SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25
| Game | Time(ET) | Pick | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| TB at NJ | 01:00 PM | TB +125 O 7.0 | +500 +500 |
| PHI at PIT | 03:30 PM | PIT -179 O 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| NYR at CLB | 06:00 PM | CLB +153 O 6.5 | +500 +500 |
| DET at CHI | 06:00 PM | DET -164 U 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| CAR at BUF | 06:00 PM | CAR -146 O 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| ARI at WIN | 06:00 PM | WIN -214 U 5.5 | +500 +500 |
| NAS at ANA | 08:00 PM | NAS -172 O 6.5 | +500 +500 |
Monday’s 6-pack:
Some of the college hoop teams getting highest %age of their points on foul line:
25.5%- Rio Grande Valley
25.1%- Arkansas
24.7%- Maryland
24.6%- Grand Canyon
24.4%- Lindenwood
24.1%- Texas El Paso
Quote of the Day
“We must either find a way or make one.”
Hannibal
Monday’s quiz
Last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals was 1999; who was their coach then?
Sunday’s quiz
Marcus Camby led UMass to the Final Four in 1996; John Calipari was their coach back then.
Saturday’s quiz
Steve Kerr played his college basketball at Arizona.
********************************
— Stat of the Day: Last year, Braves’ OF Ronald Acuna had 41 at-bats where the at-bat ended when he was behind 0-2 in the count; he got hit by a pitch once, hit one sac fly, and went 15-39 on the other 39 at-bats. Hitting .385 when you’re done is impressive.
Overall, Acuna was down 0-2 in a total of 105 plate appearances; he hit .340 in those at-bats, with five walks.
— MLB is getting greedy; teams not only have spring training caps you can buy, they have a different set of batting practice caps, which will be worn during the season. High quality hats, but they cost freakin’ $45, which saves me lot of $$$.
I have a nice hat collection, but I’m not buying any more Oakland A’s stuff until they start trying to win again. The A’s batting practice cap is a good one, too.
Separate question on a sore subject: Why would own own a pro sports franchise if you’re not going to try to win? The A’s franchise is so mis-managed that it can’t possible go up in value. I’d be very happy if the guy who owns the Golden State Warriors bought the A’s- he’d try to win.
— Cubs have an OF prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong; his mother is the actress Ashley Crow, who was the mom in the movie Little Big League.
— Eight major league teams have new managers this year.
— Houston Astros used only 41 players all of last season, fewest of any team in the major leagues.
— Word of the Day: Disgruntled- someone who is angry or dissatisfied.
— One of the things about the transfer portal in college basketball is that teams come together at a different pace; one team that is hot right now are the Loyola Ramblers in the A-15. After a 6-5 start, Loyola has gone 14-2, winning/covering their last seven games in a row. Opponents are shooting 43% inside the arc, the #5 rate in the country.
— Arizona Wildcats have 18 basketball players listed on their roster; eight of them are from other countries. Only three of their players are from Arizona.
— Alabama has four lefties on its team, which is a little unusual.
— Atlanta Hawks’ G Trae Young tore ligaments in the pinky on his left hand; he is out for at least four weeks.
— Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State 84-82 Saturday, possible the last time these rivals will ever play basketball against each other. Oklahoma is bolting to the SEC and there are no scheduled pre-conference meetings in the future.
In this age of college sports where greed is good, it is inconceivable that the teams won’t eventually schedule an annual meeting— the games would sell out, and probably get on ESPN or Fox or something. But for now, the two rivals are going their separate ways.
— UCLA is hiring former NFL offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy was its OC; he coached at UCLA back from 2003-05, and won two Super Bowl rings as an assistant with the Chiefs.
— Famous people with birthdays on February 26
Phil Villapiano, 75
Wayne Gretzky, 63
JT Snow, 56
Marshall Faulk, 51
Jose Reyes, 41
Monday would’ve been Paul Newman’s 99th birthday.
— St John’s 80, Creighton 66
Johnnies were +10 in turnovers (13-3).
St John’s was 32-64 inside arc, 2-8 on 3’s; old-school approach.
Creighton forces fewer turnovers than any team in country.
— Memphis 78, FAU 74
Both teams shot 58%+ inside the arc.
Teams combined to shoot 12-55 on the arc.
FAU split its last six games; they need to right the ship to stay above the bubble.
— South Florida 79, SMU 68
Bulls have won 13 games in a row, 20 of last 21.
SMU was only 15-31 on the foul line.
South Florida shot 63.6% inside the arc.
— Wright State 96, Oakland 75
Oakland led 38-37 at halftime.
Raiders are 8-2 in last ten games, after a 9-10 start.
Wright State is shooting 59.2% inside the arc (#4).
— Ohio State 60, Michigan State 57
Spartans led by 12 with 11:07 left in the game.
Teams combined to shoot 7-33 on the arc.
Michigan State is 1-7 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Was watching A’s-Dodgers spring training game Sunday; the TV analyst was Rick Monday, who played for the A’s back when I was a little kid- they traded him for P Ken Holtzman after the 1971 season, which made the A’s pitching championship-level. A’s won three World Series in a row after they acquired Holtzman.
Rick Monday played 19 years in the majors, had a career OPS of .804, was a darn good player who is now a terrific analyst with a great voice. He does radio for the Dodgers but in the spring, they do simulcasts on TV. Was excellent listening to him Sunday.
Some of the college hoop teams getting highest %age of their points on foul line:
25.5%- Rio Grande Valley
25.1%- Arkansas
24.7%- Maryland
24.6%- Grand Canyon
24.4%- Lindenwood
24.1%- Texas El Paso
Quote of the Day
“We must either find a way or make one.”
Hannibal
Monday’s quiz
Last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals was 1999; who was their coach then?
Sunday’s quiz
Marcus Camby led UMass to the Final Four in 1996; John Calipari was their coach back then.
Saturday’s quiz
Steve Kerr played his college basketball at Arizona.
********************************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy weekend……
— Chicago Cubs re-signed OF Cody Bellinger for three years, $80M— Stat of the Day: Last year, Braves’ OF Ronald Acuna had 41 at-bats where the at-bat ended when he was behind 0-2 in the count; he got hit by a pitch once, hit one sac fly, and went 15-39 on the other 39 at-bats. Hitting .385 when you’re done is impressive.
Overall, Acuna was down 0-2 in a total of 105 plate appearances; he hit .340 in those at-bats, with five walks.
— MLB is getting greedy; teams not only have spring training caps you can buy, they have a different set of batting practice caps, which will be worn during the season. High quality hats, but they cost freakin’ $45, which saves me lot of $$$.
I have a nice hat collection, but I’m not buying any more Oakland A’s stuff until they start trying to win again. The A’s batting practice cap is a good one, too.
Separate question on a sore subject: Why would own own a pro sports franchise if you’re not going to try to win? The A’s franchise is so mis-managed that it can’t possible go up in value. I’d be very happy if the guy who owns the Golden State Warriors bought the A’s- he’d try to win.
— Cubs have an OF prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong; his mother is the actress Ashley Crow, who was the mom in the movie Little Big League.
— Eight major league teams have new managers this year.
— Houston Astros used only 41 players all of last season, fewest of any team in the major leagues.
— Word of the Day: Disgruntled- someone who is angry or dissatisfied.
— One of the things about the transfer portal in college basketball is that teams come together at a different pace; one team that is hot right now are the Loyola Ramblers in the A-15. After a 6-5 start, Loyola has gone 14-2, winning/covering their last seven games in a row. Opponents are shooting 43% inside the arc, the #5 rate in the country.
— Arizona Wildcats have 18 basketball players listed on their roster; eight of them are from other countries. Only three of their players are from Arizona.
— Alabama has four lefties on its team, which is a little unusual.
— Atlanta Hawks’ G Trae Young tore ligaments in the pinky on his left hand; he is out for at least four weeks.
— Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State 84-82 Saturday, possible the last time these rivals will ever play basketball against each other. Oklahoma is bolting to the SEC and there are no scheduled pre-conference meetings in the future.
In this age of college sports where greed is good, it is inconceivable that the teams won’t eventually schedule an annual meeting— the games would sell out, and probably get on ESPN or Fox or something. But for now, the two rivals are going their separate ways.
— UCLA is hiring former NFL offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy was its OC; he coached at UCLA back from 2003-05, and won two Super Bowl rings as an assistant with the Chiefs.
