Cnotes WNBA 2024 Season Best Bets And Opinions !

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, October 10

WNBA

Thursday, October 10

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Trend Report
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New York Liberty
New York is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games
New York is 2-7-1 ATS in its last 10 games at home
New York is 18-4 SU in its last 22 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 6 games at home

Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota is 15-7 ATS in its last 22 games
Minnesota is 19-4 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 7 games
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road


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[Cnotes53]

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
MIN at NY	08:00 PM	MIN +6.0 O 159.0	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s 6-pack:
Last six World Series champs:
2023— Rangers
2022— Astros
2021— Braves
2020— Dodgers
2019— Nationals
2018— Red Sox

Quote of the Day
“He specialized in recovery across time zones. How the body can recover under duress. It was very informative. We were there with all the head coaches. A lot of great information was shared. The bottom line is we’ll come out during conference play, we’ll come out either two days early or one day early, depending on the academic workload.”
Cal basketball coach Mark Madsen, talking about long road trips in the ACC

Friday’s quiz
Where did Geno Smith play his college football?

Thursday’s quiz
Kansas City Royals came into existence in 1969; the A’s left Kansas City for Oakland, after the 1967 season.

Wednesday’s quiz
Don Mattingly was the Dodgers’ manager, last time they missed the playoffs.

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

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

— 49ers 36, Seahawks 24
First six drives, SF scored two TD’s, kicked three FG’s.
Seattle’s first four drives: 18 plays, 69 yards, no points.
San Francisco led 16-3 at halftime.
49ers outscored last four opponents 73-23 in first half.
49ers won their last six games vs Seattle (5-1 ATS)
49ers ran ball for 228 yards, threw for 255 more.
Seattle lost last three games, giving up 42-29-36 points.
Seahawks are 3-7 ATS in last ten NFC West home games.

— Guardians 5, Tigers 4
David Fry came off bench, drove in Cleveland’s last three runs.
Guardians had lost their previous 11 postseason elimination games.
Decisive Game 5 is Saturday night in Cleveland.

— New York 3, Royals 1
Gerrit Cole allowed one run in 7 IP.
Royals scored total of five runs in last three games of the series.
New York will host Games 1-2 of the ALCS, starting Monday.

— James Madison 39, Coastal Carolina 7
JMU ran ball for 222 yards, outgained Coastal 421-181.
JMU scored two TD’s 70 seconds apart early in second quarter.
Dukes led 29-7 at halftime; they’re 5-1 now.

— Western Kentucky 44, Texas-El Paso 17
Hilltoppers led 27-7 at halftime.
WKU ran ball for 218 yards, threw for 264 more.
UTEP was outgained 482-330; they slip to 0-6.

— Louisiana Tech 48, Middle Tennessee 21
Frosh QB Bullock threw TD passes on four straight drives early in game.
Bulldogs led 34-14 at halftime; they’re 2-3 now.
Tech converted 12 of 16 third down plays.

— Jacksonville State 54, New Mexico State 13
Gamecocks won third straight game, scoring 44-63-54 points.
Jax State led 33-6 at halftime.
Jax State ran ball 49 times for 334 yards (6.8 yards/carry).

— Famous birthdays, October 11th:
Daryl Hall, 78
Mark Goodman, 72
David Morse, 71
Norm Nixon, 69
Chris Spielman, 59
Mike Conley, 37
Gio Urshela, 33
TJ Watt, 30
Brian Allen, 29

— Jets demoted OC Nathaniel Hackett, tabbed Todd Downing to run the offense going forward. Jets are ranked 27th in yards/game; Downing used to be the Titans’ offensive coordinator.

— Las Vegas Raiders are starting QB Aidan O’Connell this week, replacing Gardner Minshew after the team’s 2-3 start. Raiders were 5-5 with O’Connell under center last year.

— New Orleans Saints are starting rookie QB Spencer Rattler vs Tampa Bay Sunday, with #1 QB Derek Carr out injured (oblique). Rattler played college ball at Oklahoma/South Carolina; Las Vegas drafted him in the 5th round last spring.

— New England Patriots are starting rookie QB Drake Maye this week, at home vs Houston, after they started season 1-4. Patriots lost their last four games, scored a total of 26 points in their last three.

— Pohlad family bought the Minnesota Twins for $44M in 1984; they’re worth around $1.5B now, and now they’re looking to sell the team.
Twins put out a statement:
”After months of thoughtful consideration, our family reached a decision this summer to explore selling the Twins. As we enter the next phase of this process, the time is right to make this decision public.”
Only three teams have been under the same ownership for longer than the Twins; White Sox, the Phillies and Bronx.

— Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes apparently owns 1% of the Kansas City Royals; his dad was a major league pitcher. From what I can tell, his share of the team is worth $12-15M

— Scary to see the damage to Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, where the Tampa Bay Rays call home; what used to be a domed stadium isn’t right now. The hurricane tore the roof off the place. You wonder how quickly the damage to the facility and some spring training facilities around Florida will be fixed. Will it affect spring training four months from now?
They had 18 inches of rain in St Petersburg in one day, 5 INCHES IN AN HOUR!!!!

 

[Udog]

No games today. The finals resume Sunday.

 

[Cnotes53]

Saturday’s 6-pack:
Extra-inning games played the last six full seasons:
2024— 216 extra-inning games
2023— 201
2022— 216
2021— 216
2019— 208
2018— 216
Same exact amount four of the last six full seasons; that is unusual.

Quote of the Day
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
Albert Einstein

Saturday’s quiz
Last time Detroit Tigers made it to the World Series (2012), who was their manager?

Friday’s quiz
Geno Smith played his college football at West Virginia.

Thursday’s quiz
Kansas City Royals came into existence in 1969; the A’s left Kansas City for Oakland, after the 1967 season.

