Rangers in bad betting spot

Life has been pretty darn good for manager Ron Washington’s club in 2009. The Los Angeles Angels were everyone’s selection to runaway with the AL West crown, but Texas (30-21, +10.1 units) will have something to say about who is crowned champion this year. They rank fifth in runs scored in baseball and for the most part, their pitching has been decent enough to be in the middle of the road in runs allowed. Texas does have demons and in this battle of two first place teams in the American League, the Rangers are being lassoed by better team.

Texas has frequently had issues with the New York Yankees, dating back to 1998-99, when they lost consecutive postseason series to them. This year, the Bronx Bombers have won three of four and the losses by the Rangers have not been close. Texas has lost by 10, 7 and 9 runs, with the last figure coming last night. After Vincente Padilla was slapped around for seven runs in less than four innings of work, the bullpen came in and made matters worse with New York adding five more runs the rest of the way.

In contrast, two New York relievers pitched two innings and allowed no runs. Though the Yankees bullpen still have troublesome ERA of 5.03, this is far better than the one that was well over six before they helped contribute to skipper Joe Girardi’s club winning 16 of last 20.

New York (31-21, +1.5) is 21-3 in home games with a hot bullpen whose WHIP is under 1.000 the last five games and Andy Pettitte (5-1, 4.10 ERA, 1.461 WHIP) will try to continue to ease the strain on pen. The veteran left-hander has won last three decisions and the team has won the last five times Pettitte was the starter. DiamondSportsbook.com has the Yankees as -170 money line favorites with the total Ov10.5 and they will face a good pitcher in Scott Feldman (4-0, 3.91, 1.180), who is 4-0 with a 2.59 ERA in seven starts after being used out of the bullpen for the first two weeks of the season.

Unfortunately for Feldman and Texas, the odds may be stacked against them with this super situation.

Play Against all underdogs with a money line of +150 or more, after a game where the bullpen was rocked for five or more earned runs, against opponent with a hot bullpen who’s WHIP is under 1.200 the last 10 games.

The logic here is if a team is this large an underdog, they will likely have to go back to the bullpen again, which was just roughed up. Contrast that with the favorite, who has received a number of fine performances of late and we come across a system that delivers winners at the rate of 84.1 percent since 2004 at 58-11.

While there is no truth to the rumor General Motors, in an effort to conserve money wanted to use the new Yankee Stadium for wind-tunnel testing, at least one home run has been hit in all 24 games played there. Most have been hit to right field, but with the lefty Pettitte on the mound, that should curtail unsightly element.

The average margin of victory has been 2.5 runs and this system has been on turbo-charge, winning 30 of last 33. With New York 12-2 vs. a mediocre bullpen whose WHIP is 1.450 to 1.550 this season, this might be the right spot to go against the Rangers.

Trying for Terrific Tuesday

With yesterday’s 0-2 mark, our record of late is 84-56-3, 60 percent on the button. Today is a hard day to wager MLB in my opinion, with many large numbers and underdogs with obvious flaws. The Twins don’t have many flaws in today’s Top Trend. The Best system in is NL and Tim Lincecum will play a role. Paul Buck is back and offers Free Play. Good Luck. By the way, added new feature to bottom of page.

What I learned yesterday -The Yankees played error-free baseball in their 5-2 win at Cleveland, extending their errorless streak to 18 games, a new major-league record. That the Yankees have posted a 14-4 record to move from third place to first during their errorless streak should not be viewed as a coincidence. Over the past two years, since June 1, 2007, they have posted a 131-60 record in games in which they haven't committed an error (.686), compared to a 60-73 mark in games with errors (.451).

Free Baseball System-1) PLAY AGAINST home underdogs (Washington) with a money line of +125 to +175, who score between 4.3 to 4.8 runs a game, against a solid NL starter (ERA of 3.70 or less), after a loss by two runs or less. This sweet system brings home the bacon 81 percent of the time with 51-12 record.

Free Baseball Trend -2) The Minnesota Twins are 13-1 after scoring four runs or less five straight games over the last three seasons.

Free Baseball Selection -3) Paul Buck is 6-2 in last eight plays on the base paths and prefers the Dodgers this evening.

