CNOTES 2024-2025 NBA TRENDS, NEWS, BEST BETS AND OPINIONS THRU THE PLAYOFFS !

[CNOTES]

BEST BETS FOR FEB. 2025

02/23/2025..............4 - 5 - 0..............44.00%..............- 7.00
02/22/2025..............5 - 2 - 0..............71.42%..............+ 14.00
02/21/2025..............3 - 3 - 0..............50.00%..............- 1.50
02/20/2025..............2 - 5 - 0..............28.57%..............- 17.50
02/19/2025..............0 - 2 - 0..............00.00%..............- 11.00
02/13/2025...............7 -3 - 0..............70.00%..............+ 18.50
02/12/2025..............4 - 6 - 0.............40.00%...............- 13.00
02/08/2025............5 - 11 - 0..............31.25%..............- 33.50
02/06/2025..............6 - 3 - 0..............66.66%.............+ 13.50
02/05/2024..............8 - 6 - 1..............57.14%..............+ 7.00
02/04/2025..............4 - 7 - 0..............36.36%.............- 18.50
02/03/2025..............5 - 2 - 0..............71.42%.............+ 14.00
02/02/2025..............3 - 3 - 0..............50.00%..............- 1.50
02/01/2025..............4 - 5 - 0..............44.44%...............- 7.50

TOTALS.................60 - 63 - 1..............48.78%...............- 44.00

 

[CNOTES]

Monday’s 6-pack:
According to Bracketology, last six teams in the NCAA Field of 68:
— Wake Forest
— VCU
— Arkansas
— Vanderbilt
— Nebraska
— San Diego State

Quote of the Day
“That’s what Jimmy (Butler) has really added to our team is this sense of calm. It really, frankly, complements the chaos of Steph and Dray. And I think that’s part of our strength as a team, is the chaos that Steph and Dray create.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr; Golden State is 5-1 since acquiring Jimmy Butler

Monday’s quiz
Who was the St John’s basketball coach, last time they won an NCAA Tournament game?

Sunday’s quiz
When Pete Rose was NL Rookie of the Year in 1963, he played second base.

Saturday’s quiz
When Michael Jordan played minor league baseball for the White Sox’ AA team in 1994, Terry Francona was his manager that year.

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

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

— Was shopping online late Saturday night, didn’t buy anything but was looking through some stuff. Sunday afternoon, I get a text saying “we saw you were shopping on our site, Still want to buy it? The price lasts for another 15 minutes”- then they have a link that takes you right back to that page.
Maybe I’m just old, but that creeps me out a little bit; not sure if it makes me more likely or less likely to shop on that site anymore.

— Modern basketball has gotten soft, both college and pro; any foul where there is contact above the neck is a flagrant foul now, even if it is incidental contact.
To me, a flagrant foul needs to have some intent behind it. Guys have to learn how to play through some contact.
This ends the complaining part of today’s blog.

— Very good news; this summer at the baseball All-Star Game, players are going back to wearing their team’s uniform, the way it used to be. MLB tried to sell AL/NL uniforms, but having guys wearing their team’s uniforms is the right thing to do.

— The ball/strike challenge thing MLB is experimenting with this spring reminds me of the tennis instant replay system; it goes quickly, and seems to be pretty good. Challenges can’t come from the dugout, and have to be done quickly.
I’m guessing this will become a rule next season. One bad thing about it is that the ball/strike box that was always on TV appears to be a thing of the past now.

— Was great to watch spring training baseball games the last few days, alternate those games with college basketball games. For me personally, was fun listening to two Mets’ games, with Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez— it just reminds me of watching baseball with my dad, who was a huge Mets fan.
You don’t learn as much from early spring training games; the regulars sub out really early, lot of minor leaguers play.Once they open minor league camp, then the regulars play a lot more and you can figure some stuff out that might help your fantasy team.

— Cleveland Guardians have 35 pitchers in their major league camp; it is up to pitching coach Carl Willis to script all the innings those 35 pitchers are going to throw this spring. That must be a cumbersome job, especially since the guys who are going to be on the major league roster have to gradually amp up their innings as March moves along.