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

Saturday’s Den: Big East basketball notes, and other stuff…….​

— The other night in Las Vegas, at 2:30am out there, they imploded the Tropicana hotel, to make room for the A’s new baseball stadium. Quite a production, lot of fireworks and all before the two buildings came down.
Imagine staying across the street at the MGM? Must’ve been quite a view.

— Today’s Game 5 between Tigers-Guardians was moved up from 8:00 to 1:00, because it is supposed to rain in Cleveland Saturday night. Winner starts the ALCS in the Bronx Monday.

— Famous birthdays, October 12th:
Jack Marin, 80
Chris Wallace, 77
Susan Anton, 74
Sid Fernandez, 62
Chris Chandler, 59
Hugh Jackman, 56
Leon Lett, 56
Charlie Ward, 54
Ketel Marte, 31

Notes on Big East basketball teams:
— Butler
Last four years, Butler is 27-51 in conference games.
Bulldogs made the NCAA’s six times in seven years, the last seven years before they joined the Big East. They’ve been in NCAA’s four times in the 10 years they’ve been in Big East.

— UConn
UConn won last two national titles, first team since Florida Gators in 2006/2007.
Last four years, Huskies have been in top 12 in country on offensive rebounding.

— Creighton
Last four years, Bluejays are 94-44, 54-25 in Big East tilts, 8-4 in NCAA tourney.
Last two years, Creighton was in bottom five in country in forcing turnovers.

— DePaul
DePaul hasn’t been over .500 in Big East games since 2007.
Blue Demons haven’t been in NCAA’s since 2004.
Last year, DePaul was 3-29, 0-20; their last win was December 30th.

— Georgetown
Last three years, Hoyas are 22-73, 4-55 in conference games.
Last year, Ed Cooley’s first year there, Georgetown was #358 in field goal defense.

— Marquette
Three years under Shaka Smart: 75-30, 42-17 in Big East, 3-3 in NCAA’s.
Last two years, Marquette was #4, #13 in 2-point field goal %age.
Marquette was a 2-seed LY; they lost 67-58 to NC State in Sweet 16.

— Providence
Last three years, Friars are 69-32, 37-20 in Big East games, 2-2 in NCAA’s.
Last year, first year under Kim English, Providence was #18 in country in defense.

— St John’s
St John’s hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000.
Johnnies were 11-9 in Big East LY, just second time in last nine years they were over .500 in conference games.

— Seton Hall
Pirates were 25-12, 13-7 last year; they won the NIT.
Since 2006, Seton Hall is 1-6 in NCAA Tournament.
Two years under Holloway, they’re 42-28, 23-17 in Big East games.

— Villanova
In two years since Jay Wright retired, Villanova is 35-23, 20-20 in Big East tilts.
Villanova made the Final Four in Wright’s last season.
In two years under Neptune, Wildcats ranked #347, #333 in tempo.

— Xavier
Chris Mack left Xavier in 2018, having made NCAA’s five years in a row,
Since then, Xavier has made only one of five NCAA Tournaments.

 

[Udog]

No games today. The finals resume Sunday.

 

[Cnotes53]

Sunday’s 6-pack:
QBs who played for the Jets under Robert Saleh:
13-21 W-L record— Zach Wilson
2-6— Mike White
1-6— Joe Flacco
3-3— Aaron Rodgers
2-3— Trevor Siemian
0-3— Tim Boyle

Quote of the Day
“Another game down to the wire. We’re kind of getting accustomed to those. There’s some things that we can do to make sure it doesn’t get to that point. But we always talk about finding a way to win. As many times as it looked like we weren’t, we did.”
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer

Sunday’s quiz
Of the 32 starting QB’s in NFL, which two have fathers who played major league baseball?

Saturday’s quiz
Last time Detroit Tigers made it to the World Series (2012), Hall of Famer Jim Leyland was their manager.

Friday’s quiz
Geno Smith played his college football at West Virginia.

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

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday…….​

— Oregon 32, Ohio State 31
Ducks drove 74 yards, kicked game-winning FG with 1:47 left.
Oregon outgained the Buckeyes, 496-467.
Ducks’ QB Gabriel was 23-34/341 passing, and 2 TD’s.
Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly is Ohio State’s offensive coordinator.

— Penn State 33, USC 30 OT
Trojans led 20-6 at halftime.
PSU QB Allar threw for 391 yards, two TD’s.
PSU TE Warren caught 17 passes for 224 yards.
Dating back to last year, USC is 5-8 in its last 13 games.

— Alabama 27, South Carolina 25
Alabama led 14-0 with 2:00 left in first half.
Gamecocks led 19-14 after the third quarter.
Trailing 27-19, Carolina scored TD with 0:43 left- 2-point play failed.
Gamecocks recovered the onside kick, but didn’t come close to scoring again.
Alabama still hasn’t lost consecutive regular season games since 2007.

— LSU 29, Ole Miss 26, OT
Nussmeier threw a 25-yard TD pass on their first play of OT.
Ole Miss kicked a 57-yard FG on their first possession of OT
LSU forced OT by scoring a TD with 0:27 left in regulation.
Rebels were 11-22 on third down, LSU 6-16.

— Vanderbilt 20, Kentucky 13
Commodores (+14) posted another huge upset, this one on road.
Vandy converted 8-13 on third down, Kentucky 4-9.
Wildcats had 12 penalties for 105 yards.

— Illinois 50, Purdue 49 OT
Illinois led 24-3 at halftime.
Purdue went ahead 43-40 on a 13-yard TD pass with 0:46 left.
Illini forced OT with a 38-yard FG at the gun.
Purdue scored 40 points in 2nd half, averaged 9.2 yards/play but still lost.

