THURSDAY, MARCH 3
Game Time(ET) Pick Units
CHI at ATL 07:00 PM
ATL +1.5
U 231.0
+500 +500
MIA at BK 07:30 PM
BK -1.5
O 222.5
+500 +500
MEM at BOS 07:30 PM
BOS -2.5
O 223.5
+500 +500
DET at TOR 07:30 PM
DET +8.0
O 216.5
+500 +500
SAC at SA 08:30 PM
SA -6.5
U 243.0
+500 +500
GS at DAL 08:30 PM
DAL -1.5
U 220.0
+500 +500
LAL at LAC 10:00 PM
LAC -2.5
U 220.0
+500 +500
Game Time(ET) Pick Units
CHI at ATL 07:00 PM
ATL +1.5
U 231.0
+500 +500
MIA at BK 07:30 PM
BK -1.5
O 222.5
+500 +500
MEM at BOS 07:30 PM
BOS -2.5
O 223.5
+500 +500
DET at TOR 07:30 PM
DET +8.0
O 216.5
+500 +500
SAC at SA 08:30 PM
SA -6.5
U 243.0
+500 +500
GS at DAL 08:30 PM
DAL -1.5
U 220.0
+500 +500
LAL at LAC 10:00 PM
LAC -2.5
U 220.0
+500 +500
MARCH BEST BETS & OPINIONS
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
03/03/2022...........7-7-0.............50.00%....................-3.50
03/02/2022.........10-5-1..............65.63%................+22.50
03/01/2022...........5-6-0..............45.45%...................-8.00
TOTALS..............22-18-1..............55.00%................+11.00
BEST BETS:
03/03/2022............5-3-0..............62.50%................+ 8.50
03/02/2022............7-3-0..............70.00%................+18.50
03/01/2022............3-2-0..............60.00%.................+ 4.00
TOTALS.................15-8-0..............65.21%................+31.00
UPDATED ON 03/03/2022
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
03/03/2022...........7-7-0.............50.00%....................-3.50
03/02/2022.........10-5-1..............65.63%................+22.50
03/01/2022...........5-6-0..............45.45%...................-8.00
TOTALS..............22-18-1..............55.00%................+11.00
BEST BETS:
03/03/2022............5-3-0..............62.50%................+ 8.50
03/02/2022............7-3-0..............70.00%................+18.50
03/01/2022............3-2-0..............60.00%.................+ 4.00
TOTALS.................15-8-0..............65.21%................+31.00
UPDATED ON 03/03/2022
Armadillo Sports
Friday’s 6-pack
Odds to win SEC basketball tournament:
+190— Kentucky
+275— Auburn
+375— Tennessee
+600— Arkansas
+1000— LSU
+1200— Alabama
+2000— Florida
+3300— Mississippi State
Quote of the Day
“Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of life; getting back up is living.”
Anonymous
Friday’s quiz
Before they were the Washington Nationals, what city did that franchise call home?
Thursday’s quiz
Luxor hotel/casino in Las Vegas is shaped like a pyramid.
Wednesday’s quiz
Fred Gwynne played the judge in the classic movie, My Cousin Vinny; he is best known for being the star of The Munsters
*********************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here…….
13) NFL Combine is this week; since the NFL is a well-run league, they manage to stay in the news 12 months a year. This week, prospects are running 40-yard dash, doing drills, throwing, catching passes, trying to catch the scouts’ eyes.
I’m told QB is an important position in football; I talked about this last fall, but here are two of the top QB prospects for this year’s draft:
a) Kenny Pickett, Pitt:
— Was in college for five years; he’ll be 24 before training camp starts
— Jared Goff has played five years in NFL, is only 27.
— Pickett had only one really productive college season.
— Average arm strength, smaller hands than any current NFL starting QB
— Opted out of Pitt’s bowl game.
b) Matt Corral, Ole Miss:
— Played in his team’s bowl game, but hurt his ankle and isn’t 100% yet.
— Played two years for Lane Kiffin, a former NFL head coach.
— Not a great long passer, but has good mobility. Accurate short passing game.
— Isn’t going to throw at the Combine.
Given my choice, I’ll take the QB who finished the season with his teammates, and didn’t bail out to protect himself from injury. It is the Al Pacino speech from Any Given Sunday:
“You’re a goddamn quarterback!!! You know what that means? It’s the top spot, kid. It’s the guy who takes the fall. It’s the guy everybody’s looking at first – the leader of a team – who will support you when they understand you. Who will break their ribs and their noses and their necks for you, because they believe. ‘Cause you make them believe. That’s a quarterback.”
12) New Orleans Saints have 16th pick in first round; they need a QB. Last time Saints drafted a QB in first round was 1971, Ole Miss QB named Archie Manning. You may have heard of him.
11) 2022 NFL year starts on March 16; that’s when lot of personnel shuffling should begin, the day before the first round of the NCAA Tournament starts. Busy week.
10) NFL leaders in turnover ratio last year:
+14— Dallas, Indianapolis
+13— Green Bay
+12— Arizona
+11— Minnesota
+10— Tampa Bay
Hard to replicate a double-digit turnover profit; there are handicappers who target teams to regress after a great turnover season. It is even worse when you’re +14 or +11 and don’t make the playoffs that season, like the Colts/Vikings.
9) NFL teams with worst turnover ratio last year:
-20— Jacksonville
-13— Chicago, Jets, Carolina
-11— Baltimore
-9— Las Vegas
-8— Giants
Four of those seven teams have a new head coach; another switched OC’s.
8) Duke opened up at minus-12 for Saturday night’s home game vs North Carolina, the biggest spread in that rivalry since 2010. In this season’s first Duke-UNC game, Blue Devils ran out to a 31-8 lead, so oddsmakers are encouraging people to wager on the Tar Heels.
7) Sun Belt tournament:
— Little Rock 75, South Alabama 71— Trojans finished last in Sun Belt; they were a 12-point underdog here, but they made 14-24 on the arc, which is how upsets happen.
— All four games were decided by 6 or less points, with two upsets.
6) Kansas 72, TCU 68— Horned Frogs have some work to do, but the way they rebound, you don’t want to see them in the first round of NCAA’s, should they get there. After upsetting Kansas earlier this week, they almost did it again here.
5) Washington 78, Oregon 67— Ducks have lost five of last seven games, their bubble is probably burst- they’ll need a big week in Pac-12 tourney next week.
4) Ohio State 80, Michigan State 69— Spartans lost seven of last nine games; they look like a dead team. Could be headed to Dayton in two weeks.
3) Word of the Day: Quisling— a traitor who collaborates with an enemy force occupying their country.
