Alex Smart
Pittsburgh Penguins -122
The Pittsburgh Penguins enter into this tilt in MSG vs the NY Rangers with a 3-0 series strangle hold on this series. With key component and agitator Sean Avery expected to miss this game with a lacerated spleen, the Rangers situation looks dire. It must be noted that the Rangers are 33-14-10 with Avery in the lineup and just 9-13-3 when he is out. Look for Sid the Kid Crosby and his super star side kick Evgeni Malkin to be the catalysts behind what Im predicting will be the final knock out blow in game 4 for the sweep. Note: Rangers are 0-5 in their last 5 games as a home underdog . NHL teams up 3-0 in a QF series, are 35-17 SU for a .673 win % . Play on the Pens
JEFF MONEY
Oakland
Rocketman Sports
Det.R.Wings -145
PRIORITY SPORTS
Baltimore -115
LT's Lock
76er's
Gamblers Data
KC Royals -137
Doug Bartlett
Royals -130 (Greinke) (5 Star)
6-3 LAST NINE 50 STAR PLAYS
Donald Tran
Arizona Diamondbacks -155
Jennifer Barry
LA Dodgers -110
Chad Jordan
Cleveland Indians -165
Bobby Bo Free
1* Cubs -140
Info Plays
3* on Texas Rangers +118
(List Ponson only)
Sidney Ponson pitched a gem in his first start back from the DL by allowing just 1 earned run through 5.3 innings against his former team in Minnesota. Look for this success to carry over into Ponson’s second start of the season tonight against the Royals. Texas is 33-21 (+11.7 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 10 to 10.5 over the last 2 seasons. Texas is 38-24 (+13.7 Units) against the money line in home games after 2 or more consecutive home games over the last 2 seasons. Kansas City is 7-25 (-16.6 Units) against the money line in road games vs. AL teams allowing 5.2 or more runs/game on the season over the last 3 seasons. Texas can put up runs with any team in the league, so look for Ponson to get plenty of run support to earn a win tonight. Bet Texas at home.
Ted Sevransky
Detroit Pistons @ Philadelphia 76ers
PICK: Detroit Pistons
The Pistons faced two closeout situations on the road in the playoffs last year. In the first round, they swept the Magic out of the playoffs, winning Game 4 on the road. In the second round, after failing to sweep Chicago after taking a 3-0 series lead, letting the Bulls get back into it with a Game 4 win and a Game 5 upset in Detroit, the Pistons went back to Chi-town and beat up the Bulls in Game 6, again winning their closeout game on the highway.
In ’06, Detroit closed out on the road in their first round series against Milwaukee, notching a ten point win at the Bradley Center. They also won a crucial Game 6 at Cleveland after trailing that series 3-2. In ’05, after losing a home game and one at Indiana, the Pistons finished the series with three straight wins, including a Game 6 closeout at Indy. After trailing the Heat in the second round by a 3-2 margin, they won the last two in the series, including a closeout Game 7 win on the road at Miami. In the Finals, trailing 3-2, they won Game 6 at San Antonio and nearly pulled off the Game 7 road upset in Larry Brown’s last game with the team.
I think you get my point. The veteran Pistons, with essentially the same cast of characters as they’ve had in each of those previous playoff series, have repeatedly and consistently closed out series in Game 6 on the highway. When Detroit is clicking, their defense is championship caliber. They don't give up open looks on the perimeter. They don't give up anything in the paint, and don't allow opposing point guards to drive and dish to open shooters. They dominate the defensive glass and don't allow second chance opportunities. They don't give up easy buckets in transition.
Offensively, when the Pistons are clicking, their ball movement is phenomenal, as is their balance, with everybody chipping in. Flip Saunders has painstakingly developed a tremendous bench throughout the season, and you don't see any significant drop-off on either end of the court with the reserves in action. Put it all together and we can expect Detroit to close out this series in pointspread covering fashion tonight.
Take the Pistons.
Ben Burns
Detroit Red Wings @ Colorado Avalanche
PICK: Under
REASON FOR PICK: I'm coming off a solid 4-2 day overall but it could have easily been better (5-1) if not for a tough beat on the ice. My play was on the Flyers and Canadiens to finish 'under' the total. The teams were scoreless after one period and the score was just 1-0 heading into the third. A wild third period saw the teams each score two goals, bringing the score to 3-2. It still seemed like the game might sneak below the total, before the Flyers added an empty net goal with less than two seconds remaining.