— Famous birthdays, October 13th:
Paul Simon, 83
Rich Kotite, 82
Randy Moffitt, 76
Reggie Theus, 67
Marie Osmond, 65
Doc Rivers, 63
Jerry Rice, 62
Trevor Hoffman, 57
Nancy Kerrigan, 55
Paul Pierce, 47
Quincy Carter, 4
Brian Hoyer, 39

— Tennessee 23, Florida 17 OT
Florida led this game 10-0 with 4:00 left in third quarter.
Gators tied game on a TD with 0:29 left in regulation.
Florida outgained Tennessee, 361-312.
This was Tennessee’s first OT game since 1998, their 2nd one ever.

— Georgia Southern 24, Marshall 23
Thundering Herd led 23-3 after the third quarter.
Georgia Southern threw a 34-yard TD with 1:00 left for the comeback win.
Marshall ran for 200 yards, but turned ball over three times.

— Army 44, UAB 10
Army ran ball 56 times for 413 yards (7.4 yards/carry)
Army only completed three passes; one of them was a 50-yard TD.
Black Knights are 6-0, have won ten games in a row.

— Guardians 7, Tigers 3
July 29, Washington traded Lane Thomas to Guardians, for 3 minor leaguers.
Saturday, Thomas hit a 5th inning grand slam, the big hit of this game.
Guardians advance to the ALCS Monday in the Bronx.

— Upsets of the Week:
Vanderbilt (+14) 20, Kentucky 13
Northwestern (+10) 37, Maryland 10
Buffalo (+9.5) 30, Toledo 15
Rice (+6.5) 29, Tex-San Antonio 27
Arizona State 27 (+6.5), Utah 19
Nevada (+4.5) 42, Oregon State 37

— Pitt 17, California 15
Pitt is 6-0 for the first time since 1982.
Cal missed a 40-yard, go-ahead FG with 1:54 left.
Cal is 0-3 in ACC games, losing by 5-1-2 points.

— San Diego State 27, Wyoming 24
Aztecs outscored Wyoming 10-0 over the final 14:00 of game.
San Diego State’s first TD was a 43-yard pick-6.
Wyoming completed only 12 of 31 passes, with two INTs.

— Ball State 37, Kent State 35
Cardinals led 20-7 at halftime, hung on for dear life.
Kent QB Ulatowski was 17-36/394 passing, with four TD’s.
Kent State is 0-6; they outgained Ball State 461-406.
Golden Flashes threw a 57-yard TD pass with 0:30 left for a backdoor cover.

— Rice 29, Tex-San Antonio 27
EJ Warner threw an 18-yard TD pass with 0:04 left for the win.
Roadrunners had taken a 27-23 lead on a TD with 2:06 left.
Warner (Kurt Warner’s son) was 25-39/347 passing, with 2 TD’s.
UTSA had 16 penalties for 146 yards, Rice 11 for 93.

— Georgia Tech 41, North Carolina 34
RB Haynes ran 68 yards for game-winning TD with 0:16 left.
Carolina had tied game on a 44-yard FG with 0:44 left.
If you had the Tar Heels +3.5, it was a very bad beat.

— Louisville 24, Virginia 20
Cardinals drove 67 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:55 left.
Louisville had lost its previous two games, both by 7 points.
Virginia outgained the Cardinals, 449-408; game was 7-7 at halftime.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, October 13

WNBA

Sunday, October 13

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Trend Report
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New York Liberty
New York is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
New York is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York's last 6 games
New York is 2-8-1 ATS in its last 11 games at home
New York is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games at home
New York is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota
New York is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 13 of New York's last 18 games when playing Minnesota
New York is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
New York is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota

Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 20-4 SU in its last 24 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games
Minnesota is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Minnesota is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New York
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing New York
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Minnesota's last 18 games when playing New York
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against New York
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against New York
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games when playing on the road against New York


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[Cnotes53]

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
MIN at NY	03:00 PM	MIN +8.0 O 162.5	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

Monday’s 6-pack:
Interesting Week 7 college football spreads……
— Alabama (-2.5) @ Tennessee
— Nebraska @ Indiana (-5)
— South Carolina @ Oklahoma (-2.5)
— Michigan @ Illinois (-1)
— Georgia @ Texas (-3.5)
— Kentucky @ Florida (-2)

Thought of the Day
Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian friends…….

Monday’s quiz
Where did Jared Goff play his college football?

Sunday’s quiz
NFL QB’s Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes have fathers who played major league baseball.

Saturday’s quiz
Last time Detroit Tigers made it to the World Series (2012), Hall of Famer Jim Leyland was their manager.

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

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Sunday…….​

Ravens 30, Commanders 23
Baltimore won last four games, scoring 28-35-41-30 points.
Ravens’ first 3 drives: 17 plays, 79 yards, 3 points.
Ravens rest of game: 51 plays, 405 yards, 27 points.
Ravens are 7-3 ATS in last ten games as a home favorite.
Over is 5-1 in Baltimore’s games this year.
Ravens ran ball 37 times for 176 yards.
Washington ran ball 18 times for 52 yards.
Baltimore was 6-10 on third down, Commanders 4-12.
Washington’s team total: over 5-1
Over is 5-1 in Washington games this year.

Bears 35, Jaguars 16
Bears’ first two drives: six plays, 7 yards, two punts.
Bears’ next six drives: 45 plays, 353 yards, 35 points.
Last three games, Chicago scored 13 TD’s on 29 drives.
Opponents’ team total: under 6-0
Jaguars in first half: 25 plays, 112 yards, 3 punts, 3 points.
Last five games, Jaguars were outscored 88-35 in first half.
Bears outgained Jacksonville, 373-278.
Jaguars are 12-20 ATS last 32 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Texans 41, Patriots 21
Texans’ first two drives: 19 plays, 100 yards, 14 points.
Houston ran ball 28 times for 192 yards.
2nd-year QB Stroud is 15-8 as an NFL starter.
Houston had four takeaways (+3); they didn’t have any in previous 3 games.
New England lost last five games, outscored 68-33 in first half.
Patriots are 14-53 on third down in their last four games.
NE is 1-10-1 ATS in last dozen games as a home underdog.
Patriots are 30-44 since Tom Brady left town.

