2022 WNBA REGULAR SEASON PICKS,NEWS,GOSSIP !

[Udog]

WNBA

Sunday, June 5

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Trend Report
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Minnesota @ New York
Minnesota
Minnesota is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing New York
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Minnesota's last 8 games when playing New York
New York
The total has gone OVER in 7 of New York's last 8 games when playing Minnesota
New York is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Minnesota

Indiana @ Atlanta
Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Indiana's last 11 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Atlanta
Atlanta is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Indiana
Atlanta is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Indiana

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

Los Angeles @ Phoenix
Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Los Angeles's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Phoenix's last 6 games when playing at home against Los Angeles

Dallas @ Las Vegas
Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games on the road
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games at home

Washington @ Chicago
Washington
Washington is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 5 games on the road
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing Washington


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[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, June 5

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Monday’s 6-pack
NFL teams with least room under the salary cap:
$1,007,383— New England
4,754,181— San Francisco
5,278,202— LA Rams
5,663,870— Buffalo
6,649,869— NJ Giants
7,369,070— Houston

Quote of the Day
“I’m so happy for (Bryson Stott), man. What an at-bat. What a situation for him. Being able to put our trust in our young guys the last couple days, and really let them just play. It’s been great. And it paid off today………The thing about Bryson is he’s got to play. He’s used to playing every day. From high school, to college, to minor league baseball, to now. He’s used to playing every day, and that’s what we’ve got to do for our young guys…”
Bryce Harper

Monday’s quiz
In the movie Last Vegas, what hotel do the four old friends stay in for the weekend?

Sunday’s quiz
Mets have played in five World Series, under five different managers:
Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Davey Johnson, Bobby Valentine, Terry Colline

Saturday’s quiz
Mark Jackson was Golden State’s coach before Steve Kerr.

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

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend……..

13) Golden State 107, Boston 88:
— Warriors outscored Boston 35-14 in third quarter.
— Celtics shot only 15-43 (34.9%) inside the arc.
— Series heads east to Boston, tied 1-1.

12) Phillies 9, Angels 7:
— Angels led 6-2 in 8th inning.
— Harper hit grand slam in 8th; Stott walked it off with a homer in 9th.
— Phillies are 4-0 since they changed managers.

11) Meanwhile, Angels have now lost 11 games in a row; Mike Trout is 0 for his last 26, and if Joe Girardi got fired this week, can Joe Maddon be far behind? Angels are 27-28; much like the Phillies, they don’t have enough pitching, no matter who the manager is.

10) Mets 5, Dodgers 4 (10)— In 12 career games at Dodger Stadium, Pete Alonso is hitting .360, with 7 homers, 16 RBI, 11 runs scored. Mets blew a 4-2 lead in ninth inning here, but scored in 10th inning and split this four-game series.

9) Dodgers messed up a new rule in Saturday night’s game; trailing 9-4 after eight innings, LA wanted a position player to pitch the ninth inning, but there is a new rule that says a team has to be behind by six runs to use a position player to pitch.

Dodgers had no idea about the new rule; all of this caused an 11-minute delay in the game; they let the regular pitcher take his normal warm-ups, which greatly annoyed the Mets’ TV crew.

8) Why do people discuss the MVP race on June 5th? Season still has over 100 games left, long way to go, but talking heads on TV have to speculate who the MVP will be. Come up with better things to talk about, such as………

While the Dodgers are going to pay a $47M payroll tax this year on their $310M payroll, the entire payroll of the Oakland A’s is $48,411,301. For the whole team; that seems fair.

Week 8 of the USFL……..
7) New Jersey 29, Pittsburgh 18:
— Generals have won seven in a row.
— Pittsburgh has been outscored 121-45 in first half of games.
— New Jersey outgained Pittsburgh 379-290.
— Maulers had a pretty good QB in Vad Lee, but benched him; not good.

6) Birmingham 10, New Orleans 9:
— I’ve been upbeat about the USFL, but this was a sloppy game.
— Both teams turned ball over three times.
— Stallions kicked a field goal with 1:48 to keep their perfect record (8-0) intact.
— Breakers scored 23+ points in their wins, 13-17-9 in losses.

5) Philadelphia 46, Michigan 24:
— Stars outgained Michigan 25-6 in second half.
— Philadelphia averaged 8.8 yards/pass attempt.
— Last five weeks, Stars are +9 in turnovers.
— Michigan is 1-4 ATS as an underdog.