— Famous people with birthdays on February 26
Phil Villapiano, 75
Wayne Gretzky, 63
JT Snow, 56
Marshall Faulk, 51
Jose Reyes, 41
Monday would’ve been Paul Newman’s 99th birthday.
— St John’s 80, Creighton 66
Johnnies were +10 in turnovers (13-3).
St John’s was 32-64 inside arc, 2-8 on 3’s; old-school approach.
Creighton forces fewer turnovers than any team in country.
— Memphis 78, FAU 74
Both teams shot 58%+ inside the arc.
Teams combined to shoot 12-55 on the arc.
FAU split its last six games; they need to right the ship to stay above the bubble.
— South Florida 79, SMU 68
Bulls have won 13 games in a row, 20 of last 21.
SMU was only 15-31 on the foul line.
South Florida shot 63.6% inside the arc.
— Wright State 96, Oakland 75
Oakland led 38-37 at halftime.
Raiders are 8-2 in last ten games, after a 9-10 start.
Wright State is shooting 59.2% inside the arc (#4).
— Ohio State 60, Michigan State 57
Spartans led by 12 with 11:07 left in the game.
Teams combined to shoot 7-33 on the arc.
Michigan State is 1-7 in games decided by 7 or less points.
— Was watching A’s-Dodgers spring training game Sunday; the TV analyst was Rick Monday, who played for the A’s back when I was a little kid- they traded him for P Ken Holtzman after the 1971 season, which made the A’s pitching championship-level. A’s won three World Series in a row after they acquired Holtzman.
Rick Monday played 19 years in the majors, had a career OPS of .804, was a darn good player who is now a terrific analyst with a great voice. He does radio for the Dodgers but in the spring, they do simulcasts on TV. Was excellent listening to him Sunday.
WASHINGTON is 11-4 ATS (6.6 Units) revenging a blowout loss vs opponent of 3 goals or more in the current season.
NY ISLANDERS are 36-51 ATS (-20.1 Units) in non-conference games in the last 3 seasons.
EDMONTON is 13-4 Over (8.6 Units) when playing their 3rd game in 4 days over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 11-1 ATS (9.9 Units) revenging a loss where team scored 1 or less goals over the last 2 seasons.
NHL
Dunkel
Monday, February 26
NHL
Monday, February 26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ottawa @ Washington
Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ottawa's last 5 games on the road
Ottawa is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
Washington
Washington is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games at home
NY Islanders @ Dallas
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Islanders's last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas
NY Islanders is 5-11 ATS in its last 16 games
Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Dallas's last 19 games at home
Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against NY Islanders
Los Angeles @ Edmonton
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 6 games
Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Edmonton's last 7 games
Edmonton is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
Boston @ Seattle
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Boston's last 14 games
Seattle
Seattle is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle's last 6 games at home
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NY ISLANDERS are 36-51 ATS (-20.1 Units) in non-conference games in the last 3 seasons.
EDMONTON is 13-4 Over (8.6 Units) when playing their 3rd game in 4 days over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 11-1 ATS (9.9 Units) revenging a loss where team scored 1 or less goals over the last 2 seasons.
NHL
Dunkel
Monday, February 26
NHL
Monday, February 26
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ottawa @ Washington
Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ottawa's last 5 games on the road
Ottawa is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
Washington
Washington is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games at home
NY Islanders @ Dallas
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Islanders's last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas
NY Islanders is 5-11 ATS in its last 16 games
Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 17 of Dallas's last 19 games at home
Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against NY Islanders
Los Angeles @ Edmonton
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 6 games
Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Edmonton's last 7 games
Edmonton is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
Boston @ Seattle
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Boston's last 14 games
Seattle
Seattle is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle's last 6 games at home
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday’s 6-pack:
— Kansas State 94, West Virginia 90 OT- Wildcats led by 22 at the half.
— K-State has now won its last 12 overtime games.
— North Carolina 75, Miami 71- Miami kept it close, going 14-30 on arc.
— St Louis Cardinals signed SS Brandon Crawford.
— Dodgers traded OF Manuel Margot to the Twins, for a minor leaguer.
— UMass is joining the Mid-American Conference, starting in 2025-26.
Quote of the Day
“The one stat that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet is heart and poise and togetherness and just fight.”
Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard
Tuesday’s quiz
Steph Curry’s father Dell Curry played in the NBA for 16 years, scoring 12,670 points; where did he play his college basketball?
Monday’s quiz
Last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals was 1999; Jeff Van Gundy was their coach.
Sunday’s quiz
Marcus Camby led UMass to the Final Four in 1996; John Calipari was their coach back then.
****************************************
— ACC
Duke- since 2017, they’re 15-2 in ACC tourney games.
From 2012-14, Louisville won 3 straight conference tourneys; since joining the ACC, they’re 3-7 in conference tournament games.
Miami- since 2006, they’re 15-3 in their first ACC Tourney game each year.
North Carolina hasn’t won an ACC Tournament since 2016; they’ve gone WL in five of seven tournaments since then.
Syracuse- since joining the ACC, they’re 5-8 in conference tournament games.
— Big East
Since joining the Big East…….
Butler is 3-9 in the Big East Tournament
Creighton is 9-9
DePaul is 5-15
Marquette is 14-16 (won tournament LY)
Xavier is 8-11 (4 of last 5 tournament losses were in OT)
Midwestern teams haven’t fared too well in this event (Creighton is 0-4 in Finals)
Tournament is played in Madison Square Garden, one of St John’s’ home floors; they haven’t won a Big East tournament since 2000.
— Big 14
since 2011, Illinois is 8-11 (won ’21 tournament)
since 2014, Indiana is 6-9 (0-1 all-time in tournament finals)
since 2007, Iowa is 9-15 (was 4-0 in winning ’22 tournament)
since 2012, Michigan State is 18-7, won four tournaments (last one, 2019)
last two years, Purdue is 5-1; they won the tournament last year.
— Big X
since 2006, Kansas Jayhawks are 36-7 in the Big X Tournament.
since 2015, Baylor is 112-60 in regular season Big X games, 3-8 in Big X tourney.
since 2014, Iowa State won four Big X Tournaments; the other six years, they were 1-5 in the first round.
since 2003, Kansas State is 12-19 in the Big X Tournament.
since 2017, Oklahoma is 1-6.
Since 2014, Texas Tech is 3-9.
— Pac-12
Arizona won five of the last eight Pac-12 Tournaments.
since 2011, Colorado is 11-1 in its first tourney game (2-8 in last 10 second games)
since 2013, Oregon is 20-7 in Pac-12 Tournaments (won 3 tournaments).
USC has gone WL in six of last seven tournaments, WWL in the other.
UCLA hasn’t won Pac-12 Tournament since 2014 (WWL each of the last two years).
Utah is 1-7 in last seven tournaments.
— SEC
Alabama won two of last three tournaments.
Arkansas went WL the last three years.
You’re reading armadillosports.com
Mississippi State went WL the last six years.
Missouri went WL the last four years.
since 2010, Auburn is 7-11 (3-1 in ’15, 4-0 in ’19, 0-10 the other 10 years).
from 2015-18, Kentucky won four straight tournaments; since then, they’re 2-4.
since 2016, South Carolina is 1-6.
Since 2018, Tennessee is 9-5.
— Atlantic 15
since joining the A-15, VCU is 16-8, winning the tournament twice.
since 2011, #1-seed has won only three of the 13 tournaments.
— Big West
Last 11 tournaments, eight different schools have won a title.
— CAA
Last seven years, six different teams have won this tournament; Charleston is only team with two tournament titles in that span.
— MAAC
Iona won this tournament six of last eight years; since 2013, they’re 27-4.
— MAC
Last four tournaments, four different teams won a tournament title.
— Mountain West
This event is played in Las Vegas; UNLV hasn’t won it since 2008, and is 2-5 since 2019.
since 2014, San Diego State is 25-7, 3-6 in tournament title game.
#1-seed won this tournament the last three years.
— WCC
since 2004, Gonzaga is 41-4 in the WCC Tournament.
since 2010, Saint Mary’s is 19-12 (3-9 against Gonzaga).
Last time someone other than Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s won the WCC Tournament was 2008, when #3-seed San Diego won.
— Kansas State 94, West Virginia 90 OT- Wildcats led by 22 at the half.
— K-State has now won its last 12 overtime games.