Eagles 20, Browns 16
Cleveland’s only TD was on a blocked field goal late in first half.
Cleveland scored 17-18-15-16-13-16 points in its 1-5 start.
Browns are 15-78 on 3rd down so far, 10-16 on 4th down.
Browns have gained 230-297-217-152-215-244 yards so far.
Browns are 5-11-1 ATS last 17 games as a road underdog.
On their last five drives, Browns were 3-4 on field goals; no TD’s.
Eagles outgained Cleveland, 372-244.
Under Sirianni, Eagles are 12-8-1 ATS as a home favorite.
QB Hurts is 39-22 as an NFL starter.

Packers 34, Cardinals 13
Packers’ first five drives: 34 plays, 251 yards, 24 points.
Cardinals’ first four drives: 14 plays, 34 yards, four punts.
QB Murray is 30-41-1 SU as an NFL starter.
Last four games, Arizona opponents are 28-47 on third down.
Green Bay led 24-10 at halftime.
QB Love was 22-32/258 passing, with four TD’s.
Packers have 17 takeaways in six games (+9 turnovers)
Green Bay is 27-16-1 ATS in last 44 home games.

Buccaneers 51, Saints 27
Tampa Bay led 17-0 after the first quarter.
Mayfield threw 3 INTs in 2nd quarter; Saints led 27-24 at half.
Bucs’ last five drives: 31 plays, 299 yards, 27 points.
Buccaneers scored 33-30-51 points in their last three games (7 TD’s/19 drives).
Tampa Bay is 12-9-2 in last 23 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Saints in 2nd half: 32 plays, 107 yards, outscored 27-0.
New Orleans lost its last four games, by 3-2-13-24 points.
Rookie QB Rattler was 22-40/243 passing in his first NFL start.
Saints are 9-12-2 ATS in last 23 games with spread of 3 or fewer points,

Colts (-1) @ Titans
Colts are 10-3 SU/ATS in last 13 visits to Nashville.
Colts are 8-5 ATS in last 13 games as a road favorite.
Under Steichen, Colts are 10-5-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points.
All six Colts games were decided by 6 or fewer points.
Colts were 7-15 on third down, Tennessee 4-11.
Tennessee is 0-6 ATS in last six games coming off a win.
Titans have averaged 5.3/5.3/4.9/4.6/3.5 yards/pass attempt.
QB Levis is 4-10 as an NFL starter.

Famous birthdays, October 14th:
Al Oliver, 78
Charlie Joiner, 77
Brent Strom, 76
Lori Petty, 61
Joe Girardi, 60
PJ Brown, 55
Jim Jackson, 54
Merrill Kelly, 36
Jared Goff, 30

Chargers 23, Broncos 16
Chargers in first half: 46 plays, 247 yards, 20 points.
Chargers had 20-play, 69-yard drive that took 10:29- they kicked FG.
Denver in first half: 20 plays, 61 yards, 2 turnovers, no points.
Chargers are 7-3-2 ATS last 11 games as road favorites.
Dobbins ran ball 25 times for 96 yards and a TD.
Chargers led 20-0 at halftime.
Denver is only 20-80 on third down conversions (3-11 this game)
Broncos outscored last five opponents 59-17 in second half.
Broncos are 10-17 ATS in last 27 games coming off a win.
Chargers had lost their last five visits to Colorado.

Steelers 32, Raiders 13
Steelers ran ball 35 times for 183 yards (5.2 yards/carry)
Steelers allowed 10-6-10-13 points in wins, 27-20 in losses.
Opponents’ team total: under 5-1
Steelers are 15-8-1 ATS in last 24 games with spread of 3 or less points.
Raiders drove 70 yards for a TD on their first drive.
Next eight drives: 36 plays, 130 yards, no points.
Raiders have 12 turnovers in six games (minus-10).
Raiders’ two wins were by 3-4 points, losses by 12-14-16-19 points.

Lions 47, Cowboys 9
Detroit had 10 drives: 5 touchdowns, 4 field goals on first nine.
Goff was 18-25/315 passing, with three TD’s.
Detroit ran ball 36 times for 184 yards.
Lions outscored last three opponents 73-23 in first half.
Star DE Aidan Hutchinson appeared to break his leg
Dallas is 0-3 at home this year, losing by 25-3-36 points.
Cowboys gave up 17-15-17 points in wins, 44-28-47 in losses.
Dallas allowed 14.2/12.1/10.3 yards/pass attempt in their losses.
Cowboys turned ball over on each of their last four possessions.

Falcons 38, Panthers 20
Falcons ran the ball 38 times for 198 yards.
Falcons scored a TD on three of their first five drives.
Atlanta is 12-6 ATS in last 18 NFC South road games.
Falcons scored 22-26-36-38 points in wins, 10-17 in losses.
Panthers trailed this game 22-17 at halftime.
Carolina’s five losses are by 37-23-10-26-18 points.
Carolina is 0-3 SU at home (26-3 Chargers, 34-24 Bengals)
Panthers are 3-7-1 ATS in last 11 games as a home underdog.
Carolina opponents’ team total: over 5-1

Bengals 17, Giants 7
QB Burrow ran 47 yards for a TD on Cincy’s first drive.
RB Brown put game away with a 30-yard TD run with 1:52 left.
Bengals had allowed 10+ points in 75 consecutive games.
Bengals are 11-6 ATS in last 17 games as a road favorite.
Cincinnati is 20-11-1 ATS in last 32 games coming off a loss
Giants are 0-3 at home (28-6 Vikings, 20-15 Cowboys)
Giants were 5-15 on third down, 3-5 on fourth down.
Giants have one TD on 29 drives in their three home games.
Five of their six games stayed under the total.
QB Jones is 25-41-1 as an NFL starter.