— Miami Marlins used 70 players last year, the most players any team has ever used in a season. Marlins were also 11-45 vs lefty starting pitchers, which is incredibly bad.

— Oakland A’s signed Gio Urshela to play 3B this year, because they used 10 different guys at the hot corner last year, and that ain’t good.
Urshela is a .273 career hitter; he’s played on five different teams that made the playoffs, so his leadership will be important for a young A’s team that will be trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

— Famous birthdays, February 24th:
Edward James Olmos, 78
Helen Shaver, 74
Tom Burleson, 73- my all-time favorite basketball player
Eddie Murray, 69- Orioles’ 1B, not the Lions’ kicker
Phil McConkey, 68
Nick Esasky, 65
Billy Zane, 59
Mike Lowell, 51
Miguel Rojas, 36
MacKenzie Gore, 26

— Indiana 73, Purdue 58
Indiana pushed coach Mike Woodson out the door, effective after the season, but Indiana is 16-11, 7-9 in a good Big 18- if they finish strong, they could get in the NCAA’s. Bracketology had them as the 6th team out of the field, BEFORE they won this game.
Say Indiana gets in the NCAAs, then wins a game or two; how do you let Woodson walk then? The guy is an alum, was an NBA player/coach; you want to be that cruddy with him?

— St John’s 89, UConn 75
Johnnies led 50-33 at halftime, had a fairly stress-free win.
St John’s is 13-1 since New Year’s Day; they’re eFG% defense is #20.
UConn is 6-6 in its last 12 games; Bracketology had them as an 8-seed, before this game.

— Drake 64, Northern Iowa 58 OT
Drake hit 2 of 3 on foul line with 0:00.1 left to force overtime.
Bulldogs out-rebounded UNI, 46-29
Drake is 25-3, 13-1 in their last fourteen games.
Misleading stat on KenPom: They have Drake listed as the #338 continuity team, but four of their starters came to Drake with coach McCollum from D-II Northwest Missouri State this season- they won a D-II national title together, so they’ve got great continuity, just not at the Division I level.

— UCLA 69, Ohio State 61
UCLA honored the late Bill Walton during this game; he passed away last spring, at age 71. Walton led UCLA to three Final Fours, two national titles, was a great college player.
He was also a total character; I grew to love listening to him broadcast college games- he did so much research, I always said that he taught me 2-3 things every game he worked, and none of them had anything to do with basketball. RIP, Bill.
This game was also Mick Cronin’s 500th win as a college coach.

— Robert Morris 72, Milwaukee 59
Colonials have won six in row, 12 of last 13 games- they lead the Horizon by half a game, with one game left in regular season.
Senior guards are a good thing to have: Robert Morris PG Kam Woods had 15 points, 11 assists in this game.

— Quinnipiac 74, Manhattan 71
Jaspers led 38-21 late in the first half.
Manhattan lost despite going 12-24 on the arc.
Quinnipiac is 28-8 in MAAC games in two years under coach Pecora.

— Oakland 91, Cleveland State 86 OT
Vikings led by 13 midway thru the first half.
Oakland was 27-38 on foul line, Cleveland State 9-13.
Cleveland State is 2-4 in its last six games, after an 11-0 run.

 

[Udog]

NBA

Monday, February 24

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

Brooklyn vs Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Brooklyn's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Brooklyn's last 6 games on the road
Washington is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Washington is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games

LA Clippers vs Detroit
LA Clippers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Detroit
LA Clippers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Detroit is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games

Denver vs Indiana
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Indiana
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games at home

Chicago vs Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Philadelphia's last 7 games when playing at home against Chicago

Miami vs Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Miami's last 16 games when playing Atlanta
Miami is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games when playing Atlanta
Atlanta is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Atlanta's last 16 games when playing Miami

Minnesota vs Oklahoma City
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Oklahoma City is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games

