wednesday
Bruins vs Blackhawks Game 1 Free Pick
The Stanley Cup finals begin in the Windy City tonight when the Boston Bruins meet the Chicago Blackhawks. This Cup final best of seven series will be centered on the two goalies.
The Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was just a practice player for the Bruins when he watched Tim Thomas lead the Bruins to their last Stanley Cup championship in 2011. Corey Crawford, the Blackhawks goalie, was sitting in the stands when Chicago won their last Cup in 2010. › Continue reading
Athletics vs Rangers Free Pick
The American League West once again is led by the Texas Rangers and today the Rangers play the Oakland Athletics. The Athletics are currently in second place in the division 4 ½ games behind Texas. This is the third and final game of a three game series in Texas and with a win today, the A’s can sweep the Rangers for the first time on the road in a three game set since 2009.
The A’s enter the game with an overall record of 25-22. Oakland has won five straight and 7 of its last 10 overall. The Rangers have a record of 29-17, which is the best record in the American League and second best behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the majors. Texas has lost two consecutive games and is 6-4 in its past 10 games overall. › Continue reading
Thunder vs Grizzlies Free Pick
With just over a dozen games left on the NBA calendar for most teams, the playoffs are on the minds of those teams fighting for their playoff lives or fighting for a better seed. Tonight, two teams destined for the playoffs meet to try to move up in the standings, when the Memphis Grizzlies host the Oklahoma Cowboys.
Memphis has done well the entire season and find themselves in third place in the Western Conference playoff hunt behind second place Oklahoma City by just 4 games and 5 ½ games behind the first place San Antonio Spurs. The Grizzlies have a record of 45-21 straight up and 39-27 against the spread. Memphis has won 7 of its last 10 games overall, is 26-8 at home and 25-15 against conference opponents. › Continue reading
Kansas vs Oklahoma State Free Pick
It just does not get much better than this: two teams facing one another for the second time this season, conference rivals and first place in the conference on the line. Tonight the Kansas Jayhawks visit the Oklahoma State Cowboys in a critical must win game for both schools.
Kansas arrives at this matchup with an overall record of 21-4 straight up and 11-13 against the spread. The Jayhawks have won two straight games after dropping three straight and have a record of 5-2 on the road. › Continue reading
Duke vs North Carolina Free Pick
Duke and UNC square off tonight at 9:00PM EST at Cameron Indoor, Duke University. By all accounts North Carolina is having an off season. They are struggling with most teams in conference and the star players and star coaching have not amounted to much. They are a young team. Duke, on the other hand, has been playing very well this season. Coach K and his veterans are raked #2 in the nation and have been masters of the ACC, except when facing Miami FL, but that is a topic for another article.
Duke is 21-2 and has only lost at Miami and at NC State. They were able to get redemption against NC State the other night when they beat them by 13 points. Miami is coming up on March 2nd. The Blue Devils are lead by Mason Plumlee in scoring (18 ppg) and rebounds (10.7 rpg). › Continue reading
Spurs vs Celtics Free Pick
One of the best teams in the Western Conference heads east to take on the league’s most storied franchise when the San Antonio Spurs travel to Boston to face the Boston Celtics. San Antonio has started the season strong with a record of 8-3 straight up and 6-4-1 against the spread. Boston has started to play better after starting slow and has improved to 6-5 straight up and 3-6-1 against the spread.
On Monday night, San Antonio lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 92-87 and completed a disappointing three game home stand at 1-2. Not only did the Spurs lose the game in the last seconds of play, but they also lost forward Stephen Jackson to injury. He fractured his pinkie on his right hand and will miss between four and six weeks of play. › Continue reading
Tigers vs Royals Free Pick
All but one game has been played in the 2012 major league baseball schedule. Tonight, the regular season ends and 10 teams will proceed to the postseason. In Kansas City, the Detroit Tigers will end their regular season versus the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers have stamped their postseason ticket and will start on Saturday, while Kansas City will ponder another long winter.