— North Carolina 75, Miami 71- Miami kept it close, going 14-30 on arc.
— St Louis Cardinals signed SS Brandon Crawford.
— Dodgers traded OF Manuel Margot to the Twins, for a minor leaguer.
— UMass is joining the Mid-American Conference, starting in 2025-26.
Quote of the Day
“The one stat that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet is heart and poise and togetherness and just fight.”
Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard
Tuesday’s quiz
Steph Curry’s father Dell Curry played in the NBA for 16 years, scoring 12,670 points; where did he play his college basketball?
Monday’s quiz
Last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals was 1999; Jeff Van Gundy was their coach.
Sunday’s quiz
Marcus Camby led UMass to the Final Four in 1996; John Calipari was their coach back then.
****************************************
Tuesday’s Den: Conference tournament trends…….
Conference tournament trends……..— ACC
Duke- since 2017, they’re 15-2 in ACC tourney games.
From 2012-14, Louisville won 3 straight conference tourneys; since joining the ACC, they’re 3-7 in conference tournament games.
Miami- since 2006, they’re 15-3 in their first ACC Tourney game each year.
North Carolina hasn’t won an ACC Tournament since 2016; they’ve gone WL in five of seven tournaments since then.
Syracuse- since joining the ACC, they’re 5-8 in conference tournament games.
— Big East
Since joining the Big East…….
Butler is 3-9 in the Big East Tournament
Creighton is 9-9
DePaul is 5-15
Marquette is 14-16 (won tournament LY)
Xavier is 8-11 (4 of last 5 tournament losses were in OT)
Midwestern teams haven’t fared too well in this event (Creighton is 0-4 in Finals)
Tournament is played in Madison Square Garden, one of St John’s’ home floors; they haven’t won a Big East tournament since 2000.
— Big 14
since 2011, Illinois is 8-11 (won ’21 tournament)
since 2014, Indiana is 6-9 (0-1 all-time in tournament finals)
since 2007, Iowa is 9-15 (was 4-0 in winning ’22 tournament)
since 2012, Michigan State is 18-7, won four tournaments (last one, 2019)
last two years, Purdue is 5-1; they won the tournament last year.
— Big X
since 2006, Kansas Jayhawks are 36-7 in the Big X Tournament.
since 2015, Baylor is 112-60 in regular season Big X games, 3-8 in Big X tourney.
since 2014, Iowa State won four Big X Tournaments; the other six years, they were 1-5 in the first round.
since 2003, Kansas State is 12-19 in the Big X Tournament.
since 2017, Oklahoma is 1-6.
Since 2014, Texas Tech is 3-9.
— Pac-12
Arizona won five of the last eight Pac-12 Tournaments.
since 2011, Colorado is 11-1 in its first tourney game (2-8 in last 10 second games)
since 2013, Oregon is 20-7 in Pac-12 Tournaments (won 3 tournaments).
USC has gone WL in six of last seven tournaments, WWL in the other.
UCLA hasn’t won Pac-12 Tournament since 2014 (WWL each of the last two years).
Utah is 1-7 in last seven tournaments.
— SEC
Alabama won two of last three tournaments.
Arkansas went WL the last three years.
You’re reading armadillosports.com
Mississippi State went WL the last six years.
Missouri went WL the last four years.
since 2010, Auburn is 7-11 (3-1 in ’15, 4-0 in ’19, 0-10 the other 10 years).
from 2015-18, Kentucky won four straight tournaments; since then, they’re 2-4.
since 2016, South Carolina is 1-6.
Since 2018, Tennessee is 9-5.
— Atlantic 15
since joining the A-15, VCU is 16-8, winning the tournament twice.
since 2011, #1-seed has won only three of the 13 tournaments.
— Big West
Last 11 tournaments, eight different schools have won a title.
— CAA
Last seven years, six different teams have won this tournament; Charleston is only team with two tournament titles in that span.
— MAAC
Iona won this tournament six of last eight years; since 2013, they’re 27-4.
— MAC
Last four tournaments, four different teams won a tournament title.
— Mountain West
This event is played in Las Vegas; UNLV hasn’t won it since 2008, and is 2-5 since 2019.
since 2014, San Diego State is 25-7, 3-6 in tournament title game.
#1-seed won this tournament the last three years.
— WCC
since 2004, Gonzaga is 41-4 in the WCC Tournament.
since 2010, Saint Mary’s is 19-12 (3-9 against Gonzaga).
Last time someone other than Gonzaga/Saint Mary’s won the WCC Tournament was 2008, when #3-seed San Diego won.
TAMPA BAY is 34-37 ATS (-6.7 Units) after scoring 3 goals or more in 3 straight games in the last 3 seasons.
VEGAS are 13-3 ATS (9.7 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent of 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 7-2 ATS (4.8 Units) after 3 consecutive non-conference games in the current season.
FLORIDA is 12-1 Under (10.9 Units) vs. division opponents in the current season.
MONTREAL is 60-58 ATS (-3.8 Units) after having lost 8 or more of their last 10 games since 1996.
OTTAWA is 29-57 ATS (-33.7 Units) in non-conference games in the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS are 35-26 ATS (6.4 Units) in road games second half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 34-15 Over (17.5 Units) in home games after playing a game where 7 or more total goals were scored in the last 3 seasons.
CALGARY is 18-24 ATS (-8.4 Units) in home games after a division game in the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 10-2 Over (7.8 Units) in home games after a game where they failed to cover the spread in the current season.
PITTSBURGH is 14-29 ATS (-17.9 Units) in road games after scoring 3 goals or more in 2 straight games in the last 3 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 8-30 ATS (-25 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games in the last 3 seasons.
VEGAS are 13-3 ATS (9.7 Units) revenging a home loss versus opponent of 2 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
DETROIT is 7-2 ATS (4.8 Units) after 3 consecutive non-conference games in the current season.
FLORIDA is 12-1 Under (10.9 Units) vs. division opponents in the current season.
MONTREAL is 60-58 ATS (-3.8 Units) after having lost 8 or more of their last 10 games since 1996.
OTTAWA is 29-57 ATS (-33.7 Units) in non-conference games in the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS are 35-26 ATS (6.4 Units) in road games second half of the season in the last 3 seasons.
MINNESOTA is 34-15 Over (17.5 Units) in home games after playing a game where 7 or more total goals were scored in the last 3 seasons.
CALGARY is 18-24 ATS (-8.4 Units) in home games after a division game in the last 3 seasons.
COLORADO is 10-2 Over (7.8 Units) in home games after a game where they failed to cover the spread in the current season.
PITTSBURGH is 14-29 ATS (-17.9 Units) in road games after scoring 3 goals or more in 2 straight games in the last 3 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 8-30 ATS (-25 Units) after playing 3 consecutive home games in the last 3 seasons.