Portland vs Utah
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Portland's last 5 games when playing Utah
Portland is 12-4 ATS in its last 16 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Utah's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Utah's last 5 games at home

Charlotte vs Sacramento
Charlotte is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Sacramento
Charlotte is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Sacramento
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Sacramento's last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Sacramento's last 5 games when playing at home against Charlotte


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

 

[Udog]

 

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel

Monday, February 24

 

[CNOTES]

Monday, February 24​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
BK at WAS	07:00 PM	WAS +3.0 U 217.0	+500 +500
CHI at PHI	07:00 PM	U 233.5	+500
DEN at IND	07:00 PM	O 246.0	+500
MIA at ATL	07:30 PM	ATL -1.0 U 231.0	+500 +500
MIN at OKC	08:00 PM	MIN +12.0	+500
POR at UTA	09:00 PM	UTA +6.5 O 231.5	+500 +500
CHA at SAC	10:00 PM	CHA +11.0 O 233.0	+500 +500

 

[CNOTES]

BEST BETS FOR FEB. 2025

02/24/2025..............6 - 5 - 0..............54.54%..............+ 2.50
02/23/2025..............4 - 5 - 0..............44.00%..............- 7.00
02/22/2025..............5 - 2 - 0..............71.42%..............+ 14.00
02/21/2025..............3 - 3 - 0..............50.00%..............- 1.50
02/20/2025..............2 - 5 - 0..............28.57%..............- 17.50
02/19/2025..............0 - 2 - 0..............00.00%..............- 11.00
02/13/2025...............7 -3 - 0..............70.00%..............+ 18.50
02/12/2025..............4 - 6 - 0.............40.00%...............- 13.00
02/08/2025............5 - 11 - 0..............31.25%..............- 33.50
02/06/2025..............6 - 3 - 0..............66.66%.............+ 13.50
02/05/2024..............8 - 6 - 1..............57.14%..............+ 7.00
02/04/2025..............4 - 7 - 0..............36.36%.............- 18.50
02/03/2025..............5 - 2 - 0..............71.42%.............+ 14.00
02/02/2025..............3 - 3 - 0..............50.00%..............- 1.50
02/01/2025..............4 - 5 - 0..............44.44%...............- 7.50

TOTALS.................66 - 68 - 1..............49.25%...............- 41.50

 

[CNOTES]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
Teams with best shooting %age on 3-pointers:
41.1%— Bradley
40.3%— Villanova
40%— North Dakota State, Houston
39.6%— Memphis
39%— St Thomas
38.9%— Cal-Santa Barbara

Quote of the Day
“Obviously, our goals historically have been to try to fill as many of our musts and needs before the draft so you can pick the best player on your board. Didn’t get that totally accomplished last year, but certainly that’s always the goal.”
Dallas Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones

Tuesday’s quiz
Oakland A’s have won four World Series, under which three managers?

Monday’s quiz
Mike Jarvis was the St John’s basketball coach, last time they won an NCAA Tournament game; he was also Patrick Ewing’s high school coach.

Sunday’s quiz
When Pete Rose was NL Rookie of the Year in 1963, he played second base.

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

Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……..​

Information below is based on the last eight seasons of college basketball.
There are no absolutes, this we know, but sometimes trends develop, which is what we’re looking for.

— How did teams that made the Final Four do in their conference tournaments?
32 teams in last eight Final Four’s; 17 of them won their conference tournament.
Only 5 of the last 32 Final Four teams lost their first conference tournament game:
2024 Alabama- Beat 12-seed Grand Canyon in 2nd round.
2021 UCLA- Lost their last four games before the NCAA’s; two of their five wins in the NCAA’s came in overtime.
2019 Texas Tech- Played 32-4 Buffalo, coached by Nate Oats, in 2nd round
2017 South Carolina- Upset #2-seed Duke in 2nd round
2016 Syracuse- Beat 15-seed Middle Tennessee in 2nd round
When we’re filling out brackets in three weeks, I’ll be looking for teams that won their first first conference tournament game and, preferably, won the conference tournament

— What seeds get to the Final Four?
Last eight years, 10 #1-seeds, seven #2-seeds made the Final Four, only 17 of 32 teams.
Three #3-seeds, two #4-seeds, three #5-seeds.

