Cnotes NHL April's Picks Thru the Playoffs - Trends - News - Etc. !!

CNOTES · May 19, 2016

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, May 19

San Jose-St Louis (1-1)
Road team won four of last five St Louis-San Jose games; Blues won four of last seven games overall aganst the Sharks, winning 7-2/1-0 in last two visits here. St Louis won five of last eight games (over 3-2-3) overall; they won last three road games. Sharks won last four home games by combined score of 18-7 (over 2-0-2). San Jose is 2-8 on power play in series, the Blues are 0-7. St Louis is 5-2 on road so far in playoffs, San Jose is 5-1 at home in playoffs, losing one game to the Kings.

Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 2-3, Over 1-3-1

NHL
Dunkel

Thursday, May 19

St. Louis @ San Jose

Game 11-12
May 19, 2016 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
13.039
San Jose
12.117
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis
by 1
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Jose
-155
5
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis
(+135); Under

NHL
Long Sheet

Thursday, May 19

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

ST LOUIS (58-30-0-10, 126 pts.) at SAN JOSE (55-33-0-8, 118 pts.) - 5/19/2016, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 24-11 ATS (+7.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 19-5 ATS (+13.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 58-40 ATS (+6.4 Units) in all games this season.
ST LOUIS is 28-15 ATS (+12.4 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
ST LOUIS is 35-23 ATS (+6.1 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 5-0 ATS (+5.0 Units) when tied in a playoff series this season.
ST LOUIS is 33-22 ATS (+8.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 22-13 ATS (+7.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 12-16 ATS (-9.9 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
SAN JOSE is 27-28 ATS (-22.6 Units) in home games second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 0-4 ATS (-6.9 Units) in home games after shutting out their opponent in their previous game this season.
SAN JOSE is 8-11 ATS (-13.2 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 7-4 (+2.4 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 7-4-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+2.0 Units)

NHL
Short Sheet

Thursday, May 19

St Louis at San Jose, 9:05 PM ET
St Louis: 5-0 SU when tied in a playoff series
San Jose: 5-9 SU in home games off a road win

CNOTES · May 19, 2016

Sharks power play helps drive success
May 18, 2016

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) When Peter DeBoer took over as coach in San Jose one of the first tasks he wanted to complete was making sure the Sharks were more than just a power-play team.

Improved depth and 5-on-5 play helped get San Jose back to the postseason after missing it a year ago, but come playoff time that power play has served as an impressive weapon and a barometer for the team's success.

One game after getting shut out on the man advantage, the Sharks struck twice following St. Louis penalties in a 4-0 win Tuesday night that tied the series at one game apiece heading into Game 3 on Thursday in San Jose.

''It creates momentum for us,'' DeBoer said Wednesday. ''I think that's what you're looking to do with your special teams both ways, is create momentum. I think when our power play scores, that creates momentum. I think when we kill penalties like we did last night, like that four-minute penalty, I think that creates momentum the other way for us. That's what you're looking to do as a coach, is get momentum out of your special teams. I think that does that for us.''

The Sharks lead the NHL with 15 power-play goals this postseason and their 30 percent success rate is tops among all teams that have played more than one round. San Jose is 13-for-32 on the power play in nine playoff wins, compared to 2-for-18 in its five losses.

With a five-man top unit that has years of experience together, San Jose is a finely tuned unit. Joe Thornton is the playmaker, spending most of his time along the half-boards or behind the net. He has plenty of options.

Brent Burns scored both power-play goals in Game 2 off one-timers that St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott had little chance to save. Captain Joe Pavelski led the team with 12 power-play goals in the regular season, with many coming on deflections in front of the net or rebounds. Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau bring versatility with the ability to create plays for teammates or score on big shots of their own.

''Our power play's pretty free-flowing,'' Thornton said. ''Really just can't key on one guy. We got five guys that can hurt you. I think for us it's just the way you move around, it's really hard to defend.''

The Blues managed to neutralize the Sharks in Game 1 when they killed all three power plays in a 2-1 victory. They were short-handed five times in Game 2, including a slash behind the play by Troy Brouwer that led to the Sharks' second goal of the game and an interference call on Steve Ott for hitting Pavelski from behind when the puck was not in the area.

''The penalties you don't like at this time of year are reactionary penalties,'' coach Ken Hitchcock. `We had two reactionary penalties yesterday, one in the first game. Those are the ones you don't like. Doesn't matter who takes them, veterans, rookies. That's a sign that the other team has a little bit of an advantage, they're making you react to anything happening on the ice. Those are the ones you don't like.''

The other big difference in Game 2 was that the Blues failed to take advantage of their power-play chances. After getting a man-advantage goal from captain David Backes to open the scoring in Game 1, St. Louis went 0-for-6 on the power play Tuesday night, including a weak four-minute chance early in the third period when Marleau was called for a high-sticking penalty and the Sharks lead was only 2-0.

San Jose used 13 of its 18 skaters for more than a minute of penalty-killing time with top defensive pair Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun each spending more than 5 minutes on the ice with the Sharks short-handed.

The Blues managed 12 shots on the power play but were unable to beat Martin Jones as the Sharks did a good job controlling rebounds and keeping St. Louis to the outside.

''You want to use the power play to get momentum,'' forward Robby Fabbri said. ''Last night we didn't execute on any of them. Just the way some games go. We got to stay confident and go with our next chances.''

NOTES: Hitchcock said he plans to tinker with his lineup for Game 3 but gave no specifics. ... DeBoer said Thornton looked fine Wednesday after taking a slash on his left hand from Jay Bouwmeester during the game.

CNOTES · May 19, 2016

Hot Tip: Backes excels at deflections for Blues
May 19, 2016

ST. LOUIS (AP) David Backes stood tall in front of the net as long as possible, finally ducking in case he whiffed on the puck with his stick.

Result: Another dirty goal.

The St. Louis Blues captain got the scoring started in the opener of the Western Conference finals, re-directing a shot from the point by defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk past San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones. Watch for more fearless play in Game 3 on Thursday night, especially given the Blues got shut out in Game 2.

