Cnotes 2021 wnba trends, news, best bets and opinions thru the playoffs !

[Udog]

Saturday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in doubles:
25— Nick Castellanos, Cin
24— Adam Frazier, Pitt
23— Rafael Devers, Bos
22— Michael Brantley, Nolan Arenado, Ozzie Albies
21— Xander Bogaerts Bos
20— Cedric Mullins Balt, Brian Reynolds Pitt

Quote of the Day
“He’s not ready yet, but he doesn’t have to be ready yet. We got a long training camp coming up. He’s probably advanced maybe a little quicker than we would’ve thought, which was a positive.”
Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, on rookie QB Trevor Lawrence

Saturday’s quiz
Who was the Dodgers’ manager, last time they missed the playoffs?

Friday’s quiz
Terry Collins managed the Mets the last time they played in a World Series, in 2015.

Thursday’s quiz
Davey Johnson managed the Mets, last time they won the World Series, in 1986.

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

Saturday’s Den: SEC football knowledge

Alabama:
— Crimson Tide hasn’t been underdog in a game since 2015
— Last six years, covering 85 games, Alabama is +68 in turnovers.
— Alabama is 54-35-1 ATS in last 90 SEC games, 23-25-1 in last 49 non-league tilts.

Arkansas
— Last six years, Arkansas is 8-12 ATS as a home favorite.
— Since 2012, Razorbacks are 13-24 ATS in game coming off a win.
— Arkansas is 11-35 SU last four years; their last bowl was 2016.

Auburn
— Since 2014, Auburn is 19-33-1 ATS in game coming off a SU win.
— Since 2015, Tigers are 9-5-1 ATS as a road underdog.
— Auburn lost four of last five bowls, giving up 31+ points in all four losses.

Florida
— Dan Mullen is 32-22-1 ATS as a home favorite, 7-3 SU in bowls
— At Florida, Mullen is 15-10-1 ATS as a home favorite.
— Gators have a freshman QB Jalen Kitna, son of former NFL QB Jon Kitna.

Georgia
— Last four years, Dawgs are 44-9 SU; they won 4 of last 6 bowls.
— Last ten years, Georgia is 23-14 ATS as a road favorite.
— Last four years, Dawgs are 26-16 ATS in game coming off a win.

Kentucky
— Favorites are 27-15-2 ATS in Kentucky home games in the Stoops era.
— Wildcats are 15-8 in last 23 games as a home favorite, 7-12-2 as a home dog.
— Since 2012, Kentucky is 19-31-3 ATS in game coming off a loss.

LSU
— Under Orgeron, LSU is 7-0 ATS as a road underdog.
— Last 10 years, LSU is 17-9 ATS in games coming off a loss.
— LSU won its last three bowls, scoring 40-63-42 points.

Ole Miss
— Lane Kiffin is 1-8 ATS as a home underdog, 13-5-1 as a road dog.
— Last four years, Ole Miss is 2-8 ATS as a home underdog.
— Rebels won 4 of last 5 bowls (favorites 4-1 ATS)

Mississippi State
— Mike Leach is 90-72 ATS in league games, 31-38-2 out of conference.
— Underdogs covered Miss State’s last five bowls.
— Bulldogs are 3-8 ATS in last 11 home games.

Missouri
— Last three years, Mizzou is 9-5 ATS as a home favorite.
— Tigers have 88 returning starts on the offensive line; that’s good.
— Since 2015, Mizzou is 5-11 ATS as a road underdog.

South Carolina
— Last three years, Gamecocks are 3-8 ATS as a home underdog.
— Carolina has 4 starters back (84 starts) on the offensive line.
— Gamecocks have only 3 scholarship QB’s on the roster.

Tennessee
— Vols are 12-22 ATS in last 34 home games, since 2017, they’re 5-10 ATS as home favorites.
— Last 10 years, Tennessee is 19-34-1 ATS in games coming off a win.
— Good news; Vols won last four bowls; they have QB’s transferring in from Va Tech/Michigan.

Texas A&M
— Last three years, Aggies are 6-0 ATS as a road favorite.
— Jimbo Fisher is 8-2 SU in bowls, 33-18 ATS in non-conference games.
— Aggies covered 14 of last 21 games coming off a SU win.

Vanderbilt
— Last four years, Vandy is 3-12 ATS as a home underdog.
— Vandy gave up 41-45 points in last two bowls; their last bowl win was 2013.
— The new coach was a walk-on FB at Vandy; his last job was DC at Notre Dame. Both the coordinators come to Vandy from NFL jobs.