2) If the baseball lockout eats up more than 15 days of the regular season, Mets’ 1B Pete Alonso would become a free agent in 2025, instead of 2024, which gives you an idea of how the dispute becomes more complicated, the longer it drags on.
1) I’m no fan of the players making so much money; I root for a team that doesn’t try to win, so all the A’s good players skip town sooner rather than later, but check this out:
— In 2002, Jeffrey Loria bought the Marlins for $158.8M; 15 years later, he sold them for $1.2B, making a freakin’ fortune in 15 short years.
— Also in 2002, John Henry bought the Red Sox for $660M; today. Red Sox are worth $3.465B, so Henry has made $2.8B in 20 years.
Owners are cleaning up, so are the players. Gordon Gekko once famously said in Wall Street, “Greed is good”, and the owners are being really greedy. Like I said before, we’ll see if both sides kill the golden goose.
Friday’s 6-pack
Odds to win SEC basketball tournament:
+190— Kentucky
+275— Auburn
+375— Tennessee
+600— Arkansas
+1000— LSU
+1200— Alabama
+2000— Florida
+3300— Mississippi State
Quote of the Day
“Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of life; getting back up is living.”
Anonymous
Friday’s quiz
Before they were the Washington Nationals, what city did that franchise call home?
Thursday’s quiz
Luxor hotel/casino in Las Vegas is shaped like a pyramid.
Wednesday’s quiz
Fred Gwynne played the judge in the classic movie, My Cousin Vinny; he is best known for being the star of The Munsters
*********************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here…….
13) NFL Combine is this week; since the NFL is a well-run league, they manage to stay in the news 12 months a year. This week, prospects are running 40-yard dash, doing drills, throwing, catching passes, trying to catch the scouts’ eyes.
I’m told QB is an important position in football; I talked about this last fall, but here are two of the top QB prospects for this year’s draft:
a) Kenny Pickett, Pitt:
— Was in college for five years; he’ll be 24 before training camp starts
— Jared Goff has played five years in NFL, is only 27.
— Pickett had only one really productive college season.
— Average arm strength, smaller hands than any current NFL starting QB
— Opted out of Pitt’s bowl game.
b) Matt Corral, Ole Miss:
— Played in his team’s bowl game, but hurt his ankle and isn’t 100% yet.
— Played two years for Lane Kiffin, a former NFL head coach.
— Not a great long passer, but has good mobility. Accurate short passing game.
— Isn’t going to throw at the Combine.
Given my choice, I’ll take the QB who finished the season with his teammates, and didn’t bail out to protect himself from injury. It is the Al Pacino speech from Any Given Sunday:
“You’re a goddamn quarterback!!! You know what that means? It’s the top spot, kid. It’s the guy who takes the fall. It’s the guy everybody’s looking at first – the leader of a team – who will support you when they understand you. Who will break their ribs and their noses and their necks for you, because they believe. ‘Cause you make them believe. That’s a quarterback.”
12) New Orleans Saints have 16th pick in first round; they need a QB. Last time Saints drafted a QB in first round was 1971, Ole Miss QB named Archie Manning. You may have heard of him.
11) 2022 NFL year starts on March 16; that’s when lot of personnel shuffling should begin, the day before the first round of the NCAA Tournament starts. Busy week.
10) NFL leaders in turnover ratio last year:
+14— Dallas, Indianapolis
+13— Green Bay
+12— Arizona
+11— Minnesota
+10— Tampa Bay
Hard to replicate a double-digit turnover profit; there are handicappers who target teams to regress after a great turnover season. It is even worse when you’re +14 or +11 and don’t make the playoffs that season, like the Colts/Vikings.
9) NFL teams with worst turnover ratio last year:
-20— Jacksonville
-13— Chicago, Jets, Carolina
-11— Baltimore
-9— Las Vegas
-8— Giants
Four of those seven teams have a new head coach; another switched OC’s.
8) Duke opened up at minus-12 for Saturday night’s home game vs North Carolina, the biggest spread in that rivalry since 2010. In this season’s first Duke-UNC game, Blue Devils ran out to a 31-8 lead, so oddsmakers are encouraging people to wager on the Tar Heels.
7) Sun Belt tournament:
— Little Rock 75, South Alabama 71— Trojans finished last in Sun Belt; they were a 12-point underdog here, but they made 14-24 on the arc, which is how upsets happen.
— All four games were decided by 6 or less points, with two upsets.
6) Kansas 72, TCU 68— Horned Frogs have some work to do, but the way they rebound, you don’t want to see them in the first round of NCAA’s, should they get there. After upsetting Kansas earlier this week, they almost did it again here.
5) Washington 78, Oregon 67— Ducks have lost five of last seven games, their bubble is probably burst- they’ll need a big week in Pac-12 tourney next week.
4) Ohio State 80, Michigan State 69— Spartans lost seven of last nine games; they look like a dead team. Could be headed to Dayton in two weeks.
3) Word of the Day: Quisling— a traitor who collaborates with an enemy force occupying their country.
2) If the baseball lockout eats up more than 15 days of the regular season, Mets’ 1B Pete Alonso would become a free agent in 2025, instead of 2024, which gives you an idea of how the dispute becomes more complicated, the longer it drags on.
1) I’m no fan of the players making so much money; I root for a team that doesn’t try to win, so all the A’s good players skip town sooner rather than later, but check this out:
— In 2002, Jeffrey Loria bought the Marlins for $158.8M; 15 years later, he sold them for $1.2B, making a freakin’ fortune in 15 short years.
— Also in 2002, John Henry bought the Red Sox for $660M; today. Red Sox are worth $3.465B, so Henry has made $2.8B in 20 years.
Owners are cleaning up, so are the players. Gordon Gekko once famously said in Wall Street, “Greed is good”, and the owners are being really greedy. Like I said before, we’ll see if both sides kill the golden goose.
DETROIT is 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) when playing 5 or less games in 14 days over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 42-67 ATS (-31.7 Units) in road games in road games in the last 3 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 5-15 ATS (-11.5 Units) in March games in the last 3 seasons.
UTAH is 77-46 ATS (26.4 Units) versus poor 3 point shooting teams - making <=33% of their attempts - 2nd half of the season since ...
DENVER is 3-15 ATS (-13.5 Units) in home games on Friday nights in the last 3 seasons.
PHOENIX is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) after failing to cover 4 or 5 of their last 6 against the spread in the current season.
ATLANTA is 42-67 ATS (-31.7 Units) in road games in road games in the last 3 seasons.
MILWAUKEE is 5-15 ATS (-11.5 Units) in March games in the last 3 seasons.
UTAH is 77-46 ATS (26.4 Units) versus poor 3 point shooting teams - making <=33% of their attempts - 2nd half of the season since ...