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Penguins' focus is on Game 3, not series

The Pittsburgh Penguins players are saying all the right things, it’s just nobody is listening. The Penguins have had bad luck with unusual bounces, ringing the Detroit goalie cage like it’s a doorbell and outplaying the defending Stanley Cup champions for extended periods of time. One problem, Pittsburgh still trails like they did last year 2-0 after two games in the Finals.

Sidney Crosby has had point blank chances all around the Red Wings net, the problem has been, Detroit bodies have been stacked like logs for a log cabin house, with goalie Chris Osgood acting as insulation.

“I think we outplayed them,” Penguins defenseman Hall Gill said. “Last year, we got outplayed pretty badly.”

Those are the kinds of things you say when you have out-shot the opposition 64 -56 and been outscored 6-2 in the first two contests.

Evgeni Malkin is not the pushover he was last year at this time, however he could hardly be called a force and rightfully should be suspended for Game 3, except for another quick NHL office change. Malkin took out his frustration on Detroit‘s Henrik Zetterberg in the closing seconds of last conflict and should have gotten instigator penalty, which carries an automatic one-game suspension when such an occurrence happen in the last five minutes.

However, this is the NHL, who changed around Finals schedule to increase viewership at the last minute and they offered this as reason. “Suspensions are applied under this rule when a team attempts to send a message in the last five minutes by having a player instigate a fight [or] when a player seeks retribution for a prior incident. Neither was the case here," league disciplinarian Colin Campbell.

Campbell must have watching the Travel Channel if he didn’t believe Malkin wasn’t trying to send a message. You can bet the Phoenix Suns wished Campbell was handing out discipline when Robert Horry deliberately threw Steve Nash into scorers table a couple seasons ago and Suns players came to his rescue, drawing similar automatic suspensions, which was enforced.

Pittsburgh returns home, after what amounts to a four game road trip, where they are 6-2 in the postseason and winners of 10 of last 12. The Penguins acted angry and frustrated and are 9-2 off a loss by two or more goals on the road. They can be as hyped up as they want, but unless netminder Marc-Andre Fleury starts playing like he’s in the Finals, instead of like a member of the New York Islanders, it’s a moot point.

Fleury played very skitterish in opener and was better Sunday, until rookie Justin Abdelkader tossed a half-hearted knuckling shot at Fleury, who swung and missed, giving Detroit a huge two goal lead. While the NBC commentators said the Pittsburgh defensemen should have done a better job (and they should have), this is for the Cup and you NEVER allow such a soft goal, IF you have ambitions of being champions.

The Red Wings are ludicrous 18-3 in last 21 Finals encounters and they have been smarter, more productive and had superior goaltending to this juncture.

The way Detroit plays keep away with the puck, it reminds one of watching taller children playing “keep away” with a ball, with younger and smaller kids chasing them around, hollering at them to give up the ball. This strategy has really paid off at the end of games, when tuckered out Pens defensemen have no legs and makes miscues.

Crosby and company might be 12-1 in home games revenging two straight losses where opponent scored three or more goals, nevertheless Pittsburgh is up against a harrowing situation, as only one of 32 teams have lost first two games on the road and come back to be crowned the champions of hockey and that was 38 years ago when Montreal accomplished the feat.

Pittsburgh is left with little choice other than to place all energy into Game 3, where they are -150 money line favorites with total of 5.5 at DiamondSportsbook.com. Possibly returning to playoff favorites will help Penguins who are 19-5 in that role. It would appear Pitt has to play Over to win and they are 9-2 OVER after three or more consecutive Unders this season.

Despite playing so effectively, Detroit has lost last four games as underdog and will try to maintain playing so controlled and are 10-2 UNDER in road games after allowing two goals or less in four straight tilts.

Amazingly, the Versus Network will have the next two games, starting at 8:05 Eastern in western Pennsylvania, where the Wings have triumphed six of eight times.

Detroit has something to prove

If you’ve been following the American League in 2009, you’ve noticed Boston and New York have played about as expected. Though they had recent losing streak, Toronto is in the mix of good teams in the league and Texas has started surprising well in leading the AL West. One team that gathered few headlines is the Detroit Tigers and that is just fine with skipper Jim Leyland.