— Six of the last seven national champs were #1-seeds; 2023 UConn is the exception; they were a #4-seed, in a season where the Final Four was: #4-seed, two #5-seeds and a #9-seed.

— How did Final Four teams do in their conference’s regular season?
19 of 32 Final Four teams won the regular season, or tied for first.

— Famous birthdays, February 25th:
Danny Cater, 85
César Cedeño, 74
Bob Brenly, 71
Jeff Fisher, 67
Todd Blackledge, 64
Don Majkowski, 61
Scott Thompson, 60 (Carrot Top)
Tea Leoni, 59
Rashida Jones, 49
Joakim Noah, 40
Jimmer Fredette, 36
Jorge Soler, 33
Erick Fedde, 32
Fred VanVleet, 31
Bo Nix, 25

— In the last 21 years, 46 major league players have had 8+ RBI in a game; of those 21 games, only once has the player with 8+ RBI been on the losing side
June 21, 2002, Kansas City beat the Angels 12-11 in 11 innings, in Anaheim; Shohei Ohtani hit two home runs, knocked in eight runs for the Angels.

— Alex Rodriguez was at Bucknell’s basketball game over the weekend; during a break in the action, A-Rod took a half-court shot. If it went in, a student won $10,o00, and sure enough, A-Rod drained the shot and the kid got the $$$$.
A-Rod was at Bucknell to speak about his company Jump Platforms; his two partners in the company are affiliated with Bucknell— one is a trustee there, the other attended Bucknell.

— Baseball signings:
Pirates gave P Andrew Heaney $5M for one year
Brewers signed OF’s Mark Canha, Manuel Margot

— If I knew a football player who was attending the NFL Combine, I’d advise him to participate; I’m not really sure why you wouldn’t. There is no contact, you run sprints, do some drills, throw or catch passes. Lot of guys don’t do it though.

— NFL international games in 2025:
Chargers vs ??? in Brazil
Colts vs ??? in Germany
Dolphins vs ??? in Spain
Steelers vs ??? in Ireland
Jaguars vs ??? in England
Browns vs Jets in England
NFL schedule comes out in May.

— Basketball analyst Bill Raftery is 82 years old; this past weekend, he was busy:
Friday- Michigan State @ Michigan
Saturday- Oklahoma State @ Kansas
Sunday- Ohio State @ UCLA
Coach Raftery has a lot of energy; he is still fun to listen to.

— There is a kid on Texas A&M, CJ Wilcher, a 6-5 senior.
He is 3-5 shooting inside the arc this season.
He is 34-83 (41%) shooting on the arc.
83 of his 88 shots have been 3-pointers.

— Nebraska canceled two non-conference football games against Tennessee as part of a plan to recover lost revenue from reduced seating capacity during renovations in Memorial Stadium in 2027. Instead, Nebraska will play two MAC teams (Bowling Green/Miami) at home, instead of playing one of the games vs Tennessee in Knoxville.
Tennessee’s administration wasn’t happy with this development.

 

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, February 25

 

[Udog]

NBA

Tuesday, February 25

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

Boston vs Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing at home against Boston

Cleveland vs Orlando
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando's last 5 games at home

Phoenix vs Memphis
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Phoenix's last 8 games on the road
Phoenix is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Memphis
Memphis is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home
Memphis is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix

Milwaukee vs Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games on the road
Milwaukee is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Houston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Milwaukee

San Antonio vs New Orleans
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Antonio's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of San Antonio's last 11 games when playing on the road against New Orleans
New Orleans is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against San Antonio
New Orleans is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against San Antonio

Charlotte vs Golden State
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte's last 5 games when playing Golden State
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Charlotte's last 7 games when playing on the road against Golden State
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Golden State's last 5 games when playing Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Golden State's last 7 games when playing at home against Charlotte