 

[Udog]

WNBA

Saturday, June 26

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Trend Report
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Washington @ Dallas
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Washington's last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games on the road
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 6 games
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington

New York @ Atlanta
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 6 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York's last 7 games on the road
Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games when playing at home against New York
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Atlanta's last 10 games


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[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Saturday, June 26

 

[Udog]

 

[CNOTES]

SATURDAY, JUNE 26
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

WAS at DAL 01:00 PM
DAL -6.0
O 167.5
+500 +500


NY at ATL 07:00 PM
NY +3.0
U 169.0
+500 +500

 

[CNOTES]

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD


06/26/2021......2-2-0.....50.00%......-1.00
06/25/2021......2-0-0...100.00%....+10.00
06/24/2021......6-0-0...100.00%....+30.00
06/23/2021......2-0-0...100.00%....+10.00
06/22/2021......4-2-0.....66.67%.....+9.00
06/20/2021......2-0-0....100.00%...+10.00
06/19/2021......4-2-0......66.67%....+9.00
06/18/2021......2-0-0.......0.00%....+10.00
06/17/2021......5-4-1 .....55.55%....+3.00
06/16/2021......1-1-0......50.00%.....-0.50
06/15/2021......1-5-0 .....16.67%....-22.50
06/13/2021......3-5-0 .....37.50%....-12.50
06/12/2021......3-1-0 .....75.00%.....+9.50
06/11/2021......2-2-0 .....50.00%......-1.00
06/10/2021......1-1-0 .....50.00%......-0.50
06/09/2021......0-4-0.......0.00%.....-22.00
06/08/2021 .....1-3-0 .....25.00%.....-11.50
06/06/2021 .....2-2-0..... 50.00%...... -1.00
06/05/2021 .....5-1-0 .....83.33% ...+19.50
06/04/2021 .....2-2-0 .....50.00%...... -1.00
06/01/2021..... 5-3-0 .....62.50%..... +8.50




Totals:..........55-40-0 .....57.89%.....+ 52.00




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


BEST BETS:


DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD


06/26/2021......2-2-0......50.00%....- 1.00
06/25/2021......1-0-0....100.00%....+10.00
06/24/2021......4-0-0....100.00%....+ 40.00
06/23/2021......2-0-0....100.00%....+ 10.00
06/22/2021......3-2-0......60.00%....+ 4.50
06/20/2021......2-0-0....100.00%....+10.00
06/19/2021......4-2-0......66.66%....+ 9.00
06/18/2021......2-0-0.....100.00%....+10.00
06/17/2021......3-3-0......50.00%.....- 1.50
06/16/2021......1-1-0......50.00%......-0.50
06/15/2021......1-5-0......16.66%.....-22.50
06/13/2021......3-3-0......30.00%.......-1.50
06/12/2021......3-1-0......75.00%......+9.50
06/11/2021......2-2-0 .....50.00%.......-1.00
06/10/2021......1-1-0 .....50.00%.......-0.50
06/09/2021......0-4-0.......0.00%......-22.00
06/08/2021 .....1-3-0 .....25.00%.....-11.50
06/06/2021 .....2-2-0 .....50.00%..... - 1.00
06/05/2021 .....3-1-0..... 75.00% .....+9.50
06/04/2021 .....2-2-0 .....50.00%..... - 1.00
06/01/2021......5-3-0 ......62.50%....+ 8.50


Totals:..........49-33-0.......59.75%......+ 58.50

 

[Udog]

Sunday’s 6-pack
Major league leaders in RBI:
64— Vladimir Guerrero, Tor
60— Rafael Devers, Bos
56— Shohei Ohtani, LAA
54— Adolis Garcia, Austin Meadows, Fernando Tatis
53— Matt Olson, Jose Abreu, Adam Duvall
50— Randal Grichuk, Yuli Gurriel, Trey Mancini, Jared Walsh

Quote of the Day
“You have to be odd to be number one.”
Dr. Seuss

Sunday’s quiz
UCLA hasn’t won a bowl game since 2014; who was coaching the Bruins back then?

Saturday’s quiz
Don Mattingly was the Dodgers’ manager, last time they missed the playoffs.

Friday’s quiz
Terry Collins managed the Mets the last time they played in a World Series, in 2015.

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

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday

13) Pro wrestler/actor John Cena has granted more than 650 wishes to sick children thru the Make-a-Wish foundation, by far the most by any celebrity.