Dodgers 9, Mets 0
Jack Flaherty allowed four baserunners in 7 scoreless IP.
Dodgers have now thrown 33 consecutive scoreless IP.
Mookie Betts knocked in three runs; Ohtani scored twice.
Dodgers grab a 1-0 series lead; Game 2 is today at 5:00.

 

[Udog]

No games today. Finals resume Wednesday.

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
NFL underdogs of 5.5+ points this year:
Week 1— 3-1 ATS
Week 2— 6-0 ATS
Week 3— 5-1 ATS
Week 4— 3-2-1 ATS
Week 5— 2-1 ATS
Week 6— 1-3-1 ATS

Quote of the Day
“In practice I think we can get up and down more. I think so often as coaches in modern-day NBA, the league’s gotten so soft, everybody’s afraid to condition and run. We have to.”
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone

Tuesday’s quiz
In the football movie Any Given Sunday, where Al Pacino coaches the Miami Sharks, what well known actress plays the owner of the Sharks?

Monday’s quiz
Jared Goff played his college football for the Cal Bears.

Sunday’s quiz
NFL QB’s Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes have fathers who played major league baseball.

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

Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….​

— Bills 23, Jets 20
Buffalo had 11 penalties for 94 yards.
Jets had 11 penalties for 110 yards; refs threw too many flags.
Buffalo led this game 20-17 at halftime.
Jets missed field goals of 32, 43 yards; Bills missed a PAT.
Jets threw a 52-yard Hail Mary TD on last play of first half.
Rodgers was 23-35/294 passing, with 2 INTs and an INT.
Jets are 17-28 ATS last 45 games as an underdog.
Jets are 9-14 ATS in last 23 games as a home underdog.
Bills scored TD’s on three of their first four drives.
Buffalo is 16-5-1 ATS in last 22 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Buffalo won eight of last ten series games.

— Mets 7, Dodgers 3
Mark Vientos broke the game open with a 2nd inning grand slam.
Mets bullpen didn’t allow a run in 4 IP.
Series heads to New York, tied 1-1.
Modern baseball: When the Dodgers threw three consecutive shutouts the last few days, they still made 13 pitching changes in those games.

— New York 5, Guardians 2
Soto, Stanton both homered for New York.
Carlos Rodon allowed 3 baserunners, one run in 6 IP.
Alex Cobb started on mound for Cleveland, only his 5th start all season.
This season, Cleveland OF Steven Kwan had a .988 OPS in Guardians’ wins, .565 in the Guardians’ losses.

— Week 6 was a big week for NFL road favorites; they were 7-0 ATS this week.

— So far this season, NFC North teams are 17-4 ATS in non-divisional games.

— Imagine being coach of the Dallas Cowboys, playing a game on your boss’s (Jerry Jones) 82nd birthday, and losing 47-9, heading onto a bye week? Not great.

— Today is October 15, Week 7 is looming, and the Detroit Lions still haven’t played a game outdoors this season.

Famous birthdays, October 15th:
Linda Lavin, 87
Jim Palmer, 79
Joe Klecko, 71
Vanessa Marcil, 55
Fred Hoiberg, 52
Connor Barwin, 38
Blaine Gabbert, 35
Teoscar Hernandez, 32
Jack Flaherty, 29
Brandon Pfaadt, 26

Movie of the Day: Before We Go (2014)- Two strangers stuck in Manhattan for the night become good friends when a lot of unexpected things happen in one very long evening.
Nick is a musician trying to catch his one big break in the business, while also trying to avoid an old girlfriend. Brooke is a woman trying to find the right way to dump her husband, who has been cheating on her.
Good movie; I’ve never heard of one person who was in this movie, but it was well done and fun to watch. It is on Tubi, which has several good movies.

— Best college football teams against spread this year:
Army, BYU, both 6-0 ATS

Worst college football teams against spread this year:
0-6- Air Force, Kansas
0-6-1- North Carolina, NC State

— Florida Gators QB Graham Mertz (torn ACL) is out for the year.

— Kentucky is ranked #23 in the preseason college basketball top 25, their lowest rank in the preseason since 2009,
Kentucky alum Mark Pope is the new basketball coach at Kentucky; this past weekend, his coach with the Wildcats, Rick Pitino, was back in Lexington. Pitino has served as a mentor for Pope since he replaced John Calipari as Kentucky’s coach this spring, but it is an unusual situation, seeing how Pitino coaches St John’s now.
Not often do you see a big-time coach helping prop up a different top 25 program. Pitino wore a Kentucky pullover Friday, but had St John’s gear on Saturday.

— Cleveland Browns are first NFL team in 10 years to score less than 20 points in each of their first six games of a season.

— Louisiana-Monroe’s football team is off to a 5-1 start; Warhawks went a combined 10-36 the last four years. Good start this season for first-year head coach Bryant Vincent.

— Wealthiest owners in the NFL:
$94.3B- Rob Walton, Broncos
$21.3B- David Tepper, Panthers
$17B- Stephen Ross, Dolphins
$16.9B- Stan Kroenke, Rams
$15.2B- Jerry Jones, Cowboys

 

[Udog]

No games today. The finals resume tomorrow.

 

[Cnotes53]

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
NY at MIN	08:00 PM	NY -2.5 U 160.5	+500 +500

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Interesting Week 7 NFL spreads:
— Dolphins @ Indianapolis (-3.5)
— Panthers @ Washington (-7.5)
— Chiefs @ San Francisco (-1.5)
— Jets (-1.5) @ Pittsburgh
— Ravens (-3.5) @ Tampa Bay
— Chargers (-2.5) @ Arizona

Quote of the Day
“It’s just funny how things change, where there was a lot of concern about Shohei not being able to get hits with the runners in scoring position — and now we’re all trying to find ways … to get guys on base so he can hit, right? I kind of find that comical, a little bit.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts

Wednesday’s quiz
How many NFL teams have not won a Super Bowl?

