 Units) in home games against mistake free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the current season.

39TORONTO -40 MONTREAL
MONTREAL is 16-24 ATS (-18.2 Units) against mistake free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the current season.

41EDMONTON -42 WINNIPEG
EDMONTON is 22-5 ATS (16 Units) against poor defensive teams - opponents average 29.5+ shots on goal in the current season.

43COLORADO -44 VEGAS
VEGAS are 17-3 ATS (12.3 Units) against poor power play killing teams - opp score on >17.5% of chances in the current season.

45ANAHEIM -46 LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES are 70-87 ATS (-25.7 Units) in home games off an home win scoring 4 or more goals since 1996.

47ARIZONA -48 SAN JOSE
ARIZONA is 7-2 ATS (4.8 Units) after allowing 5 goals or more in the current season.

 

[Udog]

NHL

Wednesday, April 28

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Trend Report
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Vancouver @ Ottawa
Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Vancouver's last 7 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games on the road
Ottawa
Ottawa is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Ottawa's last 11 games at home

St. Louis @ Minnesota
St. Louis
St. Louis is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Minnesota
St. Louis is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

Toronto @ Montreal
Toronto
Toronto is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games on the road
Toronto is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Montreal
Montreal
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Montreal's last 5 games at home
Montreal is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Toronto

Edmonton @ Winnipeg
Edmonton
Edmonton is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Winnipeg
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Edmonton's last 8 games on the road
Winnipeg
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Winnipeg's last 9 games when playing at home against Edmonton
Winnipeg is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Edmonton

Colorado @ Vegas
Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Colorado's last 6 games when playing Vegas
Colorado is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Vegas
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Vegas is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games

Anaheim @ Los Angeles
Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 6 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Anaheim is 18-4 ATS in its last 22 games on the road
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing at home against Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 7 games when playing Anaheim

Arizona @ San Jose
Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Arizona's last 6 games when playing San Jose
Arizona is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against San Jose
San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 6 games when playing Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games


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[Udog]

Been waiting all morning for Arizona/San Jose to be added. If they ever remember it and update, I'll add it.....

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, April 28

 

[Udog]

Thursday’s 6-pack
Odds for this week’s Valspar Championship:
17-2— Justin Thomas
10-1— Dustin Johnson
20-1— Paul Casey, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Reed
22-1— Corey Conners
28-1— Scottie Scheffler
31-1— Russ Henley, Sungjae Im, Louis Oosthuizen
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 573,420
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“………like an explosion. It’s like you almost go into shock. You think, ‘Is the next one the one that’s going to take me out?’”
Former umpire Dale Scott, describing getting hit in the mask by a foul tip

Thursday’s quiz
Who is the last player the Rams drafted in the first round?

Wednesday’s quiz
Terry Collins was the Mets’ manager, last time they played in a World Series.

Tuesday’s quiz
When Catfish Hunter threw a perfect game in a 4-0 win for the A’s in 1968, the future Hall of Famer who knocked in three of Oakland’s four runs was……..Catfish Hunter. This was five years before the DH. Catfish was a pretty good hitter.

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

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..

13) NFL Draft will happen in Cleveland Thursday-Saturday; six years ago, the NFL pushed back its draft to help promote the movie Draft Day, but Radio City Music Hall wasn’t available for the later date, so they took the NHL’s lead and moved the draft to Chicago that year.

They quickly realized they had stumbled upon a great idea, moving the draft around the country, mostly to cities that will never host a Super Bowl. It is good for the league.

12) Thursday is just the first round; Rams haven’t had a first round pick since 2016, so my laptop will be doing double duty- there are five baseball games tonight, too.

11) Carolina Panthers are switching to FieldTurf in their home stadium this year, leaving the NFL with 14 artificial turf fields, 16 grass fields (two stadiums are shared by teams).

10) Carolina traded QB Teddy Bridgewater to Denver Thursday, getting a 6th-round pick from the Broncos. Panthers acquired Sam Darnold from the Jets, making Bridgewater expendable.

Someone posted a betting ticket on Twitter, where a guy wagered $1,000 at 20-1 odds a few weeks ago, that Bridegwater would take the Broncos’ first snap from center in September. He is either really smart, really lucky or he had some inside knowledge.

9) Suns 109, Clippers 101— Phoenix clinches its first playoff appearance in 11 years; Monty Williams has to be NBA Coach of the Year, right?

8) Chicago White Sox are 12-10 so far this year, but if you bet them in first 5 innings play, then they’re 15-2-5; they’ve trailed only two of 22 games after the 5th inning. Their bullpen hasn’t been good. Chicago is 2-7 in games where the winning run scored from the 7th inning on.

7) I am convinced that major league umpires have been schooled to call more strikes on check swings this season, probably to quicken pace of play. MLB wants quicker games, but they also want more scoring; can’t have both of those things, fellas.