''We know we have to be better and we know we have to bring more,'' Backes said after the 4-0 loss Tuesday. ''Now it's up to us to bring that.''

Backes has seven goals for St. Louis, tied for the team lead with Vladimir Tarasenko, and 13 points. Three of the goals have come on tip-ins.

A fourth goal deflected off a Chicago defenseman for an overtime score to open the playoffs.

Though he's four inches shorter than the 6-foot-3 Backes, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski also has a knack in front of the net. Pavelski would have scored on a tip-in during Game 1 but got an assist because the puck hit Tomas Hertl on the way in.

The 32-year-old Backes credits his hand-eye coordination to years playing baseball and learning not to be intimidated by the inside fastball.

''It's similar speed, knowing that there's a chance you get hit, but the reward for standing in there is well worth it,'' Backes said.

In all his years, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said he's only had one other player, Raffi Torres, willing to wander into traffic and stay put. After the opener of the series tied at a game apiece, Hitchcock referred to Backes as a hunter.

''He hung in there and was ready to absorb the shot,'' the coach said. ''If it would have hit him, it would have hit him. He's a very unique player that way.''

Teammates aren't shy about loading up from near the blue line but usually take care to keep the shot from sailing too high and becoming too dangerous. Backes likes to see it screaming in about 4 feet above the ice, level with the crossbar, so he's not going to get anything more than a nasty bruise for his troubles.

''I've gotten a couple up higher,'' he said, ''but it's kind of a mind-set that that's something we need done, and I'm willing to go in there and stand there, and hopefully guys shoot right by me and into the net and we get to celebrate as a group.''

Depending on who's got the puck, Backes has an idea of how little time he has to react. Alexander Steen shoots ''real hard,'' Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo both shoot ''hard.'' At the start of the season, Backes had a chat with rookie defenseman Colton Parayko, advising him to ''dial it back to like 70 percent'' until the trust factor was established.

''He always goes to the hard spots,'' Parayko said. ''You're getting pushed around, you're getting hacked and whacked. So kudos to him.''

Backes also scored in overtime to beat the Stars in Game 2 of the second round, leaping high to avoid the puck and then slapping it home. His deflection put the Blues ahead to stay in their 6-1 Game 3 rout of the Stars in the second round, and in Game 5 of the opening round against Chicago, his tip-in tied it late in a loss.

Backes' point total equals his postseason output from five previous playoff trips. Before this season, St. Louis was eliminated in the first round three straight times.

CNOTES · May 19, 2016

Preview: Blues (49-24) at Sharks (46-30)
Date: May 19, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) When Peter DeBoer took over as coach in San Jose one of the first tasks he wanted to complete was making sure the Sharks were more than just a power-play team.

Advertisement

Improved depth and 5-on-5 play helped get San Jose back to the postseason after missing it a year ago, but come playoff time that power play has served as an impressive weapon and a barometer for the team's success.

One game after getting shut out on the man advantage, the Sharks struck twice following St. Louis penalties in a 4-0 win Tuesday night that tied the series at one game apiece heading into Game 3 on Thursday in San Jose.

'It creates momentum for us,' DeBoer said Wednesday. 'I think that's what you're looking to do with your special teams both ways, is create momentum. I think when our power play scores, that creates momentum. I think when we kill penalties like we did last night, like that four-minute penalty, I think that creates momentum the other way for us. That's what you're looking to do as a coach, is get momentum out of your special teams. I think that does that for us.'

The Sharks lead the NHL with 15 power-play goals this postseason and their 30 percent success rate is tops among all teams that have played more than one round. San Jose is 13-for-32 on the power play in nine playoff wins, compared to 2-for-18 in its five losses.

With a five-man top unit that has years of experience together, San Jose is a finely tuned unit. Joe Thornton is the playmaker, spending most of his time along the half-boards or behind the net. He has plenty of options.

Brent Burns scored both power-play goals in Game 2 off one-timers that St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott had little chance to save. Captain Joe Pavelski led the team with 12 power-play goals in the regular season, with many coming on deflections in front of the net or rebounds. Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau bring versatility with the ability to create plays for teammates or score on big shots of their own.

'Our power play's pretty free-flowing,' Thornton said. 'Really just can't key on one guy. We got five guys that can hurt you. I think for us it's just the way you move around, it's really hard to defend.'

The Blues managed to neutralize the Sharks in Game 1 when they killed all three power plays in a 2-1 victory. They were short-handed five times in Game 2, including a slash behind the play by Troy Brouwer that led to the Sharks' second goal of the game and an interference call on Steve Ott for hitting Pavelski from behind when the puck was not in the area.

'The penalties you don't like at this time of year are reactionary penalties,' coach Ken Hitchcock. `We had two reactionary penalties yesterday, one in the first game. Those are the ones you don't like. Doesn't matter who takes them, veterans, rookies. That's a sign that the other team has a little bit of an advantage, they're making you react to anything happening on the ice. Those are the ones you don't like.'

The other big difference in Game 2 was that the Blues failed to take advantage of their power-play chances. After getting a man-advantage goal from captain David Backes to open the scoring in Game 1, St. Louis went 0-for-6 on the power play Tuesday night, including a weak four-minute chance early in the third period when Marleau was called for a high-sticking penalty and the Sharks lead was only 2-0.

San Jose used 13 of its 18 skaters for more than a minute of penalty-killing time with top defensive pair Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun each spending more than 5 minutes on the ice with the Sharks short-handed.

The Blues managed 12 shots on the power play but were unable to beat Martin Jones as the Sharks did a good job controlling rebounds and keeping St. Louis to the outside.

'You want to use the power play to get momentum,' forward Robby Fabbri said. 'Last night we didn't execute on any of them. Just the way some games go. We got to stay confident and go with our next chances.'

NOTES: Hitchcock said he plans to tinker with his lineup for Game 3 but gave no specifics. ... DeBoer said Thornton looked fine Wednesday after taking a slash on his left hand from Jay Bouwmeester during the game.

SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Sharks at Blues
Sun, May 15 Final 1 to 2
Recaps

GAME 2
Sharks at Blues
Tue, May 17 Final 4 to 0
Recaps

GAME 3
Blues at Sharks
Thu, May 19 - 9:00PM EDT

GAME 4
Blues at Sharks
Sat, May 21 - 7:15PM EDT

GAME 5
Sharks at Blues
Mon, May 23 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 6
Blues at Sharks
Wed, May 25 - 9:00PM EDT

GAME 7
Sharks at Blues
Fri, May 27 - 8:00PM EDT

CNOTES · May 19, 2016

NHL MONEYLINE

NHL > (11) ST LOUIS@ (12) SAN JOSE | 2016-05-19 21:05:00 - 2016-05-19 21:05:00
Play ON SAN JOSE using money line in All games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season
The record is 19 Wins and 5 Losses for the this season (+13.85 units)

NHL PUCKLINE

NHL > (11) ST LOUIS@ (12) SAN JOSE | 2016-05-19 21:05:00 - 2016-05-19 21:05:00
Play ON ST LOUIS in Road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season
The record is 12 Wins and 3 Losses for the this season (+10.25 units)

NHL > (11) ST LOUIS@ (12) SAN JOSE | 2016-05-19 21:05:00 - 2016-05-19 21:05:00
Play ON SAN JOSE in All games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season
The record is 19 Wins and 5 Losses for the this season (+13.85 units)

CNOTES · May 19, 2016

5/18 - YESTERDAY'S RESULTS: 0 - 2 - 2.00
OVERALL : + 5.30

THURSDAY, MAY 19

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

STL at SJ 09:00 PM

SJ -144

U 5.0

CNOTES · May 20, 2016

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

Golden Nugget sportsbook's college football over/unders for this coming fall..........

-- Clemson Tigers, 10, over -$120

-- Alabama Crimson Tide, 9.5

-- Florida State Seminoles, 10, over -$120

-- Oklahoma Sooners, 10, under -$130

-- LSU Tigers, 9.5, over 9.5 -$140

-- Michigan Wolverines, 9.5, over -$120

**********

Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Random stuff with weekend here......

13) I'm tired of hearing people whine about baseball games lasting too long, as if an extra 8-10 minutes is going to ruin someone's day. Want to eliminate 8-10 minutes a game? Eliminate coaches/managers visiting the mound, that will do it. Whether a game is 2:52 or 3:05, baseball is great. Nothing wrong with spending more time having fun.

12) Saw couple of amazing catches in 9th inning of games last night; Minnesota CF Danny Santana made a fantastic catch, keeping the game 2-2 with the go-ahead run on second base and Rafael Ortega of the Angels made a sliding catch down left field line to help the Halos hold off the Dodgers 7-4.

11) Nationals 9, Mets 1-- Matt Harvey is 3-6, 5.77 and terribly overrated. Last year, New York media had him getting inducted in Cooperstown before he turned 27. Last night, Harvey went over the 500 innings mark in his career- he is 30-24.

10) Austin Russell, better known as Chumlee on Pawn Stars, somehow avoided jail time after at one time having 19 felony drug charges against him. Hope he realizes how lucky he is; when I was in Las Vegas in April, it seemed apparent that he was going to jail and maybe for a very long time.

9) Pro Bowl is moving from Honolulu to Orlando this comng year; for some reason, it was mentioned that Sydney, Australia was interested in hosting it. Why?

8) Orlando Magic gave Frank Vogel $22M for four years- first Magic-Pacer game next fall should be interesting.

7) Buck Showalter once managed a team in the NY-Penn League, a short-season farm team. He went 114-41 in Oneonta, hometown of ESPN's Mark May, and also the place where John Elway played his minor league baseball.

6) In case you are wondering, Elway hit .318 with a .432 OB% that year, for a 43-33 Oneonta team that was managed by former White Sox CF Ken Berry.

5) Drew Pomeranz has pitched well for San Diego but they haven't hit much for him; in Pomeranz' last four starts, a total of seven runs have scored.

4) Stan Musial hit three homers in a game at age 42, the oldest player to do so.

3) Angels are 22-1 in Mike Trout's career when he scores 3+ runs in a game.

2) Not only did Texas A&M's basketball team lose four senior starters this year, three of their assistant coaches also bolted for other jobs, so Billy Kennedy is totally rebuilding his program- he hired Don Maestri, who coached Troy State for 30 years and will now be someone Kennedy can lean on for advice. .

1) Chargers signed Zach Mettenberger as a backup QB; Giants/Bengals also had interest n the former LSU signal-caller. Backing up Philip Rivers seems like good duty; Rivers has started every San Diego game for the last decade.

CNOTES · May 20, 2016

NHL
Long Sheet

Friday, May 20

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

PITTSBURGH (58-29-0-9, 125 pts.) at TAMPA BAY (55-34-0-6, 116 pts.) - 5/20/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 45-54 ATS (-35.5 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 3 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 37-20 ATS (+4.3 Units) second half of the season this season.
TAMPA BAY is 21-10 ATS (+31.5 Units) when trailing in a playoff series since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 33-14 ATS (+15.3 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 30-13 ATS (+12.2 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 201-211 ATS (+494.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
PITTSBURGH is 58-38 ATS (+7.0 Units) in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 20-13 ATS (+33.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
PITTSBURGH is 40-19 ATS (+13.7 Units) second half of the season this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
PITTSBURGH is 7-5 (+1.1 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 7-5-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
9 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+6.7 Units)

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

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, May 20

Tampa Bay-Pittsburgh (P 2-1)
Penguins scored first goal of Game 3 with 0:10 left in second period, as they gained control of series vs backup goalie Vasilevsky. Lightning won five of last seven home games- under is 3-1-1 in their last five games. Pittsburgh is 6-2 in its last eight games, going 3-2 in last five on road. Tampa Bay won five of its last eight games with Penguins- they won three of last four played here. Over is 8-1-1 in last ten series games, but under is 5-3-3 in last ten Tampa Bay games overall. Lightning is 1-4 on power play in first three games in this series, Pittsburgh is 2-9.

Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 3-3, Over 1-4-1

NHL

Friday, May 20

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

8:00 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. TAMPA BAY
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 15 of Pittsburgh's last 18 games when playing Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh

NHL
Dunkel

Friday, May 20

Pittsburgh @ Tampa Bay

Game 13-14
May 20, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Pittsburgh
11.969
Tampa Bay
13.557
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Tampa Bay
by 1 1/2
6
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Pittsburgh
-145
5
Dunkel Pick:
Tampa Bay
(+125); Over

CNOTES · May 20, 2016

Preview: Penguins (48-26) at Lightning (46-31)
Date: May 20, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Few NHL teams have the quickness, speed, skill and depth to overwhelm the Tampa Bay Lightning, which the Pittsburgh Penguins have done through three games of the Eastern Conference finals.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and a talented supporting cast that includes the sizzling line of Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino have outplayed the speedy Lightning for significant stretches of each game to gain a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.

Game 4 is Friday night at Amalie Arena, and the Penguins are looking to turn up the pressure even more.

'When you're playing such good teams at this point, you know you can't afford to look past the game in front of you,' said Crosby, who's scored the past two games after going eight straight without a goal.

Malkin assisted on Crosby's power-play goal that proved to be the winner in Game 3 on Wednesday night, Malkin's first point since Game 2 of Pittsburgh's second-round victory over Washington.

While the Penguins' biggest stars were trying to get back on track, Kessel, Hagelin and Bonino heated up at precisely the right time.

The trio had a huge impact Wednesday night, as well, with Kessel delivering his team-leading seventh goal of the playoffs off a nifty pass from Bonino after earlier setting up Hagelin's goal that snapped a scoreless tie.

'You don't win consistently without (depth). That line's been great all playoffs long,' Crosby said. 'You look at the way Phil's playing ... he creates so much. Haggy's got a ton of speed. And Bones is a really smart player. He works really well with those two guys. They've given us a lot of momentum.'

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper acknowledged line has been tough matchup for a team that's accustomed to wearing opponents down with its own deep roster.

'You look at their team, Phil Kessel probably doesn't get near the respect he deserves. I mean, he's scored a ton of goals in this league. Bonino's kind of one of those underrated players. ... You look at the teams he's playing, and there's always been named stars ahead of him. Hagelin's won everywhere he's gone, the teams he's played on. But they get overshadowed by the big name guys,' Cooper said.

'When you can go three and four lines deep - and something we've been able to do - it's a tough matchup for teams,' the coach added. 'They're just another case - and plus they're feeling it, too. They're in one of those playoff runs where they're feeling it, and when you are going like that, good things are going to happen for you.'

The Penguins have outshot Tampa Bay 124-70, a trend the Lightning can't allow to continue if they expect to win the series.

Andrei Vasilevskiy has filled in admirably since replacing the injured goalie Ben Bishop during Tampa Bay's victory in Game 1. In addition to generating more scoring chances, Cooper stressed the Lightning also have to play better in front of Vasilevskiy, who faced 41 shots in Game 2 and 48 Wednesday night.

'That's unacceptable. I just feel bad for the kid that he's keeping us in there and we're not finding a way to bail him out,' Cooper said. 'The way things have gone these (last) two games, it doesn't matter who's in net. You know, we could have Bish and Vasi both playing at the same time, and they might have squeaked a couple in.'

Tampa Bay won all three regular seasons meetings between the teams before taking Game 1 of this series on the road, so coaches and players say there's no need to panic.

Cooper reunited the 'triplets' line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat during the third period of Game 3, and the trio that was instrumental to Tampa Bay's run to the Stanley Cup final a year ago produced two late goals.

Bishop practiced Thursday and said he remains hopeful he'll return at some point in the series. Cooper said he doesn't expect it to be for Game 4.

With Vasilevskiy playing as well as he has, and Tampa Bay's track record as a resilient team, the coach remains confident this still will be a 'long, tough' series.

'It's not something where we're sitting here saying: `Oh, we can't beat this team.' We couldn't beat them in the last two games, and that's the way we're looking at it,' Cooper said.

'But in saying that, Pittsburgh's put us in a position to be like that,' the coach added 'Now it's we served, they volleyed back. Now it's our turn to send it back to them.'

SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Lightning at Penguins
Fri, May 13 Final 3 to 1
Recaps

GAME 2
Lightning at Penguins
Mon, May 16 Final 2 to 3
Recaps

GAME 3
Penguins at Lightning
Wed, May 18 Final 4 to 2
Recaps

GAME 4
Penguins at Lightning
Fri, May 20 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 5
Lightning at Penguins
Sun, May 22 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 6
Penguins at Lightning
Tue, May 24 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 7
Lightning at Penguins
Thu, May 26 - 8:00PM EDT

CNOTES · May 20, 2016

Pens find higher gear against Lightning
May 19, 2016

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Few NHL teams have the quickness, speed, skill and depth to overwhelm the Tampa Bay Lightning, which the Pittsburgh Penguins have done through three games of the Eastern Conference finals.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and a talented supporting cast that includes the sizzling line of Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino have outplayed the speedy Lightning for significant stretches of each game to gain a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.

Game 4 is Friday night at Amalie Arena, and the Penguins are looking to turn up the pressure even more.

''When you're playing such good teams at this point, you know you can't afford to look past the game in front of you,'' said Crosby, who's scored the past two games after going eight straight without a goal.

Malkin assisted on Crosby's power-play goal that proved to be the winner in Game 3 on Wednesday night, Malkin's first point since Game 2 of Pittsburgh's second-round victory over Washington.

While the Penguins' biggest stars were trying to get back on track, Kessel, Hagelin and Bonino heated up at precisely the right time.

The trio had a huge impact Wednesday night, as well, with Kessel delivering his team-leading seventh goal of the playoffs off a nifty pass from Bonino after earlier setting up Hagelin's goal that snapped a scoreless tie.