DENVER is 3-15 ATS (-13.5 Units) in home games on Friday nights in the last 3 seasons.
PHOENIX is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) after failing to cover 4 or 5 of their last 6 against the spread in the current season.
NBA
Friday, March 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana @ Detroit
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Indiana's last 17 games
Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana
Detroit is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Atlanta @ Washington
Atlanta
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Washington's last 10 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Cleveland @ Philadelphia
Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
Cleveland is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games
Philadelphia is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Milwaukee @ Chicago
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is 13-1 SU in its last 14 games when playing Chicago
Milwaukee is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games at home
Orlando @ Toronto
Orlando
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Orlando's last 6 games when playing on the road against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Orlando's last 5 games when playing Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Orlando
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Orlando
Minnesota @ Oklahoma City
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Minnesota's last 8 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oklahoma City's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Oklahoma City's last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota
Utah @ New Orleans
Utah
Utah is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Utah's last 6 games on the road
New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 13 of New Orleans's last 16 games when playing at home against Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of New Orleans's last 15 games
Houston @ Denver
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing Denver
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Denver
Denver
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Houston
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston
New York @ Phoenix
New York
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New York
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing New York
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, March 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana @ Detroit
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Indiana's last 17 games
Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana
Detroit is 5-0-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Atlanta @ Washington
Atlanta
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games on the road
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Washington's last 10 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Cleveland @ Philadelphia
Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
Cleveland is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games
Philadelphia is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Milwaukee @ Chicago
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is 13-1 SU in its last 14 games when playing Chicago
Milwaukee is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games at home
Orlando @ Toronto
Orlando
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Orlando's last 6 games when playing on the road against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Orlando's last 5 games when playing Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Orlando
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Orlando
Minnesota @ Oklahoma City
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Minnesota's last 8 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oklahoma City's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Oklahoma City's last 8 games when playing at home against Minnesota
Utah @ New Orleans
Utah
Utah is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Utah's last 6 games on the road
New Orleans
The total has gone OVER in 13 of New Orleans's last 16 games when playing at home against Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of New Orleans's last 15 games
Houston @ Denver
Houston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing Denver
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Denver
Denver
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Houston
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston
New York @ Phoenix
New York
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New York
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing New York
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bulls are 4-6 ATS in their last ten matchups against Milwaukee.
The Bucks are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games.
The total has gone UNDER in four of the last five matchups between Chicago and Milwaukee.
The total has gone OVER in nine of the last ten Bucks' games.
The Knicks are 0-6 ATS in their last six games.
The Suns are 7-0 ATS in their last seven matchups against New York.
The total has gone OVER in five straight Knicks' games.
The Suns are 2-4 ATS in their last six games.
The total has gone OVER in seven of the last ten Suns' games.
The Bucks are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games.
The total has gone UNDER in four of the last five matchups between Chicago and Milwaukee.
The total has gone OVER in nine of the last ten Bucks' games.
The Knicks are 0-6 ATS in their last six games.
The Suns are 7-0 ATS in their last seven matchups against New York.
The total has gone OVER in five straight Knicks' games.
The Suns are 2-4 ATS in their last six games.
The total has gone OVER in seven of the last ten Suns' games.
FRIDAY, MARCH 4
Game Time(ET) Pick Units
ATL at WAS 07:00 PM
ATL -4.0
O 223.5
+500 +500
IND at DET 07:00 PM
DET +3.0
O 229.5
+500 +500
CLE at PHI 07:00 PM
PHI -7.5
U 216.5
+500 +500
ORL at TOR 07:30 PM
TOR -7.0
+500
MIL at CHI 07:30 PM
MIL -5.0
U 240.0
+500 +500
MIN at OKC 08:00 PM
MIN -9.5
O 230.5
+500 +500
UTA at NO 08:00 PM
O 222.5
+500
HOU at DEN 09:00 PM
HOU +13.5
O 239.0
+500 +500
NY at PHO 10:00 PM
PHO -6.5
U 222.5
+500 +500
Game Time(ET) Pick Units
ATL at WAS 07:00 PM
ATL -4.0
O 223.5
+500 +500
IND at DET 07:00 PM
DET +3.0
O 229.5
+500 +500
CLE at PHI 07:00 PM
PHI -7.5
U 216.5
+500 +500
ORL at TOR 07:30 PM
TOR -7.0
+500
MIL at CHI 07:30 PM
MIL -5.0
U 240.0
+500 +500
MIN at OKC 08:00 PM
MIN -9.5
O 230.5
+500 +500
UTA at NO 08:00 PM
O 222.5
+500
HOU at DEN 09:00 PM
HOU +13.5
O 239.0
+500 +500
NY at PHO 10:00 PM
PHO -6.5
U 222.5
+500 +500
MARCH BEST BETS & OPINIONS
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
03/04/2022.........6-10-0.............37.50%..................-25.00
03/03/2022...........7-7-0.............50.00%....................-3.50
03/02/2022.........10-5-1..............65.63%................+22.50
03/01/2022...........5-6-0..............45.45%...................-8.00
TOTALS..............28-28-1..............50.00%................- 14.00
BEST BETS:
03/04/2022............4-8-0..............33.33%................- 24.00
03/03/2022............5-3-0..............62.50%................+ 8.50
03/02/2022............7-3-0..............70.00%................+18.50
03/01/2022............3-2-0..............60.00%.................+ 4.00
TOTALS...............19-16-0..............54.28%.................+ 7.00
UPDATED ON 03/04/2022
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
03/04/2022.........6-10-0.............37.50%..................-25.00
03/03/2022...........7-7-0.............50.00%....................-3.50
03/02/2022.........10-5-1..............65.63%................+22.50
03/01/2022...........5-6-0..............45.45%...................-8.00
TOTALS..............28-28-1..............50.00%................- 14.00
BEST BETS:
03/04/2022............4-8-0..............33.33%................- 24.00
03/03/2022............5-3-0..............62.50%................+ 8.50
03/02/2022............7-3-0..............70.00%................+18.50
03/01/2022............3-2-0..............60.00%.................+ 4.00
TOTALS...............19-16-0..............54.28%.................+ 7.00
UPDATED ON 03/04/2022
Armadillo Sports
Saturday’s 6-pack
Odds to win ACC basketball tournament:
Even— Duke
+550— Virginia Tech
+700— North Carolina, Wake Forest
+900— Notre Dame
+1100— Miami
+1200— Virginia
+1500— Syracuse
+1800— Florida State
+2000— Clemson
+2200— Louisville
+5000— BC, Ga Tech, NC State, Pitt
Quote of the Day
“Slumps are usually caused by not doing the simple things well. Look at your own performance before you place the blame elsewhere.”
