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

[Udog]

NBA

Monday, February 24

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Trend Report
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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


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[Udog]

 

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel

Monday, February 24

 

[Cnotes53]

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

 

[Cnotes53]

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

 

[Cnotes53]

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

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Trend Report
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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


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[Udog]

 

[Cnotes53]

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

 

[Cnotes53]

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

 

[Cnotes53]

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

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Trend Report
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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


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[Udog]

 

[Cnotes53]

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

 

[Cnotes53]

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

 

[Cnotes53]

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.

 

[Udog]

NBA
Dunkel

Thursday, February 27

NBA

Thursday, February 27

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Trend Report
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Golden State vs Orlando
Golden State is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Golden State is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando's last 5 games at home

Denver vs Milwaukee
Denver is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
Denver is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Milwaukee
Milwaukee is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games at home
Milwaukee is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home

Charlotte vs Dallas
Charlotte is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Dallas
Charlotte is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Dallas is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games

New Orleans vs Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of New Orleans's last 9 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Phoenix's last 9 games when playing New Orleans
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Phoenix's last 17 games at home

Minnesota vs LA Lakers
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Minnesota's last 15 games when playing LA Lakers
LA Lakers is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
LA Lakers is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games


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[Udog]

Friday’s 6-pack:
Most 3-point shots made, in NBA/ABA history:
3,969— Steph Curry
3,101— James Harden
2,973— Ray Allen
2,774— Damian Lillard
2,642— Klay Thompson
2,560— Reggie Miller

Thought of the Day
“I took the film at a time that I was desperate for money. I took it for all the wrong reasons, and it turned out to be one of those films that stick around. I was from that area of the country and knew of that event, strangely enough. We filmed fifty miles from where I was brought up. So it was a bizarre feeling. I never expected the film to have the kind of legs it’s had.”
Gene Hackman, on why he played Coach Dale in Hoosiers

Friday’s quiz
Which former NFL head coach played in lowest-scoring NBA (yes, NBA) game ever played?
(Hint: He was a head coach in a Super Bowl)

Thursday’s quiz
Klay Thompson played his college basketball at Washington State.

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

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

Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here……..​

— Sunday night, March Madness tips off with two games in the ASUN Tournament:
Stetson vs Central Arkansas @ Nashville, winner plays Lipscomb Monday
Austin Peay vs North Florida @ Florence, AL; winner plays North Alabama Monday

— Michigan 84, Rutgers 82
Rutgers led 57-49 at halftime; they scored 25 points in 2nd half.
Michigan shot 72.7% inside the arc.
Wolverines have won eight of their last nine games.

— UAB 80, Wichita State 72
UAB won 12 of its last 14 games.
Blazers were +8 in turnovers (17-9)
Loss snaps Wichita’s six-game winning streak.

— Wright State 82, Cleveland State 76
With this score, Robert Morris wins Horizon regular season for first time.
Cleveland State led 45-31 at halftime.
Wright State made 12-21 shots on the arc.

— Towson State 88, Wm & Mary 73
Towson shot 14-32 on arc, wins CAA regular season title.
Wm & Mary led by 15, early in second half.
Tigers out-rebounded Wm & Mary, 44-23

— North Texas 71, Florida Atlantic 61
North Texas shot 66.7% inside the arc.
Mean Green has won five in row, 11 of last 13 games.

— Warriors 121, Magic 115
Steph Curry scored 56 points, shooting 12-19 on the arc.
Rest of the Warriors were 7-26 on the arc.
Orlando led 66-52 at halftime.
Golden State is 7-1 since they acquired Jimmy Butler.

— Famous birthdays, February 28th:
Bernadette Peters, 77
Mercedes Ruehl, 77
Adrian Dantley, 70
John Turturro, 68
Ken Whisenhunt, 63
Ickey Woods, 59
Tayshaun Prince, 45
Aroldis Chapman, 37
Alex Caruso, 31
Randy Arozarena, 30
Luka Doncic, 26
Lance McCutcheon, 26

— In its last three games, BYU’s basketball team has……
Scored 90+ points
Shot 50%+ from the floor
Made 12+ 3-pointers
Had fewer than 12 turnovers.
They’re the first team in the last 25 years to do that three game in a row.

— Utah fired basketball coach Craig Smith Monday, with only four games left in the regular season; they couldn’t have waited a couple weeks, until the regular season was over?
One of coach Smith’s son is a walk-on sub with the Utes; another son is Director of Operations for Utah. Seems kind of harsh to fire their dad, while his sons stick it out and finish the season.

— Right now, there are nine NFL QB’s with contracts that average $50M/year. Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott is the highest-paid player right now, at $60M/year.

— Detroit Pistons have won eight games in a row, their longest winning streak since 2008.

— There is an NHL game in Ohio State’s football stadium Saturday night- Detroit-Columbus will play in Ohio Stadium, with ESPN showing the game. NHL has hit the jackpot with these outdoor games over the years- they’ll have a huge crowd for this game.

— White Sox OF Andrew Benintendi broke his hand when he was hit by a pitch, is out 4-6 weeks. Benintendi had a rough year last year, hitting .229, now he’s going to miss the first part of the season.

— RIP to the great actor Gene Hackman, who passed away this week at age 95; in his long career, he won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globe awards.
I remember him most from Hoosiers, but he was in a ton of movies- Runaway Jury, The Firm, The Replacements, Class Action.
What a great career. RIP, sir.