We need to hear more stories like this one, about people who do good things and don’t necessarily get paid for it.

12) Suns 84, Clippers 80:
— Phoenix leads series 3-1.
— Phoenix won despite scoring 34 points in second half.
— Suns’ 84 points are least amount scored by any winning team in any NBA game this season.

11) Former big league pitcher Rick Sutcliffe told a funny story on the Cub-Dodger game this week.

When he was a young pitcher for the Dodgers, Sutcliffe was having a Dodger Dog in the bullpen as a home game started, but LA’s starting pitcher got hurt in the first inning. The bullpen phone rang; Sutcliffe was summoned in to be the reliever.

Sutcliffe gets to the mound, and is surprised when Tommy Lasorda starts chewing him out. Turns out Sutcliffe spilled some mustard on his jersey while he was having his Dodger Dog. Not good.

10) Going into Saturday’s game, Red Sox hitters batting in the leadoff slot had a .275 on-base %age, which would be the 4th-worst on-base %age in the American League since 1969. Red Sox are 46-31 right now; here are the other three teams whose leadoff hitters struggled:

1978 A’s 69-93
1981 Blue Jays 37-69
1994 Mariners 49-63

9) Thursday was first day in over 100 years where two starting pitchers were taken out of games on the same day, when both had no-hitters in the 7th inning or later.

Red Sox took Nick Pivetta out after 6.2 no-hit innings; Red Sox wound up losing 1-0 to the Rays in St Pete. Zach Davies threw six no-hit innings for the Cubs, who used three other relievers to close out the Dodgers 4-0.

8) This week in Minnesota, Twins’ Miguel Sano did all this in one game:
— He pinch ran
— He had 2+ hits
— He had 2+ RBI
— He hit a walk-off homer

He is the only American League player EVER to do all those things in the same game.

7) Mets-Phillies split a twinbill Friday; Philly became the first team this season to blow a save in both ends of a doubleheader. Phillies have blown six saves in their last four games.

6) Marv Albert is retiring this summer; he has been one of the best play-by-play guys in NBA history, and he’s been great for a long time. Was pretty cool this week when he was presented with an actual Larry O’Brien trophy by the league, in recognition of his great career.

5) Was surprised to read that Oklahoma’s football opener this fall is at Tulane; big-time teams like the Sooners aren’t usually eager to play road games.

Tulane isn’t terrible; they’re 20-18 the last three years, playing in bowls all three years. Green Wave covered its last six games as a home underdog, by the way.

4) NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights will have an AHL farm team playing in suburban Henderson this fall, in a new 6,000-seat arena that is almost finished. Big West conference basketball tournament is going to be played there next spring- they played at Mandalay Bay last year.

3) Montreal Canadiens are in the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1993; five of their last six home game have gone to overtime.

2) Atlanta Hawks have won three Game 1 playoff series on the road this year, only the 4th team ever to do that. The other three:

1981 Rockets
1989 Bulls
1999 Knicks

1) If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Brewers, Giants. Wild Card: Padres @ Dodgers
AL: Rays, White Sox, Astros. Wild Card: A’s @ Red Sox

 

[Udog]

WNBA

Sunday, June 27

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

Chicago @ Connecticut
Chicago
Chicago is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Connecticut's last 8 games when playing Chicago
Connecticut is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home

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

Los Angeles @ Phoenix
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 6 games on the road
Los Angeles is 14-3 SU in its last 17 games when playing Phoenix
Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Phoenix's last 10 games at home


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

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, June 27

 

[Udog]

 

[CNOTES]

SUNDAY, JUNE 27
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


CHI at CONN 02:00 PM
CHI -5.0
U 157.5
+500 +500


SEA at LV 04:00 PM
SEA +2.5
O 170.0
+500 +500


LA at PHO 06:00 PM
PHO -6.5
U 156.0
+500 +500

 

[CNOTES]