4) Tampa Bay 13, Houston 3:
— Gamblers have now lost seven games in a row.
— Houston outgained Bandits 244-214; Tampa threw for only 69 yards.
— Neither team scored in second half.
— Tampa Bay is 4-4 despite their minus-11 turnover ratio.

3) Quin Snyder quit as coach of the Utah Jazz after eight years there; he had a 372-264 record in regular season games, 21-30 in playoffs. Apparently the Utah front office tried to talk him out of it, but Snyder believes the Jazz “……need a new voice”

2) Is it my imagination, or do more hitters swing at 3-0 pitchers now, figuring that might the only time they’re ever going to see a fastball?

1) Orioles pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez has a Grade 2 lat strain, could miss the rest of the season. Rodriguez is listed as MLB’s #5 prospect; he was expected to make his major league debut this summer. Now next spring looks more likely.

 

[Udog]

No games today.... play resumes tomorrow.

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Tuesday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the Canadian Open golf tournament this weekend:
17-2— Scheffler
9-1— Thomas
10-1— McIlroy
12-1— Cam Smith
14-1— Burns
16-1— Fitzpatrick

Quote of the Day
“He’s brilliantly smart. He came in, got in his book and got to work. He’s just one of those guys that works at it. And in some respects, it was similar to when I was in San Diego and I saw the way Philip Rivers was, how smart Philip was. And this guy is smart. Watching Carson (Wentz), it’s like, this guy’s got it, and he really did remind me of Philip to a degree. … It was really pleasing to see,”
Washington Commanders’ coach Ron Rivera

Tuesday’s quiz
Whose picture is on the $10 bill?

Monday’s quiz
In the movie Last Vegas, the four old friends stay at the Aria Hotel for the weekend.

Sunday’s quiz
Mets have played in five World Series, under five different managers:
Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Davey Johnson, Bobby Valentine, Terry Collins

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

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

13) Good news: Rams signed DT Aaron Donald to a $40M raise over the final three years of his contract, which makes him the highest non-quarterback in the NFL.

12) Cleveland Browns’ season over/under for wins and Super Bowl odds are all off the boards until the Deshaun Watson situation is resolved. It figures that Watson is going to be suspended for at least six games; training camp starts next month, a decision is due fairly soon.

11) Wasn’t sure if I knew this or not, but during the season, NFL starting quarterbacks are required to meet with the media twice a week. Once Watson’s suspension is over, his press conferences will become required viewing.

10) Was little weird watching the Celtics-Warriors game Sunday night; Vivek Ranadive, the guy who owns the Sacramento Kings, was sitting right behind the Celtics’ bench during Game 2.

What makes it weird is that Mike Brown is an assistant coach for Golden State, but as soon as the Finals end, he becomes Sacramento’s head coach. Is Ranadive doing Brown a favor, being close enough to the Boston bench to hear what they’re saying?

It is a little paranoid to suggest that, but stranger things have happened.

9) Random fact: in 1892, Benjamin Harrison became the first American President to go to a major league baseball game.

8) 40 years ago, Mike Fratello applied for but didn’t get the head coaching job for the Chicago Bulls; one of Chicago’s co-owners decided that Fratello was too short to command the respect of NBA players.

Seriously; he didn’t get hired because he is 5-foot-7.

Fratello wound up coaching three other NBA teams, compiling a 667-548 record (.549) with 11 winning seasons out of 16. Then he became an excellent broadcaster.

7) Things turned out OK for the Bulls; they did lousy with the coach they did hire, fired that guy, did lousy again the next year, then drafted a guy named Michael Jordan. Things got better.

6) When Bryce Harper hit a game-tying grand slam Sunday, it was the first time the Phillies hit a game-tying grand slam in the 8th inning or later since 1954, against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

5) Red Sox 1, Angels 0— Michael Wacha threw a complete game shutout; Angels have now lost 12 games in a row, but hey, at least Mike Trout got a hit. He is now 1 for his last 28.

4) Colorado 6, Edmonton 5 (OT):
— Avalanche sweeps Edmonton 4 games to 0.
— Oilers led 4-2 midway thru third period.
— Big year for Colorado owner Stan Kroenke, who also owns the Super Bowl champion Rams.