NHL
Tuesday, February 27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington @ Detroit
Washington
Washington is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games
Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Detroit is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games at home
Buffalo @ Florida
Buffalo
Buffalo is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 6 games
Florida
Florida is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Buffalo
Florida is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Arizona @ Montreal
Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Arizona's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games
Montreal
Montreal is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Montreal is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games
Tampa Bay @ Philadelphia
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Tampa Bay is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games when playing Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Philadelphia's last 9 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Vegas @ Toronto
Vegas
Vegas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Vegas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Carolina @ Minnesota
Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Carolina
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Carolina
Ottawa @ Nashville
Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ottawa's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ottawa's last 6 games when playing Nashville
Nashville
Nashville is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Nashville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
St. Louis @ Winnipeg
St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 6 of St. Louis's last 8 games on the road
St. Louis is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Winnipeg is 11-1 ATS in its last 12 games when playing St. Louis
Los Angeles @ Calgary
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Calgary
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games
Calgary
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Calgary's last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
Calgary is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
Dallas @ Colorado
Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games
Colorado
Colorado is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games at home
Colorado is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Pittsburgh @ Vancouver
Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 6 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Vancouver is 12-3 SU in its last 15 games at home
New Jersey @ San Jose
New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New Jersey's last 8 games on the road
New Jersey is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
San Jose
San Jose is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New Jersey
San Jose is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, February 27
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington @ Detroit
Washington
Washington is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games
Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Detroit is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games at home
Buffalo @ Florida
Buffalo
Buffalo is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 6 games
Florida
Florida is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Buffalo
Florida is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Arizona @ Montreal
Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Arizona's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games
Montreal
Montreal is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Montreal is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games
Tampa Bay @ Philadelphia
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Tampa Bay is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games when playing Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Philadelphia's last 9 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Vegas @ Toronto
Vegas
Vegas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Vegas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Carolina @ Minnesota
Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Carolina's last 5 games
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Carolina
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Carolina
Ottawa @ Nashville
Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ottawa's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ottawa's last 6 games when playing Nashville
Nashville
Nashville is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Nashville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
St. Louis @ Winnipeg
St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 6 of St. Louis's last 8 games on the road
St. Louis is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Winnipeg is 11-1 ATS in its last 12 games when playing St. Louis
Los Angeles @ Calgary
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Calgary
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games
Calgary
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Calgary's last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
Calgary is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
Dallas @ Colorado
Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games
Colorado
Colorado is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games at home
Colorado is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Pittsburgh @ Vancouver
Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 6 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Vancouver is 12-3 SU in its last 15 games at home
New Jersey @ San Jose
New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New Jersey's last 8 games on the road
New Jersey is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
San Jose
San Jose is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New Jersey
San Jose is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27
| Game | Time(ET) | Pick | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARI at MON | 07:00 PM | MON +106 O 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| WAS at DET | 07:00 PM | DET -161 O 6.5 | +500 +500 |
| BUF at FLA | 07:00 PM | FLA -224 U 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| TB at PHI | 07:00 PM | TB -122 O 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| VEG at TOR | 07:00 PM | TOR -157 U 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| STL at WIN | 08:00 PM | WIN -193 O 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| CAR at MIN | 08:00 PM | MIN +129 U 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| OTT at NAS | 08:00 PM | NAS -149 U 6.5 | +500 +500 |
| LA at CAL | 09:00 PM | LA +111 O 5.5 | +500 +500 |
| DAL at COL | 09:30 PM | COL -134 O 6.5 | +500 +500 |
| PIT at VAN | 10:00 PM | PIT +135 U 6.5 | +500 +500 |
| NJ at SJ | 10:30 PM | SJ +230 U 6.5 | +500 +500 |
Wednesday’s 6-pack:
— Cavaliers 121, Mavericks 119- Strus hit a 60-footer at the buzzer for the win.
— Warriors 123, Wizards 112- Curry was 4-17 on arc; other Warriors were 17-30.
— Celtics 117, 76ers 99- Boston shot 65.4% inside the arc.
— T’wolves 114, Spurs 105- SA’s starters were +6, their subs minus-51.
— Pistons 105, Bulls 95- Chicago was 2-29 on the arc.
— Dodgers 9, White Sox 6- Some guy named Ohtani hit a home run.
Quote of the Day
“If we had better quarterback play, I may not be standing here at the podium.”
new Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris
Wednesday’s quiz
Who is the only coach to win both an NBA championship and a college national title?
Tuesday’s quiz
Steph Curry’s father Dell Curry played in the NBA for 16 years, scoring 12,670 points; he played his college basketball at Virginia Tech, which don’t recruit his two sons, both of whom are in the NBA.
Monday’s quiz
Last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals was 1999; Jeff Van Gundy was their coach.
*******************************************************
UConn made it to the Final Four in 2009, after that 6-overtime loss, but the next two years, Huskies were 16-20 in Big East games- the natives were restless. Jim Calhoun had won two national titles, but it had been six years since the last one.
So what happened? UConn, after losing four of its last five regular season games, goes 5-0 and wins the Big East Tournament, then as a #3-seed, they won the national championship, in coach Calhoun’s 2nd-to-last season at UConn.
My point? March Madness is great because…..you never know what’s going to happen.
— NFL Combine is this week; ESPN/NFL Network will show lot of guys running the 40-yard dash and doing drills. Best part of the Combine we don’t see; the interviews teams do with players, as they try to figure out which players they should draft.
By the way, it has been 52 years since New Orleans Saints drafted a QB in the first round; they drafted Archie Manning that year, Peyton Manning’s father.
— There were six NBA games Tuesday with a double-digit favorite, the most of any night so far this season.
— In the NFL, of the 14 players with the biggest salary cap hit for 2024, four of them play for the LA Chargers.
— In college football, Boise State is bringing back former HC (1998-2000) Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator; he’s been a head coach at Boise, Arizona State, Tampa Bay Bucs.
UMass is jumping from the A-15 to the MAC, which is very bad news for its basketball program; A-15 is the #8 basketball league in country, MAC is #24 league. UMass isn’t the first school to sacrifice its basketball team to try and save its football program.
Last five years, the Minuteman are 6-46 on the gridiron, as an independent.
— In baseball……..
LA Dodgers signed utility guy Kike Hernandez for one year, $4M.
San Francisco Giants signed SS Nick Ahmed.
Speaking of the Giants, the last 17 years on Opening Day, San Francisco started a different left fielder every year, and this year figures to make it 18 in a row.
Switching from DirecTV to YouTube TV last year has mostly been a plus for me; one of the best parts is I can watch replays of baseball games all night long, if I want, which is really good during spring training. Not great for my sleeping habits, but whatever……
— Movie of the Day: Against All Odds (1984)- A gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, and then things get complicated.
Jeff Bridges is the football player, James Woods is the gangster, Rachel Ward is his wife. Also in this movie: Richard Widmark, Alex Karras.
— Famous people with birthdays on February 28:
Mario Andretti, 84
Bubba Smith, 79
Bernadette Peters, 76
Brian Billick, 70
John Turturro, 67
Ickey Woods, 58
Luka Doncic, 25
— Kansas State’s basketball team has won its last 12 overtime games.
— North Carolina (2016/2017) is the last team to make the Final Four two years in a row.
— Old Dominion basketball coach Jeff Jones retired; he had a 560-418 career record as a coach, after his playing days at Virginia.
— 34 of the last 46 national champs in college basketball (73.9%) were 10-1 or less to win the national title when the tournament started.
— BYU 76, Kansas 68
Jayhawks led by 12 early in 2nd half; their 19-game home win streak ends.
Kansas is 6-5 in last 11 games, after a 13-2 start.
Kansas is 3-2 when McKullar doesn’t play.
— Kentucky 91, Mississippi State 89
Bulldogs led by 13 early in second half.
Reed Sheppard hit a 14-foot runner with 0:00.5 left for the win.
Loss snaps Miss State’s 5-game winning streak.
— Indiana 74, Wisconsin 70- There was a 15-minute delay in second half, when a fire alarm went off in the arena. Game was tied when that happened. Badgers are 2-6 in their last eight games.
— UNLV 75, Wyoming 69 OT
Rebels have won eight of their last nine games.
Kalib Boone had 24 points, 12 rebounds (7 offensive)
— Northern Illinois 75, Toledo 72
Rockets were a 15-point home favorite.
Toledo led by 9 with 14:33 left to play.
NIU was 10-23 on the arc, Toledo 6-19.
— Clemson 69, Pittsburgh 62
Pitt was +8 in turnovers, led by 10 midway thru first half.
Clemson starts four seniors; they’re 6-1 in last seven games.
— Cavaliers 121, Mavericks 119- Strus hit a 60-footer at the buzzer for the win.
— Warriors 123, Wizards 112- Curry was 4-17 on arc; other Warriors were 17-30.
— Celtics 117, 76ers 99- Boston shot 65.4% inside the arc.
— T’wolves 114, Spurs 105- SA’s starters were +6, their subs minus-51.
— Pistons 105, Bulls 95- Chicago was 2-29 on the arc.
— Dodgers 9, White Sox 6- Some guy named Ohtani hit a home run.
Quote of the Day
“If we had better quarterback play, I may not be standing here at the podium.”
new Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris
Wednesday’s quiz
Who is the only coach to win both an NBA championship and a college national title?
Tuesday’s quiz
Steph Curry’s father Dell Curry played in the NBA for 16 years, scoring 12,670 points; he played his college basketball at Virginia Tech, which don’t recruit his two sons, both of whom are in the NBA.
Monday’s quiz
Last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals was 1999; Jeff Van Gundy was their coach.
*******************************************************
Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..
— From 2006-10, UConn went 0-5 in the Big East Tournament; during that time, they went 55-31 in Big East regular season games, but they came up empty at MSG in March, even losing a 6-overtime game to Syracuse in 2009.UConn made it to the Final Four in 2009, after that 6-overtime loss, but the next two years, Huskies were 16-20 in Big East games- the natives were restless. Jim Calhoun had won two national titles, but it had been six years since the last one.