Harvey Mackay
Saturday’s quiz
Which active NBA coach was born in Lebanon?
Friday’s quiz
Before they were the Washington Nationals, they were the Montreal Expos.
Thursday’s quiz
Luxor hotel/casino in Las Vegas is shaped like a pyramid.
**********************************
Saturday’s Den: My 13 favorite TV shows
In couple days, I’ll remember that I forgot a show from long time ago, and I’ll have to re-do this list, but this is the list for today
13) In Plain Sight— Show about a US Marshal’s unit that relocates federal witnesses; show ran for four years, but it was on USA Network, and it ended when the show’s star got a role on a show on regular network TV, which obviously was more lucrative.
Not lot of TV shows are set in Albuquerque; this was a very good show.
12) Ray Donovan— The most violent program on this list; just about everybody on this Showtime series that isn’t related to the Donovans eventually winds up dead.
Ray Donovan is a fixer for rich people, but he can’t fix his own family; his wife passes away from cancer, his father is a creep, his daughter seems destined to follow in her dad’s footsteps.
Live Schreiber plays Ray, Jon Voight plays his father (a genuine creep); they’ve had guest stars like Susan Sarandon, James Woods, Wendell Pierce, Hank Azaria. Alan Alda, C Thomas Howell.
Very good show but also very violent.
11) M*A*S*H— Years later, after watching re-runs of this show on our local channel 10 and the Boston channel for hours at a time, it dawned on me that this was actually a very sad show, with humor/jokes masking the grotesque sadness of wartime Korea.
The McLean Stevenson episodes were the best; he was Colonel Henry Blake for the first 75 episodes, and a lot of them were classics, just funny as hell.
10) Green Acres— As a kid, I spent lot of hours watching Green Acres re-runs; my dad would walk into the room, say “Why the hell are you watching this?”, but within five minutes, he’d be sitting there laughing harder than me and would leave the room before my mother came in and saw the both of us laughing. She wasn’t a big fan of Hank Kimball or Arnold Ziffel.
9) Billions— Showtime series about rich hedge fund traders who push the boundaries of the law while New York prosecutors in NYC try to catch them in the act of doing illegal stuff.
Chuck Rhoades is an attorney who claims to be the moral compass of New York, but he is also into S&M- his ex-wife was his dominatrix, and she is also the psychiatrist for the hedge fund company. Small world.
This show is really well-written, especially since the main hedge fund character had to be written out of the show because his wife died in real life- they’ve successfully changed the tenor of the show with the new hedge fund guy, a less sketchy trader.
Trivia: Paul Giamatti plays the prosecutor; he is the son of former baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti. I suggested a cameo role for Pete Rose, but so far, that hasn’t happened.
8) West Wing— Martin Sheen plays the President in this show; his cabinet included Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer— great cast.
Actor Duke Hill was in both West Wing and Suits; Mary Louise Parker was in this and is also in Billions. Alan Alda was in this, Ray Donovan and of course, M*A*S*H
Jimmy Smits, Mary MacCormack, Tim Matheson, Gary Cole, just a ton of excellent actors.
In one episode, President Bartlet has to throw out the first pitch at an Orioles’ game, but he never played ball, so one of his aides has to teach him how to throw a baseball in a hallway in the White House, where an errant toss breaks an expensive vase.
7) Without a Trace— Show about the FBI Missing Persons Squad that finds missing people by applying advanced psychological profiling to reveal the victims lives.
Anthony LaPaglia was great as Jack Malone, the squad’s leader. Like a lot of main characters on TV, he is better at his job than he is at managing his own personal life.
6) White Shadow— Ken Howard plays a washed-up NBA player who becomes a high school basketball coach in Los Angeles. Show only lasted three years, because well, high school kids graduate so they would’ve had to turn most of the cast over every other year.
The basketball scenes were really well-done; Gwyneth Paltrow’s father was the creator of the show. Lot of the issues they tackled in this show were issues that real high school in the inner city had to deal with. Ken Howard was great as Coach Reeves; he wasn’t some all-knowing guy; he had flaws but he fought for his kids and they respected him for it (most of the time).
5) Mr Ed— This show ran on network TV from 1961-66, so I never saw it until the re-runs came on at 4:30 weekdays on a local channel in the early 70’s.
Mr Ed was a talking horse, but he only talked to Wilbur Post, an architect who worked at home but never seemed to actually work.
Mr Ed was a big Dodger fan; his favorite player was OF Willie Davis. In one episode, the horse takes batting practice against Sandy Koufax, and hits a ball off the wall at Dodger Stadium, with the bat held in his mouth. A fun show, not necessarily a realistic one.
4) CSI— I spent a good chunk of my work career searching fingerprints and working for the NY State Division of Criminal Justice, so I enjoyed all the CSI shows, but especially the one set in Las Vegas— the actors seemed to have a chemistry working together.
The episode where Warrick Brown gets murdered and Gil Grissom gives his eulogy in church is just horrendously sad, but a great scene.
I have this idea (a teacher friend of mine scoffed at this) that CSI should be taught to all high school kids, so they realize how difficult it is to get away with crimes, so maybe there would be fewer crimes. What could it hurt?
3) Odd Couple— As a kid, Oscar Madison was one of my heroes; a sportswriter who always spilled food on his clothes but was a good natured guy who somehow dated a doctor, one of the Pidgeon sisters, or the princess of some obscure country (“You bought her a salty pretzel!!! Oh boy!!!”).
To this day when I see my cousin’s husband, we recite lines from Odd Couple episodes; when they owned a greyhound racing dog, or appeared on Password (a game show). Great stuff.
(Trivia: they played against Betty White on Password; White was married to Allen Ludden, the host of Password)
Never, ever say the word “assume” to me, or I’ll recite the scene where Felix is in court, writes “assume” on a chalkboard, then says, “When you assume, you make an ass of u and me”
Even the judge was impressed with that one.
2) Law and Order— 20 years, 456 episodes, a great launching point for lot of acting careers, not to mention the spinoff shows that branched off this original show.
Take Billions; there are 32 actors who have appeared in 12+ episodes of Billons; 14 of those 32 actors appeared in at least one episode of Law and Order, and two others were in Law and Order SVU, and that doesn’t count Eric Bogosian, who was in Law and Order: Criminal Intent for 61 episodes, but was only in 10 episodes of Billions (so far).
1) Magnum PI— I’ve never been to Hawai’i, but if I ever went, would like to visit Robin Masters’ estate; I’m told you can visit there, it is a museum or something.
One of the best episodes was when Frank Sinatra played a retired New York City cop whose granddaughter was murdered— this was near the end of both the series and Sinatra’s career.