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD


06/27/2021......3-3-0.....50.00%......-1.50
06/26/2021......2-2-0.....50.00%......-1.00
06/25/2021......2-0-0...100.00%....+10.00
06/24/2021......6-0-0...100.00%....+30.00
06/23/2021......2-0-0...100.00%....+10.00
06/22/2021......4-2-0.....66.67%.....+9.00
06/20/2021......2-0-0....100.00%...+10.00
06/19/2021......4-2-0......66.67%....+9.00
06/18/2021......2-0-0.......0.00%....+10.00
06/17/2021......5-4-1 .....55.55%....+3.00
06/16/2021......1-1-0......50.00%.....-0.50
06/15/2021......1-5-0 .....16.67%....-22.50
06/13/2021......3-5-0 .....37.50%....-12.50
06/12/2021......3-1-0 .....75.00%.....+9.50
06/11/2021......2-2-0 .....50.00%......-1.00
06/10/2021......1-1-0 .....50.00%......-0.50
06/09/2021......0-4-0.......0.00%.....-22.00
06/08/2021 .....1-3-0 .....25.00%.....-11.50
06/06/2021 .....2-2-0..... 50.00%...... -1.00
06/05/2021 .....5-1-0 .....83.33% ...+19.50
06/04/2021 .....2-2-0 .....50.00%...... -1.00
06/01/2021..... 5-3-0 .....62.50%..... +8.50




Totals:..........55-40-0 .....57.89%.....+ 52.00




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


BEST BETS:


DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD


06/27/2021......3-3-0......50.00%......-1.50
06/26/2021......2-2-0......50.00%.....- 1.00
06/25/2021......1-0-0....100.00%....+10.00
06/24/2021......4-0-0....100.00%....+ 40.00
06/23/2021......2-0-0....100.00%....+ 10.00
06/22/2021......3-2-0......60.00%....+ 4.50
06/20/2021......2-0-0....100.00%....+10.00
06/19/2021......4-2-0......66.66%....+ 9.00
06/18/2021......2-0-0.....100.00%....+10.00
06/17/2021......3-3-0......50.00%.....- 1.50
06/16/2021......1-1-0......50.00%......-0.50
06/15/2021......1-5-0......16.66%.....-22.50
06/13/2021......3-3-0......30.00%.......-1.50
06/12/2021......3-1-0......75.00%......+9.50
06/11/2021......2-2-0 .....50.00%.......-1.00
06/10/2021......1-1-0 .....50.00%.......-0.50
06/09/2021......0-4-0.......0.00%......-22.00
06/08/2021 .....1-3-0 .....25.00%.....-11.50
06/06/2021 .....2-2-0 .....50.00%..... - 1.00
06/05/2021 .....3-1-0..... 75.00% .....+9.50
06/04/2021 .....2-2-0 .....50.00%..... - 1.00
06/01/2021......5-3-0 ......62.50%....+ 8.50


Totals:..........52-36-0.......59.09%......+ 57.00

 

[Udog]

Monday’s 6-pack
Six interesting college football spreads on Labor Day weekend:
— North Carolina (-6) @ Virginia Tech
— Michigan State @ Northwestern (-7.5)
— Western Michigan @ Michigan (-17.5)
— Penn State @ Wisconsin (-4)
— Indiana @ Iowa (-6)
— Alabama (-18.5) vs Miami (@ Atlanta)

Quote of the Day
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Wayne Gretzky

Monday’s quiz
Who was the football coach at Alabama before Nick Saban?

Sunday’s quiz
UCLA hasn’t won a bowl game since 2014; Jim Mora Jr was coaching the Bruins back then.

Saturday’s quiz
Don Mattingly was the Dodgers’ manager, last time they missed the playoffs.

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

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend

13) Few years ago, maybe 10 years ago, I’m at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, which is good stuff. You pay $30 or so for the day, sit in air conditioning all day when it is 110 outside, watch really good basketball and the concession stand is pretty good.

I’m sitting there with a buddy watching games and this very large human sits in front of us; the guy is probably a bodybuilder, and he launches into a spiel how he bet on this game and he was going to win, because “……..they posted a bad spread” at the sportsbook.

Uh-oh.

“Team A is an underdog here; they won by 20 yesterday; they’re going to kill Team B!!!”

One small problem; teams don’t always play the same guys in every summer league game- they have to see all the prospects play. The guys who won by 20 for Team A yesterday were sitting at the end of the bench, watching the other guys get blown out of the gym by Team B.

The bodybuilder didn’t catch on; I considered telling him, but they often kill the messenger, so we just moved to another seat at halftime. Moral of the story: they don’t post bad spreads.

12) May 12, 2001, AJ Burnett threw a no-hitter for the Marlins in San Diego, a strange game.

— Burnett threw a no-hitter while walking 9 guys, striking out 7.
— Game was only 3-0, so having that many men on base had to be dicey.
— Read where he threw 129 pitches, facing 36 hitters.