''You don't win consistently without (depth). That line's been great all playoffs long,'' Crosby said. ''You look at the way Phil's playing ... he creates so much. Haggy's got a ton of speed. And Bones is a really smart player. He works really well with those two guys. They've given us a lot of momentum.''

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper acknowledged line has been tough matchup for a team that's accustomed to wearing opponents down with its own deep roster.

''You look at their team, Phil Kessel probably doesn't get near the respect he deserves. I mean, he's scored a ton of goals in this league. Bonino's kind of one of those underrated players. ... You look at the teams he's playing, and there's always been named stars ahead of him. Hagelin's won everywhere he's gone, the teams he's played on. But they get overshadowed by the big name guys,'' Cooper said.

''When you can go three and four lines deep - and something we've been able to do - it's a tough matchup for teams,'' the coach added. ''They're just another case - and plus they're feeling it, too. They're in one of those playoff runs where they're feeling it, and when you are going like that, good things are going to happen for you.''

The Penguins have outshot Tampa Bay 124-70, a trend the Lightning can't allow to continue if they expect to win the series.

Andrei Vasilevskiy has filled in admirably since replacing the injured goalie Ben Bishop during Tampa Bay's victory in Game 1. In addition to generating more scoring chances, Cooper stressed the Lightning also have to play better in front of Vasilevskiy, who faced 41 shots in Game 2 and 48 Wednesday night.

''That's unacceptable. I just feel bad for the kid that he's keeping us in there and we're not finding a way to bail him out,'' Cooper said. ''The way things have gone these (last) two games, it doesn't matter who's in net. You know, we could have Bish and Vasi both playing at the same time, and they might have squeaked a couple in.''

Tampa Bay won all three regular seasons meetings between the teams before taking Game 1 of this series on the road, so coaches and players say there's no need to panic.

Cooper reunited the ''triplets'' line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat during the third period of Game 3, and the trio that was instrumental to Tampa Bay's run to the Stanley Cup final a year ago produced two late goals.

Bishop practiced Thursday and said he remains hopeful he'll return at some point in the series. Cooper said he doesn't expect it to be for Game 4.

With Vasilevskiy playing as well as he has, and Tampa Bay's track record as a resilient team, the coach remains confident this still will be a ''long, tough'' series.

''It's not something where we're sitting here saying: `Oh, we can't beat this team.' We couldn't beat them in the last two games, and that's the way we're looking at it,'' Cooper said.

''But in saying that, Pittsburgh's put us in a position to be like that,'' the coach added ''Now it's we served, they volleyed back. Now it's our turn to send it back to them.'

CNOTES · May 20, 2016

5/29 - 1 - 0 + 1.00
Overall : 6.30

FRIDAY, MAY 20

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

PIT at TB 08:00 PM

TB +125

O 5.0

CNOTES · May 21, 2016

Armadillo: Saturday's six-pack

Golden Nugget sportsbook's college football over/unders for this coming fall..........

-- Houston Cougars 9, under -$150

-- Notre Dame Fighting Irish 9, under -$125

-- Ohio State Buckeyes, 8.5, over -$115

-- Tennessee Volunteers, 10

-- Baylor Bears 9, under -$125

-- Michigan State Spartans 8.5, under -$130

**********

Armadillo: Saturday's List of 13: College football knowledge, and DDLohaus handicaps the Preakness Stakes........

The Kentucky Derby is behind us and the race really ended as we had expected. Nyquist was all he was said to be; looked great winning the race in a very solid time. The top four favorites covered the top four spots with Exaggerator again the runner up. We couldn't collect on our big bets as Mohaymen could only manage fourth. We did hit the saver exacta but not much joy there....

The Preakness comes quickly and welcomes a host of newcomers trying to not only beat the Derby winner, but launch themselves into the summer spotlight as the racing season continues to crank up. As I sit here in Delaware, the weather forecast for Saturday is BAD; 90% chance of rain all morning into the afternoon and COLD with a high of 57 degrees. The weather forecast certainly requires a bit of restraint in wagering but also introduces a whole other set of variables when handicapping the race.

Nyquist is still the horse to beat. As I've said before, he has done nothing wrong and look really good in the Derby. I am convinced that Exaggerator is as honest as they come and he keeps Nyquist honest. If Nyquist doesn't show up, Exaggerator will turn the tables. These two (Nyquist and Exaggerator) are clear standouts in the 3yr old category so far this year; I just don't see a very deep crop of 3yr olds (yet). The problem is that they are both very short odds AND the weather conditions are sure to make conditions anything but ideal. Talent alone, these two run 1-2 but I challenge anyone to say, for sure, how they will respond to adverse conditions on Saturday.

As is customary, I will throw out a wildcard for you to consider. This runner may be worth a small wager and given the expected weather and track conditions is not a complete reach. Abiding Star is on a bit of a hot streak coming into the Preakness. He has won five in a row and has had success over wet tracks. He will likely be close to the front if not on the lead and may not look back. Distance is a concern and he may be a notch below many in here but horses do get brave sometimes and if he finds himself in front turning for home, the track is heavy and tiring, and the others don't fire their best he may shock at a big price and he would be a nice play underneath the two favorites.

Selections:
Nyquist: Deserving favorite and a notch better than the rest (just cant bet a 3/5 in adverse conditions)
Exaggerator: Honest, hard knocker capable of winning if top one doesn't fire his best (just cant bet a horse that has lost 4 times to top one and short odds)
Abiding Star: Longshot being tested for class and distance but may get brave on the front end and has handled off tracks.

The Bets:
$5WPS Abiding Star
$5EXBX Abiding Star/Nyquist/Exaggerator
$2TRIBX Abiding Star/Nyquist/Exagerator

Total Bets: $57.00

College football knowledge..........
13) LSU's new defensive coordinator last worked at Wisconsin; Tigers, who have 18 starters back, open the season Sept 3 against the Badgers at Lambeau Field.

12) USC plays Alabama, Stanford, Utah in September, none of them at home.