The overriding themes of the show were that great friends will do all kinds of stuff for each other, and if you’re really good looking and drive a Ferrari, women will like you ?
Saturday’s 6-pack
Odds to win ACC basketball tournament:
Even— Duke
+550— Virginia Tech
+700— North Carolina, Wake Forest
+900— Notre Dame
+1100— Miami
+1200— Virginia
+1500— Syracuse
+1800— Florida State
+2000— Clemson
+2200— Louisville
+5000— BC, Ga Tech, NC State, Pitt
Quote of the Day
“Slumps are usually caused by not doing the simple things well. Look at your own performance before you place the blame elsewhere.”
Harvey Mackay
Saturday’s quiz
Which active NBA coach was born in Lebanon?
Friday’s quiz
Before they were the Washington Nationals, they were the Montreal Expos.
Thursday’s quiz
Luxor hotel/casino in Las Vegas is shaped like a pyramid.
**********************************
Saturday’s Den: My 13 favorite TV shows
In couple days, I’ll remember that I forgot a show from long time ago, and I’ll have to re-do this list, but this is the list for today
13) In Plain Sight— Show about a US Marshal’s unit that relocates federal witnesses; show ran for four years, but it was on USA Network, and it ended when the show’s star got a role on a show on regular network TV, which obviously was more lucrative.
Not lot of TV shows are set in Albuquerque; this was a very good show.
12) Ray Donovan— The most violent program on this list; just about everybody on this Showtime series that isn’t related to the Donovans eventually winds up dead.
Ray Donovan is a fixer for rich people, but he can’t fix his own family; his wife passes away from cancer, his father is a creep, his daughter seems destined to follow in her dad’s footsteps.
Live Schreiber plays Ray, Jon Voight plays his father (a genuine creep); they’ve had guest stars like Susan Sarandon, James Woods, Wendell Pierce, Hank Azaria. Alan Alda, C Thomas Howell.
Very good show but also very violent.
11) M*A*S*H— Years later, after watching re-runs of this show on our local channel 10 and the Boston channel for hours at a time, it dawned on me that this was actually a very sad show, with humor/jokes masking the grotesque sadness of wartime Korea.
The McLean Stevenson episodes were the best; he was Colonel Henry Blake for the first 75 episodes, and a lot of them were classics, just funny as hell.
10) Green Acres— As a kid, I spent lot of hours watching Green Acres re-runs; my dad would walk into the room, say “Why the hell are you watching this?”, but within five minutes, he’d be sitting there laughing harder than me and would leave the room before my mother came in and saw the both of us laughing. She wasn’t a big fan of Hank Kimball or Arnold Ziffel.
9) Billions— Showtime series about rich hedge fund traders who push the boundaries of the law while New York prosecutors in NYC try to catch them in the act of doing illegal stuff.
Chuck Rhoades is an attorney who claims to be the moral compass of New York, but he is also into S&M- his ex-wife was his dominatrix, and she is also the psychiatrist for the hedge fund company. Small world.
This show is really well-written, especially since the main hedge fund character had to be written out of the show because his wife died in real life- they’ve successfully changed the tenor of the show with the new hedge fund guy, a less sketchy trader.
Trivia: Paul Giamatti plays the prosecutor; he is the son of former baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti. I suggested a cameo role for Pete Rose, but so far, that hasn’t happened.
8) West Wing— Martin Sheen plays the President in this show; his cabinet included Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer— great cast.
Actor Duke Hill was in both West Wing and Suits; Mary Louise Parker was in this and is also in Billions. Alan Alda was in this, Ray Donovan and of course, M*A*S*H
Jimmy Smits, Mary MacCormack, Tim Matheson, Gary Cole, just a ton of excellent actors.
In one episode, President Bartlet has to throw out the first pitch at an Orioles’ game, but he never played ball, so one of his aides has to teach him how to throw a baseball in a hallway in the White House, where an errant toss breaks an expensive vase.
7) Without a Trace— Show about the FBI Missing Persons Squad that finds missing people by applying advanced psychological profiling to reveal the victims lives.
Anthony LaPaglia was great as Jack Malone, the squad’s leader. Like a lot of main characters on TV, he is better at his job than he is at managing his own personal life.
6) White Shadow— Ken Howard plays a washed-up NBA player who becomes a high school basketball coach in Los Angeles. Show only lasted three years, because well, high school kids graduate so they would’ve had to turn most of the cast over every other year.
The basketball scenes were really well-done; Gwyneth Paltrow’s father was the creator of the show. Lot of the issues they tackled in this show were issues that real high school in the inner city had to deal with. Ken Howard was great as Coach Reeves; he wasn’t some all-knowing guy; he had flaws but he fought for his kids and they respected him for it (most of the time).
5) Mr Ed— This show ran on network TV from 1961-66, so I never saw it until the re-runs came on at 4:30 weekdays on a local channel in the early 70’s.
Mr Ed was a talking horse, but he only talked to Wilbur Post, an architect who worked at home but never seemed to actually work.
Mr Ed was a big Dodger fan; his favorite player was OF Willie Davis. In one episode, the horse takes batting practice against Sandy Koufax, and hits a ball off the wall at Dodger Stadium, with the bat held in his mouth. A fun show, not necessarily a realistic one.
4) CSI— I spent a good chunk of my work career searching fingerprints and working for the NY State Division of Criminal Justice, so I enjoyed all the CSI shows, but especially the one set in Las Vegas— the actors seemed to have a chemistry working together.
The episode where Warrick Brown gets murdered and Gil Grissom gives his eulogy in church is just horrendously sad, but a great scene.
I have this idea (a teacher friend of mine scoffed at this) that CSI should be taught to all high school kids, so they realize how difficult it is to get away with crimes, so maybe there would be fewer crimes. What could it hurt?
3) Odd Couple— As a kid, Oscar Madison was one of my heroes; a sportswriter who always spilled food on his clothes but was a good natured guy who somehow dated a doctor, one of the Pidgeon sisters, or the princess of some obscure country (“You bought her a salty pretzel!!! Oh boy!!!”).
To this day when I see my cousin’s husband, we recite lines from Odd Couple episodes; when they owned a greyhound racing dog, or appeared on Password (a game show). Great stuff.
(Trivia: they played against Betty White on Password; White was married to Allen Ludden, the host of Password)
Never, ever say the word “assume” to me, or I’ll recite the scene where Felix is in court, writes “assume” on a chalkboard, then says, “When you assume, you make an ass of u and me”
Even the judge was impressed with that one.
2) Law and Order— 20 years, 456 episodes, a great launching point for lot of acting careers, not to mention the spinoff shows that branched off this original show.