Guys on the Padres that day included Rickey Henderson and current major league coaches Dave Magadan, Phil Nevin, Mark Kotsay. San Diego stole three bases that day, but didn’t score.

11) Pirates 7, Cardinals 2— Young man named Max Kranick made his MLB debut in this game, a game he will never forget. Kranick retired all 15 batters he faced, and on only 50 pitches. His minor league record isn’t that great, but this performance sure was.

Pirates led 7-0 when they took him out. A great day for Sam Kranick.

10) San Francisco Giants are 10-2 after a day off this year, best in the major leagues.

9) So far in June, other than Adam Wainwright, St Louis starting pitchers are 0-12 with an ERA of over 7.00.

8) Arizona Diamondbacks snapped their 24-game road losing skid Saturday night, but then blew a 4-2 lead in 7th inning Sunday, and lost 5-4 in San Diego. Arizona is having a terrible season.

7) June 27, 2003 the Red Sox scored 14 runs in the first inning against the Marlins- they scored 10 runs before they made an out. Marlins threw 91 pitches, just in the first inning. Long night for the Marlins, but they got over it and wound up winning the World Series that year.

6) Jesse Chavez pitches for the Braves these days; he’s been traded 8 times in his career:
July 31, 2006— Traded from Texas to Pittsburgh for Kip Wells.
November 3, 2009— Pirates traded him to Tampa Bay for Akinori Iwamura.
December 11, 2009— 38 days later, Rays traded him to Atlanta for Rafael Soriano
July 31, 2010— Braves traded him to Kansas City in a 5-player deal.
October 21, 2011— Blue Jays acquired him on waivers from the Royals.
August 24, 2012— A’s purchased his contract from Toronto.
November 20, 2015— A’s traded him back to Toronto for Liam Hendriks.
August 1, 2016— Toronto traded him to the Dodgers for Mike Bolsinger.
July 19, 2018— Texas traded him to the Cubs for Tyler Thomas.

He’s also signed as a free agent five different times; he must pack really well.

5) Boston is 47-31, Bronx is 40-37, 6.5 games behind. Red Sox are 6-0 against Bronx this year, so they’re pretty much equal against everyone else.

4) Bucks 113, Hawks 102:
— Milwaukee grabs a 2-1 series lead.
— Middleton scored 38 points, was +16 for the game.
— Trae Young left with a sprained ankle, came back, scored 35 points.

3) Peyton Manning is going to be hosting a gameshow on NBC on Tuesday nights; College Bowl, pitting teams of college students against each other. This was a TV show from 1959-70, back when Archie Manning was in college.

Guess it will interesting to see Peyton Manning as a quizmaster; Aaron Rodgers did pretty well as a guest host on Jeopardy!

2) Of all the college basketball teams in the top five conferences, Purdue/Stanford are the only two teams that haven’t poached a transfer for this coming season.

1) Happy birthday to the great comedian Mel Brooks, who turns 95 today; this guy is a comic genius. Remember the old TV show Get Smart? It was back when I was a little kid, in the 60’s, about bumbling spies. Funny show.

Agent Maxwell Smart had a phone inside his shoe; he would talk into the heel. We laughed about it then, but it was the first cellphone!!! Mel Brooks is a genius; happy birthday!!!

 

[Udog]

Tuesday’s 6-pack
Six interesting NFL Week 1 spreads:
— Dallas @ Tampa Bay (-6.5, 52)
— Pittsburgh @ Buffalo (-6, 50.5)
— NJ Jets @ Carolina (-4, 43.5)
— Jacksonville (-2.5, 45.5) @ Houston
— Arizona @ Tennessee (-3, 52)
— LA Chargers (-1.5, 44.5) @ Washington

Quote of the Day
“We were so naïve, and we don’t know the building well enough to know that more than half the building collapsed. The lights were out, and we were just trying to get out of there as fast as possible.”
UConn pitcher Justin Willis, who escaped the building that collapsed in Miami last week

Tuesday’s quiz
Milwaukee Brewers came to be in 1970, after spending their first season in existence in another city. Where did the Brewers call home for one year, in 1969?

Monday’s quiz
Mike Shula was the football coach at Alabama before Nick Saban.

Sunday’s quiz
UCLA hasn’t won a bowl game since 2014; Jim Mora Jr was coaching the Bruins back then.

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

Tuesday’s Den: Some thoughts about movies…….

It is 3am, I don’t feel like going to bed, so I’m going to rattle on about movies for a while.