After a splashy introduction in 2006, which led to World Series appearance, Detroit and Leyland have misfired the last two seasons with higher expectations. This year, the Tigers sacrificed offense for defense at a couple of positions and their pitching has improved markedly.

Detroit (28-21, +5.8 units) is atop the AL Central, with an offense that still scores plenty of run, totaling 5.2 per game. With a 15-7 record at Comerica Park, these Tigers have had plenty in the tank in scoring six runs per contest at home. Despite missing pitchers like Jeremy Bonderman as starter, others have stepped up like Rick Porcello (6-3, 3.48 ERA, 1.200 WHIP). The 20-year old was the prize of the farm system and after a rocky beginning, the right-hander has settled in and a big reason for Detroit’s early season success.

Porcello throws a fastball, sinker and curve and was 5-0, with 1.50 ERA in May, the first Detroit rookie to win five games in the second month of the season in 55 years. I’ve had a couple of starts now and I’m able to settle in a little better out there and focus. And all the jitters are kind of gone,” Porcello said. “I think I’m getting a little more comfortable with each start.”

Detroit welcomes the challenge of Boston (29-22, +1.2 units) for three game series. The Tigers are 10-1 at home against teams with winning records. This is the final stop on the Red Sox 10-game road trip and they are 3-4 thus far, with an overall 12-16 mark as visitors. That plays to Detroit’s advantage with 6-2 record on home turf versus teams with losing road records.

Boston’s offense is as potent as Detroit’s just not on the road this season. The Red Sox also average 5.2 PRG, but fall off dramatically on the road to 4.4. Manager Terry Francona’s team typically excels versus high scoring teams, with 17-3 record against AL teams scoring 5.2 or more RPG and they are 19-5 on the road after a day off the last three years.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-3, 8.82, 2.237) has not come close to resembling the pitcher Boston fans are used to seeing. Matsuzaka’s control and command has been an issue, walking 10 batters in just over 16 innings, while being hit rather easily, allowing 28 base hits. In his last outing, Matsuzaka uncorked four wild pitches. He is 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA in four career starts against Detroit; including his only career complete game.

DiamondSportsbook.com has Tigers as -129 money line favorites, with total Un9.5. When Matsuszaka is in typical form, Boston is 10-1 UNDER on the road when the total is 8.5 to 10 since last season. The Red Sox have taken last 22 of 31 Game 1’s, but are only 1-4 as recent underdog. Detroit has flourished as favorites with 13-3 mark and is 15-3-1 UNDER off a victory.

This matchup starts at 7:05 Eastern and is available to be seen in local markets. This is first meeting between these clubs in 2009, with Detroit 4-3 the last couple of years hitting with the last at bat.

Let's start June with Winners

The Pittsburgh Pirates can’t hit Mike Hampton (they are about the only ones) over his career, which gave us a 1-2 Sunday. Today will have just two official plays, with Best System just missing as qualifier, but very strong totals play. Top Trend is unbeaten and Jason looks to carry weekend success into the start of the week. Good Luck. By the way, added new feature to bottom of page.

What I learned yesterday- Adrian Gonzalez hit his 20th home run of the season in the Padres 5-2 win at Colorado. After Gonzalez led the National League with nine home runs in April, he hit an NL-high 11 homers in May. Gonzalez is the first player to lead the National League in home runs (either tied or outright) in both April and May (of the same season) since Mark McGwire in 1998.

Free Baseball System-1) PLAY UNDER the total is 7 to 8.5, with a marginal losing team like Seattle (46 to 49 win percentage) who is playing a losing team, playing on Monday. This system just falls short of qualifying at 79.5 percent, with a swell 35-9 record since 2004.

Free Baseball Trend -2) The Dodgers are 10-0 when playing against a crummy team with 38 to 46 win percentage.

Free Baseball Selection -3) Jason hit six of seven MLB plays over the weekend and taking the Mets as his best bet today.

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Yankees favored in Cleveland Monday

The New York Yankees go for the series win in game number four against Cleveland, trying to maintain lead over Boston for first place in the American League East. New York came back from a four run deficit Sunday, thanks to Mark Teixeira’s four runs batted in. Teixeira now has a 13-game hitting streak, off a bad start and is hitting .400 (22 for 55) with eight homers and 20 RBIs during his streak.