3) Missouri Tigers poached one of the best remaining transfers; Isiaih Mosley picked the Tigers over Kansas and Mississippi State. Mosley scored 20.4 ppg, grabbed 6.2 rebounds/game while hitting 42.7% of his 3-pointers as a junior last year.

2) Since 2019, Jimmy Garoppolo’s passes have averaged 6.8 yards after catch, by far the best average in the NFL; this is what the Miami Dolphins are hoping will happen with their QB, Tua Tagovailoa, why they acquired WR Tyreek Hill.

Miami brought in Mike McDaniel to run the Kyle Shanahan offense; we’ll see if Tagovailoa can pull it off.

1) College baseball tournament is going on now; a pitcher on Maryland threw 109 pitches in Saturday’s game, then pitched again in relief Monday. This is where college baseball becomes dicey; if the kid is a pro prospect, does the manager risk that career for the good of his team?

I remember LSU’s Ben McDonald pitching in relief in the College World Series, the day after he threw a complete game. McDonald wound up pitching nine years in the majors; could he have had a better, longer career had that not happened? We’ll never know.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, June 7

WNBA

Tuesday, June 7

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Trend Report
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Minnesota @ New York
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing New York
New York
The total has gone OVER in 8 of New York's last 9 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota

Atlanta @ Seattle
Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Atlanta's last 9 games on the road
Seattle
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
Seattle is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Atlanta


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[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Wednesday’s 6-pack
— Red Sox 5, Angels 4 (10)- Halos have lost 13 games in a row.
— Plus, Mike Trout got hurt and they fired manager Joe Maddon.
— Astros 4, Mariners 1— Verlander struck out 12 Mariners in seven IP.
— Phillies 3, Brewers 2— Bohm/Vierling homered off Hader in 9th inning.
— Rays 4, Cardinals 2 (10)— Walk-off homer for Taylor Wells in 10th inning.
— Group headed by Walmart heir Rob Walton bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65B, that’s billion, with a B.

Quote of the Day
“The playing is easy. That’s the easy part. It’s the other part that’s a grind. … It seems like a slightly bigger commitment to come up to being the guy again in another season. Obviously I don’t want be a bum standing back there playing like crap and not able to move around, so if the talent goes, it’s a no-brainer, but it’s a little harder when you still can really play and the mental part is difficult.”
Aaron Rodgers

Wednesday’s quiz
What QB got hurt in a 1999 exhibition game that made Kurt Warner the Rams’ starting QB?

Tuesday’s quiz
Alexander Hamilton’s picture is on the $10 bill.

Monday’s quiz
In the movie Last Vegas, the four old friends stay at the Aria Hotel for the weekend.

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

Wednesday’s Den: In a perfect world, where I make all the decisions……

1) Major League Baseball needs a Hard Knocks-type show during spring training, to show the inner workings of his a team is built. It works great with NFL teams in training camp; it would be better with baseball.

There is so much free time in spring training; you can mike players/coaches in spring training games, show players getting sent down to AAA. We’ve seen it in movies, how about real life?

It would also work during the season, just like the NFL is doing now.

2) College football needs an 8-team playoff system; actually 16 teams or 12 teams would be better, but eight is good, for now. Fewer meaningless bowl games, more playoff games that would increase TV ratings, attendance and most important, the $$$ would be bigger.

3) In all pro sports, higher-seeded teams should be able to pick who they play in the playoffs; for example, seven teams from each conference make the NFL playoffs.

Home seed gets a bye; the #2-seed would then get to pick from seeds #5-7 who they want to play first, then #3-seed gets next choice- the two remaining teams would play each other.

Next round, #1-seed gets first choice of who they want to play, and so on. Can you imagine the TV ratings this would get? It would ramp up interest astronomically.

4) Baseball needs both a salary cap and, more importantly, a salary floor; cheap teams who don’t even try to win are hurting the game, both aesthetically and financially.

This season, I care way more about my fantasy team that I do about the A’s, and I’ve been as A’s fan since 1965. They’re not trying to win; I’m too damn old to sit there and watch them get their butts beat most every night, so I focus on my fantasy team. At least I’m TRYING to win.

5) Admission to racetracks should be free, just like walking into a casino is free. You go to a track to bet on the horses, you’re going to bet on the races, you’re going to buy the (overpriced) food and drinks, you’re going to buy souvenirs, why should we have to pay $7 just to get in the door?