6) Nolan Ryan struck out seven guys late in his career, whose fathers he had struck out earlier in his career.

5) Braves 10, Cubs 0— Chicago used three position players to pitch in this game; they’re 10-14 and in last place in the NL Central. Maybe I’m just a miserable older person, but if my team was losing 10-0, I wouldn’t be yukking it up while the first baseman pitched. I understand that it is a long season and all, but the Cubs don’t look like a team that cares a whole lot.

4) Red Sox 1, Mets 0— Mets scored one run the last two nights; they’ve scored a total of 13 runs in Jacob deGrom’s five starts, and he knocked in a couple of those himself.

Fans are booing Francisco Lindor already; who is going to be the first guy who gets booed who says he misses last year’s cardboard cutouts?

3) Ole Miss fired offensive line coach/running game coordinator Randy Clements, three days after its spring football game. The firing was for football reasons and not related to any off-the-field issues, but Ole Miss led the SEC in rushing yardage last year.

Must be an interesting story tucked away in there somewhere.

2) End of this month meant scouring the Extra Innings Package, trying to find a decent pitcher to add to my fantasy squad. You never have pitching in keeper leagues, especially this year, when younger pitchers might hit an innings limit later on and get shut down for the year.

Long time ago, maybe 10-12 years ago, I had this guy pitching for the Padres; my pitching staff had fallen apart and I was clutching at straws trying to find capable pitchers. It wasn’t going well; this guy was pitching against Arizona and Tom Candiotti was the TV analyst.

Candiotti spent about two innings explaining why this guy would never be an effective starting pitcher in the majors; I went to my computer and cut the guy, while he was still pitching in the game. Candiotti was right; the guy wound up going 4-10 for San Diego that year.

1) Haven’t decided yet what format tomorrow’s den will take; there will be a ton of info to go thru, as all four team sports, plus golf are going on. If I do a running diary, it is more likely to be Friday than tonight.

It is good to be getting back to normal, that’s for sure.

 

[Udog]

49NY ISLANDERS -50 NY RANGERS
NY ISLANDERS are 2-10 ATS (-9.6 Units) in road games against explosive offensive teams - scoring 3+ goals/game in the current season.

51PHILADELPHIA -52 NEW JERSEY
NEW JERSEY is 1-13 ATS (-11.6 Units) in home games against good offensive teams - scoring 2.85+ goals/game in the current season.

53DETROIT -54 CAROLINA
CAROLINA is 5-8 ATS (-13.2 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.

55PITTSBURGH -56 WASHINGTON
PITTSBURGH is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent of 2 goals or more in the current season.

57BUFFALO -58 BOSTON
BUFFALO is 7-34 ATS (-30.4 Units) off a loss by 2 goals or more to a division rival in the last 3 seasons.

59FLORIDA -60 CHICAGO
FLORIDA is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) after allowing 3 goals or more 3 straight games in the current season.

61CALGARY -62 EDMONTON
CALGARY is 4-10 ATS (-9.3 Units) in road games against poor defensive teams - opponents average 29.5+ shots on goal in the current season.

75DALLAS -76 TAMPA BAY
DALLAS are 8-23 ATS (-18.4 Units) against good offensive teams - >=29 shots on goal, convert >=17% pp in the current season.

77VANCOUVER -78 TORONTO
VANCOUVER is 22-14 ATS (16.3 Units) against good offensive teams - scoring 2.85+ goals/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

79ST LOUIS -80 MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA is 17-3 ATS (14.3 Units) in home games against mistake free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the current season.

 

[Udog]

NHL
Dunkel

Thursday, April 29

 

[Udog]

NHL

Thursday, April 29

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Trend Report
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Buffalo @ Boston
Buffalo
Buffalo is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games when playing at home against Buffalo

Detroit @ Carolina
Detroit
Detroit is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Detroit is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Carolina
Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games at home
Carolina is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games

Philadelphia @ New Jersey
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 6 of New Jersey's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Jersey's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia

NY Islanders @ NY Rangers
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Islanders's last 6 games when playing NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of NY Islanders's last 17 games on the road
NY Rangers
NY Rangers is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
NY Rangers is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home

Pittsburgh @ Washington
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Pittsburgh's last 10 games when playing Washington
Washington
Washington is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Washington's last 10 games

Dallas @ Tampa Bay
Dallas
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games

Vancouver @ Toronto
Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Vancouver's last 14 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 6 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Vancouver
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Vancouver

Florida @ Chicago
Florida
Florida is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Florida's last 7 games on the road
Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games at home
Chicago is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Florida

St. Louis @ Minnesota
St. Louis
St. Louis is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Minnesota
St. Louis is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games at home
Minnesota is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games

Calgary @ Edmonton
Calgary
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Calgary's last 5 games on the road
Calgary is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Edmonton's last 12 games


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[Udog]

Friday’s 6-pack
NFL leaders in passing yardage last year:
4,823— Deshaun Watson, Hst
4,740— Patrick Mahomes, KC
4,633— Tom Brady, TB
4,581— Matt Ryan, Atl
4,544— Josh Allen, Buff
4,336— Justin Herbert, LAC
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 573,420
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“If we did draft a quarterback, it’s a good room for sure. Both (Dalton/Foles) have a lot of experience. A lot of different experiences, too. Which is good. The coaching staff that we have is strong as well. … But, again, we’re just going to take the best players throughout this draft.”
Chicago Bears’ GM Ryan Pace, who drafted a quarterback with the 11th pick

Friday’s quiz
Who was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ QB the last time they played a playoff game, in 2017?