So what happened? UConn, after losing four of its last five regular season games, goes 5-0 and wins the Big East Tournament, then as a #3-seed, they won the national championship, in coach Calhoun’s 2nd-to-last season at UConn.
My point? March Madness is great because…..you never know what’s going to happen.
— NFL Combine is this week; ESPN/NFL Network will show lot of guys running the 40-yard dash and doing drills. Best part of the Combine we don’t see; the interviews teams do with players, as they try to figure out which players they should draft.
By the way, it has been 52 years since New Orleans Saints drafted a QB in the first round; they drafted Archie Manning that year, Peyton Manning’s father.
— There were six NBA games Tuesday with a double-digit favorite, the most of any night so far this season.
— In the NFL, of the 14 players with the biggest salary cap hit for 2024, four of them play for the LA Chargers.
— In college football, Boise State is bringing back former HC (1998-2000) Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator; he’s been a head coach at Boise, Arizona State, Tampa Bay Bucs.
UMass is jumping from the A-15 to the MAC, which is very bad news for its basketball program; A-15 is the #8 basketball league in country, MAC is #24 league. UMass isn’t the first school to sacrifice its basketball team to try and save its football program.
Last five years, the Minuteman are 6-46 on the gridiron, as an independent.
— In baseball……..
LA Dodgers signed utility guy Kike Hernandez for one year, $4M.
San Francisco Giants signed SS Nick Ahmed.
Speaking of the Giants, the last 17 years on Opening Day, San Francisco started a different left fielder every year, and this year figures to make it 18 in a row.
Switching from DirecTV to YouTube TV last year has mostly been a plus for me; one of the best parts is I can watch replays of baseball games all night long, if I want, which is really good during spring training. Not great for my sleeping habits, but whatever……
— Movie of the Day: Against All Odds (1984)- A gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, and then things get complicated.
Jeff Bridges is the football player, James Woods is the gangster, Rachel Ward is his wife. Also in this movie: Richard Widmark, Alex Karras.
— Famous people with birthdays on February 28:
Mario Andretti, 84
Bubba Smith, 79
Bernadette Peters, 76
Brian Billick, 70
John Turturro, 67
Ickey Woods, 58
Luka Doncic, 25
— Kansas State’s basketball team has won its last 12 overtime games.
— North Carolina (2016/2017) is the last team to make the Final Four two years in a row.
— Old Dominion basketball coach Jeff Jones retired; he had a 560-418 career record as a coach, after his playing days at Virginia.
— 34 of the last 46 national champs in college basketball (73.9%) were 10-1 or less to win the national title when the tournament started.
— BYU 76, Kansas 68
Jayhawks led by 12 early in 2nd half; their 19-game home win streak ends.
Kansas is 6-5 in last 11 games, after a 13-2 start.
Kansas is 3-2 when McKullar doesn’t play.
— Kentucky 91, Mississippi State 89
Bulldogs led by 13 early in second half.
Reed Sheppard hit a 14-foot runner with 0:00.5 left for the win.
Loss snaps Miss State’s 5-game winning streak.
— Indiana 74, Wisconsin 70- There was a 15-minute delay in second half, when a fire alarm went off in the arena. Game was tied when that happened. Badgers are 2-6 in their last eight games.
— UNLV 75, Wyoming 69 OT
Rebels have won eight of their last nine games.
Kalib Boone had 24 points, 12 rebounds (7 offensive)
— Northern Illinois 75, Toledo 72
Rockets were a 15-point home favorite.
Toledo led by 9 with 14:33 left to play.
NIU was 10-23 on the arc, Toledo 6-19.
— Clemson 69, Pittsburgh 62
Pitt was +8 in turnovers, led by 10 midway thru first half.
Clemson starts four seniors; they’re 6-1 in last seven games.
COLUMBUS are 10-6 ATS (3.4 Units) in road games in February games in the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS are 7-2 ATS (4.8 Units) off a loss by 2 goals or more to a division rival in the current season.
NHL
Dunkel
Wednesday, February 28
NHL
Wednesday, February 28
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Columbus @ NY Rangers
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Columbus's last 17 games when playing on the road against NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Columbus's last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Rangers
NY Rangers
NY Rangers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
NY Rangers is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
St. Louis @ Edmonton
St. Louis
St. Louis is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
St. Louis is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games at home
Edmonton is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST LOUIS are 7-2 ATS (4.8 Units) off a loss by 2 goals or more to a division rival in the current season.
NHL
Dunkel
Wednesday, February 28
NHL
Wednesday, February 28
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Columbus @ NY Rangers
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Columbus's last 17 games when playing on the road against NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Columbus's last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Rangers
NY Rangers
NY Rangers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
NY Rangers is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
St. Louis @ Edmonton
St. Louis
St. Louis is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
St. Louis is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games at home
Edmonton is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday’s 6-pack:
Highest payrolls for the 2024 baseball season:
$290,541,666— New York (A)
283,801,859— New York (N)
237,303,141— Houston
237,182,617— Philadelphia
222,601,784— Toronto
221,315,000— Atlanta
Dodgers are #9, at $209,121,666- $68M of Ohtani’s salary is deferred.
Quotes of the Day
“My problems aren’t superficial. They just pour out of me. My (comedy) act is therapy for other people. They can all go away feeling they’re better off than me.”
comedian Richard Lewis, back in 1990
“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.”
Larry David
Thursday’s quiz
Who is the New Orleans/Utah Jazz’s all-time leader in triple-doubles?
Wednesday’s quiz
Larry Brown is the only coach to win both an NBA championship and a college national title.
Tuesday’s quiz
Steph Curry’s father Dell Curry played in the NBA for 16 years, scoring 12,670 points; he played his college basketball at Virginia Tech, which don’t recruit his two sons, both of whom are in the NBA.
*****************************************
— Where do baseball teams get their prospects from? The following info is from the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which lists the top 30 prospects for each team.
Of the Tampa Bay Rays’ 30 top prospects, only 19 of them are home-grown, the fewest of any major league team. 11 of their top 30 prospects were acquired via trade, the most of any team; St Louis Cardinals are next, with eight prospects acquired via trade.
— Atlanta Braves are only team that doesn’t have a top 30 prospect that was acquired via trade.
— Cardinals/Oakland A’s are only teams that don’t have an international player among their top 30 prospects.
— Who has the most international prospects in their top 30?
15- Bronx
14- Angels
13- Red Sox
12- Rockies
— Houston Astros/Baltimore Orioles both have 19 college players in their top 30; Cardinals and Royals both have 18, Braves have 16.
Red Sox have only 5 college players in their top 30; Guardians have 6, Angels 8.
— Red Sox, Padres, Blue Jays have 9 high school players in their top 30, the most of any team; Tigers/Mariners have 8.
Bronx has only two top 30 prospects who went pro out of high school; Orioles-Cardinals-Astros have three each.
— Teams approach their prospects differently; the big $$$ teams will try and trade them to cheaper teams for star players, the cheap teams will promote their prospects, and play them until they hit their arbitration years, then they trade them to the big $$$ teams.
— Word of the Day: Corrupt- acting dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.
— Pretty cool baseball record that I never knew about, until Monday night; former Seattle 1B Alvin Davis reached base safely in his first 47 major league games, which is the all-time high for any player at the start of their career.
— Stolen bases were up 41% last year from 2022; the rule changes worked.
— Under is 38-12-1 in NBA games, since the All-Star break.
— Minnesota Vikings named former NFL QB Josh McCown their new QB coach.
— Famous people with birthdays on February 29:
Tony Robbins, 64
Terrence Long, 48
Tyrese Haliburton, 24
February 29 has to be the worst day to have a birthday right? You only have a birthday once every four years.
— Drake 107, Ill-Chicago 105, 3OTs
DeVries, the coach’s son, scored 39 points, with 13 boards, 7 assists.
Drake won six of its last seven games.
UIC shot 16-35 on the arc, only 15-42 inside the arc.
— Tennessee 92, Auburn 84
Dalton Knecht scored 39 points for the Vols.
Auburn led by 8 with 12:17 left in game.
Tennessee has won five in row, 11 of last 13 games.
— Iowa State 58, Oklahoma 45
Cyclones are 22-6, 11-4, in 2nd place in the Big X.
Iowa State forces turnovers 25.8% of time (#2 in country)
Teams combined to shoot 7-33 on the arc.