If need be, make people pay $10 to get in, but everyone gets a $10 voucher for betting, souvenirs or eating that day.

6) Spring football is a viable thing; when the XFL starts up next year and with the USFL already a thing, the two leagues need to merge and form a 16-team spring league that people will love, much like the USFL back in the 80’s.

7) High school basketball players should be able to go right from high school to the NBA, the way they used to; Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant didn’t play college ball. Going to college for one year is useless; it doesn’t help the college game much, it doesn’t help the NBA, it doesn’t help the players much.

8) Major league baseball should realign geographically; no more American/National leagues, let crosstown rivals compete with each other year-round. Save money on travel, and attendance would be better. More Cub-White Sox, A’s-Giants, Dodger-Angel games, Subway series games.

9) College football teams should not be allowed to schedule I-AA opponents; it is cheating the fans who pay lot of $$$ to see Alabama play Mercer. It is STUPID; play Sun Belt teams, MAC teams, Mountain West teams, but not I-AA teams. It is stealing money.

10) This one will never, ever happen, but NBA playoffs would be way better if every round was best-of-3, and the Finals best-of-5. It would be more like March Madness; more dramatic, more upsets, more fan interest. Losing games would cost the league $$$, which is why it’ll never, ever happen, but the playoffs would be better this way.

11) This one will happen, probably next year. Baseball needs to ban shifts; all four infielders have to be on the infield dirt, two on each side of second base. Baseball needs more line drive hitters, fewer guys trying to hit every pitch over the fielders’ heads, out of the park.

12) ESPN needs to bring back their 24-hour college basketball marathon in November; that was so much fun, games on all night long, giving obscure teams some recognition. I remember being at a bar in Las Vegas playing video poker, watching a game from Hawai’i, then a game with Colgate or Iona or some unknown eastern teams playing— it was awesome.

13) Super Bowl needs to be on Presidents’ Day weekend, where everyone has the next day off from work. Add an 18th game? Give teams two byes instead of one? I’d prefer the 18th game, but the league would be better off if the Super Bowl was just before spring training started.

 

[Udog]

WNBA

Wednesday, June 8

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Trend Report
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Indiana @ Connecticut
Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Indiana's last 12 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Indiana's last 19 games
Connecticut
Connecticut is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Connecticut's last 10 games

Chicago @ Washington
Chicago
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 7 games when playing Washington
Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 8 games at home


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[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, June 8

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Thursday’s 6-pack
What ballplayers are charging for their autograph at Cooperstown on Hall of Fame weekend:
$299— David Ortiz
$119— Johnny Bench
$99— Jim Kaat
$59— Andre Dawson
$49— Rich Gossage
$39— Dwight Gooden

Quote of the Day
“I think for me, I’m going to be respectful of the investigation, of the legal proceedings and let that play out.”
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, the guy who is going to wind up getting fired when this Deshaun Watson thing blows up in Cleveland’s face

Thursday’s quiz
Who has thrown the only no-hitter in San Diego Padres’ history?

Wednesday’s quiz
Trent Green got hurt in a 1999 exhibition game that made Kurt Warner the Rams’ starting QB.

Tuesday’s quiz
Alexander Hamilton’s picture is on the $10 bill.

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

Thursday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….

13) Celtics 116, Warriors 100:
— Boston led 68-56 at halftime.
— Celtics held Golden State to 11 points in 4th quarter.
— Celtics lead the series 2-1

In NBA Finals series that were 1-1, the Game 3 winner has won 32 of 39 series.

12) This was Boston’s 51st home game this season; you would think by now that their crew that lays everything out for the game wound know how high a basket is supposed to be. But no.

About an hour before this game, Warrior players complained that the basket they were shooting at was too high and……..they were right and their warmup was disrupted.

Purely accidental, I’m sure. Uh-huh.

11) Los Angeles Angels haven’t been in the playoffs since 2014, they haven’t won a playoff game since 2009, despite being a big market team with an owner who spends a lot of money. They haven’t finished a season over .500 since 2015.

Interim manager Phil Nevin is the first major league manager who was also the Home overall pick in the amateur draft; Astros took him with the first pick in the 1992 draft.