These are my opinions, so they’re neither right/wrong, just what I think. Make your own lists, it was fun to clear out the cobwebs in my mind and think of some old stuff.

13) Movies I think I’ve seen the most (wish I had an official count)

— Moneyball- Hey, I’m an A’s fam
— Rounders- Great movie.
— A Star is Born- First hour is great, second hour very sad.
— Last Vegas- An epic cast.
— Blue Chips- My all-time favorite basketball movie.

Guys who played basketball in Blue Chips who later became coaches:
— Anfernee Hardaway
— Bobby Hurley
— Rex Walters
— Matt Painter

I am unusual (you call it odd, I say unusual) in that I see movies I like dozens of times, maybe more, but I’ve never seen Star Wars and I only saw the Godfather for first time couple years ago.

12) Other movies I’ve seen an awful lot
— Major League- Bob Uecker should’ve won an Oscar for his role.
— Molly’s Game- True story about a woman who ran underground poker games.
— Begin Again- If you like music, this is a good one to see.
— Dave- Kevin Kline becomes a stand-in for the US President.
— For Love of the Game- A 40-year pitcher makes his last game his best one.

As soon as these lists get posted, I’m going to think of 3-4 movies I forgot, and I’m going to be so annoyed at myself.

11) This all started when someone on Twitter posted a thing: “Name the five movies you’ve seen the most” which started my mind running and also a lot of other people. The thread is fun to go through; people like so many different things, it is what makes our country so interesting, we live in the same place but like totally different things.

10) When I was a teenager, I was a big fan of stand-up comics and my favorite was Steve Martin. I have one of his comedy albums (Let’s Get Small) but he also became a really good actor. My three favorite Steve Martin movies:
— Leap of Faith
— Shopgirl
— Roxanne

The scene in Roxanne where he makes up 20 jokes about his nose (actually 26, count them!!!) makes my list of favorite movie scenes ever.

9) The first time I saw Caddyshack was with friends from college; it was the first time I realized that some people watch the same movies over and over, and drink when certain key words are spoken. My friends were avid golfers; they freakin’ loved Caddyshack.

8) Good movies that wound up being pretty sad:
— Less than Zero- Three high school friends have very different experiences after they graduate from high school.
— A Star is Born- Movie has been made four different times, dating back to the 1930’s.
— Beaches- When I saw this movie in the theater with my future ex-wife, when it ended, you could hear dozens and dozens of people openly sobbing. The right sleeve of my short sleeve shirt was soaked from her crying and wiping her eyes with my shirt. Oy.

7) My favorite basketball movies:
— Blue Chips— The scene with Bob Cousy/Nick Nolte shooting foul shots in an empty gym is my all-time favorite movie scene.
— The Way Back— Relatively new movie has Ben Affleck playing a high school coach with a drinking problem. The basketball scenes are really well done.
— Fast Break— Gabe Kaplan quits his job running a deli in New York City to become a college basketball coach in Nevada.
— Hoosiers— Gene Hackman was a terrible coach, but Jimmy Chitwood played, so they always won. I mean, even the drunk assistant coach knew Jimmy should shoot just about all the time.
— He Got Game— Underrated movie about a hot-shot high school recruit and what people will do to get the kid to play for their college. Jim Brown, Denzel Washington, Ned Beatty, a really good cast, plus Ray Allen/Rick Fox have big rules.
— One on One— Robby Benson is a hotshot basketball recruit who falls out of favor with his new coach.

Guy who was only in one scene was John Turturro, who played Joey Knish in Rounders; he plays the coach at Big State, a college recruiting Ray Allen’s character (Jesus Shuttlesworth)

6) On my bucket list of life is to watch the movie Let It Ride with my cousin KL Wheat, who likes to wager on the ponies. Richard Dreyfuss plays a degenerate gambler who has one really great day at the racetrack. Very funny movie.

Jennifer Tilly is in this movie; she wound up being a big-time poker player; her boyfriend is/was Phil Laak, a pro poker player known as the Unabomber.

5) My favorite football movies:
— Any Given Sunday— Al Pacino delivers two great speeches
—The Replacements— Daniel Snyder should rename his NFL team the Sentinels.
— Brian’s Song— True story about two friends who played for the Bears.
— Necessary Roughness— Movie about the Texas State Armadillos; tremendous!!!
— Heaven Can Wait— Not really a football film, but the Rams win the Super Bowl in the movie, and it is possible I still have a movie poster from the theater here in my house.