However, a lead off walk by reliever Phil Coke ended up setting the table for Cleveland’s Jhonny Peralta, who drove in the winning run with his third hit of the day giving the Indians a 5-4 walk-off win.

The Yankees (29-21, -0.5 units) will turn to Joba Chamberlain (2-1, 3.97 ERA) looking for the series win, after winning first two contests. The young right-hander had another shaky start in his last outing Tuesday at Texas, allowing three runs over four innings with four walks. Chamberlain has ERA of 10.00 in the first inning this season in his nine starts. “Plain and simple, I was terrible,” he said. “I’ve got to do a better job of keeping the team in the game.”

New York has won the last six times they have played in Game 4 of a series and they have captured 14 of last 18 tilts during this run. With Chamberlain on the mound, the Yanks are 8-2 against teams with losing records and 13-4 when favored.

Cleveland (22-30, -8.8) will counter Jeremy Sowers (1-2, 7.71) who returns to the starting rotation. Sowers was dreadful with 0-2 record and 12.00 ERA, in two spot starts in May. He redeemed himself in part last Monday, tossing five scoreless innings in relief, in unfathomable 11-10 win against Tampa Bay. That was the left-hander’s first career stint out of the bullpen.

Sowers and the Tribe are 1-6 when he starts the game versus a team with winning record.
The early line from DiamondSportsbook.com has New York as -160 money line favorites with the total Un10. The Bronx Bombers are 7-1 against lefty starters, with matching record on the road if total is between 9 and 10.5 runs. Cleveland, despite their troubles this campaign, is 10-4 as home underdogs, though 6-15 in that role if Sowers is pitcher.

The Yankees are 7-3-1 OVER when Chamberlain toes the rubber and the Indians are 20-7 OVER as underdogs. It should be noted, nine of last dozen at Progressive Field between these teams have gone UNDER.

This is ESPN contest, which starts at 7:05 Eastern and if you follow baseball on the days of the week, New York is 5-13 in last 18 Monday affairs and the Tribe are 11-4 on the first day of the work week.

Trying to stay HOT on Sunday afternoon

Extra sweet 3-0 day, being very lucky here and personally, winning by half-point on total of Cavs and Magic. Only one system climbed to 80 percent and it is listed at 3Daily Winners. Have a double trend for the same division matchup this afternoon. Sal will look to add to his bulging bankroll with Free play. Good Luck. By the way, added new feature to bottom of page.

What I learned yesterday- Dwight Howard scored 40 points and collected 14 rebounds in the Magic's 103-90 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 6, propelling Orlando into the NBA Finals. Only one other player in NBA history had 40 points and 14 rebounds in a victory that put his team into the Finals; that was Charles Barkley, who had 44 points and 24 rebounds in the Suns Game 7 win over the Seattle in the 1993 Western Conference Finals.

Free Baseball System-1) PLAY AGAINST road teams like Washington who are average NL offensive team scoring 4.3 to 4.8 runs game, against a awful starting pitcher with ERA of 5.70 or worse, with a very bad bullpen whose ERA is 5.00 or worse on the season. This system has clocked in at 32-8, 80 percent.

Free Baseball Trend -2) Kevin Millwood and Texas are 9-0 in home games when playing against a team with win percentage of 38 to 46 percent since 2007 and Oakland is 3-17 in road games after a loss by 10 runs or more. (If it’s wrong, I will not be counting as two losses)

Free Baseball Selection -3) Sal has knocked down quite a few winners here and is 18-7 since Tuesday and likes Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Saturday Selections

Nice to knockdown two out of three winners, taking us to 81-52-3, 60.9 percent. Have a rare NBA system this time of year, however at 84.6 percent, difficult to ignore. Top notch Trend going in the NL East and Sal tries to deliver another winner with Free Play. Good Luck. By the way, added new feature to bottom of page.

What I thought yesterday- The NHL really screwed up the Stanley Cup Finals. Back to back games, three games and four days and four games in six days. Games three and four won’t even be televised on major network (Versus). Commish Gary Bettman should be fired on this alone.