Take Billions; there are 32 actors who have appeared in 12+ episodes of Billons; 14 of those 32 actors appeared in at least one episode of Law and Order, and two others were in Law and Order SVU, and that doesn’t count Eric Bogosian, who was in Law and Order: Criminal Intent for 61 episodes, but was only in 10 episodes of Billions (so far).
1) Magnum PI— I’ve never been to Hawai’i, but if I ever went, would like to visit Robin Masters’ estate; I’m told you can visit there, it is a museum or something.
One of the best episodes was when Frank Sinatra played a retired New York City cop whose granddaughter was murdered— this was near the end of both the series and Sinatra’s career.
The overriding themes of the show were that great friends will do all kinds of stuff for each other, and if you’re really good looking and drive a Ferrari, women will like you ?
MEMPHIS are 9-1 ATS (7.9 Units) off a road loss in the current season.
PORTLAND is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) off a road blowout loss of 20 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 228-273 ATS (-72.3 Units) in home games versus good defensive teams - allowing <=108 points/game - 2nd half of the season since ....
NBA
Saturday, March 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacramento @ Dallas
Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing Sacramento
San Antonio @ Charlotte
San Antonio
San Antonio is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Charlotte
San Antonio is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games when playing Charlotte
Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Charlotte's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Charlotte's last 9 games at home
Orlando @ Memphis
Orlando
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Orlando's last 17 games when playing on the road against Memphis
Orlando is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Memphis
Memphis
Memphis is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Orlando
Memphis is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Philadelphia @ Miami
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games
Miami
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Miami is 15-3 SU in its last 18 games at home
Portland @ Minnesota
Portland
The total has gone OVER in 16 of Portland's last 22 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Portland's last 12 games when playing Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Portland
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Minnesota's last 17 games
Golden State @ LA Lakers
Golden State
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Golden State's last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Golden State's last 5 games on the road
LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Lakers's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Lakers's last 5 games at home
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Warriors are 1-8 ATS in their last nine games.
The Lakers are 6-3 SU in their last nine matchups against Golden State.
The total has gone OVER in seven of the last eight Warriors' games.
The Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games.
The total has gone UNDER in four of the last five Lakers' games.
PORTLAND is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) off a road blowout loss of 20 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 228-273 ATS (-72.3 Units) in home games versus good defensive teams - allowing <=108 points/game - 2nd half of the season since ....
NBA
Saturday, March 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacramento @ Dallas
Sacramento
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing Sacramento
San Antonio @ Charlotte
San Antonio
San Antonio is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games when playing on the road against Charlotte
San Antonio is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games when playing Charlotte
Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Charlotte's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Charlotte's last 9 games at home
Orlando @ Memphis
Orlando
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Orlando's last 17 games when playing on the road against Memphis
Orlando is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Memphis
Memphis
Memphis is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Orlando
Memphis is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Philadelphia @ Miami
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games
Miami
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Miami is 15-3 SU in its last 18 games at home
Portland @ Minnesota
Portland
The total has gone OVER in 16 of Portland's last 22 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Portland's last 12 games when playing Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Portland
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Minnesota's last 17 games
Golden State @ LA Lakers
Golden State
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Golden State's last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Golden State's last 5 games on the road
LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Lakers's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Lakers's last 5 games at home
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Warriors are 1-8 ATS in their last nine games.
The Lakers are 6-3 SU in their last nine matchups against Golden State.
The total has gone OVER in seven of the last eight Warriors' games.
The Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games.
The total has gone UNDER in four of the last five Lakers' games.
Hoop Trends for Saturday, March 5
Vince Akins
ATS Trend of the Day
Matchup: San Antonio Spurs vs. Charlotte Hornets (NBA League Pass, 7:00 p.m. ET)
The Hornets are 0-8 ATS since February 10, 2021 coming off a win by more than 10 points as a dog.
OU Trend of the Day
Matchup: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat (NBA League Pass, 8:00 p.m. ET)
The 76ers are 0-8 OU since March 2021 with no rest coming off a 3+ point win.
Choice Trend of the Day
Matchup: San Antonio Spurs vs. Charlotte Hornets (NBA League Pas, 7:00 p.m. ET)
The Spurs are 0-8 ATS since March 2021 coming off a loss where they were at least five-point favorites.
Vince Akins
ATS Trend of the Day
Matchup: San Antonio Spurs vs. Charlotte Hornets (NBA League Pass, 7:00 p.m. ET)
The Hornets are 0-8 ATS since February 10, 2021 coming off a win by more than 10 points as a dog.
OU Trend of the Day
Matchup: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat (NBA League Pass, 8:00 p.m. ET)
The 76ers are 0-8 OU since March 2021 with no rest coming off a 3+ point win.
Choice Trend of the Day
Matchup: San Antonio Spurs vs. Charlotte Hornets (NBA League Pas, 7:00 p.m. ET)
The Spurs are 0-8 ATS since March 2021 coming off a loss where they were at least five-point favorites.
MARCH BEST BETS & OPINIONS
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
03/05/2022...........6-6-0.............50.00%...................-3.00
03/04/2022.........6-10-0.............37.50%..................-25.00
03/03/2022...........7-7-0.............50.00%....................-3.50
03/02/2022.........10-5-1..............65.63%................+22.50
03/01/2022...........5-6-0..............45.45%...................-8.00
TOTALS..............34-34-1..............50.00%................- 17.00
BEST BETS:
03/05/2022............4-4-0..............50.00%.................- 3.00
03/04/2022............4-8-0..............33.33%................- 24.00
03/03/2022............5-3-0..............62.50%................+ 8.50
03/02/2022............7-3-0..............70.00%................+18.50
03/01/2022............3-2-0..............60.00%.................+ 4.00
TOTALS...............23-20-0..............53.48%.................+ 4.00
UPDATED ON 03/05/2022
Date .......................W-L-T.....................%...................Units
03/05/2022...........6-6-0.............50.00%...................-3.00
03/04/2022.........6-10-0.............37.50%..................-25.00
03/03/2022...........7-7-0.............50.00%....................-3.50
03/02/2022.........10-5-1..............65.63%................+22.50
03/01/2022...........5-6-0..............45.45%...................-8.00
TOTALS..............34-34-1..............50.00%................- 17.00
BEST BETS:
03/05/2022............4-4-0..............50.00%.................- 3.00
03/04/2022............4-8-0..............33.33%................- 24.00
03/03/2022............5-3-0..............62.50%................+ 8.50
03/02/2022............7-3-0..............70.00%................+18.50
03/01/2022............3-2-0..............60.00%.................+ 4.00
TOTALS...............23-20-0..............53.48%.................+ 4.00
UPDATED ON 03/05/2022
Armadillo Sports
Sunday’s 6-pack
Odds to win ACC basketball tournament:
+175— Baylor
+225— Kansas
+300— Texas Tech
+600— Texas
+2500— Oklahoma
+2800— TCU
+3300— Iowa State
+5000— Kansas State
+6600— West Virginia
Quote of the Day
“Mental toughness often comes gift-wrapped in failure, struggle and fatigue. You had a bad day; so what? Welcome to the club. The sign of a champion is how one responds to a bad day.”