4) I’ve spent way too much time trying to decide which movie I like better; Major League or Bull Durham? Both really good, but for different reasons. Ask me on Monday, I’ll give you an answer, but ask me three days later, and I’ve probably changed my mind.

3) If you like music……..
— Begin Again— A down on his luck music exec finds a young talent in a Manhattan bar.
— A Star Is Born— The new version with Lady Gaga is lot different than the 1976 one with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
— The Bodyguard— Whitney Houston was a great talent; didn’t realize she was only 48 when she passed away.

2) Gambling related movies:
— Rounders— Matt Damon has to decide between law school and playing poker.
— Lucky You— Lot of real-life poker stars in this one, which is set in Las Vegas. Robert Duvall plays the Doyle Brunson-type character.
— Let It Ride— We’ve already talked about this one.
— Molly’s Game— This movie is actually a continuation of the book Molly Bloom wrote.

1) Favorite baseball movies:
— Moneyball— I’m an A’s fan, what did you expect?
— The Rookie— Dennis Quaid was in this and Any Given Sunday
— Major League/Bull Durham
— For Love of the Game
— Bad News Bears— Walter Matthau as a Little League coach was classic.
— Little Big League— The mom in this movie? In real life, her son was the Mets’ first round draft pick last summer.
— The Natural— When a guy on the Texas Rangers hits a home run, they play the song from the end of this movie, when Roy Hobbs sends everyone home happy.

Make your own list of movies, see what you come up with.

 

[Udog]

WNBA

Tuesday, June 29

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

New York @ Atlanta
New York
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Atlanta
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Atlanta's last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against New York

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


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

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, June 29

 

[Udog]

 

[CNOTES]

TUESDAY, JUNE 29
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


CONN at WAS 07:00 PM
CONN -4.5
U 158.0
+500 +500


NY at ATL 07:00 PM
NY +2.5
O 170.5
+500 +500

 

[CNOTES]

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD


06/29/2021......1-3-0....25.00%.....-11.50
06/27/2021......3-3-0.....50.00%......-1.50
06/26/2021......2-2-0.....50.00%......-1.00
06/25/2021......2-0-0...100.00%....+10.00
06/24/2021......6-0-0...100.00%....+30.00
06/23/2021......2-0-0...100.00%....+10.00
06/22/2021......4-2-0.....66.67%.....+9.00
06/20/2021......2-0-0....100.00%...+10.00
06/19/2021......4-2-0......66.67%....+9.00
06/18/2021......2-0-0.......0.00%....+10.00
06/17/2021......5-4-1 .....55.55%....+3.00
06/16/2021......1-1-0......50.00%.....-0.50
06/15/2021......1-5-0 .....16.67%....-22.50
06/13/2021......3-5-0 .....37.50%....-12.50
06/12/2021......3-1-0 .....75.00%.....+9.50
06/11/2021......2-2-0 .....50.00%......-1.00
06/10/2021......1-1-0 .....50.00%......-0.50
06/09/2021......0-4-0.......0.00%.....-22.00
06/08/2021 .....1-3-0 .....25.00%.....-11.50
06/06/2021 .....2-2-0..... 50.00%...... -1.00
06/05/2021 .....5-1-0 .....83.33% ...+19.50
06/04/2021 .....2-2-0 .....50.00%...... -1.00
06/01/2021..... 5-3-0 .....62.50%..... +8.50




Totals:..........56-43-0 .....56.56%.....+ 40.50




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


BEST BETS:


DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD


06/29/2021......1-3-0......25.00%.....-11.50
06/27/2021......3-3-0......50.00%......-1.50
06/26/2021......2-2-0......50.00%.....- 1.00
06/25/2021......1-0-0....100.00%....+10.00
06/24/2021......4-0-0....100.00%....+ 40.00
06/23/2021......2-0-0....100.00%....+ 10.00
06/22/2021......3-2-0......60.00%....+ 4.50
06/20/2021......2-0-0....100.00%....+10.00
06/19/2021......4-2-0......66.66%....+ 9.00
06/18/2021......2-0-0.....100.00%....+10.00
06/17/2021......3-3-0......50.00%.....- 1.50
06/16/2021......1-1-0......50.00%......-0.50
06/15/2021......1-5-0......16.66%.....-22.50
06/13/2021......3-3-0......30.00%.......-1.50
06/12/2021......3-1-0......75.00%......+9.50
06/11/2021......2-2-0 .....50.00%.......-1.00
06/10/2021......1-1-0 .....50.00%.......-0.50
06/09/2021......0-4-0.......0.00%......-22.00
06/08/2021 .....1-3-0 .....25.00%.....-11.50
06/06/2021 .....2-2-0 .....50.00%..... - 1.00
06/05/2021 .....3-1-0..... 75.00% .....+9.50
06/04/2021 .....2-2-0 .....50.00%..... - 1.00
06/01/2021......5-3-0 ......62.50%....+ 8.50