Free Basketball System-1) PLAY OVER when the total is between 190 to 199.5 points in the sixth game of a playoff series. (22-4, 84.6 percent L13Y)

Free Baseball Trend -2) Josh Johnson and the Florida Marlins are 13-1 against NL East rivals.

Free Baseball Selection -3) Sal stays hot and backs Detroit Tigers with Justin Verlander pitching.

Holy Craps! How a Gambling Grandma Broke the Record

By Claire Suddath from Time.com

Friday, May. 29, 2009

It sounds like a homework problem out of a high school math book: What is the probability of rolling a pair of dice 154 times continuously at a craps table, without throwing a seven?

The answer is roughly 1 in 1.56 trillion, and on May 23, Patricia Demauro, a New Jersey grandmother, beat those odds at Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. Demauro's 154-roll lucky streak, which lasted four hours and 18 minutes, broke the world records for the longest craps roll and the most successive dice rolls without "sevening out."

According to Stanford University statistics professor Thomas Cover, the chances of that happening are smaller than getting struck by lightning (one in a million), being hit by an errant ball at a baseball game (one in 1.5 million) or winning the lottery (one in 100 million, depending on the game).So, how did it happen?

On Saturday, Denville native Demauro and her friend John Capra decided to indulge their yen to bet. Their Atlantic City jaunt began innocuously enough, with Demauro, only a casual casinogoer, planting herself in front of a penny slot machine on the Borgata floor and Capra going off to try his hand at three-card poker.By 8 p.m., a few hours later, Demauro had grown tired of the slots.

She ventured into the poker room to collect her friend, who was losing money. He offered to show her how to play craps. Of the 14 available craps tables, they sidled up to the nearest one and waited for the three other players to finish rolling. Capra shot next, but sevened out quickly.

Then, he handed Demauro the dice. Craps is known as the world's most common dice game and it is played, with varying rules and sizes of table, in virtually every casino on the planet. Craps is a game of chance rather than skill, and with a low house advantage — around 1.4%, which makes it harder to beat than blackjack but easier than roulette — even novices can win. That is, if they're lucky.

According to the casino, Demauro started her roll at 8:13 p.m. She bought into the game with $100 and when the orange-colored dice came around to her, she rubbed her hands together and let them fly.

Demauro says she had played craps only once before, and being an inexperienced better, followed Capra's advice when placing bets. A craps turn begins with an initial or "come out" roll, in which the player tries to establish a "point number" — that is, when the dice add up to four, five, six, eight, nine or 10. Once that happens, the player must roll the point again before throwing a seven, which is statistically the most likely outcome on a pair of dice.

If the player rolls a seven before the point, the turn ends. As soon as Demauro hit her point number (eight), people started betting. She says the game moved so fast after that, she couldn't really keep up. "There are all these terms I didn't know," Demauro says. "People were yelling out 'Yo.'" I said to John, 'What's "yo?"' I think that's an 11."The table filled up and a throng of spectators gathered. Demauro rolled double sixes, hard fours, snake eyes, every possible combination of the dice. Some people called out requests and Demauro managed to fulfill them.

Players from the nearby blackjack table came over to watch, and then came the casino executives, or as she describes them, "men in dark suits." Demauro and her audience knew they would never witness anything like this again.

"There was a woman there, and we happened to catch each other's eyes," Demauro says, "She smiled at me, and I smiled and said, 'I don't know how to play the game.'"Although there is no official organization that keeps track of gambling world records, a number of clubs record significant dice rolls.

Before Demauro's, the longest craps roll lasted three hours and six minutes — accomplished at a Las Vegas casino in 1989, with 118 rolls. And according to gambling expert and author of Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos, Frank Scoblete, the highest number of successive dice rolls was 147, thrown by a man operating under the pseudonym the "Captain" in 2005. The average number of dice rolls before sevening out? Eight.

Given the rules of the game, there are any number of ways to achieve 154 consecutive rolls without crapping out, though all of them are highly unlikely. Unlikely but not impossible.

