Larry Ness
Seattle vs. Baltimore
I was anticipating going against Loewen last night but a rainout Thursday caused Baltimore to move Loewen back one game. I'll go against him here, as the 24-year-old lefty is coming off a 2007 season in which he made only six starts due to a stress fracture in his left elbow. I realize he pitched well in limited action but he's facing a Seattle team which went 28-13 (plus-$1,730) vs lefties in '07. Miguel Batista makes his first start of the '08 season, although he was forced into action on Wednesday as the team's closer, after JJ Putz was placed on the DL. Seattle got Batista from Arizona, after he had a solid '06 season as a starter for the D'backs, going 11-8 with a 4.58 ERA (Arizona was 19-14 in his starts). Batista went 16-11 (4.29) for the Mariners in '07, leading the team in wins, while Seattle went 19-13 (plus-$843) in his 32 starts. Batista's only history against Baltimore comes in three starts back in 2004 (while he was with the Blue Jays) and the fact that he was hit hard means little, as he's been a totally different pitcher the last two seasons. Look for the Mariners to bounce back from last night's 7-4 loss behind a solid effort from Batista plus their ability to get to the left-handed Loewen. Take the Mariners.
Alex Smart
Philadelphia 76ers -6.0
Iguodala scored 30 points to lead his Philadelphia 76ers to a hard fought 109-104 win at Atlanta on Friday night, and in the process clinched a play off spot for his team. But do not expect a let down from the Sixers as they still have plenty to play for, as they are tied for Washington for the 5th seed, and Toronto just one game behind in 7th. Atlanta is still hoping for a post season appearance, but after last nights loss, maybe a little disheartened in let down situation tonight. Final notes & Key Trends: Philly 14-3 ATS L/17 against a team with a losing record, winning SU by an average of 14.8 PPG. Play on the Sixers
LT Profits
Memphis @ UCLA u133.5
The Memphis Tigers have been running up some scores lately, but we expect the stingy defense of the UCLA Bruins to slow the Tigers down here, resulting in a much lower scoring game than many people expect.
UCLA has one of the best defenses in the country, and they will no doubt make a concerted effort not to let Memphis get their running game going, as the Bruins know that the Tigers are capable of running away with this game if they are not at least slowed down. The Bruins are allowing just 58.9 points per game this season while holding their opponents to 42.0 percent shooting, and they have been downright suffocating lately, surrendering 55.4 points per on a miniscule 35.3 percent shooting to their last five opponents.
While the Tigers are known for their exciting offense, many people overlook their excellent defense which is holding opponents to 38.8 percent shooting over the entire year. Considering that the Bruins will slow the pace of this game when they are on offense also, we think that the Memphis defense should have no trouble keeping UCLA around 60 points or so at the most here.
The bottom line is that if UCLA is successful in containing the Memphis transition game, we do not see this contest getting out of the 120s.
Pick: Memphis, UCLA Under 133.5
Arizona Diamondbacks (-115)
Brandon Webb has always been a fast starter while Jeff Francis did not pitch well in his seasonal debut that, fortunately for him, did not count due to a rainout, so the Arizona Diamondbacks get the call as small road favorites tonight.
Webb is always a Cy Young candidate, and he has been virtually unhittable during the month of April. The Diamondbacks are 14-4 as a team in all of Webb’s April starts over the last three seasons plus Opening Day of this one, when he allowed two runs and just three hits in six innings of a 4-2 win at Cincinnati, and he has an April ERA of 2.85 over this period. Also, if we flash back to last season when the Rockies won 21 out of 22 games before getting swept in the World Series, their only loss during that unbelievable stretch came to Webb 4-2 right here in Colorado.
Francis is the ace of the Rockies staff, but he did not look like it in St. Louis on opening day when he allowed five runs in 2.1 innings, only to have the outing wiped out when the rains came and the game could not be resumed. He has also been mediocre in his last four home starts vs. Arizona, with two good outings and two shaky ones. The end result was 13 earned runs and 35 baserunners allowed in 23.2 innings of work.
We look for Webb to continue his April dominance here at a rather modest price.
Pick: Diamondbacks -115
Gold Medal Club
Kansas @ North Carolina
PLAY ON NORTH CAROLINA -3
The "wiseguys" maybe entertaining a Kansas upset, but this is the most dominant team in North Carolina I have seen in a long time. North Carolina feasts on good defensive teams allowing less than 64 a game going a perfect 12-0 to the number- conversely, the Jayhawks have struggle to contain teams like Carolina that average more than 75 a game going 1-7 ats.
Scott Rickenbach
Arena Football 1* (regular play) New Orleans VooDoo (-) vs San Jose Sabercats
The VooDoo have quickly become one of the hottest teams in the league and we will ride them again here. New Orleans is playing with a special sense of urgency as well as passion and intensity. This has been especially true in their recent home games and they certainly won't be short on emotion with the current AFL champs paying them a visit. A key for New Orleans has been the surprisingly solid play of Danny Wimprine at QB. Defensively they lead the league with 12 interceptions and they also have 8 sacks. The secondary is definitely solid enough to give QB Mark Grieb of the SaberCats some problems. San Jose has not been putting much pressure on opposing QB's and, as a result, Wimprine should provide another solid performance. With the different philosophies of the defenses here it will be the opportunistic VooDoo (who excel at QB pressure) that make the big plays in this one and that will key a home victory. Play New Orleans minus the points as a regular selection.
