<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width=500 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=left width="50%">Yesterday</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">1</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">0</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">0</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="20%">+2.98 Units</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=left width="50%">Last 30 Days</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">25</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">36</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">0</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="20%">-11.82 Units</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=left width="50%">Season To Date (Since October 2008)</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">50</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">66</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">0</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="20%">-5.66 Units</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Pittsburgh –1.06 over OTTAWA (2:00 PM)
After Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza the Sens have a lot of nothing else. Those three make up the whole offense, as no other forward has more then eight lousy points. It’s no wonder why the Sens have the fewest goals in the NHL, which now stands at a brutal 57 tallies thus far. Crosby and Malkin have combined for an incredible 80 points. They have a slew of other players contributing as well and it would be rather surprising to see the Sens keep pace. Despite winning 5-2 over Carolina on Wednesday, the Pens were a little flat but you can expect them to be on their game tonight. They’ll get a couple of key bodies back, they’re 8-3-2 on the road, they swept the Sens in last year’s playoffs and they’re simply the superior team here. Play: Pittsburgh –1.06 (Risking 2.12 units to win 2).<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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Philadelphia –1.03 over CAROLINA
I keep wagering against the Canes and keep cashing tickets and there’s no way I’m getting off this train now. The Flyers have dropped three of four so you know they’re going to be hungry here. A hungry team that is loaded with snipers playing against the Canes is about as sweet as it gets. The Canes are an offensively challenged squad and they don’t have the defense or goaltending to compensate. They’ve scored two goals or fewer in five of their last six games and that includes being outscored 9-3 over its past two games. Paul Maurice will eventually get his first win but it’s unlikely to occur in this one. Play: Philadelphia –1.03 (Risking 2.06 units to win 2).
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Phoenix –1.03 over ST. LOUIS
The Blue Notes are going to be a very live pup real soon with some extremely generous tags on them to boot. This host works like sled dogs out there and I’m going to be keeping my eye on them for some upcoming games, as soon as they get a couple more healthy bodies back. T.J. Oshie returned last night and if you’re a fan of the game and have never seen this guy play then you’ve missed out because he’s something special. Under different circumstances I would be laying off this one but the Blues are in a very difficult spot here. They played their hearts out last night in a 4-3 OT loss to the Flames. This will be their third game in four nights and the tail end of back-to-backs. Tonight will also be their fifth game in seven days and that’s an incredible obstacle to overcome. So, this choice is all about playing against the Blue Notes in an almost impossible situation and besides that, the Coyotes are very warm with four wins in their last five games. Play: Phoenix –1.03 (Risking 2.06 units to win 2).
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Columbus +1.02 over LOS ANGELES
After a 4-2 loss to the Coyotes on Tuesday the Kings players had a closed-door meeting among themselves to talk about the defensive lapses they’ve suffered lately. Alexander Frolov was benched in the third period of that game because it was his lack of awareness that allowed the Coyotes to tie the game 2-2 and eventually win it. The players said the meeting was needed and they responded by losing to the Oilers last night, 5-4 and allowing 44 shots on net. So, the meeting did go well. Anyway, these Jackets are becoming a factor slowly but surely, just ask the Sharkies. Columbus was tied late in the third at San Jose before falling 3-2. They had a chance to win that game and not many teams can make the same claim in San Jose this season. Despite losing the Jackets have to be feeling pretty good. They’ve split its last six but two of the losses came against Detroit and the aforementioned Sharks. They’ll take a big step down in class tonight and they simply do everything better then the Kings. This could very well be the best bet on the board tonight. Play: Columbus +1.02 (Risking 3 units).
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Washington +1.05 over TORONTO
I’m playing against the Maple Leafs here for so many reasons. One, the Leafs return home from a three game trip to the West Coast with their tails between their legs after being humiliated in the final two games of the trip. Two, the Leafs defense, specifically Kaberle and Kubina are in Ron Wilson’s doghouse, as is Jason Blake, Vesa Toskala and Matt Stajan. Kaberle was benched in the first period of Thursday’s game in Phoenix. Wilson admitted he was sending Kaberle a message in the first period. "And he sent a message back with a minus-4," said the Leaf coach. Then we have the goaltending duo of Toskala and CuJo. Joseph is the absolute worse goaltender, backup or otherwise, in the game and Toskala isn’t far behind. They both look more pathetic then O.J. Simpson begging the judge for leniency (Why didn’t OJ in his statement to the judge just say, “It’s not like I killed somebody”). In any case, the Leafs are regularly allowing five goals or more and in fact, they’ve done so in nine games this year and they’ve done so against Carolina (twice), New Jersey, St. Louis, Boston and Atlanta among others. Against this offensive juggernaut and under the current conditions, they might allow 10. Play: Washington +1.05 (Risking 2 units).