Stanford's Cover explains: "Let's say we have a million gamblers trying a thousand events at any one time. That's a billion different rolls of craps." Out of a billion different games, the probability of getting an event that special is reduced to one in 1,000.

"It's not out of the realm of possibility," he says.

Demauro declined to reveal how much money she won, but gambling experts estimate that if she made good bets, her winnings were probably in the hundreds of thousands; expert bets would have put them in the millions. Demauro and Capra spent the rest of their holiday weekend in Atlantic City, and even returned to the same craps table two nights later — but only as spectators.

"The expectations were too high," she says. "I wasn't ready to be the shooter again."Once the shock of her good fortune wears off, however, she says she'll try throwing the dice again. After all, sometimes lightning strikes twice.

Can Orlando closeout Cleveland at home?

From sweaty t-shirts printed, to songs from Cold World and Non Phixion, the story is all the same – Refuse to Lose. That is what the Cleveland Cavaliers did at home and they live to play again in Game 6 in Orlando. The chief architect was a familiar face, LeBron James and while he deserves the king’s share of credit, he hardly did it by himself this time.

The focus on news outlets was James triple-double; however this time he had comrades in arms, who were ready to seize the moment. LeBron was also helped by the fact his coach Mike Brown, made adjustments prior to the game, which kept the Magic off-balance and could play into how long this Eastern Final continues.

Cleveland started the game with best ball movement of the series, having all five players on the floor involved and it paid immediate dividends with both Mo Williams and Delonte West making shots and restoring their confidence. Of course with Orlando, take nothing for granted and by halftime, the Cavaliers 17-point lead had melted faster than a Disney snow cone in June, with Cleveland up by just a single point after 24 minutes.

The third quarter was back and forth, with Orlando showing why they were 17-4 ATS playing as underdog coming into Game 5 and held slim one digit lead after three quarters.

With Cleveland 6-1 ATS in last seven games after breaking century mark in points, it was James will that did not allow his team to lose. After receiving much credit for guarding LeBron well, Orlando’s Mickael Pietrus more resembled Wally Szczerbiak trying to contain James. When LeBron needed to score he did, when he needed to find open shooter, he did and this time his teammates responded.

Coach Brown added a new offense wrinkle that widened the area James had at the top of the key, giving him more freedom to roam than a person wanting breakfast at dinner time at IHOP. This spacing prevented effective Orlando double-teams and set up Cleveland shooters to “walk into” shots in rhythm. Because of how effective this adjustment worked, coach Ron Jeremy, whoops, Stan Van Gundy will have to come up with an answer to counter, otherwise this series heads back to Cleveland.

The Cavaliers are 8-0 ATS in road games after failing to cover four of their last five contests against the spread since 2007, winning by almost six points a game (5.8). Coach Brown and James, have their fingers crossed the Cavs guards have rediscovered shooting touch and reserve Daniel Gibson can come off the bench and supply double digits again. Cleveland is a two-point underdog at DiamondSportsbook.com, with a total of 193, easily the highest of the series. The Cavs are 14-4 ATS after scoring 110 points or more and seemed resigned to the fact they have to outscore Orlando, rather than out-defend them.

This will be the Magic’s second opportunity in the postseason to clinch series at Amway Arena, having failed in same spot against Boston. Orlando is 10-1 ATS at home after a loss by 10 points or more and 14-2 against the spread in downtown Orlando after allowing 110 points or more two straight games. The Magic will have to bring sterner defense, as Cavs shot 50 percent from the field and the three-balls. Dwight Howard needs more than 10 attempts and he has to be more assertive on offensive glass then snagging three boards.

Rashard Lewis can’t be so passive and Rafer Alston can’t miss nine of 10 shots. Coach Van Gundy must talk about ball movement, since Orlando had as many assists (12) as LeBron did.

Game 6 should be fascinating on TNT starting at 8:35 Eastern and totals players; here is a sterling system to consider - Play OVER when the total is between 190 to 199.5 points in the sixth game of a playoff series. (22-4, 84.6 percent L13Y)

Stanley Cup Final Preview

The NHL powers that be in their haste to capitalize on good television ratings and unique rematch, more or less screwed up the Stanley Cup Finals. They were originally scheduled for long break after Detroit and Pittsburgh clinched early, starting on Friday June 5. Instead, the teams will play back to back games this weekend, three games in four days and four games in six days, all before the original start of the series.