10) Neglected to mention this the other day, but Eduardo Escobar hit for the cycle Monday night in San Diego, the first Met in 10 years to hit for the cycle. Cycles happen less frequently than no-hitters. Escobar got a triple in his last at-bat Monday.

9) Retired tennis star Andre Agassi is helping fund a third-party NIL program to financially benefit UNLV athletes; this is what college sports are coming to, rich boosters openly giving money/opportunity to athletes who attend their school.

Mark Cuban went to Indiana; I’m guessing the same stuff is going on there, and everywhere, if teams want to win.

8) Cubs got rained out in Baltimore Wednesday; they’ve scored at least one run in the first inning in seven of their last eight games.

7) This Saudi-backed golf tour, the LIV Tour, will have 54-hole tournaments (LIV is the Roman numeral for 54) and no cuts. So far, 10-12 well-known players have bolted to the LIV Tour, which starts this week in England— the next tournament is in Oregon.

6) Was watching the replay of an old Jets-Rams game from 2004, when Mike Martz coached the Rams and Marc Bulger was the QB. Rams finished 8-8 that year, winning their last game in OT, which put them in the playoffs— they had a minus-24 turnover ration.

It is astounding that a team with a minus-24 turnover ratio made the playoffs, and then won a game in the playoffs.

5) Speaking of the Rams, they extended WR Cooper Kupp’s contract, giving him $20M a year or so, which he obviously has earned, being Super Bowl MVP and all. Not bad for a guy who played his college football at I-AA Eastern Washington, where the home turf is bright red.

4) Canadian football League starts this week; BC Lions have two QB’s, Nathan Rourke, Michael O’Connor, both of whom are Canadians.

Was reading online that this is the first time in CFL history a team will have two Canadian QB’s.

3) Phillies 10, Brewers 0— This could just be a coincidence, but Philadelphia is 5-0 since they fired manager Joe Girardi.

2) Was reading an article on the Interweb about ten guys who could be traded before the August 2 trade deadline; three of the first five guys on the list are on my fantasy team. Hopefully they won’t all get traded at the same time, if they’re traded at all.

Actually, Dom Smith also figures to be traded, and he wasn’t on that list. I need him to get dealt to a team that needs a productive hitter, which he is.

1) Actor Matthew McConaughey is from Uvalde, TX, where 4th graders were murdered in their school a couple weeks ago; not sure if his voice will help fix anything, but you wonder what is wrong with people when stuff like that happens, and nothing changes. Politicians are so corrupt they they value the $$$ they get from the NRA over 10-year olds getting murdered. Not good.

 

[Udog]

WNBA

Thursday, June 9

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Trend Report
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Chicago @ Connecticut
Chicago
Chicago is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Chicago is 11-4 ATS in its last 15 games when playing Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is 16-2 SU in its last 18 games at home
Connecticut is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games

New York @ Indiana
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing on the road against Indiana
New York is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing at home against New York

Seattle @ Dallas
Seattle
Seattle is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games when playing Dallas
Seattle is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Dallas's last 8 games at home

Washington @ Minnesota
Washington
Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games on the road
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota's last 8 games
Minnesota is 14-5 SU in its last 19 games at home

Atlanta @ Phoenix
Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta's last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Atlanta's last 10 games on the road
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Phoenix is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Atlanta


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[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Friday’s 6-pack
MLB leaders in OPS:
1.055— Aaron Judge, NYY
1.026— Yordan Alvarez, Hst
1.017— Paul Goldschmidt, StL
1.007— Jose Ramirez, Clev
1.001— Bryce Harper, Phil
.989— Mike Trout, LAA

Quote of the Day
“Is there some question about whether that was good move or not? Do you know what [Turner] hits against left-handed pitching with 0-1 or two strikes? Do you know what Muncy hits with two strikes against a left-handed pitcher? Is that really a question? We had an open base and Muncy happened to be the guy behind him and that’s a better matchup.”
Tony LaRussa, after walking Trea Turner intentionally with a 1-2 count

Friday’s quiz
Who was the Knicks’ coach last time they won a playoff series?

Thursday’s quiz
Joe Musgrove threw the only no-hitter in San Diego Padres’ history.

Wednesday’s quiz
Trent Green got hurt in a 1999 exhibition game that made Kurt Warner the Rams’ starting QB.