Thursday’s quiz
Jared Goff is the last player the Rams drafted in the first round, in 2016.

Wednesday’s quiz
Terry Collins was the Mets’ manager, last time they played in a World Series.

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

Friday’s Den: Wrapping up the first 20 picks of the NFL Draft

— First job tonight was to decide which channel to watch the draft on; NFL Network had a concert on, ESPN had four or five commercials for the NBA. No bueno; back to the Extra Innings package until they start picking players.

— There were reports this afternoon that Aaron Rodgers wants the Packers to trade him, which would be tumultuous.

— Quick reminder that the NFL season is now 17 games long.

— There are tons of people outside on a rainy night in Cleveland to watch all this draft stuff happen; having the draft in Las Vegas seems like a much better idea.

— Well, ESPN made the decision for me; they have Mike Greenberg hosting their coverage, so it is off to the NFL Network.

— It is 8:10 and there is still a damn band playing in Cleveland; start the draft!!! In happier news, Kris Bryant just doubled for the Cubs/Armadillos. Cubs lead 4-0 in the third.

— Jacksonville Jaguars are on the clock; Urban Meyer is their new coach. You get the feeling this is an all-or-nothing deal for Meyer, he’ll either win really big or he won’t finish his first season. Whatever, thanks for the Jaguars for getting him off of TV, where he was terrible- zero personality.

— Why is Jacksonville taking the whole 10:00 to make their pick?

— Eric Lauer is pitching for Milwaukee tonight, his first start of the year. Lauer is 14-19, 4.75 in 57 career games (54 starts), but he is 5-0, 2.11 in seven starts against the Dodgers, which makes no sense.

— Daniel Jeremiah just said that when the Jets upset the Rams last year, which put the Jaguars in position to pick first in this draft, that Jacksonville sold a ton of season tickets right after. Its the least the Rams could do for Jacksonville- they traded star CB Jalen Ramsey to the Rams.

— OK, now that Trevor Lawrence is a Jaguar, how long before he starts?

— Jets have a new coach, they traded their QB, they have the #2 pick. Everyone in their draft room has a suit jacket on; things in Jacksonville were way more casual.

With the #2 pick, Gang Green selects Zach Wilson; going from BYU to New Jersey qualifies as worlds colliding.

Someone just called Wilson “…….borderline cocky” Hmmmmm

There is a woman in a Jets sweatshirt sitting in an easy chair behind Roger Goodell’s pedestal.

— It irritates me when I hear an analyst say “He’s a winner” because for every winner, there has to be a loser, and I don’t think anyone is pre-ordained to be a loser.

— 49ers have the third pick in the draft; they take QB Trey Lance, who started 17 games for a I-AA team, playing only one game last year for North Dakota State. Carson Wentz also played for the Bison; what does this mean for Jimmy Garoppolo?

North Dakota State has a third QB in the NFL, Easton Stick, who is a backup with the Chargers, or at least he was before they got Chase Daniel. Must be a fun time to recruit quarterbacks at North Dakota State.

— Great stat they just said on TV; last ten QB’s to win the Super Bowl all threw 1,200+ passes in college; Trey Lance threw 318.

— Atlanta Falcons take TE Kyle Pitts with the 4th pick; his college coach Dan Mullen is sitting there in the draft room with him, getting some free TV time. Matt Ryan must like this pick.

Pitts is the highest drafted tight end ever.

— Bengals take Ja’Marr Chase, the LSU WR who didn’t play last year; he is reunited with his old LSU QB Joe Burrow. Explosive receiver; opting out of last year didn’t cost him any money.

— When was last time the first five picks all went to players on the offensive side of the ball?

— Miami has the 6th pick; they take WR Jaylen Waddle from Alabama, the second WR in row who was wearing sunglasses backstage. Chase took his shades off when he went on stage; Waddle kept his on. Six offensive players in a row, which ties the all-time record.

We are told that Waddle is very fast, a good feature for a WR. Are there slow WR’s?

— Detroit Lions are on the clock; they have a new everything- coach, GM, QB. They’ve won one playoff game in the Super Bowl era; that’s 55 years.

Lions were very good in the 1950’s; they won three titles back then, before I was alive.