Detroit, the defending Cup champions, can’t help but feel the league is against them. The Red Wings have more nagging ailments than a wing at a retirement home.

"We're not happy, I have to be honest," Wings GM Ken Holland told ESPN.com from his office Thursday. "We're disappointed that we haven't had an extra day's rest. It's a double-whammy, the quick turnaround and back-to-back games [to open the finals]. We're disappointed because we think when you win a series in five games or less, that you have earned an opportunity to have a few more days of rest.”

This should provide emotional fuel for Detroit, who still has the most depth of any NHL team and it will be tested against younger and hungry Pittsburgh team. For both teams the schedule is set, thus you have to win four contests to be Stanley Cup champions, even if the league set up doubleheaders.

This is the first rematch from the prior season in 25 years and the parallels are eerie. A young Edmonton team, led by Wayne Gretzky, had been handled by a veteran New York Islanders squad who had dominated play for a number of years. The Oilers learned their lessons and came back and defeated the Isles the following season and set on their own journey.

Pittsburgh, led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, are trying to do much the same thing. This duo has been the dominant force in this year’s postseason, totaling 56 points. Both struggled in last year’s Finals, especially Malkin, and each seeks redemption. The Penguins are also receiving contributions from players like Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko, making them especially dangerous.

One big difference for Pittsburgh is maturity level, they have played with more purpose and everyone is doing a superb job forechecking, which has led to numerous scoring chances. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will give up a couple of soft goals, but has been resolute in not letting it bother him and he’s turned back many difficult shots and is in Cup Finals again. Pittsburgh has won 24 of last 33 games against teams with winning records.

Detroit is banged up and is expecting to have defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom back. How close to full strength he and the other walking wounded will be is anyone’s guess, however this is for the Stanley Cup and there is a great deal of pride involved when your team has won four of last 11.

Pittsburgh does not have anyone like Johan Franzen or Marian Hossa who can causes real headaches for Penguins defense. Neither has been special in the playoffs, though wholly capable. The Hossa situation is a delicious subplot, since he walked away from a better long-term contract offer with Pittsburgh last season, to play for Detroit. He basically thumbed his nose at the Penguins, believing the Red Wings were a better team. Though opinions vary about his decision, Detroit is still 54-18 in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last three seasons.

In the name of Gump Worsley, let’s stop all this nonsense about how good is Chris Osgood. All he does is set up the last line of defense of what has been the best team in hockey for a decade. Does he sometimes falter during the regular season, no doubt. If he wasn’t an elite goaltender, he wouldn’t be in net, period.

Detroit is a -150 money line choice to take the first game on home ice, with total Un5.5. The Red Wings have won 16 of last 19 games in the Finals and are 42-9 at Joe Louis after playing at home. Pittsburgh is 9-3 as road underdog of +110 to +150 and is 11-4 as visitor after scoring three or more goals in three consecutive games. The teams split a pair of meetings, each winning on the others home ice.

As far as the series is concerned, Detroit is -145 favorite. If completely healthy, the Red Wings are the best team in hockey. However, they are not and the league did them no favors in setting up schedule this way. Detroit is not nearly as good a defensive team as last year, surrendering 60 more goals during the regular season. With Pittsburgh at the top of their game and their dynamic duo hungry and more forceful, the Penguins are well-positioned. To date, have 11-3 record in selecting series winners and will back Pittsburgh to be crowned champions.

Pick- Pittsburgh (+125) in six

Series odds from DiamondSportsbook.com

Plays for the last Friday in May

Split a pair yesterday and nod to the LCC on Baltimore, never would have thought they would beat the Tigers. Sal returns with a Free Play, which is in the American League. The Padres are in ticklish situation in a backwards way for Top Trend. The Halos are in 35-6 system against Seattle this evening. Good Luck. By the way, added new small feature at bottom of the page.

What I learned yesterday- Before defeating the Rays today, 2-1, Cleveland had lost the last 29 games in which it scored two or fewer runs, which was the longest current losing streak of that type in the major leagues heading into play on Thursday.