Tuesday’s quiz
In the football movie Any Given Sunday, where Al Pacino coaches the Miami Sharks, Cameron Diaz plays the owner of the Sharks.

Monday’s quiz
Jared Goff played his college football for the Cal Bears.


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


Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings, and Big X basketball notes…….

— Couple of well-known receivers got traded Tuesday:
Jets acquired Davante Adams from Las Vegas, sending a 3rd round pick to the Raiders, a pick that could become a 2nd round pick if the Adams/Jets did really well the rest of this season. Move saves the Raiders $29.6M in dead money on next year’s salary cap.

Cleveland Browns sent Amari Cooper to Buffalo, also for a 3rd round draft pick; Cooper had 53 targets with Cleveland, but caught only 24 of those passes.

— Sounds like Russell Wilson is going to get his first start at QB for Pittsburgh Sunday night, when Steelers host the Jets. Steelers are 4-2 with Justin Fields playing QB in all six games, but they were held under 300 total yards the last two weeks, and Wilson is healthier now.

— Over their last three games, LA Chargers have been outscored 39-3 in the second half.

— New York 6, Cleveland 3
Cleveland P Bibee allowed three runs, got only four outs.
Aaron Judge hit a 2-run home run.
New York leads best-of-7 series, 2-0

— 38.8% of major league pitchers this year have had Tommy John surgery, roughly three of every eight pitchers.

— South Alabama 25, Troy 9
South Alabama led 19-3 at halftime.
Jaguars outgained 1-6 Troy, 318-172.
Troy threw 3 INT’s, averaged only 3.8 yards/pass.

— Middle Tennessee 14, Kennesaw State 5
Blue Raiders ran a punt back 61 yards for a TD.
MTSU outgained the Owls, 284-234.
Kennesaw State is 0-6, in their first year at the I-A level.

Famous birthdays, October 16th:
Timothy Robbins, 66
John Mengelt, 75
Kevin McReynolds, 65
Adrian Murrell, 54

Kordell Stewart, 52
Jonathan Schoop, 33
Bryce Harper, 32
John Wolford, 29

Notes on Big X basketball teams:
— Arizona
Three years under Tommy Lloyd, they’re 88-20, 47-13 in Big X, 4-3 in NCAA’s
In those three years, Wildcats ranked #7-10-11 in the country on offense

— Arizona State
Last four years, Sun Devils were 62-62, 36-41 in Pac-12.
Last three years, ASU ranked #308-275-331 in 3-point FG%.

— Baylor
Bears won national title in 2021; since then, they’re 74-29, 36-18 in Big X.
Last three years, Baylor went WL in NCAA’s all three years, |
Last five years, Baylor was a top 20 offense all five years.

— Brigham Young
BYU hasn’t won an NCAA Tourney game since a play-in game in 2012.
In five years at BYU, Mark Pope was 110-52, 49-29 in WCC, 0-2 in NCAAs.
Pope has moved on to coach Kentucky.

— Central Florida
Last five years, UCF is 39-51 in conference games.
Last four years, Knights ranked #246 or worse in 2-point %age.
UCF’s last NCAA appearance was 2019.

— Cincinnati
Bearcats haven’t made NCAAs since Mick Cronin was coach in 2019
Three years under Wes Miller: 63-43, 25-29 in conference games.

— Colorado
Made NCAA’s twice in last four years.
Last six years, Buffs were 67-49 in Pac-12 games.
Boyle is 3-3 in first round NCAA Tourney games, 0-3 in second round.

— Houston
Last four years, they’re 61-10 in conference games, 11-4 in NCAA Tourney.
Went 32-5, 15-3 last year, their first year in Big X
Last four years, Houston has been a top 10 defensive team.

— Iowa State
In three years under Otzelberger, made NCAA’s last three years, going 4-3 in tourney.
Two years before Otzelberger got there, Cyclones were 5-31 in Big X games.
Iowa State has been a top 8 defensive team the last three years.

— Kansas
Jayhawks won national title is 2022.
Last five years, Kansas is 1-4 in second round of NCAA’s.
Last time Kansas lost a first round NCAA game: 2006.
LY, Jayhawks were 10-8 in Big X, their worst conference record since at least 1997.

— Kansas State
K-State made NCAA’s once in last four years (got to Elite 8 in 2023).
Wildcats turned ball over 21.7% of time LY (#345)

— Oklahoma State
Steve Lutz is new coach (22-12 @ Western Kentucky, 44-23 @ A&M-Corpus Christi)
Last three years, Cowboys were 20-34 in Big X games
Last three years, Cowboys ranked #293-320-332 in turnover %age

— TCU
Last three years, TCU was 64-39, 26-28 in Big X, 2-3 in NCAA’s
Before 2022, Horned Frogs had been in NCAAs once since 1998.
Last three years, TCU ranked #44-23-13 in defense.

— Texas Tech
Tech has been in five of last six NCAA’s, but with 3 different coaches.
Red Raiders lost national title game in 2019.
LY, Tech was 23-11, 11-7 in Big X, their first year under McCasland.

— Utah
Utes last made the NCAA Tournament in 2016.
Utah picked up the pace LY; they were #57 in tempo LY, #237 the year before.l

— West Virginia
DeVries is Mountaineers’ third head coach in three years.
DeVries got Drake to the NCAA’s three of last four years.
Last three years, West Virginia was 15-39 in Big X games.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Wednesday, October 16

WNBA

Wednesday, October 16

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Trend Report
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New York
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York's last 7 games.

• New York are 12-4 SU in their last 16 games.
• New York are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games against Minnesota.
• New York are 6-13 SU in their last 19 games against Minnesota.
• New York are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games on the road.
• New York are 2-10 SU in their last 12 games when playing on the road against Minnesota.