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New Jersey +1.50 over MONTREAL
The Canadiens are warm again after a very rough stretch but as far as value goes, taking back 3-2 on the Devils offers up some tremendous value, as they always have a shot to win. John Madden retuned to the line-up recently and although he might not score much, he’s one of the most underrated and valuable players in the game. He always plays against the opposition’s best line, he kills penalties as well as anyone and he’s a modern day Bob Gainey. Furthermore, it’s not like the Devils are going bad. In fact, New Jersey has won six of seven and the scariest part is that they’re scoring goals like never before. Recently, they hung a seven on the Bolts, a six on the Caps and a five on the Islanders. I’m still not convinced that the Canadiens are as good as advertised. They got off to a tremendous start, which caused their stock to soar and then they went into a funk. They’ve snapped out of it with three wins in a row and four wins in five games to see their stock go way up again but there’s no way they should be this high a price over the Devils. Overlay. Play: New Jersey +1.50 (Risking 2 units).
Manny Pacquiao/Oscar De La Hoya under 9½ +1.60
De La Hoya wins in rounds 1-3 +1499
Sat. 11 P.M. EST on HBO/PPV<o></o>
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Manny started his career at 106 lbs. in 1995 and is now moving all the way up to 147 for this so-called “Dream Match” against a much bigger man in the “Golden Boy”, Oscar De La Hoya. He is giving up about four inches in height and six inches in reach, which is huge. The Philippino sensation is moving up three weight classes after fighting for the first time at 135 in his last, when he wore down the light hitting and over-matched David Diaz. He looked much the smaller man to me and is now going to look ‘tiny’ next to De La Hoya. Prior to that, the “Pacman/Destroyer” never fought higher than 130. This move all the way up to 147, after having just moved up to 135, all without any tune-up(s) yet is about the most crazy and ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. <o></o>
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Hatton was in the ‘wrong weight class’ vs. Collazo and Mayweather and that was just 7 pounds higher than his normal fighting weight. What Manny is doing or attempting is insane i.m.o. There are weight classes for reasons and his frame is just too small and his internal organs as well…plus zero ‘tune-ups’ yet, OMG!!!<o></o>
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De La Hoya was the 1995 Ring Magazine’s “Fighter of the Year” and in 1997 was rated the world’s best “Pound-for-Pound”. He has won 10 world titles in 6 different weight classes and was an Olympic Gold Medallist so don’t get too swept up with all this talk of ‘Manny this’ and ‘Manny that’! People are calling Oscar ‘old’ at 35, even though that’s not really considered ‘old’ today. Plus, he has probably had his best camp in years and will be totally ‘amped up’ for this mega-event. Hopkins just made mincemeat out of Pavlik…and he’s 43 or 44…so there!<o></o>
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Of course Manny is one of the best out there today, but it’s a definite ‘stretch’ to call him the ‘Pound-for-Pound King’ when he was life-or-death twice against Juan Manuel Marquez and could’ve easily gone 0 and 2 rather than 1-0-1 in those two fights, with the first one being a draw and the second a split decision given to Pacquiao. I felt Marquez won both and Juan Manuel said he is willing to fight Manny again anywhere and at any weight…an honest and humble sort, he’s also calling Oscar to win this fight; no surprise there. Marquez is so much smaller than Oscar and yet his jab landed on Manny frequently and he hurt him and had him cut up as well (Manny is very prone to cuts over the eye). J.M.M. had always fought in the 120’s and only fought at 135 for the first time in his career when he beat Casamayor in September. If an aging Marquez could give Pacquiao so much trouble, then what will Oscar do to him? We shall soon find out. A faded Oscar Larios at 129 lbs also rocked Pacquiao pretty good at one point back in 2006. Sure, Manny.looked good annihilating a washed up Erik Morales in the third of their trilogy and Marco Antonio Barrera back in Oct./07 but he is now going up against a giant compared to those two faded super featherweights! Manny has never been hard to hit and he says that he has worked on tightening his defense. He better do a lot of tightening before this Saturday night…that’s all I can say!<o></o>