That's ancient history though and this is an entirely different series. The Wings have won the first three games and each has finished above the number. However, it's rare to see four straight games in an NHL playoff series finish above the total and I don't expect it to happen here. Note that the Avs have seen the 'under' go 11-6-1 the past three seasons (5-2-1 this year) after having lost three or more consecutive games. During the same stretch, the Wings have seen the 'under' go 41-29-11 after having won three or more consecutive games.
The Avs, who have seen the 'under' go 23-11-7 against teams with a winning record this season, saw their "elimination game" vs. Minnesota in the first round produce just three goals, with a final score of 2-1. The Wings, who have seen the 'under' go 14-9-7 the last 30 times they were coming off three or more consecutive games which finished above the number, also saw their opening round elimination game (vs Nashville) produce three goals, finishing with a score of 3-0. Regardless of whether or not this proves to be the final game of the series, I expect it to prove to be the one with the lowest final combined score.
Doc's Sports
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Washington Nationals
PICK: Under
REASON FOR PICK: A pair of south paws are set to take the mound as this four games series opens up in the Nation’s Capital. They combine for a 0-5 record and thus the total is a run high then what it should be. The problem for both teams most of the season has been scoring runs and thus this sets up for a perfect situation to play the under
MONEYLOCKOFTHEDAY
Junior - Boston/Toronto Under 9.5
Digger - Red Wings Under 5.5
2-Minute Warning
Detroit Pistons
King Creole
PHI / DET Under 178.5
ARMVIN SPORTS
BALTIMORE ORIOLES -121
Savannah Sports
2 Units on Texas Under 10
SportsKingz
MLB
CLEVELAND -150
PHILLY -115
BOSTON -120
NBA
SIXERS +6
WUNDERDOG
Game: Detroit at Colorado
Pick: Detroit -155
Detroit goes for the sweep of the Avs tonight. You know how we feel about this series. We've backed the Red Wings in a big way each game. The facts speak for themselves as Detroit has won 13 of the last 15 meetings and are 7-0 this season, having won by a comined score of 24-9. Detroit won the Presidents Trophy for a reason - they are very good and very disciplined and make it extremely hard for teams to find the net. This team has the desire to be great and those are the teams that sweep their opponents. The Avs are still beat up (Stastny, Smyth, Svatos and Clark) which makes a very tough task that much harder. While Colorado is alllowing 2.8 goals per game in the playoffs and 3.2 over their last five games, Detroit is giving up 2.1 in the playoffs and 1.6 per game over their last five. Colorado is now 0-8 on the season vs. the best of the best (teams outscoring opponents by 0.65+ goals per game). They just don't have what it takes this year. Detroit is 12-2 this year on the road off a road win and 23-4 the past two seasons off a road win in which they scored 4+ goals so we'll back them to finish this one off here in Colorado.
Alex Smart
MLB Kansas City Royals -124 / 3 units
Ben Burns
MLB Chicago Cubs -137 / 4 units
JeffMoney
Nationals -130 (POD)
Cubs -140
Indians -140
A's -105
Gamblers World
TIP OF THE DAY
Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche
Prediction: Detroit Red Wings
Current Line: -135 Over/Under: 5.5 Reason: The Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche will both be trying to pick up a postseason win on Thursday when they battle at Pepsi Center. Oddsmakers currently have the Red Wings listed as 135-moneyline favorites versus the Avalanche, while the game's total is sitting at 5½. Pavel Datsyuk had two goals and an assist as the Red Wings held off the Avalanche 4-3 to take a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night. Detroit won as a -110 road pick 'em as the teams played over the 5-goal total posted by oddsmakers. Henrik Zetterberg added a marker and a helper for the Red Wings, who got two assists from Mikael Samuelsson in the payday. Andrew Brunette potted two goals for Colorado, while Joe Sakic chipped in with two assists for the Avalanche. Team records: Detroit: 54-21-7 Colorado: 44-31-7 Detroit most recently: When playing on Thursday are 8-2 Before playing Edmonton are 5-5 After playing Colorado are 7-3 After a win are 7-3 Colorado most recently: When playing on Thursday are 8-2 Before playing Buffalo are 8-8-1 After playing Detroit are 3-7 After a loss are 4-6 A few trends to consider: Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Colorado Detroit is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games Detroit is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Colorado Colorado is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games at home The total has gone OVER in 5 of Colorado's last 7 games at home The total has gone OVER in 4 of Colorado's last 6 games Colorado is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Detroit
Larry Ness' 15* Pitching Mismatch GOW (13-7 run)
Wash Natls
Larry Ness' Las Vegas Insider-NBA (3 in a row?)
76 ers
good luck