Minnesota

• Minnesota are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games.
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 5 games.
• Minnesota are 13-4 SU in their last 17 games.
• The total has gone OVER in 13 of Minnesota's last 19 games against New York.
• Minnesota are 10-2 SU in their last 12 games at home.
• Minnesota are 10-2 SU in their last 12 games when playing at home against New York.

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[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Thursday’s 6-pack:
Highest paid college football coaches:
$13M— Kirby Smart, Georgia
$11,132,775— Dabo Swinney, Clemson
$10,600,000— Steve Sarkisian, Texas
$10,043,418— Lincoln Riley, USC
$10,021,250— Ryan Day, Ohio State
$10M— Mike Norvell, Florida State/Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

Quote of the Day
“I’m telling you, he is not as good as you think- we need to trade him before people find out.”
Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, talking to Washington owner Daniel Snyder about QB Robert Griffin III after the 2012 season, when Griffin won Rookie of the Year.

Thursday’s quiz
In the TV show The West Wing, what actor played the Vice President?

Wednesday’s quiz
12 NFL teams haven’t won a Super Bowl yet.

Tuesday’s quiz
In the football movie Any Given Sunday, where Al Pacino coaches the Miami Sharks, Cameron Diaz plays the owner of the Sharks.

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

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..

— Dodgers 8, Mets 0
Walker Buehler threw 4 scoreless IP.
Hernandez, Muncy, Ohtani all homered.
Dodgers lead best-of-7 series, 2-1.

— Western Kentucky 31, Sam Houston 14
QB Veltkamp threw for 281 yards, three TD’s.
WKU outscored Sam Houston 14-0 in second half.
Hilltoppers were 11-18 on 3rd down, Sam Houston 6-15.
Both teams are 5-2.

— Texas-El Paso 30, Florida International 21
Miners outscored FIU 10-0 in fourth quarter.
UTEP knocked out two QB’s; FIU’s #3 QB threw 2 INTs.
Miners get first win in seven games; they outgained FIU 372-287.

— New Mexico State 33, Louisiana Tech 30 OT
State tied game, scoring a TD with 1:41 left in regulation.
Tech had a 26-yard FG blocked on last play of regulation.
Tech was 11-23 on third down, Aggies 8-15.
This was New Mexico State’s first OT game since 2017.

— Michigan State won the college basketball national title in 2000; that is the last time a Big 18 team won a national championship, kind of hard to believe.

Since then, national titles won by league:
8— ACC, Big East
3— Big X, SEC
1— American

— Joel Embiid just signed a 3-year, $192.9M contract extension with the 76ers, which works out to $784,146 per regular season game.

Embiid came out recently and said he won’t play on back/back nights this year. 76ers have 15 back/backs this year, which means the most games Embiid will play this season is 67.

At $784,146.34 per game, that works out to $11,762,195 Embiid will get paid, for nothing. Of course, Philadelphia pays him for what he’ll do in the playoffs, but still……..

— This summer, I traded for Padres 1B Luis Arraez for my fantasy team; ;he hit .317 in August, .340 in September, but turns out he had a torn ligament in his thumb— he had it operated on this week.

Watching him bat, it looked like he was hurt; he would re-coil after some swings, they took him out of some games early, but he still got lot of hits— thought I was imagining things.

Hopefully he’ll be good to go next spring.

— Red Sox OF Masataka Yoshida is recovering from surgery to fix the labrum in his right shoulder; Yoshida hit .280 this year but only played in 108 games- he hit .289 last year, in 140 games.

— Hurricane Milton shredded the Tropicana Field roof, where the Tampa Bay Rays call home; the stadium isn’t expected to be ready for the start of next season.

Rays are moving into a new stadium in St Petersburg in 2028; the team said “there are more questions than answers” at this point, with the 2025 regular season 162 days away.

— Famous birthdays, October 17th:
Michael McKean, 77
George Wendt, 76
Mike Bratz, 69
Jay Humphries, 62

Danny Ferry, 58
John Mabry, 54
Willie Snead, 32
Myles Straw, 30

— Dallas Cowboys have allowed 415+ total yards in their last five home games, the longest-such streak in the NFL since the 2012 Saints.

— Georgia Bulldogs are an underdog at Texas Saturday, which will end a streak that has seem the Dawgs favored in 49 consecutive games.

— Word of the Day: Kerfuffle- a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict.

— Tom Brady now owns a piece of the Las Vegas Raiders; if he owns 5% of the team, whose valuation is $6.7B, then his piece is worth $335M. Brady is also obviously a TV analyst now; there are rules he has to follow:

Brady isn’t allowed in other teams’ practice facilities.

He isn’t allowed to watch other teams practice.

He isn’t allowed to go to broadcast production meetings, awkward for a TV analyst.

He can’t publicly criticize game officials or other teams.

Interesting to see how this all turns out.

— In best-of-7 baseball playoff series, teams that took na 2-0 series lead have won 76 of 91 series (84%). Under the current 2-3-2 format, teams winning the first two games at home have won the series 44 of 55 times (80%).

— People gamble on everything these days; there are even Bronny James props for the NBA season, when there is no guarantee how much the young man will even play this year:

-110- James scoring 15+ points in any regular season game
+120- James making 3+ 3-pointers in any regular season game
+550- James making 4+ 3-pointers in any regular season game
+800- James scoring 20+ points in any regular season game.
+1200- James making 5+ 3-pointers in any regular season game

— Things have changed a lot in baseball; back on June 14, 1974, Red Sox played the Angels in Anaheim, Luis Tiant vs Nolan Ryan.

Tiant threw 14.1 innings, threw 280 pitches.
Ryan threw 325 pitches in 13 innings.
Angels won 4-3 in 15 innings.

Unusual for a pitcher to throw 100 pitches in a start now.

 

[Udog]

No games today. Game 4 is tomorrow.