Dallas vs LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers
Dallas is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Lakers's last 5 games when playing at home against Dallas
LA Lakers is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home


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

 

[Udog]

 

[CNOTES]

Tuesday, February 25​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
CLE at ORL	07:30 PM	O 218.5	+500
SA at NO	08:00 PM	U 239.5	+500
MIL at HOU	08:00 PM	HOU -2.5	+500
PHO at MEM	08:00 PM	MEM -7.5	+500
DAL at LAL	10:00 PM	U 231.0	+500
CHA at GS	10:00 PM	O 217.5	+500

 

[CNOTES]

BEST BETS FOR FEB. 2025

02/25/2025..............4 - 2 - 0..............66.66%..............+ 7.00
02/24/2025..............6 - 5 - 0..............54.54%..............+ 2.50
02/23/2025..............4 - 5 - 0..............44.00%..............- 7.00
02/22/2025..............5 - 2 - 0..............71.42%..............+ 14.00
02/21/2025..............3 - 3 - 0..............50.00%..............- 1.50
02/20/2025..............2 - 5 - 0..............28.57%..............- 17.50
02/19/2025..............0 - 2 - 0..............00.00%..............- 11.00
02/13/2025...............7 -3 - 0..............70.00%..............+ 18.50
02/12/2025..............4 - 6 - 0.............40.00%...............- 13.00
02/08/2025............5 - 11 - 0..............31.25%..............- 33.50
02/06/2025..............6 - 3 - 0..............66.66%.............+ 13.50
02/05/2024..............8 - 6 - 1..............57.14%..............+ 7.00
02/04/2025..............4 - 7 - 0..............36.36%.............- 18.50
02/03/2025..............5 - 2 - 0..............71.42%.............+ 14.00
02/02/2025..............3 - 3 - 0..............50.00%..............- 1.50
02/01/2025..............4 - 5 - 0..............44.44%...............- 7.50

TOTALS.................70 - 70 - 1..............50.00%...............- 34.50

 

[CNOTES]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Teams with best 2-point FG% defense:
42.9%— Cal-Irvine (23-5)
43.2%— Houston (24-4)
43.3%— Duke (25-3)
43.5%— Hofstra (13-16)
43.8%— San Diego State (19-7)
44%— George Mason (21-6)

Thought of the Day
“The way of success is the way of the craftsman, where you work really hard for years. You show up every day. You do the work. You see yourself as an artist dedicated to your craft with a desire to get better every day……”
Brian Koppelman

Wednesday’s quiz
Who is the last pitcher to throw a complete game no-hitter in the major leagues?
(Cubs threw a combined no-hitter last year)

Tuesday’s quiz
Oakland A’s have won four World Series, under Dick Williams (2), Alvin Dark, Tony LaRussa.

Monday’s quiz
Mike Jarvis was the St John’s basketball coach, last time they won an NCAA Tournament game; he was also Patrick Ewing’s high school coach.

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

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings……..​

— Georgia 88, Florida 83
Dawgs led this game 39-13 in first half.
Florida led 80-78 with 1:09 left in the game.
Dawgs got 10-18 on arc, 22-27 on foul line.

— Gonzaga 95, Santa Clara 76
Santa Clara made their first eight 3’s, but wound up 11-25 on arc
Gonzaga shot 57.8% inside the arc.
Zags play San Francisco Saturday, for #2 seed in WCC.

— Oklahoma State 74, Iowa State 68
Underdog Cowboys never trailed, forced 18 turnovers (+6)
Teams combined to shoot 14-50 on the arc.
Banged-up Cyclones are 4-5 in their last nine games.

— Louisville 71, Virginia Tech 66
Cardinals have won six in row, 16 of last 17 games.
Cardinals are shooting 57.5% inside arc (#14)
Louisville is 22-6/15-2; last three years, they were 25-71/11-49

— Upsets of the Night:
Oklahoma State (+9.5) 74, Iowa State 68
Georgia Tech (+8.5) 73, Pitt 67
Georgia (+7.5) 88, Florida 83
Western Michigan (+5.5) 82, Ohio U 73

— San Diego State 73, New Mexico 65
Aztecs won eight of their last ten games.
New Mexico shot 36.1% inside the arc.
Lobos/Utah State are tied for first with three games left.