People in Detroit’s draft room are hugging each other like they just won the Super Bowl, so they got someone they didn’t think they’d get- OT Penei Sewell from Oregon, which has to make Jared Goff a happier guy. Quarterbacks need their blind side protected.

— Carolina Panthers take CB Jaycee Horn with the 8th pick, the first defensive player taken; he is described as “chippy, competitive; talks a lot on the field”

— 87-year old Bob Uecker still does commercials on Brewers’ TV in Milwaukee for Usinger’s, a sausage company; he is an amazing guy, so funny. Still does Brewers’ home games on the radio.

— Denver Broncos are up next; they take a CB from Alabama whose dad also played in the NFL. Guess they’re serious about starting Teddy Bridgewater at QB this fall, though I also just read a thing on the Interweb about Denver trading for Aaron Rodgers.

They just showed Justin Fields’ family on TV, sitting at home; his parents don’t look happy. Someone needs to tell them that there were six QB’s taken in the 1983 Draft, and Dan Marino was #6 of the six, so you never know what the future will hold.

Yup, Dan Marino was 27th pick in the draft, which is why this is a fascinating process.

They also showed Alabama QB Mac Jones, sitting by himself in the draft room with his phone, probably wondering “Who the bleep told me to come here?!?!?!”

— Dallas Cowboys are on the clock; they traded the pick to Philadelphia, who take DeVonta Smith, the Alabama WR who is also reunited with his college QB, Jalen Hurts.

Not often two division rivals make a trade like that; Eagles only moved up two slots, but they bypassed the Giants, who may have wanted Smith.

— Cowboys got a third round pick to drop back two slots.

— Giants traded the #11 pick to Chicago, which takes Ohio State QB Justin Fields, bad news for Andy Dalton/Nick Foles.

— Dallas finally gets to pick; they take a LB from Penn State, which means Stephen Jones made the pick, not his father, who prefers flashier choices.

— Damn, to drop back nine slots in the draft, Giants got:

— 5th round pick (164th overall) in this draft.

— Bears 4th round pick 2022.

— Bears’ first round pick in 2022.

Seems like a pretty good haul, if they connect with those picks.

— Chargers have a new coach and a young QB; they took a tackle from Northwestern; when you have a good, young QB, you make sure he is well-protected.

— Lot of trades; Jets traded with Minnesota to move up from #23 to #14- they took Alijah Vera-Tucker, a guard from USC. You draft a young QB, you make sure he is well-protected.

— Patriots take QB Mac Jones from Alabama, who was expected to go a lot higher. Belichick and Nick Saban are good friends, so this makes sense.

— With the 16th pick, Arizona Cardinals take Zaven Collins, a LB from Tulsa.

— This is the first time I can remember where the draft was held before the schedule for next year was released- that comes out May 12. Seriously, for like an hour, I put everything aside as soon as the schedule comes out.

I get my second vaccination May 14; when I get home from that, I’ll be looking online for flights and hotel rooms for my first vacation in two years. Have to pick a good NFL weekend, or maybe even two weekends; we’ll see. Football weekends in Las Vegas are lot of fun.

— Las Vegas Raiders took a tackle from Alabama; lot of Crimson Tide guys getting picked.

— Miami Dolphins are picking again; they take a defensive end from Miami FL, who apparently returned punts for his high school team. Must be a very good athlete.

Last year, only 34% of players in the NFL were guys drafted in Rounds 1-3; the GM/scouts are so important in pro football. Thats why Saturday is a very important day- you can find diamonds in the rough at the end of the draft, guys who make a big difference.

— Washington takes a LB from Kentucky; they had taken a defensive lineman in the first round the previous four years, so at least they change things up some.

Washington needs to come up with a nickname, an actual mascot. It can’t be that difficult; as a matter of fact, I’ll do it for them— Washington RedTails, honoring pilots from World War II.

They made a movie about the RedTails; they could keep everything pretty much the same, the team song, the colors, all that. Simple stuff.

— Last item of the night, then I’m off to write the baseball article; with the #20 pick, Giants take Kadarius Toney, a WR from Florida. Graphic says “inconsistent hands” always a solid quality for a receiver.

Oy.

I’ll be back tomorrow, with more of this jocularity. Guy I used to know made fun of me because I like watching the draft; it was freakin’ rude, because we all like different stuff, and that’s what makes life interesting.

 

[Udog]

65WINNIPEG -66 MONTREAL
WINNIPEG is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) at home when the total is 5.5 in the current season.

69SAN JOSE -70 COLORADO
SAN JOSE is 49-68 ATS (-25.8 Units) after one or more consecutive overs in the last 3 seasons.

71LOS ANGELES -72 ANAHEIM
ANAHEIM is 1-14 ATS (-13.3 Units) in home games against good offensive teams - averaging 29.5+ shots on goal per game in the current season.

73VEGAS -74 ARIZONA
VEGAS are 19-2 ATS (15.9 Units) against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game in the current season.