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Oscar has fought as high as 155 lbs. and was right in that fight with Bernard Hopkins. He is a natural lefty who fights in an orthodox stance and has a very hard and dangerous jab and left, especially the hook. When he was a kid, he used to push grown men away with his left! How quickly people forget what he did to ‘Ferocious’ Fernando Vargas and most recently to Ricardo Mayorga. Everybody is talking about how he has a tendency to ‘fade’ in the late rounds. While there may be some truth to that, he has trained harder than ever for this fight and he usually fights ‘up or down’ to the competition. He likely wanted to ‘go some rounds’ against Stevie Forbes and most probably didn’t take that ‘tune-up’ very seriously at all. As well, Forbes has a chin of granite and even Berto couldn’t knock him out. Forbes had been fighting at the least 138 lbs. since 2004 and was never knocked down in his career, let alone ‘out’. In contrast, Pacquiao has been knocked out in 1996 and 1999 at 110 and 113 lbs…it’s a little while ago but still significant.<o></o>
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Oscar went through a long legal nightmare when Manny double-crossed him (Golden Boy Promotions) and ended up signing with Bob Arum. Oscar has said for some time now that this fight is very ‘personal’ for him and that Manny will have to pay for what he did. De La Hoya has said that anything less than a knockout would be like a loss to him. Oscar is a tremendous ‘finisher’ and once he gets Manny hurt he will go for the kill. The fight is in Vegas and the referee, Tony Weeks, is not one to let a fight go on if one of the combatants is hurt or taking too much punishment. They will be wearing 8 ounce gloves, rather than 10, and will both likely be using the ‘Reyes’, which are known as the ‘puncher’s gloves’…geez, can any more ‘angles’ be on our side…I think not.<o></o>
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Manny is going to be coming right after Oscar in an attempt to let him know that he is in for a fight, which is another good thing for us. I’m calling it one of the biggest ‘big fight’ mismatches in history. If, for some reason, Oscar is not ‘on’, then we will still cash because the Pacman would likely then rampage right through him. That is very unlikely, however, as Oscar has never really been in any ‘wars’ and has trained meticulously for this one; even enlisting Marquez’s trainer, ‘Nacho’ Beristain and calling 87 yr. old Angelo Dundee out of retirement to offer his advice and wisdom. OK, enough yacking. This fight is NOT going to going past the listed total and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it end within the first three rounds and that’s how we are going to play it. <o></o>
Play: Manny Pacquiao/Oscar De La Hoya under 9½ +1.60 (Risking 3 units). <o></o>
Play: De La Hoya wins in round 1-3 +1499 (Risking .5 unit)
Pittsburgh –1.06 over OTTAWA (2:00 PM)
After Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza the Sens have a lot of nothing else. Those three make up the whole offense, as no other forward has more then eight lousy points. It’s no wonder why the Sens have the fewest goals in the NHL, which now stands at a brutal 57 tallies thus far. Crosby and Malkin have combined for an incredible 80 points. They have a slew of other players contributing as well and it would be rather surprising to see the Sens keep pace. Despite winning 5-2 over Carolina on Wednesday, the Pens were a little flat but you can expect them to be on their game tonight. They’ll get a couple of key bodies back, they’re 8-3-2 on the road, they swept the Sens in last year’s playoffs and they’re simply the superior team here. Play: Pittsburgh –1.06 (Risking 2.12 units to win 2).<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o></o><o
></o>Philadelphia –1.03 over CAROLINA
I keep wagering against the Canes and keep cashing tickets and there’s no way I’m getting off this train now. The Flyers have dropped three of four so you know they’re going to be hungry here. A hungry team that is loaded with snipers playing against the Canes is about as sweet as it gets. The Canes are an offensively challenged squad and they don’t have the defense or goaltending to compensate. They’ve scored two goals or fewer in five of their last six games and that includes being outscored 9-3 over its past two games. Paul Maurice will eventually get his first win but it’s unlikely to occur in this one. Play: Philadelphia –1.03 (Risking 2.06 units to win 2).
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></o>Phoenix –1.03 over ST. LOUIS
The Blue Notes are going to be a very live pup real soon with some extremely generous tags on them to boot. This host works like sled dogs out there and I’m going to be keeping my eye on them for some upcoming games, as soon as they get a couple more healthy bodies back. T.J. Oshie returned last night and if you’re a fan of the game and have never seen this guy play then you’ve missed out because he’s something special. Under different circumstances I would be laying off this one but the Blues are in a very difficult spot here. They played their hearts out last night in a 4-3 OT loss to the Flames. This will be their third game in four nights and the tail end of back-to-backs. Tonight will also be their fifth game in seven days and that’s an incredible obstacle to overcome. So, this choice is all about playing against the Blue Notes in an almost impossible situation and besides that, the Coyotes are very warm with four wins in their last five games. Play: Phoenix –1.03 (Risking 2.06 units to win 2).