— Lakers 107, Mavericks 99
Luka Doncic had 19 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists against his old team.
Lakers are 8-2 in February.

— Famous birthdays, February 26th:
Mac Percival, 85
Phil Villapiano, 76
Rolando Blackman, 66
JT Snow, 57
Marshall Faulk, 52
Jose Reyes, 42
Luis Rengifo, 28
Trevor Larnach, 28

— March Madness starts Sunday, when the Atlantic Sun tournament tips off; there are six teams within two games of first place in ASUN, so their tournament should be a good one.

— Last year, NC State went 9-11 in the ACC, finished 10th; then they won five games in five days, won the ACC Tournament, then won four more games in the NCAA’s to get to an unlikely Final Four, where they lost 63-50 to Purdue.
Last year, Clemson went 11-9 in ACC, tied for 5th; they lost their first ACC Tourney game to Boston College, but then won three games in the NCAA’s, getting to the Elite 8 before losing 89-82 to Alabama in the regional final.
Clemson was the #25 experience team, NC State was experience team, #14- my point is this:
When the brackets come out, don’t sleep on experienced teams from the big $$$ leagues. Sometimes they wake up at just the right time.

— This one is a little weird; the last eight years, in the A-15 conference, eight different teams have won their conference tournament. VCU is one of the teams that won, but they lost four of the other seven tournament finals.
Last team to win consecutive A-15 tournaments: Temple, in 2009/2010. Duquesne won last year’s tournament.

— Utah Utes fired basketball coach Craig Smith, a week after they swept Kansas/K-State, but the Utes are going to miss the NCAA’s for the 8th year in a row, with Smith the coach for the last four of those seasons.
Utah is 15-12 this year, 7-9 in the Big X; chances are the rich boosters got annoyed and wanted Smith gone, since rich boosters run college sports now.
Will be interesting to see who Utah hires as their new coach; it is a difficult job.

— Two years ago, Kellen Moore was offensive coordinator for Brandon Staley’s Charger team; now Moore is head coach of the Saints- last week he hired Staley as his defensive coordinator.
Saints also hired Doug Nussmeier as their new offensive coordinator; he was the Eagles’ QB coach this year, when they won the Super Bowl. Nussmeier was a QB for five games for the Saints back in the late 90’s— he’s been a QB coach for several teams over the years.

— Buffalo Bills signed WR Khalil Shakir to a 4-year deal worth $60.2M, with $32M of that guaranteed; Shakir caught 76 passes for 821 yards, four TD’s this past season.

— When the Denver Broncos started play in the AFL in 1960, their QB was Frank Tripucka, who played college ball at Notre Dame and had bounced around the NFL— he was 33 that first year in Denver. He started for the Broncos for three seasons.
Frank Tripucka’s son Kelly Tripucka also went to college at Notre Dame, but he was a basketball player. Kelly Tripucka played ten years in the NBA, scoring an average of 17.2 points/game for three different teams.
Kelly Tripucka has a son Jake who went to Duke and helped the Blue Devils win two national titles in lacrosse.
Three generations, all excellent athletes, but in three different sports.

 

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, February 26

 

[Udog]

NBA

Wednesday, February 26

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

Portland vs Washington
Portland is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Portland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Washington is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games

Boston vs Detroit
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Detroit is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

Toronto vs Indiana
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Toronto is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Indiana's last 6 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto

Philadelphia vs New York
Philadelphia is 12-5 SU in its last 17 games when playing on the road against New York
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Philadelphia's last 13 games when playing on the road against New York
New York is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
New York is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Philadelphia

Oklahoma City vs Brooklyn
Oklahoma City is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Brooklyn
Oklahoma City is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Brooklyn
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Brooklyn's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Brooklyn's last 12 games at home