NHL
Dunkel

Friday, April 30

NHL

Friday, April 30

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

Winnipeg @ Montreal
Winnipeg
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Winnipeg's last 6 games when playing Montreal
Winnipeg is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Montreal
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Montreal's last 6 games when playing Winnipeg
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 6 games at home

San Jose @ Colorado
San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 6 games
San Jose is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 games on the road
Colorado
Colorado is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Colorado is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against San Jose

Los Angeles @ Anaheim
Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games
Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Anaheim's last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Anaheim's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles

Vegas @ Arizona
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Vegas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Arizona
Arizona is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Arizona's last 14 games at home


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

 

[Udog]

Saturday’s 6-pack
NFL leaders in rushing yardage last year:
2,027— Derrick Henry, Tenn
1,557— Dalvin Cook, Minn
1,169— Jonathan Taylor, Ind
1,104— Aaron Jones, GB
1,070— David Montgomery, Chi
1,070— James Robinson, Jax
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 574,383
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“Hell of a place to retire to.”
A judge on an old episode of Law and Order, when told a witness had retired to Albany. I live a mile outside Albany; I like it here, except in winter.

Saturday’s quiz
Where did Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor play his college football?

Friday’s quiz
Blake Bortles was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ QB the last time they played a playoff game, in 2017.

Thursday’s quiz
Jared Goff is the last player the Rams drafted in the first round, in 2016.

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

Saturday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy Friday

— First things first, get well soon to Rams’ GM Les Snead, who tested positive for COVID this week; he is running the Rams’ draft from his garage— looks like a pretty nice garage.

— Houston Texans took Stanford QB Davis Mills in the 3rd round, raising even more ?s about the status of Deshaun Watson.

Mills only started 11 games at Stanford; he is a developmental project.
Texans have Tyrod Taylor, who was in Buffalo when they drafted Josh Allen, in LA when the Chargers drafted Justin Herbert.

Will Watson get traded, suspended or both? The TV guys seemed unanimous that no matter what, he’s played his last game for the Texans.

— This was the first time ever Northwestern had two players drafted in the first round.

— Chicago Bears drafted QB Justin Fields; they also have Andy Dalton/Nick Foles. Foles is guaranteed $9M over the next two years; going to be difficult to trade him.

— Dodgers lost nine of their last 12 games; they’ve scored total of 10 runs in their last six road games.

— Aaron Rodgers threw 48 TD passes last year; Green Bay punted 47 times. They really going to trade him? Hell, they drafted a WR Friday whose name is A. Rodgers (Amari Rodgers)

— Celtics 143, Spurs 140:
Spurs led by 32 points in the 2nd quarter.
Jayson Tatum scored 60 points for Boston.

— Phillies are 13-13, which doesn’t sound too impressive, but they’re in first place in NL East.

— Francisco Lindor is hitting .189, he is 4 for his last 29 and the Mets are 9-11. Not exactly what the new billionaire owner had in mind when he signed Lindor to a 10-year, $341M contract this winter.

— No Big X players were taken in the first round of the draft; six guys from Alabama were taken in the first round, and 8 of the first 38 choices were Crimson Tide alums.

— This is the first year since 1999 where QB’s were the first three picks in the NFL Draft; that year, it was Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith. Drafting is an inexact science, no matter how much money they throw at it.

— Seattle Mariners lost 19 of their last 21 games in Houston.

— What week does Trevor Lawrence start at QB for Jacksonville? Gardnew Minshew could start the season under center, but Lawrence has to play at some point in 2021, right?

— Patrick Mahomes didn’t play until the last game of his rookie season; I’m not saying Lawrence wouldn’t be better off watching for a year, but that hasn’t been the recent trend in the NFL.

— Nationals 2, Marlins 1 (10)— Kyle Schwarber hit a walk-off homer. Game was 0-0 after nine.

— NFL Network ran a great segment, a chalkboard session with former coach Steve Mariucci and Florida QB Kyle Trask, who wound up getting picked by Tampa Bay.

I enjoy those 1-on-1 segments, where the coach challenges the player’s football IQ by showing him some X’s-and-O’s, then changing the subject for a few minutes, before asking the player to regurgitate the X’s-and O’s he was just shown. Trask did it very well.

Trask is an unusual case; he didn’t even start in high school, playing behind D’Eriq King, who now plays at Miami FL. Trask did start for the Florida Gators for two years.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL— Phillies, Brewers, Giants. Wild Card: Padres @ Dodgers
AL— Red Sox, Royals, A’s. Wild Card: Mariners @ White Sox

 

[Udog]

1BUFFALO -2 BOSTON
BUFFALO is 7-35 ATS (-31.5 Units) off a loss by 2 goals or more to a division rival in the last 3 seasons.

3TAMPA BAY -4 DETROIT
DETROIT is 21-67 ATS (-31.3 Units) against poor power play killing teams - opp score on >17.5% of chances over the last 2 seasons.