— Fort Wayne 79, Wright State 77 OT
Neither team led by more than six points.
Fort Wayne’s bench outscored Wright State’s subs 25-4.
— Illinois 105, Minnesota 97
Gophers lost despite shooting 14-20 on the arc.
There were a TOTAL of only 9 turnovers in this game.
Minnesota is 17-11 SU this year, but 24-4 against the spread.
Minnesota scored 1.48 points/possession; over the last 15 years, teams that scored that many points/possession are now 310-2.
— Alabama 103, Ole Miss 88
Crimson Tide outscored Ole Miss 64-46 in second half.
Both teams shot 60%+ inside the arc.
Alabama gets 38% of their points on 3’s, #22 in country.
— Upsets of the Night:
Wichita State (+7.5) 74, UAB 66
Green Bay (+7.5) 69, Cleveland State 61
Fort Wayne (+6.5) 79, Wright State 77 OT
South Carolina (+5.5) 70, Texas A&M 68
Northwestern (+5.5) 68, Maryland 61
Wofford (+5.5) 91, Samford 69
— RIP to Richard Lewis, a stand-up comedian and a star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” who passed away at age 76. Known for his self-deprecating humor and acerbic wit, he was very funny.
RIP, sir.
Highest payrolls for the 2024 baseball season:
$290,541,666— New York (A)
283,801,859— New York (N)
237,303,141— Houston
237,182,617— Philadelphia
222,601,784— Toronto
221,315,000— Atlanta
Dodgers are #9, at $209,121,666- $68M of Ohtani’s salary is deferred.
Quotes of the Day
“My problems aren’t superficial. They just pour out of me. My (comedy) act is therapy for other people. They can all go away feeling they’re better off than me.”
comedian Richard Lewis, back in 1990
“Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.”
Larry David
Thursday’s quiz
Who is the New Orleans/Utah Jazz’s all-time leader in triple-doubles?
Wednesday’s quiz
Larry Brown is the only coach to win both an NBA championship and a college national title.
Tuesday’s quiz
Steph Curry’s father Dell Curry played in the NBA for 16 years, scoring 12,670 points; he played his college basketball at Virginia Tech, which don’t recruit his two sons, both of whom are in the NBA.
*****************************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……
If you’re reading this, that means the power/internet in my house stayed on, despite it being hideously windy outside.— Where do baseball teams get their prospects from? The following info is from the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which lists the top 30 prospects for each team.
Of the Tampa Bay Rays’ 30 top prospects, only 19 of them are home-grown, the fewest of any major league team. 11 of their top 30 prospects were acquired via trade, the most of any team; St Louis Cardinals are next, with eight prospects acquired via trade.
— Atlanta Braves are only team that doesn’t have a top 30 prospect that was acquired via trade.
— Cardinals/Oakland A’s are only teams that don’t have an international player among their top 30 prospects.
— Who has the most international prospects in their top 30?
15- Bronx
14- Angels
13- Red Sox
12- Rockies
— Houston Astros/Baltimore Orioles both have 19 college players in their top 30; Cardinals and Royals both have 18, Braves have 16.
Red Sox have only 5 college players in their top 30; Guardians have 6, Angels 8.
— Red Sox, Padres, Blue Jays have 9 high school players in their top 30, the most of any team; Tigers/Mariners have 8.
Bronx has only two top 30 prospects who went pro out of high school; Orioles-Cardinals-Astros have three each.
— Teams approach their prospects differently; the big $$$ teams will try and trade them to cheaper teams for star players, the cheap teams will promote their prospects, and play them until they hit their arbitration years, then they trade them to the big $$$ teams.
— Word of the Day: Corrupt- acting dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.
— Pretty cool baseball record that I never knew about, until Monday night; former Seattle 1B Alvin Davis reached base safely in his first 47 major league games, which is the all-time high for any player at the start of their career.
— Stolen bases were up 41% last year from 2022; the rule changes worked.
— Under is 38-12-1 in NBA games, since the All-Star break.
— Minnesota Vikings named former NFL QB Josh McCown their new QB coach.
— Famous people with birthdays on February 29:
Tony Robbins, 64
Terrence Long, 48
Tyrese Haliburton, 24
February 29 has to be the worst day to have a birthday right? You only have a birthday once every four years.
— Drake 107, Ill-Chicago 105, 3OTs
DeVries, the coach’s son, scored 39 points, with 13 boards, 7 assists.
Drake won six of its last seven games.
UIC shot 16-35 on the arc, only 15-42 inside the arc.
— Tennessee 92, Auburn 84
Dalton Knecht scored 39 points for the Vols.
Auburn led by 8 with 12:17 left in game.
Tennessee has won five in row, 11 of last 13 games.
— Iowa State 58, Oklahoma 45
Cyclones are 22-6, 11-4, in 2nd place in the Big X.
Iowa State forces turnovers 25.8% of time (#2 in country)
Teams combined to shoot 7-33 on the arc.
— Fort Wayne 79, Wright State 77 OT
Neither team led by more than six points.
Fort Wayne’s bench outscored Wright State’s subs 25-4.
— Illinois 105, Minnesota 97
Gophers lost despite shooting 14-20 on the arc.
There were a TOTAL of only 9 turnovers in this game.
Minnesota is 17-11 SU this year, but 24-4 against the spread.
Minnesota scored 1.48 points/possession; over the last 15 years, teams that scored that many points/possession are now 310-2.
— Alabama 103, Ole Miss 88
Crimson Tide outscored Ole Miss 64-46 in second half.
Both teams shot 60%+ inside the arc.
Alabama gets 38% of their points on 3’s, #22 in country.
— Upsets of the Night:
Wichita State (+7.5) 74, UAB 66
Green Bay (+7.5) 69, Cleveland State 61
Fort Wayne (+6.5) 79, Wright State 77 OT
South Carolina (+5.5) 70, Texas A&M 68
Northwestern (+5.5) 68, Maryland 61
Wofford (+5.5) 91, Samford 69
— RIP to Richard Lewis, a stand-up comedian and a star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” who passed away at age 76. Known for his self-deprecating humor and acerbic wit, he was very funny.
RIP, sir.
BUFFALO is 9-0 Under (9 Units) after covering 4 or 5 of their last 6 against the spread in the current season.
VEGAS are 13-6 ATS (8.2 Units) against good teams - outscoring their opponents by 0.3+ goals/game in the current season.
NY ISLANDERS are 45-60 ATS (-21 Units) after a game where they covered the spread in the last 3 seasons.
COLUMBUS are 15-12 ATS (1.8 Units) in February games in the last 3 seasons.
MONTREAL is 60-70 ATS (-17 Units) in road games revenging a blowout loss vs opponent of 3 goals or more since 1996.
ARIZONA is 6-4 ATS (1.6 Units) in road games after having lost 15 or more of their last 20 games in the last 3 seasons.
DALLAS are 10-0 Over (10 Units) in home games after allowing 4 goals or more in the current season.
MINNESOTA is 8-3 ATS (4.7 Units) in road games second half of the season in the current season.
CHICAGO is 14-56 ATS (-47.6 Units) vs. division opponents in the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 49-69 ATS (-26.9 Units) when playing their 3rd game in 5 days in the last 3 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 11-0 ATS (11 Units) after a close loss by 1 goal in their previous game in the current season.
ANAHEIM is 22-68 ATS (-52.8 Units) when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days in the last 3 seasons.
VEGAS are 13-6 ATS (8.2 Units) against good teams - outscoring their opponents by 0.3+ goals/game in the current season.
NY ISLANDERS are 45-60 ATS (-21 Units) after a game where they covered the spread in the last 3 seasons.
COLUMBUS are 15-12 ATS (1.8 Units) in February games in the last 3 seasons.
MONTREAL is 60-70 ATS (-17 Units) in road games revenging a blowout loss vs opponent of 3 goals or more since 1996.
ARIZONA is 6-4 ATS (1.6 Units) in road games after having lost 15 or more of their last 20 games in the last 3 seasons.
DALLAS are 10-0 Over (10 Units) in home games after allowing 4 goals or more in the current season.
MINNESOTA is 8-3 ATS (4.7 Units) in road games second half of the season in the current season.
CHICAGO is 14-56 ATS (-47.6 Units) vs. division opponents in the last 3 seasons.