Tom Freese
Atlanta at Philadlephia
Atlanta is in a 53-22 ATS System that says to Play On road dogs of 3.5 to 9.5 in April if they are off a home loss. Philadelphia is 7-22 ATS vs. teams that shoot 76% or better from the foul line. The Sixers are 48-73 ATS after covering 4 or 5 of their last 6 games. The home team is 1-4-1 ATS the last 6 meetings in this series. PLAY ON ATLANTA +
Jack Reynolds
Atlanta Hawks @ Philadelphia 76ers
Back to Back Games on the schedule for these two teams. Last night in Atlanta the 76ers came away with a 109 -104 Victory. Philadelphia still has a shot at the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia stopped the Hawks five game winning streak with the Win last night. The Sixers ( 39-37 ) have won two straight. Atlanta (35-41 ) is 10-27 on the road this season. The 76ers are 21-16 at home.
Take Philadelphia minus the points over the Atlanta Hawks.
Nelly
Atlanta + over Philadelphia
Look for the Hawks to get revenge after a narrow loss in last night’s game as the Sixers and Hawks play a home and home series. The Sixers shot 25 of 28 from the free throw line and had just eleven turnovers in the game last night. Atlanta dominated the boards but could not convert enough second chances and the free throw disparity eventually made the difference. While last night’s game was huge for Philadelphia, tonight’s game will be more critical for the Hawks as they look to move towards locking up a playoff spot. This is a good match-up for Atlanta and the bounces should go its way tonight, despite playing on the road.
Kevin O'Neill (3-0) this week
UCLA +2
Rocco Vincintore Guaranteed Selections
1000* BASEBALL MONSTER BLOWOUT WINNER
St Louis Wainwright -165
Robert Ferringo MLB
2* SD Over 6.5
2* SD
2* Sea Over 9
2* Atl
1* Sea
1* NYY -1.5 RL
1* Stl Over 8.5
Wil Cover
5* Under N Car 160
MTI NBA
5* Philly
Wunderdog
U C L A vs. Memphis
Memphis has played through the season with just one blemish, yet many still don't believe. But after they trashed Texas that opinion has started to change. Memphis is a very solid team, perhaps they can best be described like the UNLV teams that made a tourney run over a decade ago. They are a freelance, talent-laden team, but they, at times, playreckless and without discipline. UCLA is one of the most disciplined teams in the country, rarely if ever beating themselves. They have been to the Final Four in back-to-back years with mostly the same cast and now you add Kevin Love to the mix and this UCLA team is a tough matchup for Memphis. Coming from CUSA, Memphis hasn't played against a team like UCLA all season that brings in waves of rebounders and has a player in Collison that can get his shot or dish against anyone. So how will Memphis' ferocious transition game stack up against the gritty UCLA defense? Memphis has also been knocked most of the season for their lack of FT conversion – a trait that was reversed in their game against Texas. But are their free throw shortcomings gone for good or will they again rear their ugly head down the stretch against the Bruins? UCLA will have a lot of fouls to give inside, and you can bet they will use them instead of giving up an easy two, so they instead may try to make Memphis get them from the line. But that will cost the Bruins points as well. UCLA is the wrong kind of team for Memphis, but the Tigers under coach Calipari, have been playing well throughout the tournament. UCLA is 27-15 ATS the past three seasons vs. good defenses (those allowing 42% or less from the field). But under Calipari, the Tigers are 106-76 ATS vs.winning teams and 38-25 ATS in all tournament games. Who advances? Our top-rated 4&5 unit picks are 9-3 in the NCAA Tournament thus far. We have a 4-unit pick in this game here
Kansas vs. North Carolina
Kansas will enter this game scoring 80.6 points per game and winners of 11 straight. Carolina comes in averaging 89.2 ppg and winners of 15 straight, so something has got to give tonight. This is a game that will be played NBA style - with lots of transition scoring and future NBA players all over the court for both teams. Both teams face an opponent that likes to run like they do. When Kansas has allowed 70 points thisseason they are 3-5 ATS. Carolina is 11-4 ATS when they are only a single digit favorite, but at times they have played disinterested this season. This game is likely to be played at break-neck speed and Carolina has proven tough in these kinds of games. But Kansas is a team that has a chance to keep up here. Bill Self-coached teams are 17-4 ATS vs. high-scoring teams (those averaging 84+ ppg). Will Carolina run away with it our will Kansas be cutting down the nets? Our top-rated 4&5 unit picks are 9-3 in the NCAA Tournament thus far. We have a 4-unit pick in this game here
Stan. Lisowski
5* UCLA
3* Over UCLA
3* Kansas
3* S Diego
3* Toronto