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></o>Columbus +1.02 over LOS ANGELES
After a 4-2 loss to the Coyotes on Tuesday the Kings players had a closed-door meeting among themselves to talk about the defensive lapses they’ve suffered lately. Alexander Frolov was benched in the third period of that game because it was his lack of awareness that allowed the Coyotes to tie the game 2-2 and eventually win it. The players said the meeting was needed and they responded by losing to the Oilers last night, 5-4 and allowing 44 shots on net. So, the meeting did go well. Anyway, these Jackets are becoming a factor slowly but surely, just ask the Sharkies. Columbus was tied late in the third at San Jose before falling 3-2. They had a chance to win that game and not many teams can make the same claim in San Jose this season. Despite losing the Jackets have to be feeling pretty good. They’ve split its last six but two of the losses came against Detroit and the aforementioned Sharks. They’ll take a big step down in class tonight and they simply do everything better then the Kings. This could very well be the best bet on the board tonight. Play: Columbus +1.02 (Risking 3 units).
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></o>Washington +1.05 over TORONTO
I’m playing against the Maple Leafs here for so many reasons. One, the Leafs return home from a three game trip to the West Coast with their tails between their legs after being humiliated in the final two games of the trip. Two, the Leafs defense, specifically Kaberle and Kubina are in Ron Wilson’s doghouse, as is Jason Blake, Vesa Toskala and Matt Stajan. Kaberle was benched in the first period of Thursday’s game in Phoenix. Wilson admitted he was sending Kaberle a message in the first period. "And he sent a message back with a minus-4," said the Leaf coach. Then we have the goaltending duo of Toskala and CuJo. Joseph is the absolute worse goaltender, backup or otherwise, in the game and Toskala isn’t far behind. They both look more pathetic then O.J. Simpson begging the judge for leniency (Why didn’t OJ in his statement to the judge just say, “It’s not like I killed somebody”). In any case, the Leafs are regularly allowing five goals or more and in fact, they’ve done so in nine games this year and they’ve done so against Carolina (twice), New Jersey, St. Louis, Boston and Atlanta among others. Against this offensive juggernaut and under the current conditions, they might allow 10. Play: Washington +1.05 (Risking 2 units).
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></o>New Jersey +1.50 over MONTREAL
The Canadiens are warm again after a very rough stretch but as far as value goes, taking back 3-2 on the Devils offers up some tremendous value, as they always have a shot to win. John Madden retuned to the line-up recently and although he might not score much, he’s one of the most underrated and valuable players in the game. He always plays against the opposition’s best line, he kills penalties as well as anyone and he’s a modern day Bob Gainey. Furthermore, it’s not like the Devils are going bad. In fact, New Jersey has won six of seven and the scariest part is that they’re scoring goals like never before. Recently, they hung a seven on the Bolts, a six on the Caps and a five on the Islanders. I’m still not convinced that the Canadiens are as good as advertised. They got off to a tremendous start, which caused their stock to soar and then they went into a funk. They’ve snapped out of it with three wins in a row and four wins in five games to see their stock go way up again but there’s no way they should be this high a price over the Devils. Overlay. Play: New Jersey +1.50 (Risking 2 units).