PITTSBURGH is 49-69 ATS (-26.9 Units) when playing their 3rd game in 5 days in the last 3 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 11-0 ATS (11 Units) after a close loss by 1 goal in their previous game in the current season.
ANAHEIM is 22-68 ATS (-52.8 Units) when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days in the last 3 seasons.
NHL
Thursday, February 29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vegas @ Boston
Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vegas's last 5 games
Vegas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing at home against Vegas
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Boston's last 9 games at home
Carolina @ Columbus
Carolina
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Carolina's last 5 games when playing on the road against Columbus
Carolina is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Columbus
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Columbus's last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Columbus's last 5 games at home
NY Islanders @ Detroit
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Islanders's last 6 games when playing on the road against Detroit
NY Islanders is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Detroit
Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Detroit is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games at home
Montreal @ Florida
Montreal
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montreal's last 5 games when playing on the road against Florida
Montreal is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Florida
Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Florida is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Montreal
Buffalo @ Tampa Bay
Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Buffalo's last 7 games
Buffalo is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games at home
Arizona @ Toronto
Arizona
Arizona is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Arizona is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Toronto's last 7 games
Winnipeg @ Dallas
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Winnipeg is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Dallas
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games
Dallas is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Winnipeg
Minnesota @ Nashville
Minnesota
Minnesota is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games when playing on the road against Nashville
Nashville
Nashville is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Nashville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Colorado @ Chicago
Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Colorado's last 5 games when playing Chicago
Colorado is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing Chicago
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games
Pittsburgh @ Seattle
Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games on the road
Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Seattle's last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
Los Angeles @ Vancouver
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Anaheim @ San Jose
Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Anaheim's last 5 games when playing on the road against San Jose
Anaheim is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games when playing San Jose
San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games when playing at home against Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 8 games when playing Anaheim
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, February 29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vegas @ Boston
Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vegas's last 5 games
Vegas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing at home against Vegas
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Boston's last 9 games at home
Carolina @ Columbus
Carolina
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Carolina's last 5 games when playing on the road against Columbus
Carolina is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Columbus
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Columbus's last 5 games when playing at home against Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Columbus's last 5 games at home
NY Islanders @ Detroit
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Islanders's last 6 games when playing on the road against Detroit
NY Islanders is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Detroit
Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Detroit is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games at home
Montreal @ Florida
Montreal
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montreal's last 5 games when playing on the road against Florida
Montreal is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Florida
Florida is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Florida is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Montreal
Buffalo @ Tampa Bay
Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Buffalo's last 7 games
Buffalo is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games at home
Arizona @ Toronto
Arizona
Arizona is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Arizona is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Toronto's last 7 games
Winnipeg @ Dallas
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Winnipeg is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Dallas
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games
Dallas is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Winnipeg
Minnesota @ Nashville
Minnesota
Minnesota is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games when playing on the road against Nashville
Nashville
Nashville is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Nashville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Colorado @ Chicago
Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Colorado's last 5 games when playing Chicago
Colorado is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing Chicago
Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games
Pittsburgh @ Seattle
Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games on the road
Seattle
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Seattle's last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
Los Angeles @ Vancouver
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Anaheim @ San Jose
Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Anaheim's last 5 games when playing on the road against San Jose
Anaheim is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games when playing San Jose
San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Jose's last 5 games when playing at home against Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 8 games when playing Anaheim
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29
| Game | Time(ET) | Pick | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAR at CLB | 07:00 PM | CAR -250 O 6.5 | +500 +500 |
| MON at FLA | 07:00 PM | MON +288 O 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| ARI at TOR | 07:00 PM | TOR -218 O 6.5 | +500 +500 |
| BUF at TB | 07:00 PM | TB -153 O 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| NYI at DET | 07:00 PM | DET -108 U 6.5 | +500 +500 |
| VEG at BOS | 07:00 PM | VEG +142 U 5.5 | +500 +500 |
| MIN at NAS | 08:00 PM | NAS -107 O 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| WIN at DAL | 08:00 PM | DAL -129 U 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| COL at CHI | 09:00 PM | COL -265 U 6.5 | +500 +500 |
| PIT at SEA | 10:00 PM | SEA -115 U 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| LA at VAN | 10:00 PM | LA +130 U 6.0 | +500 +500 |
| ANA at SJ | 10:30 PM | SJ +115 O 6.0 | +500 +500 |
Friday’s 6-pack:
Lowest payrolls for the 2024 baseball season:
$45,525,000- Oakland A’s
$68,014,000- Pittsburgh Pirates
$84,433,928- Cleveland Guardians
$84,648,333- Cincinnati Reds
$86,535,000- Miami Marlins
$88,458,712- Tampa Bay Rays
Quote of the Day
“I want a guy that can lead, that wants to compete. I want a guy that’s not afraid of a challenge because this is a big challenge that we have in front of us. We’ve got the world champs in our division again.”
Las Vegas Raiders’ coach Antonio Pierce, talking about the Raiders’ next QB
Friday’s quiz
Butler Bulldogs lost the national title game two years in a row, when Brad Stevens was their coach. What league was Butler in back then (2010/2011)?
Thursday’s quiz
Pete Maravich is still the New Orleans/Utah Jazz’s all-time leader in triple-doubles, with seven.
Wednesday’s quiz
Larry Brown is the only coach to win both an NBA championship and a college national title.
*************************************************
I’m not a big fan of starting QB’s who transfer; he bolted from Oklahoma to USC, then USC lost five of its last six games last year, Williams skipped the Trojans bowl game (they won 42-28). Too much drama; after a loss to Washington; he was sobbing in the stands with his parents after the game.
By the way, I feel the same way about Wake Forest/Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman; you don’t start at QB for a team for four years, then jump ship to another college. You want to jump ship, go to the NFL; that would’ve made a lot more sense.
Now this week in Indianapolis, Williams isn’t working out, and he declined the medical exams, which are considered to be one of the most essential elements of the combine.
An NFL source thinks Williams is the first player to attend the NFL Combine after declining the medical exam. He isn’t doing any passing at the Combine, either.
NFL Draft is April 25; it should be interesting.
— Old Dominion is hiring Maryland assistant Mike Jones as its new basketball coach; Jones is an Old Dominion alum who led the Monarchs to NCAA tournaments as a player in 1992, 1995. He’s also worked as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech.
— There was a lot of complaining about court storming after the Duke-Wake Forest debacle the other night, when Kyle Filipowski limped off the floor while the Wake Forest students ran on the court to celebrate the Deacons’ win.
Four nights later, after a lot of complaining on TV, Filipowski played 30:00, had 9 points, 10 rebounds, six assists in an easy win over Louisville, so he survived the incident.
For the record, there is a way to have court storming while making sure the visiting team gets off the floor safely; set the clock at 1:00 or 1:30 when the game ends, get the visitors off the floor, then the fans can run on the court when the clock hits 0:00.
— One of the cool parts of spring training is that some teams bring in retired players to mentor the younger players on skills. Mets had Darryl Strawberry in camp this week; Reds had former big league OF Brett Butler teaching their players how to bunt for base hits.
— Time flies, man; Atlantic Sun basketball tournament starts Monday; three other conference tournaments start Tuesday. One of the best times of the year is almost here.
— Word of the Day: Quirk- an unusual habit or way of behaving.
— Of the fifteen teams in the Atlantic 10 (Atlantic 15???), three of them have Rams as their mascot; Fordham, Rhode Island, Virginia Commonwealth.
— People who run college sports should keep the NCAA Tournament the way it is; it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
— 41 years ago this week, the last episode of M*A*S*H aired on CBS; 105.9M people watched it, the end of one of the best TV shows ever.
— Utah State is 8-0 this season in games decided by 5 or less points; four of their five losses were by 13+ points. Aggies are 23-5 this season, despite not having any players on their team who scored a point for Utah State last year.
— In his last 11 games, Edmonton Oilers’ star Connor McDavid has 26 points, but only one goal- he scored the game-winner in overtime against St Louis Wednesday night.
— Famous people with birthdays on March 1st:
Roger Daltrey, 79
Ron Howard, 70
Chris Webber, 51
Trevor Cahill, 36
Michael Conforto, 31
Tyreek Hill, 30
Justin Bieber, 30
— Charleston 96, Campbell 73
Cougars win the CAA regular season title for the first time.
Charleston has won 8 in a row; they still need to win CAA tourney to get in the field of 68.