11) Urban Meyer has a 154-27 record, 50-4 at Ohio State; his defensvie coordinator this year is former Rutgers/Bucs coach Greg Schiano.

10) Texas A&M recruited only two of the top 20 recruits from the Lone Star State this year- they're on their fourth offensive coordinator in the last five years. Aggies are 16-10 overall the last two years, 17-15 in conference play the last four years.

9) Contrast that to Oklahoma State, which is 27-12 the last three years; their OC is in his fourth season in Stillwater, their DC is in his sixth season. Continuity helps.

8) UCLA's freshman kicker JJ Molson is the grandson of Montreal Canadiens' owner, beer magnate Geoff Molson; wonder if they'll be selling Molson beer at the Rose Bowl this year. Having a freshman kicker can drive you to drink.

7) Michigan State is 36-5 the last three years, but lost top two WRs and their QB who started for three years. Spartans play Notre Dame/Wisconsin on back/back early on in season. Mark D'Antonio is 7-2 against rival Michigan.

6) Tennessee hasn't won SEC East since 2007; they haven't won the SEC since '98, the year after Peyton Manning left. Vols' over/under win total in Las Vegas this year is 10, so with 18 starters back, Butch Davis' team has high expectations.

5) Mack Brown was 25-14 his last three years at Texas; Charlie Strong is 11-14 his first two years in Austin. Longhorns gave up 30.3 ppg last year.

4) Florida State is 49-6 the last four years; only one of their four September games is at home. RB Dalvin Cook won SEC rushing title by 164 yards LY.

3) Oregon went 9-4 LY, after going 48-5 the four years before that; they lost their bowl game after leading 31-0 at the half. Once again, the Ducks' QB will be a transfer from a I-AA school, this time Dakota Prukop from Montana State.

2) Ole Miss has its first-ever two-game winning streak over Alabama, which is hard to believe. Rebels play Florida State, Alabama and Georgia, all in September. Oy.

1) Michigan is 2-14 against Ohio State/Michigan State the last eight years.

CNOTES · May 21, 2016

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Saturday, May 21

San Jose-St Louis (SJ 2-1)
Sharks shut St Louis out last two games; San Jose is 6-1 at home in playoffs, losing one game to the Kings. Road team won four of last six St Louis-San Jose games; under is 3-0 in all three series games. Blues won two of last three visits here, three of last four road games. Sharks won last five home games by combined score of 21-7 (over 2-1-2). San Jose is 2-10 on power play in series, the Blues are 0-8. St Louis is 5-3 on road so far in playoffs- they outshot Sharks 22-16 in Game 3, but didn't light the lamp for second game in row

Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 4-3, Over 2-4-1

NHL

Saturday, May 21

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

7:15 PM
ST. LOUIS vs. SAN JOSE
St. Louis is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games on the road
St. Louis is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing San Jose
San Jose is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games
San Jose is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

CNOTES · May 21, 2016

NHL
Long Sheet

Saturday, May 21

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

ST LOUIS (58-31-0-10, 126 pts.) at SAN JOSE (56-33-0-8, 120 pts.) - 5/21/2016, 7:15 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 25-11 ATS (+8.5 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SAN JOSE is 20-5 ATS (+14.3 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 58-41 ATS (+5.3 Units) in all games this season.
ST LOUIS is 28-16 ATS (+11.5 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
ST LOUIS is 20-11 ATS (+8.7 Units) in road games second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 15-6 ATS (+7.7 Units) in road games on Saturday games over the last 2 seasons.
ST LOUIS is 5-0 ATS (+5.0 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive unders this season.
ST LOUIS is 33-23 ATS (+7.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 12-4 ATS (+16.5 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
SAN JOSE is 13-16 ATS (-8.9 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5 or less this season.
SAN JOSE is 28-28 ATS (-21.6 Units) in home games second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 2-9 ATS (-11.7 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 3-7 ATS (-6.7 Units) in home games after shutting out their opponent in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 16-19 ATS (-23.8 Units) in home games after a win by 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN JOSE is 8-4 (+3.4 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
SAN JOSE is 8-4-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+1.0 Units)

CNOTES · May 21, 2016

NHL
Dunkel

Saturday, May 21

St. Louis @ San Jose

Game 15-16
May 21, 2016 @ 7:15 pm

Dunkel Rating:
St. Louis
12.036
San Jose
11.052
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
St. Louis
by 1
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Jose
-165
5
Dunkel Pick:
St. Louis
(+145); Under

CNOTES · May 21, 2016

Preview: Blues (49-24) at Sharks (46-30)
Date: May 21, 2016 7:15 PM EDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Now it will be up to Jake Allen to try to slow down Joe Thornton and San Jose's top line.

After Thornton and his linemates managed to dominate play against St. Louis the past two games in a way that Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Jamie Benn couldn't in the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs, the Blues decided to change goalies for Game 4 of the Western Conference final against the Sharks.

'It feels like we need to get us a little bit of momentum changed our way because we're not rewarded for the work and they are, which is the difference,' coach Ken Hitchcock said. 'The small difference in the series has been that. We dinged them in Game 1, they've dinged us in Games 2 and 3.'

San Jose's top line of Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl have driven the play and are a major reason why the Sharks lead the Blues 2-1 to put them as close as they have ever been to reaching the Stanley Cup final.

Hertl scored two goals in San Jose's 3-0 victory in Game 3 on Thursday night off passes from each of his linemates and the trio spent much of the night in St. Louis' zone creating chances and momentum.

'These guys in my mind are maybe the most dangerous and best line in hockey,' teammate Tommy Wingels said. 'You see the way they play against world-class defensemen and some of the best players in the world. They're able to hold onto pucks and make it a clinic out there the way they pass it around and cycle the puck. It's contagious.'

After getting the best of Los Angeles' Drew Doughty in round one, Nashville's stellar defensive pair of Shea Weber and Roman Josi in the second round, the Thornton line is doing it against Alex Pietrangelo and St. Louis in the conference final.

Thornton and Pavelski have played together for much of the last four seasons with various third linemates. Hertl moved into that spot in early January and that helped the entire team take off.