5PITTSBURGH -6 WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent as a home favorite in the current season.

7NEW JERSEY -8 PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA is 12-2 ATS (9.8 Units) off 2 consecutive losses against division rivals over the last 2 seasons.

7NEW JERSEY -8 PHILADELPHIA
ALAIN VIGNEAULT is 12-2 ATS (9.8 Units) off 2 consecutive losses against division rivals (Coach of PHILADELPHIA)

9NY RANGERS -10 NY ISLANDERS
NY ISLANDERS are 10-1 ATS (8.8 Units) in home games against good offensive teams - >=29 shots on goal, convert >=17% pp in the current season.

11COLUMBUS -12 CAROLINA
CAROLINA is 10-2 ATS (8.4 Units) in home games against good starting goalies - saving >= 91.5% of shots against in the current season.

13OTTAWA -14 MONTREAL
OTTAWA is 2-20 ATS (-20 Units) off a win by 2 goals or more over a division rival in the last 3 seasons.

15VANCOUVER -16 TORONTO
VANCOUVER is 22-15 ATS (15.3 Units) against good offensive teams - scoring 2.85+ goals/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

17SAN JOSE -18 COLORADO
SAN JOSE is 132-105 ATS (16.5 Units) in road games after failing to cover 4 or 5 of their last 6 against the spread since 1996.

 

[Udog]

NHL
Dunkel

Saturday, May 1

 

[Udog]

NHL

Saturday, May 1

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

Buffalo @ Boston
Buffalo
Buffalo is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 6 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Buffalo
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

Tampa Bay @ Detroit
Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Tampa Bay is 20-3 SU in its last 23 games when playing Detroit
Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay

Columbus @ Carolina
Columbus
Columbus is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Carolina
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Columbus's last 5 games on the road
Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Carolina's last 6 games at home
Carolina is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games

NY Rangers @ NY Islanders
NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Rangers's last 7 games when playing NY Islanders
NY Rangers is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Islanders's last 7 games when playing NY Rangers
NY Islanders is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing NY Rangers

New Jersey @ Philadelphia
New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Jersey's last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
New Jersey is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 6 games when playing New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Philadelphia's last 13 games at home

Pittsburgh @ Washington
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Washington's last 11 games when playing Pittsburgh

Ottawa @ Montreal
Ottawa
Ottawa is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games
Ottawa is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Montreal
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Montreal's last 12 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 6 games when playing at home against Ottawa

Vancouver @ Toronto
Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Vancouver's last 15 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Vancouver's last 7 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Vancouver
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Vancouver

Florida @ Chicago
Florida
Florida is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Florida's last 8 games
Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games

San Jose @ Colorado
San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Jose's last 8 games on the road
Colorado
Colorado is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against San Jose
Colorado is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

Dallas @ Nashville
Dallas
Dallas is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Nashville
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Dallas's last 13 games when playing on the road against Nashville
Nashville
Nashville is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Nashville is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Dallas

St. Louis @ Minnesota
St. Louis
St. Louis is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Minnesota
St. Louis is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota's last 7 games at home

Los Angeles @ Anaheim
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 6 games
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Anaheim
Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Anaheim's last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Anaheim's last 5 games when playing Los Angeles

Vegas @ Arizona
Vegas
Vegas is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
Vegas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Arizona
Arizona is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Vegas
Arizona is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Vegas

Calgary @ Edmonton
Calgary
Calgary is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Calgary's last 5 games on the road
Edmonton
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Edmonton's last 13 games
Edmonton is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games at home


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

 

[Udog]

Sunday’s 6-pack
Managers with the most career ejections:
162— Bobby Cox
121— John McGraw
100— Leo Durocher
96— Earl Weaver
88— Frankie Frisch, Tony LaRussa
84— Ron Gardenhire
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 574,383
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“It’s Vegas. You lose track of time in those casinos. There’s no windows, no clocks. He’s probably on a heater. And you never walk away from the table when you’re on a heater.”
Sid Garner, from The Hangover

Sunday’s quiz
Of the 32 current NFL head coaches, how many have won a Super Bowl?

Saturday’s quiz
Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor played his college football at North Carolina.

Friday’s quiz
Blake Bortles was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ QB the last time they played a playoff game, in 2017.

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

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday

13) There is a young man named Jamie Newman who was a QB at Wake Forest for three years:
— He backed up John Wolford one year, the guy who was the Rams’ backup LY
— Newman split time as a starter his second year.
— He threw for 2,868 yards his third year with the Deacons. Pretty good season.

Then he decided to bolt to greener pastures and transferred to Georgia before the 2020 season, hoping to raise his NFL Draft profile, but then opted out of that season, because of COVID/injury concerns. He figured, or his people figured, that his draft value would be enhanced somehow by his sitting out- they were wrong.