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

Friday’s Den: USFL Week 9 preview and other random stuff

— When a major league manager makes an unusual strategic move and it blows up, he gets raked over the coals, doubly so if the team is struggling.

Thursday in Chicago, Dodgers led White Sox 7-5 in top of 6th inning; Trea Turner had a 1-2 count on him, with Freddie Freeman moving to second base on a wild pitch. With a lefty on mound, first base open with two outs and lefty Max Muncy up next, White Sox skipper Tony LaRussa had Turner walked intentionally, even with a 1-2 count.

Muncy hit a 3-run homer; the peanut gallery was not amused. White Sox are 26-29; they’ve had lot of injuries, but they’re struggling and LaRussa is 77 years old and people are fickle- they don’t care that LaRussa is already in the Hall of Fame, that he was managing in the big leagues before any active major leaguer was born.

What have you done for me lately?

— Oakland A’s are having a terrible season because they have a minor league roster, but the guys who are playing for Oakland are doing their best; it just isn’t good enough.

1B Christian Bethancourt hit his second home run of the season Thursday; this is a guy who played for the Braves/Padres from 2013-17, then was out of the major leagues…..until this year.

He went six years in between major league home runs; that doesn’t happen much.

— New York 10, Minnesota 7: Thursday night in Minnesota, Garret Cole gave up home runs to Arraez-Buxton-Correa, the Twins’ first three batters. This was only the 7th time in MLB history a team hit back-back-back homers to start the first inning of a game.

Twins are second of those seven teams to lose after starting with three home runs.

Gerrit Cole makes $36M a year; you figure based on 32 starts, that is $1.125M per start. Here is what New York got for their $1.12M Thursday:

70 pitches, 2.1 IP— 8 hits, 7 runs allowed, all earned runs. He gave up five home runs.

— Minnesota Twins have lost their last 18 playoff games, the longest postseason losing streak, not just in baseball, but in any sport.

— Marlins 7, Nationals 4— Stephen Strasburg pitched in his first MLB game in a year, coming off of thoracic outlet surgery; he allowed seven runs in 4.2 IP (83 PT)

From what I’ve heard on TV, thoracic outlet surgery is difficult to come back from, more so than other injuries pitchers usually suffer.

— Angels 5, Red Sox 2— Angels snap a 14-game losing streak; Ohtani threw seven innings and also hit a home run.

— Phillies 8, Brewers 3— Phillies are 5-0 since they changed managers, are only 2.5 games out of the last playoff spot.

Week 9 USFL games……..
Michigan vs New Jersey (-7.5)
Michigan Panthers (1-7)
— Lost their last five games (0-4-1 ATS)
— 0-4 in games decided by 5 or fewer points.
— Last five games, they’re minus-7 in turnovers.
— Their only win was 24-0 over 1-6 Pittsburgh.
— Last five games went over the total.
— Michigan is 1-4 ATS as an underdog.

New Jersey Generals (7-1)
— Won last seven games (5-2 ATS), scoring 24.7 ppg in last six.
— Generals held last six opponents to 16.7 ppg.
— Outscored last two foes 40-10 in first half.
— 3-2 ATS as a favorite
— Four of their last five games went over the total.

First meeting:
— Week 1, Generals (-1) beat Michigan 10-6.
— Game was 10-6 at half, scoreless in second half.
— Total yardage: 263-258, Michigan
— New Jersey won, despite being minus-2 in turnovers.

Houston vs Birmingham (-13.5)
Houston Gamblers (1-7)
— Lost their last seven games (2-5 ATS)
— Led seven of their eight games at halftime.
— Have a bad record, despite a +5 turnover ratio.
— Six of last seven games went over total
— Outscored 107-39 in second half.

Birmingham Stallions (8-0)
— Both their quarterbacks were banged up last week.
— Trailed at halftime in half of their eight games
— Outscored opponents 117-50 in second half.
— Outrushed last five foes 797-404
— 6-2 against spread, 0-2 last two weeks.

First meeting
— Stallions (-3) beat Houston 33-28 in Week 2.
— Gamblers led that game 18-13 at halftime.
— Total yardage: 391-285, Stallions.

Tampa Bay vs New Orleans (-3)
Tampa Bay Bandits (4-4)
— Bandits lost three of their last five games.
— Minus-11 in turnovers— have only four takeaways.
— 1-2 ATS as an underdog.
— Were shut out in second half in 4 of 8 games.
— Under is 5-3 in their games.