'I think just playing a long time with somebody, we just know each other's tendencies in our sleep,' Thornton said of his chemistry with Pavelski. 'For me, I like to pass. He likes to shoot. Then you throw this big fella (Hertl) in there, it's a pretty good line. But, yeah, all three of us, we read so well off each other. We just got to keep continuing that.'

Allen, who started all six games last postseason for the Blues, entered in the third period on Thursday after Elliott allowed his third goal on 14 shots.

The Blues made it this far in part because of their ability to shut down the opponent's top players, including the league's top two scorers in the regular season. Kane, who led the league in scoring, had just one goal and two even-strength assists in Chicago's seven-game loss in the first round. Toews wasn't any better with no goals and three even-strength assists.

St. Louis kept it up in round two against Dallas's Benn, the league's No. 2 scorer. Benn had one goal and two even-strength assists in seven games, meaning those three stars combined for two goals and seven assists at even strength in 14 games.

In this round, Thornton's line has spent the bulk of its time in St. Louis' end, creating chances, drawing penalties and getting three even-strength goals from Hertl.

'We put our top-scoring players out there in this series so far and we've not been able to maintain pressure in the offensive zone,' Hitchcock said. 'We've ended up in our zone quickly sometimes. That's something that no one's done against us. We've been able to take top players and hem them in, frustrate them. For whatever reason, we cannot control the play, even though we start 200 feet from our net. So that's on me. I'm going to have to change tactics, do something completely different than we've done in the first two series because within 10 seconds in most occasions, they're in our zone.'

Slowing down Thornton's line could help St. Louis create more chances at the other end.

The Blues have been shut out by Martin Jones the past two games and haven't gotten a single point all series from 40-goal scorer Vladimir Tarasenko or rookie Robby Fabbri, who had 13 points the first two rounds.

'We just haven't created enough quality chances to really test him and make him make save after save, what we can do when we're really on our game,' captain David Backes said. 'The result has been a couple scoreless games for us. It's not the way we're going to win games. We need to get back onto our method and our ways. When we do that, we're going to have success.'

SERIES AT A GLANCE

GAME 1
Sharks at Blues
Sun, May 15 Final 1 to 2
Recaps

GAME 2
Sharks at Blues
Tue, May 17 Final 4 to 0
Recaps

GAME 3
Blues at Sharks
Thu, May 19 Final 0 to 3
Recaps

GAME 4
Blues at Sharks
Sat, May 21 - 7:15PM EDT

GAME 5
Sharks at Blues
Mon, May 23 - 8:00PM EDT

GAME 6
Blues at Sharks
Wed, May 25 - 9:00PM EDT

GAME 7
Sharks at Blues
Fri, May 27 - 8:00PM EDT

CNOTES · May 21, 2016

NHL MONEYLINE

NHL > (15) ST LOUIS@ (16) SAN JOSE | 2016-05-21 19:15:00 - 2016-05-21 19:15:00
Play ON SAN JOSE using money line in All games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season
The record is 20 Wins and 5 Losses for the this season (+14.85 units)

NHL > (15) ST LOUIS@ (16) SAN JOSE | 2016-05-21 19:15:00 - 2016-05-21 19:15:00
Play AGAINST SAN JOSE using money line in Home games after 3 or more consecutive unders
The record is 2 Wins and 10 Losses for the last three seasons (-14.8 units)

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

NHL PUCKLINE

NHL > (15) ST LOUIS@ (16) SAN JOSE | 2016-05-21 19:15:00 - 2016-05-21 19:15:00
Play ON SAN JOSE in All games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season
The record is 20 Wins and 5 Losses for the this season (+14.85 units)

NHL > (15) ST LOUIS@ (16) SAN JOSE | 2016-05-21 19:15:00 - 2016-05-21 19:15:00
Play AGAINST SAN JOSE in Home games after 3 or more consecutive unders
The record is 2 Wins and 10 Losses for the last three seasons (-14.8 units)

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

CNOTES · May 21, 2016

Blues hope goalie change can slow Sharks
May 20, 2016

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Now it will be up to Jake Allen to try to slow down Joe Thornton and San Jose's top line.

After Thornton and his linemates managed to dominate play against St. Louis the past two games in a way that Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Jamie Benn couldn't in the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs, the Blues decided to change goalies for Game 4 of the Western Conference final against the Sharks.

''It feels like we need to get us a little bit of momentum changed our way because we're not rewarded for the work and they are, which is the difference,'' coach Ken Hitchcock said. ''The small difference in the series has been that. We dinged them in Game 1, they've dinged us in Games 2 and 3.''

San Jose's top line of Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl have driven the play and are a major reason why the Sharks lead the Blues 2-1 to put them as close as they have ever been to reaching the Stanley Cup final.

Hertl scored two goals in San Jose's 3-0 victory in Game 3 on Thursday night off passes from each of his linemates and the trio spent much of the night in St. Louis' zone creating chances and momentum.

''These guys in my mind are maybe the most dangerous and best line in hockey,'' teammate Tommy Wingels said. ''You see the way they play against world-class defensemen and some of the best players in the world. They're able to hold onto pucks and make it a clinic out there the way they pass it around and cycle the puck. It's contagious.''

After getting the best of Los Angeles' Drew Doughty in round one, Nashville's stellar defensive pair of Shea Weber and Roman Josi in the second round, the Thornton line is doing it against Alex Pietrangelo and St. Louis in the conference final.

Thornton and Pavelski have played together for much of the last four seasons with various third linemates. Hertl moved into that spot in early January and that helped the entire team take off.

''I think just playing a long time with somebody, we just know each other's tendencies in our sleep,'' Thornton said of his chemistry with Pavelski. ''For me, I like to pass. He likes to shoot. Then you throw this big fella (Hertl) in there, it's a pretty good line. But, yeah, all three of us, we read so well off each other. We just got to keep continuing that.''

Allen, who started all six games last postseason for the Blues, entered in the third period on Thursday after Elliott allowed his third goal on 14 shots.