Newman wasn’t drafted this weekend; he signed on with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent. Had he played at Georgia last year, he undoubtedly would’ve been drafted, but now he has to make the NFL the hard way. Cost him a lot of money, at least for now.

Sometimes the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

12) Mel Kiper Jr is an NFL Draft expert: here is how he thinks some teams did:
Teams he gave an A grade to:
— Los Angeles Chargers
— Miami Dolphins
— New Jersey Jets got an A-minus.

Teams who got his lowest grades:
— Pittsburgh Steelers got a C+
— New Orleans Saints got a C+
— Indianapolis Colts got a C+

11) NFL Draft is a fascinating process; like I’ve said before, the average NFL team is worth $3B, yet teams approach the draft in many different ways. Some are obviously smarter than others.

No one KNOWS who did the best this weekend; part of it is having coaches who will get the most out of the talent that the GM assembles. It’ll be a few years before we really know who did the best drafting this weekend.

10) NFL changed things up some for Day 3 of the draft; they had some coaches/owners announce their team’s picks, which was a good idea.

Jerry Jones announced one of the Cowboys’ picks with his teenage grandson; must be fun having a grandfather who owns an NFL team.

Dallas used its first six draft picks on defensive players, by the way.

9) The Aaron Rodgers soap opera is becoming tiresome; now the Interweb says he wants the Green Bay GM fired. The weird thing about the Packers is that they’re publicly owned, so who does he air his complaints to?

There are 360,760 people who are Packers stockholders. There is a small executive committee that actually runs the team.

Packers went 26-6 the last two years; hard to imagine the GM getting fired.

8) Rams haven’t had a first round pick since 2016, won’t have another one until at least 2024, but Mel Kiper gave them a B+ grade. Les Snead is a really good GM who would rather trade for proven players than draft rookies.

7) Madison Bumgarner started the season by going 0-2, 11.19 in his first three starts. Since then, he’s gone 3-0, 1.06 in his last three starts. Go figure.

6) Cincinnati Reds’ 1B Joey Votto hit his 300th home run this weekend; he’ll be an interesting case when his Hall of Fame voting happens.

Votto has a career .418 on-base percentage, which is tremendous; made six All-Star Games, finished in top three of the MVP voting three times, winning once. I’m guessing he’ll make it.

5) Orioles 8, A’s 4:
— Oakland started this season 1-7
— A’s then won their next 13 games.
— Now they’ve lost five of their last seven games.

Very strange.

4) Major league teams now script off days for their players; Bronx TV announcer Michael Kay was talking about this Saturday, how Giancarlo Stanton didn’t play Saturday, even though he was 11-20 in his last four games.

Kay acknowledged that fans get ticked off about stars getting “days off”; hell, Stanton is a DH, why does he need a day off, especially when his bat is red hot?

I only care because he’s on my fantasy team, but Stanton looks like an NFL tight end; it is ludicrous that he hasn’t played in the field yet this season. Who is making these decisions? Doubt it is the manager; am guessing the GM/analytics people call the shots.

3) Brewers 6, Dodgers 5 (11)— Dodgers are struggling; they’ve lost 10 of their last 13 games, and now P Dustin May is hurt. They need injured OF Cody Bellinger back in the lineup.

2) Mets 5, Phillies 4— There was a really, really terrible call made in this game at 2nd base, an out-of-baseline call against Andrew McCutchen— I saw the replay and laughed, it was so bad.

Calls like this need to be reviewable; this would’ve taken 15 seconds to correct. A young umpire named Jose Navas made the call. Bryce Harper got thrown out because he was arguing from the dugout. Phillies would’ve had go-ahead run on 2nd base in the 8th inning; game was tied at the time. Michael Conforto hit the winning home run a few minutes later.

1) Minor league baseball makes its return on Tuesday; someone said on TV the other night that teams will play Tuesday-Sunday each week, playing six-game series, to lessen travel. It’ll be fun to check the minor league boxscores again, this I know.

 

[Udog]

31TAMPA BAY -32 DETROIT
DETROIT is 21-67 ATS (-31.3 Units) against poor power play killing teams - opp score on >17.5% of chances over the last 2 seasons.




NHL
Dunkel

Sunday, May 2

NHL

Sunday, May 2

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

Tampa Bay @ Detroit
Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Tampa Bay is 20-4 SU in its last 24 games when playing Detroit
Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
Detroit is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay


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

 

[Udog]

Monday’s 6-pack
Over last 5 years, colleges with most NFL Draft picks:
51— Alabama
43— Ohio State
39— LSU
36— Michigan
33— Florida
30— Georgia
Americans who have died from COVID-19: 574,383
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“Whoever came up with that (bleep) needs to be fired. That’s wack. You’ve got to earn your spot to be in the postseason. No consolation for finishing last. That’s corny.”
Lebron James, talking about the NBA’s new play-in tournament; he doesn’t like it.

Monday’s quiz
When Larry Bird/Magic Johnson played in the national title game in 1979 with Indiana State, Michigan State, who were the other two teams in the Final Four that year?