New Orleans Breakers (5-3)
— Scored 23+ points in their wins, 13-17-9 in losses.
— Four of last five games went over the total
— Last six games, they’re minus-5 in turnovers (8-13)
— 2-0 ATS this season as an underdog.
— Lost on last play LW, 10-9 to 8-0 Birmingham.

First meeting:
— Breakers (+2.5) waxed Tampa Bay 34-3 in Week 2.
— New Orleans was +3 in turnovers; they led 21-3 at halftime.
— Bandits were only 11-29/64 yards passing.
— Breakers outgained Tampa Bay, 374-194

Philadelphia (-8.5) vs Pittsburgh
Philadelphia Stars (5-3)
— Won four of last five games, are 2-2-1 ATS as favorites.
— Last five weeks, they’re +9 in turnovers.
— Gave up 23+ points in all eight games (over 6-1 last seven).
— Have been outgained in six of eight games (3-4-1 ATS).
— Scored 30-26-35-35-46 points in wins; 17-16-17 in losses.

Pittsburgh Maulers (1-7)
— Have been outscored 121-45 in first half of games.
— Are 1-7 with an even turnover ratio.
— Completed less than half their passes in four games.
— Six of their last seven games went over total.
— Covered spread three of last five weeks (3-4-1 ATS for year).

First meeting:
— Stars (-7) beat Pittsburgh 30-23 in Week 2.
— Maulers outrushed Philly 123-45, outgained them 348-303
— Philly led 21-16 at halftime.
— Stars won despite turning ball over three times (-1).

 

[Udog]

WNBA

Friday, June 10

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

Chicago @ Connecticut
Chicago
Chicago is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Chicago is 11-4 ATS in its last 15 games when playing Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is 16-2 SU in its last 18 games at home
Connecticut is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games

New York @ Indiana
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing on the road against Indiana
New York is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing at home against New York

Seattle @ Dallas
Seattle
Seattle is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games when playing Dallas
Seattle is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Dallas's last 8 games at home

Washington @ Minnesota
Washington
Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games on the road
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota's last 8 games
Minnesota is 14-5 SU in its last 19 games at home

Atlanta @ Phoenix
Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta's last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Atlanta's last 10 games on the road
Phoenix
Phoenix is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Phoenix is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Atlanta


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

 

[Willie99]

Thanks for talking sports and gambling and providing some insight

Refreshing

 

[Udog]

Thanks for talking sports and gambling and providing some insight

Refreshing

You're welcome, Willie! I hope it helps. Good luck today!

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Friday, June 10

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Saturday’s 6-pack
Spreads for NFL games this fall:
Week 10 — Arizona @ LA Rams (-5.5)
Week 11— Chicago @ Atlanta (-1)
Week 12— Baltimore (-4.5) @ Jacksonville
Week 13— Buffalo (-3) @ New England
Week 14— Carolina @ Seattle (-2.5)
Week 15— Philadelphia (-3) @ Chicago

Quote of the Day
“You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough.”
Joe E Lewis

Saturday’s quiz
Who was the last player from Santa Clara drafted by an NBA team?

Friday’s quiz
Mike Woodson was the Knicks’ coach last time they won a playoff series.

Thursday’s quiz
Joe Musgrove threw the only no-hitter in San Diego Padres’ history.

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

Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here……..

13) Warriors 107, Celtics 97:
— Golden State outscored Boston 58-43 in second half.
— Steph Curry scored 43 points, had 10 rebounds.
— Series is tied 2-2; the accountants are happy.

12) Warriors have won at least one road game in 27 consecutive playoff series, which is an NBA record. Golden State was +13 on the boards in Game 4.

11) Charlotte Hornets are expected to hire Kenny Atkinson as their new coach; he would be the second Warriors assistant to be hired as a head coach this spring. Mike Brown will be Sacramento’s coach next season.

10) New York 2, Cubs 1 (13)— Teams combined to go 1-37 with runners in scoring position. Cubs played nine games last week; this was their second game this week.

9) Giants 7, Dodgers 2— LA starter Walker Buehler will undergo an MRI on Saturday after leaving this game early because of discomfort in his right elbow.