Manny Pacquiao/Oscar De La Hoya under 9½ +1.60
De La Hoya wins in rounds 1-3 +1499
Sat. 11 P.M. EST on HBO/PPV<o
></o><o
></o>Manny started his career at 106 lbs. in 1995 and is now moving all the way up to 147 for this so-called “Dream Match” against a much bigger man in the “Golden Boy”, Oscar De La Hoya. He is giving up about four inches in height and six inches in reach, which is huge. The Philippino sensation is moving up three weight classes after fighting for the first time at 135 in his last, when he wore down the light hitting and over-matched David Diaz. He looked much the smaller man to me and is now going to look ‘tiny’ next to De La Hoya. Prior to that, the “Pacman/Destroyer” never fought higher than 130. This move all the way up to 147, after having just moved up to 135, all without any tune-up(s) yet is about the most crazy and ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. <o
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></o>Hatton was in the ‘wrong weight class’ vs. Collazo and Mayweather and that was just 7 pounds higher than his normal fighting weight. What Manny is doing or attempting is insane i.m.o. There are weight classes for reasons and his frame is just too small and his internal organs as well…plus zero ‘tune-ups’ yet, OMG!!!<o
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></o>De La Hoya was the 1995 Ring Magazine’s “Fighter of the Year” and in 1997 was rated the world’s best “Pound-for-Pound”. He has won 10 world titles in 6 different weight classes and was an Olympic Gold Medallist so don’t get too swept up with all this talk of ‘Manny this’ and ‘Manny that’! People are calling Oscar ‘old’ at 35, even though that’s not really considered ‘old’ today. Plus, he has probably had his best camp in years and will be totally ‘amped up’ for this mega-event. Hopkins just made mincemeat out of Pavlik…and he’s 43 or 44…so there!<o
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></o>Of course Manny is one of the best out there today, but it’s a definite ‘stretch’ to call him the ‘Pound-for-Pound King’ when he was life-or-death twice against Juan Manuel Marquez and could’ve easily gone 0 and 2 rather than 1-0-1 in those two fights, with the first one being a draw and the second a split decision given to Pacquiao. I felt Marquez won both and Juan Manuel said he is willing to fight Manny again anywhere and at any weight…an honest and humble sort, he’s also calling Oscar to win this fight; no surprise there. Marquez is so much smaller than Oscar and yet his jab landed on Manny frequently and he hurt him and had him cut up as well (Manny is very prone to cuts over the eye). J.M.M. had always fought in the 120’s and only fought at 135 for the first time in his career when he beat Casamayor in September. If an aging Marquez could give Pacquiao so much trouble, then what will Oscar do to him? We shall soon find out. A faded Oscar Larios at 129 lbs also rocked Pacquiao pretty good at one point back in 2006. Sure, Manny.looked good annihilating a washed up Erik Morales in the third of their trilogy and Marco Antonio Barrera back in Oct./07 but he is now going up against a giant compared to those two faded super featherweights! Manny has never been hard to hit and he says that he has worked on tightening his defense. He better do a lot of tightening before this Saturday night…that’s all I can say!<o
></o><o
></o>Oscar has fought as high as 155 lbs. and was right in that fight with Bernard Hopkins. He is a natural lefty who fights in an orthodox stance and has a very hard and dangerous jab and left, especially the hook. When he was a kid, he used to push grown men away with his left! How quickly people forget what he did to ‘Ferocious’ Fernando Vargas and most recently to Ricardo Mayorga. Everybody is talking about how he has a tendency to ‘fade’ in the late rounds. While there may be some truth to that, he has trained harder than ever for this fight and he usually fights ‘up or down’ to the competition. He likely wanted to ‘go some rounds’ against Stevie Forbes and most probably didn’t take that ‘tune-up’ very seriously at all. As well, Forbes has a chin of granite and even Berto couldn’t knock him out. Forbes had been fighting at the least 138 lbs. since 2004 and was never knocked down in his career, let alone ‘out’. In contrast, Pacquiao has been knocked out in 1996 and 1999 at 110 and 113 lbs…it’s a little while ago but still significant.<o
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></o>Oscar went through a long legal nightmare when Manny double-crossed him (Golden Boy Promotions) and ended up signing with Bob Arum. Oscar has said for some time now that this fight is very ‘personal’ for him and that Manny will have to pay for what he did. De La Hoya has said that anything less than a knockout would be like a loss to him. Oscar is a tremendous ‘finisher’ and once he gets Manny hurt he will go for the kill. The fight is in Vegas and the referee, Tony Weeks, is not one to let a fight go on if one of the combatants is hurt or taking too much punishment. They will be wearing 8 ounce gloves, rather than 10, and will both likely be using the ‘Reyes’, which are known as the ‘puncher’s gloves’…geez, can any more ‘angles’ be on our side…I think not.<o
></o><o
></o>Manny is going to be coming right after Oscar in an attempt to let him know that he is in for a fight, which is another good thing for us. I’m calling it one of the biggest ‘big fight’ mismatches in history. If, for some reason, Oscar is not ‘on’, then we will still cash because the Pacman would likely then rampage right through him. That is very unlikely, however, as Oscar has never really been in any ‘wars’ and has trained meticulously for this one; even enlisting Marquez’s trainer, ‘Nacho’ Beristain and calling 87 yr. old Angelo Dundee out of retirement to offer his advice and wisdom. OK, enough yacking. This fight is NOT going to going past the listed total and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it end within the first three rounds and that’s how we are going to play it. <o
></o>Play: Manny Pacquiao/Oscar De La Hoya under 9½ +1.60 (Risking 3 units). <o
></o>Play: De La Hoya wins in round 1-3 +1499 (Risking .5 unit)