Atlanta vs Miami
Atlanta is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Atlanta's last 9 games when playing on the road against Miami
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Miami's last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Miami's last 9 games when playing at home against Atlanta

LA Clippers vs Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 4 of LA Clippers's last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
LA Clippers is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chicago's last 5 games when playing at home against LA Clippers
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 9 games

Sacramento vs Utah
Sacramento is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Utah
Sacramento is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Utah
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Utah's last 9 games
Utah is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games at home

San Antonio vs Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Antonio's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Antonio's last 6 games when playing Houston
Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing San Antonio
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing San Antonio


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

 

[Udog]

 

[CNOTES]

Wednesday, February 26​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
TOR at IND	07:00 PM	TOR +12.0 O 233.0	+500 +500
BOS at DET	07:00 PM	BOS -5.0 U 226.5	+500 +500
PHI at NY	07:00 PM	U 230.0	+500
POR at WAS	07:00 PM	U 233.0	+500
ATL at MIA	07:30 PM	U 231.0	+500
OKC at BK	07:30 PM	U 217.5	+500
LAC at CHI	08:00 PM	CHI +9.0	+500
SAC at UTA	09:00 PM	UTA +9.0	+500
SA at HOU	09:30 PM	U 227.5	+500

 

[CNOTES]

BEST BETS FOR FEB. 2025

02/26/2025..............2 - 5 - 0..............28.59%..............- 17.50
02/25/2025..............4 - 2 - 0..............66.66%..............+ 7.00
02/24/2025..............6 - 5 - 0..............54.54%..............+ 2.50
02/23/2025..............4 - 5 - 0..............44.00%..............- 7.00
02/22/2025..............5 - 2 - 0..............71.42%..............+ 14.00
02/21/2025..............3 - 3 - 0..............50.00%..............- 1.50
02/20/2025..............2 - 5 - 0..............28.57%..............- 17.50
02/19/2025..............0 - 2 - 0..............00.00%..............- 11.00
02/13/2025...............7 -3 - 0..............70.00%..............+ 18.50
02/12/2025..............4 - 6 - 0.............40.00%...............- 13.00
02/08/2025............5 - 11 - 0..............31.25%..............- 33.50
02/06/2025..............6 - 3 - 0..............66.66%.............+ 13.50
02/05/2024..............8 - 6 - 1..............57.14%..............+ 7.00
02/04/2025..............4 - 7 - 0..............36.36%.............- 18.50
02/03/2025..............5 - 2 - 0..............71.42%.............+ 14.00
02/02/2025..............3 - 3 - 0..............50.00%..............- 1.50
02/01/2025..............4 - 5 - 0..............44.44%...............- 7.50

TOTALS.................72 - 75 - 1..............48.97%...............- 52.00

 

[CNOTES]

Thursday’s 6-pack:
Baseball teams whose attendance went down last year:
-24.1%— White Sox
-20.1%— A’s
-16.7%— Mets
-11.2%— Cardinals
-10.7%— Angels
-7.7%— Blue Jays

Thought of the Day
“Without you, I would not have been the second-leading scorer on a championship team. … I can’t thank you enough, are you kidding me? I didn’t even think that was possible.”
Klay Thompson, thanking the doctor who operated on his injured achilles tendon in 2020

Thursday’s quiz
Where did Klay Thompson play his college basketball?

Wednesday’s quiz
Blake Snell is the last pitcher to throw a complete game no-hitter in the major leagues.

Tuesday’s quiz
Oakland A’s have won four World Series, under Dick Williams (2), Alvin Dark, Tony LaRussa.

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

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….​

— There’s a lot of BS going on in the world these days, let’s start with some good stuff.
Tuesday night in LA, the Lakers beat Dallas 107-99; Klay Thompson scored 22 points, had 8 rebounds for the Mavericks. After the game, Thompson gave a 2022 NBA championship ring to Dr. Richard Ferkel, who surgically repaired Thompson’s torn achilles tendon in 2020.
“Oh my gosh, this is unbelievable.” Dr. Ferkel said, when he saw the ring he was getting. NBA championship rings are very big, and very expensive.
Showing gratitude is simple enough, but needs to happen more often.