Totals:..........53-39-0.......57.60%......+ 45.50

 

[Udog]

Wednesday’s 6-pack
Six interesting NFL Week 1 spreads:
— Philadelphia @ Atlanta (-4, 48)
— Seattle @ Indianapolis (-2.5, 52)
— Minnesota (-3, 48) @ Cincinnati
— San Francisco (-7.5, 46) @ Detroit
— Cleveland @ Kansas City (-6, 53)
— Miami @ New England (-2.5, 45.5)

Quote of the Day
“I am sick of the sissification of the game!”
ESPN’s NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy

Wednesday’s quiz
Who managed the San Diego Padres, last time they played in a World Series?
(Hint: He won a World Series managing another team)

Tuesday’s quiz
Milwaukee Brewers came to be in 1970, after spending their first season in existence in another city. In 1969, the Brewers were the Seattle Pilots.

Monday’s quiz
Mike Shula was the football coach at Alabama before Nick Saban.

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

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..

13) 18 days ago, Kyle Schwarber was batting .218 with 9 HR, 26 RBI and a .716 OPS.

As I type this, he’s batting .257 with 25 HR, 53 RBI and a .911 OPS.

He has 16 homers in 18 days, and he is batting leadoff!!!

18 days ago, the Nationals were in last place, 8 games out; now they’re 39-38, in 2nd place in the NL East, only three games out of first place, 6.5 games out of a Wild Card slot.

12) Hawks 110, Bucks 88:
— Trae Young (foot) didn’t play, but Atlanta evens the series 2-2.
— Giannis Antetokounmpo hyperextended his knee, bad news for the Bucks.

11) Portland, OR had its hottest day ever over the weekend; it got to 108 degrees in a place where most homes don’t have air conditioning. Not good.

10) Colorado 8, Pittsburgh 0— Pirates were 6-3 in their last nine games before they went to Denver; then they got shut out two days in a row at Coors Field. German Marquez no-hit them until the 9th inning, when Ka’ai Tom singled leading off the inning.

9) Starting Tuesday’s action, starting pitchers for San Francisco had their best ERA since 1969, which is why they’re leading the NL West.

8) Seattle Mariners have used 52 players this season, most of any team in MLB; Milwaukee has used 50 players, 2nd-most in MLB.

7) NHL expansion draft is Wednesday, July 21; the new team in Seattle will select players, then the amateur draft for the whole league will be two nights later.

6) Looks as if Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder won a power struggle within the organization; the executive VP of the team was reassigned to an advisory role, another exec was told to take a hike. Jazz went 52-20 in regular season, but their 2nd-round playoff loss to the Clippers left a bitter taste.

5) When college basketball starts five months from now, UAB Blazers will be an interesting team to follow; coach Andy Kennedy has poached five transfers, figures to have a contender for the top spot in Conference USA. Blazers were 22-7 LY, 13-5 in conference games.

4) NFL teams are worth an average of $3B, so when an NFL owner dies and there is a dispute over his estate, there will be lawyers.

There was a trial scheduled for July 12 in Denver, pitting the two oldest children of late Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and the trustees he appointed to carry out his estate plan- that trial has been cancelled, signaling that maybe the sides came to an agreement.

With sports gambling now legal in a lot of places, there are smart people speculating that the average value of an NFL team could double over the next few years. Whenever there is major money involved, people get testy, even if they’re related.

3) Major League Baseball needs to put the DH in for both leagues next year; the other day in Denver, Colorado P Kyle Freeland was throwing a shutout, but pulled his hamstring running the bases and head to leave the game. This happens too much; teams need their pitchers healthy.

2) Orioles 13, Astros 3— Baltimore pitchers walked 19 batters in the first two games of this series, but they won both games- that doesn’t happen much.

1) Montreal Canadiens made the Stanley Cup final, but during the regular season, they gave up nine more goals than they scored- that is unusual.

Only three teams in NHL history won the Stanley Cup with a negative goal differential:
1938— Blackhawks
1949— Maple Leafs
1967— Maple Leafs