Ben Burns
Detroit Tigers -157 / 4 units
Toronto Blue Jays / Cleveland Indians Under 8 / 5 units
Carolina Hurricanes / New Jersey Devils Under 5.5 / 4 units
Phoenix Suns / Minnesota Timberwolves Over 223.5 / 4 units
Minnesota Timberwolves +2.5 / 8 units
DOC
4 Unit Play.Take Phoenix -120 over Anaheim
The ducks come into Phoenix after clinching their playoff spot and while this game could mean something to them on who they would play I don't think it will matter. They face a young Coyotes team who will close out the year and I expect them to give a good effort here.
Larry Ness
Club-80 Play-MLB (28-6 or 82.4%)-Day
My 20* Clu-80 Play is on the StL Cards at 4:10 ET. No one will argue against the fact that Oswalt has been among MLB's finest pitchers since going 14-3 (2.73 ERA) in his first year with the team (2001). Oswalt was an Opening Day loser to Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs 4-2, going seven innings, allowing seven hits and three ERs. He'll take a career 129-65 (3.13) mark into this game, a winning percentage of .665. It should also be noted that the Atros are an impressive 157-56 in all his starts (.654), although the breakdown is much more favorable at home (87-37 or .702) than it is on the road (70-56 or .556). Oswalt is 9-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 24 career starts vs St Louis and 1-1 with a 1.83 ERA in five starts in the most recent edition of Busch Stadium, which is his lowest ERA at any ballpark where he has made at least five starts. However, he hasn't received much support in those contests, with the Astros scoring a total of only 14 runs in losing FOUR of his five starts. Therein lies the rub. The Astros scored just three runs in a 5-3 loss last night at St Louis, falling to 1-3 on the year. Houston has now scored more than three runs just ONCE in their first four games of 2009. That doesn't figure to improve here vs Adam Wainwright. Wainwright made 61 appearances (all out of the bullpen) in 2006, when the Cards won the World Series, posting a 3.12 ERA. However, like a number of the St Louis pitchers, he was converted to a starter in 2007, going 14-12 with a 3.70 ERA in 2008 over 32 starts (team was 19-13). Injuries limited him to 20 starts last year but he was a splendid 11-3 with a 3.20 ERA, as the Cards went 15-5. He finished plus-$910 vs the moneyline, ranking 17th among all MLB starters. While Oswalt is a formidable mound opponent, the advantages of taking the Cards are compelling. Look at these numbers. The Cards were 10-1 (2.63) ERA in Wainwright's 11 home starts last year, although they did drop their season opener to the Pirates this year (with Wainwright on the mound), when Pittsburgh rallied for a four-run ninth in a 6-4 win. Still that's 10-2 at home in Wainwright's starts since the beginning of 2008. Add in that the Cards went 11-4 (plus-$625) in home day games last year vs righties and are 1-0 already this year in that situation (won 2-1 on Thursday afternoon) and you get to 12-4. Now note that Wainwright is 5-0 with a 2.32 ERA vs the Astros in his career over six starts (team is 6-0) and the numbers really start to build. That's 10-2 + 12-4 + 6-0 for 28-6 or 82.4 percent. That's good enough for me. Club-80 Play 20* StL Cards.
ASA
ASA GAME OF THE YEAR 6* Boston Bruins Money Line (-110) @ Buffalo
Two teams heading in different directions here late in the season and that makes this a very tough spot for Sabres and a very strong spot for the Bruins. Buffalo actually has been playing solid hockey and is coming off a 5 to1 win at Carolina on Thursday. However, it was that same night that the Sabres saw their playoff hopes vanish as they needed some “help” to get into the playoffs and they simply didn’t get it. That leaves them in a very tough spot here as it’s hard to get back up, after the great run they had, and still bring a strong effort to the ice when, mentally, you’re spent and your season is over. As for Boston, there will certainly be no problem getting motivated here. The Bruins have won seven of their last eight games and they still have a shot at The President’s Trophy. That would give Boston home ice throughout the playoffs. The Bruins are battling with San Jose for the best record in the NHL and if the Sharks lose today and Boston defeats Buffalo, the Bruins would then just need to defeat the Islanders tomorrow and the President’s Trophy is theirs. The Bruins hung on to beat Montreal on Thursday and their penalty kill had trouble in the second period of that game. However, the B’s seemed to have a let-up in intensity and they paid for it. Prior to the game against the Canadiens, the Bruins had killed 21 of the last 22 power plays they had faced. You can bet they are working to resume that penalty kill dominance effective immediately. The Bruins are 17-4-2 in games against divisional opponents this season but they’ve only beaten the Sabres twice in five games. You know what that means here! Extra focus and intensity from the Bruins and the Sabres simply will not be able to match that! This is especially true because Buffalo just got bounced from the playoff picture. Big edges for the Bruins here and they get revenge for a 4 to 2 home loss suffered against the Sabres the last time they met.
BONUS SELECTION 4* on the Ottawa Senators on the Money Line for Saturday Night!
Big Daddy
10* Detroit Pistons
Houston Astros
Statman
Milwaukee Brewers
N.Y. SPORTS INVESTORS
PHILLIES -110
Bob Akmens
Los Angeles Angels -125 / 5 units
Florida Marlins -135 / 5 units
Phoenix Suns / Minnesota Timberwolves Over 224 / 5 units
The Prez
Texas Rangers / Detroit Tigers Over 10 (-115) / 3 units
Pittsburgh Pirates / Cincinnati Reds Under 9 (-110) / 4 units
Florida Marlins -130 / 5 units
Tampa Bay Rays / Baltimore Orioles Under 9.5 (-110) / 4 units
Orlando Magic / New Jersey Nets Under 194.5 / 4 units
Phoenix Suns -2 / 4 units
Phoenix Coyotes -110 / 5 units
Philadelphia Phillies / Colorado Rockies Over 10.0 (-110) / 4 units
Oklahoma City Thunder / Milwaukee Bucks Under 206 / 5 units
Mike Rose
Texas Rangers +145 / 2 units
Toronto Blue Jays / Cleveland Indians Under 8 / 2 units
Chicago Cubs -1.5 +120 / 2 units
Washington Nationals +159 / 3 units
Philadelphia Phillies / Colorado Rockies Over 10 / 3 units
PlusLineSports
Cubs -1.5 Runline (+131) Moneyline (-124)
Indian Cowboy
MLB
Minn - 110
NBA
OKC +7
Golden State / Utah Over 228
All 4 Units
NYC Wiseguys
Blazers/Clippers Over 195
Jays -130
Cubs -135
Phils -105
SEABASS
200* Mil
300* Ariz/LAD over
100* "Steam" Car/NJ under
Scott Rickenbach
2* (Top Play) Milwaukee Bucks (-) vs Oklahoma City
This line has dropped from a 7 to a 6.5 so the time to play is now. The analysis for this Top Play will be posted here by Noon Central Time but please do your line shopping early on this one.