— For three years now, the NFL Players Association has done a report card that grades teams on 11 different categories as far as off-field things; treatment of families, food/cafeteria, nutritionist/dietician, locker room, training room, training staff, weight room, strength coaches, team travel, head coach and owner.

Arizona Cardinals were lowest-ranked team, after being 27th last year.
League-wide, there were four F-minus grades given out:

1- Cardinals- locker room.
Players think the locker room and weight room are too small.

2- Bills- team travel
Only 35% of players said they had a comfortable amount of personal space on team flights. Players sit in smaller seats during travel while coaches/auxiliary staff sit in first class.

3- Bengals- treatment of families
Cincinnati is one of only three teams in the NFL that doesn’t offer daycare during home games, and one of 10 teams that does not offer a family room.
Also, the team’s dietitian only works two days a week; players want her hired full-time.

4- Browns- locker room
Cleveland upgraded its weight room last year; players gave it an A grade this year, but now they would like a bigger locker room, too.

— NFL Combine starts Thursday, lot of 40-yard sprints and interviews with Mel Kiper.

— Major league teams must make a decent amount of $$$ during spring training; Mets drew over 7,200 fans for their Grapefruit League opener last week. Cubs draw bigger crowds than that out in Arizona.

— Washington Nationals signed closer Kyle Finnegan for one year, $6M; Finnegan had 38 saves for Washington last year.

— Someone who needs to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame:
Charlie Finley was an insurance salesman who got rich selling group medical insurance to doctors; he bought the Kansas City A’s in 1960, moved them to Oakland in 1968, was the team’s general manager as well as a great promoter.

Finley’s A’s won three straight World Series from 1972-74, but then free agency became a thing and Finley couldn’t compete with the big $$$ owners who then infiltrated the game. He sold the A’s in 1980, but think about the impact Finley had/still has, actually.

Finley’s A’s were the first team to wear more colorful uniforms; think about how much $$$ teams make now from selling hats/jerseys/jackets. Billions of dollars; Finley helped that ball get rolling, over 50 years ago.

He wasn’t very well-liked, so he’ll probably never get inducted into Cooperstown, but he damn sure should be.

— Famous birthdays, February 27th:
Joanne Woodward, 95
James Worthy, 64
Greg Cadaret, 63
Matt Stairs, 57
Loy Vaught, 57
Duce Staley, 50
Devin Harris, 42
Aníbal Sánchez, 41
Chris Godwin, 29

— Michigan State 58, Maryland 55
Kid on Michigan State drained a 1/2-court shot at the buzzer.
Spartans had blown a 9-point lead with 5:24 left to play.
Teams combined to shoot 8-35 on the arc.

— San Francisco 74, Oregon State 72
Beavers’ tying basket came half-second after the horn sounded.
Oregon State was only 14-24 on the foul line.
San Francisco won seven of its last eight games.

— Arkansas 86, Texas 81 OT
Arkansas led by 14 with 10:15 left in the game.
Razorbacks played only seven guys.
Texas lost five of its last six games.

— Vanderbilt 86, Texas A&M 84
Lot of fouls; Vandy was 28-36 on line, Aggies 31-39
Bracketology has Vanderbilt as a #10-seed in NCAA’s.
Aggies lost last three games, after a 20-5 start.

— Villanova 59, Seton Hall 54
Seton Hall led 37-21 early in second half.
Pirates were only 8-17 on the foul line.
Wildcats won five of their last seven games.

— Kentucky 83, Oklahoma 82
6-4 junior Oweh scored 28 points, had no assists- his job is to shoot.
Both teams shot 63% inside the arc.
Sooners are 4-11 in SEC, after a 13-0 pre-conference mark.

— East Tennessee State 59, Mercer 58
ETSU beat Mercer twice TY, by total of three points.
ETSU survived shooting 7-13 on the foul line.
Buccaneers won six of their last eight games.