8) Indians 3, A’s 2— Oakland led 2-0 in ninth inning, but because this is the A’s worst season since the end of the Charlie Finley era in the late 70’s, Cleveland scored three times in the ninth inning, sending Oakland to its 10th consecutive loss.

7) Friday was also an especially dreadful night for my fantasy baseball team, so I watched a movie on HBO Max; Card Counter, which was only a little bit about poker, and mostly about an ex-military interrogator haunted by the ghosts of his past.

Pretty good movie until the end, which was extremely disappointing, but it was still better than watching the under-achieving Armadillos go 8-35 with one RBI.

6) Phillies 7, Arizona 5— Philadelphia has won eight games in a row, is 7-0 under interim manager Rob Thompson, who may not be an interim manager for long.

5) Washington 11, Milwaukee 5— Brewers have lost seven games in a row.

4) Hot teams:
Braves have won 9 in a row.
Phillies have won 8 in a row
Marlins have won 4 in a row

Cold teams
Angels have lost 15 of their last 16 games.
Oakland has lost 10 in a row
Milwaukee has lost 7 in a row

3) Baseball injuries:
— Detroit P Casey Mize (elbow) is out for the year
— Boston P Garrett Whitlock (hip) is on the IL
— Tampa Bay P Andrew Kittredge (elbow) is out for the year
— Minnesota SS Royce Lewis (knee) is out for the year.

2) If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL— Mets, Cardinals, Dodgers Wild Cards: Milwaukee, San Diego, San Francisco
AL— New York, Twins, Astros Wild Cards: Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox

1) Los Angeles Chargers owner Dean Spanos has been accused of “misogynistic” behavior, “self-dealing” and repeated “breaches of fiduciary duty” by his sister in a lawsuit that escalates the siblings’ ongoing legal battle over control of the team.

Four Spanos siblings each own 15% of the team; a trust owns 36% of the team, 4% is owned by non-family members. The legal struggle is over control of the trust.

Also, Baltimore Orioles CEO John Angelos was accused in a lawsuit this week of seizing control of the team at the expense of his brother, Lou — and in defiance of their father Peter’s wishes.

Orioles’ owner Peter Angelos turns 93 next month; there will be a struggle over who controls the franchise, because the franchise is worth a ten-figure sum.

It is good to know that rich people have problems too.

 

[Udog]

WNBA

Saturday, June 11

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

Las Vegas @ Los Angeles
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
Las Vegas is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Los Angeles's last 11 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Los Angeles is 14-4 SU in its last 18 games when playing at home against Las Vegas


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

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, June 11

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Sunday’s 6-pack
— Seattle 7, Boston 6— Mariners scored twice in bottom of 9th.
— Phillies 4, Arizona 0— Phillies have won nine games in a row.
— Braves 10, Pirates 4— Atlanta scored eight times in 7th inning.
— Angels 11, Mets 6— Jared Walsh hit for the cycle.
— Padres 2, Rockies 1 (10)— Winning run scored on a throwing error after a wild pitch.
— Lightning 3, Rangers 2— Tampa Bay vs Colorado is the Stanley Cup final.

Quote of the Day
“Obviously, like I’m gonna go with 15 (Mahomes) as the strongest arm, but as far as accuracy-wise, I’m going with Tua all day.”
WR Tyreek Hill, newly signed with the Dolphins

Sunday’s quiz
Keith Hernandez wore number 17 with the Mets; what number did he wear with the Cardinals?

Saturday’s quiz
Steve Nash was the last player from Santa Clara drafted by an NBA team.

Friday’s quiz
Mike Woodson was the Knicks’ coach last time they won a playoff series.


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

Sunday’s Den: 13 of my favorite quotes

13) “I think everyone should go to college and get a degree, and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cab driver. Then they would really be educated”
Al McGuire

12) “It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer”
Albert Einstein

11) “Be nice to people on way up, because you meet them on your way down”
Jimmy Durante

10) “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards”
Soren Kierkegaard

9) “Money won is twice as sweet as money earned”
Fast Eddie Felson, from The Color of Money

8) “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”
Thomas Edison

7) “To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved”
George McDonald

6) “I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts”
John Locke

5) “The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer everyone else up”
Mark Twain

4) “Success is never final”
Winston Churchill

3) “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more of it I have”
Thomas Jefferson

2) “The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made”
Jean Giraudoux

1) “Trust everybody, but cut the cards”
Fimley Peter Dunne