Sunday’s quiz
Of the 32 current NFL head coaches, eight have won a Super Bowl.

Saturday’s quiz
Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor played his college football at North Carolina.

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

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Sunday

13) Oy.

A’s pitcher Jesus Luzardo has a hairline fracture in his left (throwing hand) pinkie; apparently Luzardo was playing a video game before his start Saturday and bumped his hand on a desk, and broke his finger, which explains why he pitched badly against the Orioles.

12) Reds 13, Cubs 12:
— Cincy 3B Mike Moustakas homered, doubled, got hit by a pitch and grounded into two double plays- you don’t see that every day.

It is possible that Cubs’ manager David Ross is overmatched in this job; Reds had winning run on third with no one out in 10th inning, and Nick Castellanos up— he was already 4-5 for the game, with two homers.

Castellanos up, Votto on deck, you have to walk both of them, create a force at the plate and bring up Moustakas, who had already grounded into two double plays. But no, they pitch to the red-hot Castellanos, he singles to center, game over.

Both teams hit five homers in this game.

11) Mets 8, Phillies 7:
— Bryce Harper hurt his wrist late in this game (check status)
— Rhys Hoskins appeared to hit a game-tying 3-run homer in 9th inning, but replays showed the ball hit the top of the fence, so Hoskins got a double.
— Two bullpens gave up 12 runs in seven IP; the starters were pretty good.

10) Braves’ catcher Travis d’Arnaud tore ligaments in his thumb, will have surgery and is on the 60-day disabled list, big loss for Atlanta.

9) Giants 7, Padres 1— In four starts since his no-hitter, Joe Musgrove is 0-3, 5.21.

8) Cleveland P Triston McKenzie threw 57 pitches Saturday; only one fair ball was hit. He walked four, struck out six hitters, gave up five runs in two IP.

7) A’s 7, Orioles 5— Oakland CF Ramon Laureano had a great 8th inning; with the score 5-5, he robbed DJ Stewart of extra bases with a great catch against the CF fence to end the top of the inning, then he hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to send everyone home happy.

Oakland is 7-0 this season in games where winning run scores from the 7th inning on.

6) Watching games all day Sunday on DirecTV, following the progress of guys on my fantasy team, the CBSSports.com fantasy website is faster than my satellite dish.

Results of plays would pop up on my screen before the pitcher threw the ball on my TV— has to be a 2-second delay.

5) Heading into Sunday’s games, these teams had the worst bullpen ERA’s:
6.68— Detroit
5.51— Cincinnati
5.11— Colorado

4) Dodgers 16, Milwaukee 4— AJ Pollock knocked in 8 runs, Matt Beaty knocked in 7 runs, as Dodgers took out the frustrations from their recent skid out on a tired Brewer pitching staff.

3) Of the seven teams in first place or tied for first place, five of them have given up more runs than they’ve scored, which is kind of weird.

2) If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
— NL: Wash/NYM, Brewers, Giants, Wild Card: Cardinals @ Dodgers
— AL: Red Sox, Royals, A’s. Wild Card: Mariners @ White Sox

1) 65 SEC players were taken in the NFL Draft, the most of any league. 8 of the first 38 players taken came from Alabama; that has to help their recruiting, not that it needs a lot of help.

 

[Udog]

33NY ISLANDERS -34 BUFFALO
NY ISLANDERS are 10-0 ATS (10 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.

35PITTSBURGH -36 PHILADELPHIA
PITTSBURGH is 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) in road games revenging a loss where team scored 1 or less goals over the last 2 seasons.

37CHICAGO -38 CAROLINA
CAROLINA is 14-3 ATS (10.8 Units) in home games against excellent power play teams- scoring on >17.5% of their chances in the current season.

39WASHINGTON -40 NY RANGERS
WASHINGTON is 12-20 ATS (-16 Units) against excellent power play teams- scoring on >17.5% of their chances in the 2nd half of the year over the last 2 seasons.

41NASHVILLE -42 COLUMBUS
NASHVILLE is 13-1 ATS (13 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.

43BOSTON -44 NEW JERSEY
NEW JERSEY is 5-19 ATS (-14.3 Units) in home games against mistake free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the current season.

45WINNIPEG -46 OTTAWA
WINNIPEG is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) off a road loss against a division rival in the current season.

47TORONTO -48 MONTREAL
TORONTO is 9-0 ATS (9 Units) in road games after 2 or more consecutive unders in the current season.

49DALLAS -50 FLORIDA
FLORIDA is 9-0 ATS (9 Units) after allowing 3 goals or more 3 straight games in the current season.

51ANAHEIM -52 ST LOUIS
ST LOUIS are 1-7 ATS (-12.7 Units) in home games against poor defensive teams - allowing 2.85+ goals/game in the current season.

 

[Udog]

NHL
Dunkel

Monday, May 3