Justin Su’a
Sunday’s quiz
Who ended UCLA’s streak of seven consecutive national titles in 1974?
Saturday’s quiz
Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr was born in Lebanon; his father was president of the American University in Beirut, before he was assassinated in 1984.
Friday’s quiz
Before they were the Washington Nationals, they were the Montreal Expos.
**************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a basketball Saturday
13) OVC tournament:
Murray State 71, Morehead State 67:
— First ticket to March Madness was punched here.
— Murray State has won 20 in a row; last loss was 71-58 at Auburn December 22.
— Morehead had an 18-2 run early in game; they were only 8-18 on foul line.
12) ACC:
— North Carolina 94, Duke 81— All five UNC starters played the whole second half, where the Tar Heels outscored Duke 55-40.
— Virginia 71, Louisville 61— Lot of good job openings this spring; is Louisville the best one?
— With Roy Williams/Coach K retired, the NC State job is a lot more attractive now.
ESPN should be embarrassed by the preferential treatment they give Duke basketball. It is understood that Mike Krzyzewski is the 2nd-best college coach ever (see Wooden, John), but not lot was said when Roy Williams retired and he was a great coach, too.
This past week, ESPN was basically a week-long infomercial for Duke; few years ago, they hired Coach K’s son-in-law as a game analyst. Enough already.
11) SEC:
— LSU 80, Alabama 77 OT— LSU actually fouled on purpose while up 2 with 0:08 left in regulation; their game management skills are not strong.
— Tennessee 78, Arkansas 74— Vols led by 24 in first half, Razorbacks get back-door cover.
— Auburn is top-seed in SEC tourney; semi-finals should be excellent.
— Teams 5-9 in SEC standings were all 9-9 in league play.
Tennessee big man John Fulkerson has played for the Vols for six years; during that time, he’s had 45 different teammates. Forty-five.
10) Sun Belt tournament:
— Louisiana 79, Texas State 72— Top-seed Bobcats get sent home.
— Underdogs are 7-1 ATS so far in this tournament.
9) Big X:
— Kansas 70, Texas 63, OT— If you had Texas +6.5, better days are ahead.
— Oklahoma State 52, Texas Tech 51— OSU is on probation; this was their last game.
— Texas-TCU will be a terrific 4-5 game in Kansas City next week.
8) Pac-12:
— UCLA 75, USC 68— Bruins won six of their last seven games.
— Arizona State 65, Stanford 56— Sun Devils won seven of last eight games.
— Arizona won Pac-12 by three games; will they be a #1-seed in NCAA’s?
7) Missouri Valley tournament:
— Loyola 66, Northern Iowa 43— Ramblers allowed 50-43 points last two days.
— Drake 79, Missouri State 78 OT— Drake was down 5 with 2:09 left in regulation.
6) Big East:
— Seton Hall 65, Creighton 60— Pirates won eight of last ten games.
— Xavier 97, Georgetown 75— Hoyas finish 0-18 in Big East play.
— Providence is #1 seed in Big East tournament next week.
5) MAAC
— Rick Pitino’s Iona squad wins the league by three games, but now they have to win the MAAC tournament to go dancing. No pressure.
— Weird league; two 7-13 teams tied for last place, which is lot of wins for a last-place team.
— Only four 11 teams had winning records in conference play.
4) Conference USA:
— UTEP 70, North Texas 68— UNT’s 15-game win streak comes to an end.
— Mean Green is still top seed for the conference tournament.
3) Big South tournament:
— Longwood 79, SC Upstate 70— Top-seed Longwood is the #1 seed; they were down 16 in this game, after winning in overtime Friday.
— Longwood-Winthrop is the conference final Sunday.
When I was in college a long time ago, 40+ years ago, I was student manager of our basketball team, a very good Division III team. We were often in the top 25 nationally; at the same time. Longwood made the D-III Final Four one year, shortly after starting their program.
Their coach was a guy named Ron Bash, who later left coaching and became a basketball tipster. I am told he was quite a character; he was a good coach, too. Longwood inducted him into their Hall of Fame a few years ago.
2) Mountain West:
— Wyoming 68, Fresno State 64, OT— Cowboys blew 10-point lead with 7:04 left.
— San Diego State 79, Nevada 78— Aztecs led by 18 with 12:03 left.
— Boise State is #1 seed for next week’s Mountain West tourney.
1) Houston Baptist 149, McNeese State 144, 4OTs:
— HBU was 50-65 on foul line, McNeese 31-45.
— McNeese led by six in second OT.
— Darius Lee scored 57 points for HBU; he was 20-27 on foul line
— McNeese had eight players score in double figures.
Sunday’s 6-pack
Odds to win ACC basketball tournament:
+175— Baylor
+225— Kansas
+300— Texas Tech
+600— Texas
+2500— Oklahoma
+2800— TCU
+3300— Iowa State
+5000— Kansas State
+6600— West Virginia
Quote of the Day
“Mental toughness often comes gift-wrapped in failure, struggle and fatigue. You had a bad day; so what? Welcome to the club. The sign of a champion is how one responds to a bad day.”
Justin Su’a
Sunday’s quiz
Who ended UCLA’s streak of seven consecutive national titles in 1974?
Saturday’s quiz
Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr was born in Lebanon; his father was president of the American University in Beirut, before he was assassinated in 1984.
Friday’s quiz
Before they were the Washington Nationals, they were the Montreal Expos.
**************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a basketball Saturday
13) OVC tournament:
Murray State 71, Morehead State 67:
— First ticket to March Madness was punched here.
— Murray State has won 20 in a row; last loss was 71-58 at Auburn December 22.
— Morehead had an 18-2 run early in game; they were only 8-18 on foul line.
12) ACC:
— North Carolina 94, Duke 81— All five UNC starters played the whole second half, where the Tar Heels outscored Duke 55-40.
— Virginia 71, Louisville 61— Lot of good job openings this spring; is Louisville the best one?
— With Roy Williams/Coach K retired, the NC State job is a lot more attractive now.
ESPN should be embarrassed by the preferential treatment they give Duke basketball. It is understood that Mike Krzyzewski is the 2nd-best college coach ever (see Wooden, John), but not lot was said when Roy Williams retired and he was a great coach, too.
This past week, ESPN was basically a week-long infomercial for Duke; few years ago, they hired Coach K’s son-in-law as a game analyst. Enough already.