 

[Udog]

Armadillo Sports

Friday’s 6-pack:
Top 6 teams in the AP preseason college basketball poll:
1) Kansas
2) Alabama
3) UConn
4) Houston
5) Iowa State
6) Gonzaga

Quote of the Day
“First step in solving any problem, is recognizing there is one.”
Jeff Daniels

Friday’s quiz
Of all the active major league players, who has hit the most postseason home runs?

Thursday’s quiz
In the TV show The West Wing, Tim Matheson played the Vice President; he was also in Animal House.

Wednesday’s quiz
12 NFL teams haven’t won a Super Bowl yet.

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

Friday’s Den: Random stuff, and Big West basketball info…….

— Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett surprisingly retired Thursday, 19 days before the Cavaliers’ season opener against Campbell.

Unusual timing for sure; Virginia players have a 30-day window to enter the transfer portal, but how many teams have scholarships open now? Virginia also added three transfers this year to come in and play for Bennett. They can’t be real happy.

Bennett was at Virginia for 15 years; he won a national title in 2019, won six ACC regular season titles, two ACC tournaments and made the NCAAs 10 times in his 15 years in Charlottesville.

Reading into the stuff that has been written so far, this sounds similar to Jay Wright leaving Villanova; Bennett has apparently had enough of the NIL culture in college sports these days, so he has decided to walk away from a very lucrative job.

This will be the first time since 1982 that the ACC doesn’t have a basketball coach who has won a national championship.

— Broncos 33, Saints 10
Sean Payton wins big in his return to the Superdome.
Broncos ran ball 35 times for 225 yards (6.4 yards/carry).
First seven drives, Denver scored two TD’s, kicked four FG’s.
QB Nix threw for 164 yards, ran for 75 more.

New Orleans lost its last five games, by 3-2-13-24-23 points.
Saints were outscored 44-7 in 2nd half of last two games.
Saints are 4-8 ATS last 12 games as a home underdog.
Saints are 9-13-2 ATS in last 23 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

— Guardians 7, New York 5 (10)
Pinch-hitter Jhonkensy Noel tied game with a 2-out, 2-run HR in 9th inning.
David Fry hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning.
New York lost its last six playoff games that went extra innings.
New York leads series 2-1; home team has won all three games.

— Dodgers 10, Mets 2
Mookie Betts was 4-6 with three runs scored, 4 RBI
Shohei Ohtani homered, scored four runs.
Max Muncy reached base in 12 consecutive at-bats, before making an out.

— Marshall 35, Georgia State 20
Thundering Herd led 25-10 at halftime.
Marshall ran ball 37 times for 295 yards (8 yards/carry)
Only nine of Marshall’s 57 plays came on third down.

— Virginia Tech 42, Boston College 21
Hokies led 28-0 at halftime.
BC rallied, cut lead to 28-21 after three quarters.
Tech ran ball 40 times for 368 yards (9.2 yards/carry)

— Army, Navy are both in the college football top 25, for first time since 1960.

— Famous birthdays, October 18th:
Bobby Knoop, 86 (my glove in Little League was a Bobby Knoop model)
Mike Ditka, 85
Willie Horton, 82

George Hendrick, 75
Pam Dawber, 74
Jerry Royster, 72

Lindsey Vonn, 40
Yoenis Cespedes, 39
Zac Efron, 37

Big West basketball notes:
— Cal-Bakersfield
Last three years, Roadrunners are 16-38 in Big West games.
Last time they made the NCAAs: 2016, when they were in the WAC.

— Cal Poly
Last five years, Cal Poly went 8-77 in Big West- they fired the coach.
New coach is from Division II Colorado Mesa; he wants to play fast.
Last time Cal Poly made the NCAAs: 2014.

— Cal-Davis
Last two years, Aggies were 25-14 in Big West games, 1-2 in Big West tourney.
Last time Cal-Davis made the NCAAs: 2017.

— Cal State Fullerton
Since 2009, Titans made NCAAs twice (2018, 2022)
Last three years, Fullerton was #229 or worse in eFG%.
Since 2018, Titans are 10-3 in Big West tournament games.

— Hawai’i
Last three years, Hawai’i is 34-21 in Big West conference games.
Hawai’i has been .500+ in conference games the last 12 years.
Since 2017, Rainbows are 2-7 in Big West tournament games.

— Cal-Irvine
Since 2013, Anteaters are 149-48 in Big West games.
Problem is, they’re only 17-10 in conference tournament games.
Cal-Irvine hasn’t won the Big West tournament since 2019.

— Long Beach State
Long Beach won Big West tournament LY, after they fired their coach.
Last three years, Long Beach is 33-22 in conference games.
New coach is a former San Diego State assistant.

— Cal-Northridge
Last three years, Matadors are 16-40 in conference games.
Last NCAAs for Northridge: 2009
Since 2015, Matadors are 1-7 in conference tournament games.

— Cal-Riverside
Four years under coach Magpayo, Riverside is 41-26 in Big West games.
Last 20 years, Highlanders are 0-6 in their second Big West tourney game.
Three of last four years, Riverside went WL in conference tourney.

— Cal San Diego
Tritons were 21-12, 15-5 LY, their 4th year as a Division I team.
Tritons led San Diego State by 14 with with 7:36 left last December, lost 63-62; they’re probably a team to watch in this league.

— Cal Santa Barbara
Gauchos won the Big West tournament in 2021 and 2023.
In 7 years under Pasternack, UCSB is 76-41 in conference games.
Last year was his worst year with Gauchos, 16-15, 9-11 in conference.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Friday, October 18

WNBA

Friday, October 18

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games
Minnesota is 18-5 SU in its last 23 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota's last 9 games at home
Minnesota is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games when playing New York

New York Liberty
New York is 2-2-2 ATS in its last 6 games
New York is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games
New York is 10-2-1 ATS in its last 13 games on the road
New York is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York's last 5 games on the road


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