— Ohio State 78, Nebraska 69
Buckeyes are 3-1 since they fired their coach, including a win over Purdue.
Ohio State was 24-28 on foul line, Nebraska 7-8.
— South Dakota State 72, North Dakota 62
Jackrabbits were down 3 at half; they shot 12-26 on the arc.
South Dakota State clinches the Summit League regular season title.
— Saint Mary’s 83, Pepperdine 57
On December 2, Saint Mary’s was 3-5, a very, very disappointing start.
On March 1, Saint Mary’s is 24-6, 15-0 in WCC; they’re the ONLY team in the country that hasn’t lost a conference game this season.
— Gonzaga 86, San Francisco 68
Zags outscored USF 51-34 in the second half.
Gonzaga shot 71.1% inside the arc.
Gonzaga hasn’t lost to the Dons since 2012.
USF made some extra $$$; this game was in the Warriors’ arena.
— Washington 94, UCLA 77
Huskies shot 15-24 on the arc.
UCLA lost its last three games, they’re 14-14, 9-8 in Pac-12.
Bruins have the #334 eFG% in the country.
— Eastern Washington 89, Montana 79
Eagles lost their first six D-I games this season, but they’re 18-4 in last 22 games.
EWU will be the #1-seed in Big Sky Tournament; they’ve got #8 eFG% in country.
Lowest payrolls for the 2024 baseball season:
$45,525,000- Oakland A’s
$68,014,000- Pittsburgh Pirates
$84,433,928- Cleveland Guardians
$84,648,333- Cincinnati Reds
$86,535,000- Miami Marlins
$88,458,712- Tampa Bay Rays
Quote of the Day
“I want a guy that can lead, that wants to compete. I want a guy that’s not afraid of a challenge because this is a big challenge that we have in front of us. We’ve got the world champs in our division again.”
Las Vegas Raiders’ coach Antonio Pierce, talking about the Raiders’ next QB
Friday’s quiz
Butler Bulldogs lost the national title game two years in a row, when Brad Stevens was their coach. What league was Butler in back then (2010/2011)?
Thursday’s quiz
Pete Maravich is still the New Orleans/Utah Jazz’s all-time leader in triple-doubles, with seven.
Wednesday’s quiz
Larry Brown is the only coach to win both an NBA championship and a college national title.
*************************************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here…….
— I can’t put my finger on why, maybe it is because I’m getting older, but if I was an NFL team with a high draft pick, no way in hell would we draft USC QB Caleb Williams. Just a feeling in my gut that he ain’t worth the trouble.I’m not a big fan of starting QB’s who transfer; he bolted from Oklahoma to USC, then USC lost five of its last six games last year, Williams skipped the Trojans bowl game (they won 42-28). Too much drama; after a loss to Washington; he was sobbing in the stands with his parents after the game.
By the way, I feel the same way about Wake Forest/Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman; you don’t start at QB for a team for four years, then jump ship to another college. You want to jump ship, go to the NFL; that would’ve made a lot more sense.
Now this week in Indianapolis, Williams isn’t working out, and he declined the medical exams, which are considered to be one of the most essential elements of the combine.
An NFL source thinks Williams is the first player to attend the NFL Combine after declining the medical exam. He isn’t doing any passing at the Combine, either.
NFL Draft is April 25; it should be interesting.
— Old Dominion is hiring Maryland assistant Mike Jones as its new basketball coach; Jones is an Old Dominion alum who led the Monarchs to NCAA tournaments as a player in 1992, 1995. He’s also worked as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech.
— There was a lot of complaining about court storming after the Duke-Wake Forest debacle the other night, when Kyle Filipowski limped off the floor while the Wake Forest students ran on the court to celebrate the Deacons’ win.
Four nights later, after a lot of complaining on TV, Filipowski played 30:00, had 9 points, 10 rebounds, six assists in an easy win over Louisville, so he survived the incident.
For the record, there is a way to have court storming while making sure the visiting team gets off the floor safely; set the clock at 1:00 or 1:30 when the game ends, get the visitors off the floor, then the fans can run on the court when the clock hits 0:00.
— One of the cool parts of spring training is that some teams bring in retired players to mentor the younger players on skills. Mets had Darryl Strawberry in camp this week; Reds had former big league OF Brett Butler teaching their players how to bunt for base hits.
— Time flies, man; Atlantic Sun basketball tournament starts Monday; three other conference tournaments start Tuesday. One of the best times of the year is almost here.
— Word of the Day: Quirk- an unusual habit or way of behaving.
— Of the fifteen teams in the Atlantic 10 (Atlantic 15???), three of them have Rams as their mascot; Fordham, Rhode Island, Virginia Commonwealth.
— People who run college sports should keep the NCAA Tournament the way it is; it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
— 41 years ago this week, the last episode of M*A*S*H aired on CBS; 105.9M people watched it, the end of one of the best TV shows ever.
— Utah State is 8-0 this season in games decided by 5 or less points; four of their five losses were by 13+ points. Aggies are 23-5 this season, despite not having any players on their team who scored a point for Utah State last year.
— In his last 11 games, Edmonton Oilers’ star Connor McDavid has 26 points, but only one goal- he scored the game-winner in overtime against St Louis Wednesday night.
— Famous people with birthdays on March 1st:
Roger Daltrey, 79
Ron Howard, 70
Chris Webber, 51
Trevor Cahill, 36
Michael Conforto, 31
Tyreek Hill, 30
Justin Bieber, 30
— Charleston 96, Campbell 73
Cougars win the CAA regular season title for the first time.
Charleston has won 8 in a row; they still need to win CAA tourney to get in the field of 68.
— Ohio State 78, Nebraska 69
Buckeyes are 3-1 since they fired their coach, including a win over Purdue.
Ohio State was 24-28 on foul line, Nebraska 7-8.
— South Dakota State 72, North Dakota 62
Jackrabbits were down 3 at half; they shot 12-26 on the arc.
South Dakota State clinches the Summit League regular season title.
— Saint Mary’s 83, Pepperdine 57
On December 2, Saint Mary’s was 3-5, a very, very disappointing start.
On March 1, Saint Mary’s is 24-6, 15-0 in WCC; they’re the ONLY team in the country that hasn’t lost a conference game this season.
— Gonzaga 86, San Francisco 68
Zags outscored USF 51-34 in the second half.
Gonzaga shot 71.1% inside the arc.
Gonzaga hasn’t lost to the Dons since 2012.
USF made some extra $$$; this game was in the Warriors’ arena.
— Washington 94, UCLA 77
Huskies shot 15-24 on the arc.
UCLA lost its last three games, they’re 14-14, 9-8 in Pac-12.
Bruins have the #334 eFG% in the country.
— Eastern Washington 89, Montana 79
Eagles lost their first six D-I games this season, but they’re 18-4 in last 22 games.
EWU will be the #1-seed in Big Sky Tournament; they’ve got #8 eFG% in country.
ARIZONA is 6-4 ATS (1.6 Units) in road games after having lost 15 or more of their last 20 games in the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 19-37 ATS (-21.7 Units) in home games after playing a road game in the last 3 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 5-23 ATS (-20.3 Units) in March games in the last 3 seasons.
NHL
Friday, March 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona @ Ottawa
Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Arizona's last 5 games when playing Ottawa
Arizona is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Ottawa
Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ottawa's last 5 games when playing Arizona
Ottawa is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Philadelphia @ Washington
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 21-3 ATS in its last 24 games on the road
Philadelphia is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games at home
New Jersey @ Anaheim
New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of New Jersey's last 8 games when playing Anaheim
New Jersey is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games on the road
Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Anaheim's last 8 games when playing New Jersey
Anaheim is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against New Jersey
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON is 19-37 ATS (-21.7 Units) in home games after playing a road game in the last 3 seasons.
ANAHEIM is 5-23 ATS (-20.3 Units) in March games in the last 3 seasons.
NHL
Friday, March 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona @ Ottawa
Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Arizona's last 5 games when playing Ottawa
Arizona is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Ottawa
Ottawa
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Ottawa's last 5 games when playing Arizona
Ottawa is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Philadelphia @ Washington
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 21-3 ATS in its last 24 games on the road
Philadelphia is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games at home
New Jersey @ Anaheim
New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of New Jersey's last 8 games when playing Anaheim
New Jersey is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games on the road
Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Anaheim's last 8 games when playing New Jersey
Anaheim is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against New Jersey
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