11) SEC:
— LSU 80, Alabama 77 OT— LSU actually fouled on purpose while up 2 with 0:08 left in regulation; their game management skills are not strong.
— Tennessee 78, Arkansas 74— Vols led by 24 in first half, Razorbacks get back-door cover.
— Auburn is top-seed in SEC tourney; semi-finals should be excellent.
— Teams 5-9 in SEC standings were all 9-9 in league play.
Tennessee big man John Fulkerson has played for the Vols for six years; during that time, he’s had 45 different teammates. Forty-five.
10) Sun Belt tournament:
— Louisiana 79, Texas State 72— Top-seed Bobcats get sent home.
— Underdogs are 7-1 ATS so far in this tournament.
9) Big X:
— Kansas 70, Texas 63, OT— If you had Texas +6.5, better days are ahead.
— Oklahoma State 52, Texas Tech 51— OSU is on probation; this was their last game.
— Texas-TCU will be a terrific 4-5 game in Kansas City next week.
8) Pac-12:
— UCLA 75, USC 68— Bruins won six of their last seven games.
— Arizona State 65, Stanford 56— Sun Devils won seven of last eight games.
— Arizona won Pac-12 by three games; will they be a #1-seed in NCAA’s?
7) Missouri Valley tournament:
— Loyola 66, Northern Iowa 43— Ramblers allowed 50-43 points last two days.
— Drake 79, Missouri State 78 OT— Drake was down 5 with 2:09 left in regulation.
6) Big East:
— Seton Hall 65, Creighton 60— Pirates won eight of last ten games.
— Xavier 97, Georgetown 75— Hoyas finish 0-18 in Big East play.
— Providence is #1 seed in Big East tournament next week.
5) MAAC
— Rick Pitino’s Iona squad wins the league by three games, but now they have to win the MAAC tournament to go dancing. No pressure.
— Weird league; two 7-13 teams tied for last place, which is lot of wins for a last-place team.
— Only four 11 teams had winning records in conference play.
4) Conference USA:
— UTEP 70, North Texas 68— UNT’s 15-game win streak comes to an end.
— Mean Green is still top seed for the conference tournament.
3) Big South tournament:
— Longwood 79, SC Upstate 70— Top-seed Longwood is the #1 seed; they were down 16 in this game, after winning in overtime Friday.
— Longwood-Winthrop is the conference final Sunday.
When I was in college a long time ago, 40+ years ago, I was student manager of our basketball team, a very good Division III team. We were often in the top 25 nationally; at the same time. Longwood made the D-III Final Four one year, shortly after starting their program.
Their coach was a guy named Ron Bash, who later left coaching and became a basketball tipster. I am told he was quite a character; he was a good coach, too. Longwood inducted him into their Hall of Fame a few years ago.
2) Mountain West:
— Wyoming 68, Fresno State 64, OT— Cowboys blew 10-point lead with 7:04 left.
— San Diego State 79, Nevada 78— Aztecs led by 18 with 12:03 left.
— Boise State is #1 seed for next week’s Mountain West tourney.
1) Houston Baptist 149, McNeese State 144, 4OTs:
— HBU was 50-65 on foul line, McNeese 31-45.
— McNeese led by six in second OT.
— Darius Lee scored 57 points for HBU; he was 20-27 on foul line
— McNeese had eight players score in double figures.
BOSTON is 48-32 ATS (12.8 Units) versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting <=24 free throws/game - 2nd half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 2-10 ATS (-9 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.
UTAH is 1-13 ATS (-13.3 Units) after trailing in their previous game by 15 or more points at the half in the last 3 seasons.
TORONTO is 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) after failing to cover the spread in 3 or more consecutive games over the last 2 seasons.
DENVER is 129-92 ATS (27.8 Units) in home games after 2+ home games since 1996.
NEW YORK is 42-26 ATS (13.4 Units) in the second half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 2-10 ATS (-9 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.
UTAH is 1-13 ATS (-13.3 Units) after trailing in their previous game by 15 or more points at the half in the last 3 seasons.
TORONTO is 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) after failing to cover the spread in 3 or more consecutive games over the last 2 seasons.
DENVER is 129-92 ATS (27.8 Units) in home games after 2+ home games since 1996.
NEW YORK is 42-26 ATS (13.4 Units) in the second half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
NBA
Sunday, March 6
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Trend Report
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Brooklyn @ Boston
Brooklyn
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Brooklyn's last 7 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Brooklyn's last 7 games when playing Boston
Boston
Boston is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
Boston is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games
Phoenix @ Milwaukee
Phoenix
Phoenix is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games on the road
Phoenix is 21-3 SU in its last 24 games
Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Milwaukee's last 11 games
Indiana @ Washington
Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Indiana's last 7 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games when playing Indiana
Memphis @ Houston
Memphis
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Memphis's last 5 games
Memphis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston
Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Houston's last 17 games at home
Utah @ Oklahoma City
Utah
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Oklahoma City
Utah is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
Oklahoma City
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oklahoma City's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oklahoma City's last 5 games at home
Toronto @ Cleveland
Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Toronto's last 9 games
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Cleveland's last 10 games at home
New Orleans @ Denver
New Orleans
New Orleans is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Orleans's last 5 games when playing on the road against Denver
Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Denver's last 5 games when playing at home against New Orleans
Denver is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
New York @ LA Clippers
New York
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of New York's last 7 games when playing LA Clippers
LA Clippers
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Clippers's last 5 games at home
LA Clippers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
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Sunday, March 6
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Trend Report
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Brooklyn @ Boston
Brooklyn
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Brooklyn's last 7 games when playing on the road against Boston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Brooklyn's last 7 games when playing Boston
Boston
Boston is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
Boston is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games
Phoenix @ Milwaukee
Phoenix
Phoenix is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games on the road
Phoenix is 21-3 SU in its last 24 games
Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Milwaukee's last 11 games
Indiana @ Washington
Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Indiana's last 7 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games when playing Indiana
Memphis @ Houston
Memphis
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Memphis's last 5 games
Memphis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston
Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Houston's last 17 games at home
Utah @ Oklahoma City
Utah
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Oklahoma City
Utah is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
Oklahoma City
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oklahoma City's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oklahoma City's last 5 games at home
Toronto @ Cleveland
Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Toronto's last 9 games
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Cleveland's last 10 games at home
New Orleans @ Denver
New Orleans
New Orleans is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Orleans's last 5 games when playing on the road against Denver
Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Denver's last 5 games when playing at home against New Orleans
Denver is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
New York @ LA Clippers
New York
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of New York's last 7 games when playing LA Clippers
LA Clippers
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Clippers's last 5 games at home
LA Clippers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
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