The Tigers also have an intriguing event taking place in tonight’s game, as Miguel Cabrera the team’s offensive leader is attempting to win the Triple Crown. The Triple Crown has not been accomplished by any player in the majors for 45 years. The last player to do so was Carl Yastrzemski who did it in 1967 when he led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series where they eventually fell to the St. Louis Cardinals. › Continue reading
Mariners vs Orioles Free Pick August 8 2012
Tonight’s major league matchup at Camden Yards is between two teams headed in opposite directions. The Baltimore Orioles meet the Seattle Mariners in the third and last game of a three game set. Baltimore has a season record of 59-51, has won four consecutive games and is 7-3 over their last 10. Seattle on the other hand, is ten games under .500 with a record of 51-61, has lost three straight and is dead last place in the American League West. Last night the Orioles defeated the Mariners in 14 innings to win their 12th consecutive extra inning game.
Baltimore has played their way back into playoff contention and trails the American League East leading New York Yankees by just 4 ½ games. The Orioles are also in the mix for one of the two wildcard spots. If Baltimore continues to play well, they could qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1997. › Continue reading
Mets vs Giants Free Pick August 1 2012
Tonight in the Bay Area at AT&T Park, the San Francisco Giants take on the New York Mets in the third game of a three game series. The Giants are in first place in the NL West and tried to help their playoff possibilities by picking up Hunter Pence from the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the trade deadline on Tuesday.
Pence has 17 home runs and 59 runs batted in on the season and will provide much-needed power in the Giants lineup that is dead last in home runs with just 62. Pence has played well against the Giants in San Francisco and is expected to do the same for the Giants. He will play in place of Pablo Sandoval who injured a hamstring and will probably hit fifth behind Melky Cabrera and Buster Posey.
In tonight’s game, the Giants will send their pitching ace Matt Cain to the mound. Cain’s record this season is 10-3 with a strong ERA of 2.80. At home, Cain is even stronger. Over his last 13 starts dating back to the 2011 season, Cain is 6-2 at home with an ERA of 2.11. That record could even be better if it were not for the lack of run production his teammates have given him when he pitches at AT&T Park.
New York is struggling having lost 15 of their last 19 games overall and have fallen well behind in the wildcard race. Things need to change quickly for them or their season will be over. The Mets will have Jonathon Niese on the mound tonight against San Francisco. Niese’s season record is 7-5 with a 3.86 ERA. He is 0-2 over his last four appearances, but was 5-1 prior to that in eight previous starts. The southpaw did not pitch well his last time out, giving up 8 runs in six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks losing 11-5.
Tonight’s line has the Giants favored -170 over the Mets +150. The total is sitting at 6.5. Take the Giants to win and the total to make winners of those who like the UNDER.
Orioles vs Mets Free Pick June 20, 2012
The New York Mets host the Baltimore Orioles in the third game of their interleague series tonight at Citi Field. The Orioles own one of baseball’s most feared lineups this season, but thus far, in this series, the pitching for the Mets has silenced their bats.
The Mets will be attempting to sweep the series tonight with a win after taking the first two games. The Mets have had two impressive starts from their top hurlers thus far in the series. The pitching has quieted an Oriole lineup that has 89 home runs and a slugging percentage of .418. However, in the Orioles last five games, the team is batting just .154 and has not hit a home run and produced just nine total runs.
The Mets will send Dillon Gee to the mound. Gee is 4-5 on the season with an ERA of 4.43. In his last four starts he is 0-2 with an ERA of 3.38 but has held opponents to just a .222 batting average. He has received very little offensive support from his teammates who have only plated nine runs in those four starts.
The Orioles will send Brian Matusz to the mound versus the Mets. Matusz is 5-7 on the season with an ERA of 4.94. His interleague career is dismal. In seven interleague starts in his career, Matusz is 0-6 with an ERA of over 7.
Jordany Valdespin, a Mets utility man has hit exceptionally in interleague games this year. Valdespin has 8 hits in 20 at bats including three doubles and one triple. In the five interleague games he has played, he has eight runs batted in as well.
The line on the game has the Mets favored at -130 with the Orioles at +120. The run total is at a lofty 8.5. The Orioles will work themselves out of their hitting funk tonight and send Mets’ pitcher Gee to the showers early. Take the Orioles, with the total paying out to the OVER.