The Blues made it this far in part because of their ability to shut down the opponent's top players, including the league's top two scorers in the regular season. Kane, who led the league in scoring, had just one goal and two even-strength assists in Chicago's seven-game loss in the first round. Toews wasn't any better with no goals and three even-strength assists.

St. Louis kept it up in round two against Dallas's Benn, the league's No. 2 scorer. Benn had one goal and two even-strength assists in seven games, meaning those three stars combined for two goals and seven assists at even strength in 14 games.

In this round, Thornton's line has spent the bulk of its time in St. Louis' end, creating chances, drawing penalties and getting three even-strength goals from Hertl.

''We put our top-scoring players out there in this series so far and we've not been able to maintain pressure in the offensive zone,'' Hitchcock said. ''We've ended up in our zone quickly sometimes. That's something that no one's done against us. We've been able to take top players and hem them in, frustrate them. For whatever reason, we cannot control the play, even though we start 200 feet from our net. So that's on me. I'm going to have to change tactics, do something completely different than we've done in the first two series because within 10 seconds in most occasions, they're in our zone.''

Slowing down Thornton's line could help St. Louis create more chances at the other end.

The Blues have been shut out by Martin Jones the past two games and haven't gotten a single point all series from 40-goal scorer Vladimir Tarasenko or rookie Robby Fabbri, who had 13 points the first two rounds.

''We just haven't created enough quality chances to really test him and make him make save after save, what we can do when we're really on our game,'' captain David Backes said. ''The result has been a couple scoreless games for us. It's not the way we're going to win games. We need to get back onto our method and our ways. When we do that, we're going to have success.''

CNOTES · May 21, 2016

5/20 - YESTERDAY'S RESULTS: 2 - 0 + 2.25
OVERALL: +8.55

SATURDAY, MAY 21

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

STL at SJ 07:15 PM

SJ -156

O 5.0

CNOTES · May 22, 2016

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Six of the my favorite baseball announce teams to listen to on the baseball package

-- Brian Anderson/Bill Schroeder, Brewers

-- Victor Rojas/Mark Gubicza, Angels

-- Don Orsillo/Mark Grant, Padres

-- Dick Bremer/Bert Blyleven, Twins

-- Drew Goodman/Jeff Huson or Ryan Spliborghs, Rockies

-- Jason Bennetti/Steve Stone, White Sox

Other analysts I think are very good: Ron Darling (Mets), Bob Brenly (Arizona) and Ray Fosse (A's). Not that fond of their play-by-play partners, though.

**********

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

13) Milwaukee Brewer TV announcers were telling a story about last July 31, when the Mets/Brewers almost made a trade at the deadline. Milwaukee brass told Carlos Gomez he had been traded to the Mets, he was shaking hands with teammates, saying his goodbyes but then the trade fell through.

12) Mets wound up trading for Yoenis Cespedes instead, which worked out really well for them, as they got to the World Series. Gomez wound up getting dealt to the Astros, where he has struggled greatly.

11) As far as baseball eliminating the four pitches for the intentional walk, last year in the major leagues there were 951 intentional walks in 2,430 games, so eliminating those four pitches isn't going to be a huge time-saver.

10) Ichiro Suzuki had his 253rd game with 3+ hits last night, most amongst active players. Ichiro now has 2,954 hits in his 16 big league seasons.

9) I've got no idea why, but people in Chicago do not like ketchup on hot dogs. White Sox announcers were discussing this the other night and back in 2003, a friend of mine actually got mad at me for asking for ketchup at a Chicago hot dog stand.

I dislike mustard and relish but if I knew the ketchup was going to cause a problem, I would've eaten the weiner plain.

8) A batter who hits a sacrifice fly isn't charged with an at-bat, but a batter who knocks in a run with a ground out is-- why is this? Whats the difference?

7) Marlins 3, Nationals 2-- Washington had bases loaded, no one out in ninth inning but couldn't tie game. Miami is now 3.5 games behind Washington in NL East.

6) Jim Baron is retiring as basketball coach at Canisius at age 62; he has been a very good coach at a number of places: Canisius, St Bonaventure, URI, St Francis, PA.

Few years ago, I was sitting in front of coach Baron at an AAU tournament here in Albany- his son was playing. It was a close game against a local team, and at the end of the game, the hometown refs gave the local team a couple calls and they won.

Coach Baron had been pretty low-key during the game but when his son's team got hosed at the end and lost, he was steamed and he went after the offending ref to give him a piece of his mind. He did quickly and fairly quietly but believe me, the guy who made the calls deserved to get ripped.

Anyway, good luck in retirement coach. Canisius will miss you. .

5) 164 undergraduates declared for this year's NBA Draft; many have returned to college, but there are only 60 picks in the draft, so add in seniors and kids from other countries and a lot of kids are going to wind up very disappointed.

4) Toronto's Bismack Biyombo is going to make a fortune as a free agent this summer and when he does, remember this: last night in Game 3 against Cleveland, Biyombo had 15 rebounds before he took his first shot of the game. Guys like that are worth their weight in gold, if you want to have a winning team.

3) Jack McDowell threw 10+ complete games three years in a row, the last pitcher to do that and that was back in 1991-93. Will probably never happen again.

2) Major league baseball wants more balls in play; approximately 30% of plate appearances are ending in walks/strikeouts. Baseball's head honchos want more action, so they're going to raise the strike zone some, hoping it'll result in more balls put in play, which makes the game more interesting. We'll see how that goes.

1) RIP Alan Young 96, the actor who played Wilbur Post on the classic TV show Mr Ed, passed away this week. It is not easy to be a straight man for a talking horse; that was one of my favorite TV shows as a kid. Yes, I said a talking horse, but he only talked to Wilbur, which caused problems with Wilbur's wife Carol.

Just loved Mr Ed, whether he was driving a delivery truck or taking batting practice against Sandy Koufax (yes, Koufax tossed a meatball to a horse, with manager Leo Durocher watching). Spent many hours laughing with this show. RIP, sir.