Free Baseball System-1) PLAY ON home favorites with a money line of -125 to -175, who are average AL offensive team totaling 4.7 to 5.2 runs per game, against a descent starter (4.20 or less ERA), after a combined score of four runs or less. The L.A. Angels the team that fits this description for system that is 35-6, 85.4 percent.

Free Baseball Trend -2) Chris Young and San Diego are 0-7 in road games vs. an NL team with a team batting average of .250 or worse over the last three seasons.

Free Baseball Selection -3) Sal likes Texas to win Game 2 of their doubleheader against Oakland tonight.

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L.A. Lakers stir pot, try to chew up Nuggets

It turned out to be true; Kobe Bryant of the Lakers really does have teammates that want to win and are willing to put forth the effort to do so. Because Kobe finally was comforted with company, Los Angeles is within one game of return trip to NBA Finals, though not without a little controversy along the way, which makes for good playoff fodder.

An anonymous member of the Denver Nuggets told the Denver Post, "The Lakers paid $50,000 to win that game," he said. "They got their money's worth." He was referring to 25 grand in fines David Stern’s minions handed out to coach Phil Jackson and the Lakers organization for comments after Game 4.

Denver’s George Karl lamented essentially, the squeaky wheel gets taken care of and the Lakers got the benefit of calls for critical Game 5. Evidently Karl has no sense of history, since this coaching showmanship has gone on since Eddie Gottlieb’s Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Chicago Staggs to win first ever NBA title in 1947.

Having watched the entire game with no sound (don’t ask, just trust it made sense to me), I never got the sense the officiating was one-sided. I did however take note that Denver stopped taking the ball to the rim in the fourth quarter and was 5 for 21 shooting in last 12 minutes. I also noticed the strong interior defense of Denver completely fell apart in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers ran screens to set up isolation plays and scored six baskets that I recall within three feet of basket.

The first 17 minutes of the game was played like any regular season game, as neither team was emotionally involved, until both teams had manufactured exciting dunks, which revved up the crowd and the emotions of players.

Lamar Odom, showed why he can be the difference between L.A. being among the best teams, to NBA champs when he adds 19 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. Derek Fisher tossed in a dozen points and though he saw limited minutes, Andrew Bynum contributed when on the floor. In fact, the Lakers bench outscored the Denver reserves 34-26, which is telling, with final margin of victory nine points.

Denver is 17-7 ATS revenging a road loss and is backed into corner. The Nuggets never matched the same intensity they had the first two games in La-La Land, even as they built seven-point lead midway thru the third quarter. This was proven as they had no answer to blunt Lakers rush that saw them run off 23 of next 28 points to wrestle control of contest. The Lakers finally challenged Karl’s troops with unfamiliar style, playing intense defense.

The Lakers enter Game 6 as 5.5-point underdogs and are 8-3 ATS when DiamondSportsbook.com or another oddsmaker places them in that position. Only one game has exceeded the total in West Finals and Los Angeles is 9-1 UNDER in conference finals. Denver is 7-0 against the number off a straight up loss and is 8-1 ATS as home favorites. Of the last 12 games the Nuggets have played against winning teams, 10 have gone UNDER the number.

It’s do-or-die for Carmelo Anthony and mates, and as the Lakers have shown, they don’t necessarily have the killer instinct to polish off opponent. If should be quite an atmosphere at the Pepsi Center, with Denver trying to avoid falling to 3-11 ATS when trailing in playoff series and head back to downtown Los Angeles for Sunday showdown.

MLB Series Betting- Red Sox at Blue Jays

The heavy sigh emitting out of the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse is one of relief. Though everything is far from perfect, it’s nice to be home after a road trip that was as bad as it gets. On May 19, Toronto embarked on nine-game road trip, with 3 1/2 game lead in the AL East. After visits to Boston, Atlanta and Baltimore, the Blue Jays limped home 0-9 and in third place. The offense deserves most of the blame scoring 13 runs in first eight games. When the bats finally awoke, the bullpen couldn’t hold a five-run lead in the eighth inning in Baltimore and blew a two-run lead in extra innings in the same game. Manager Cito Gaston was relieved his club was off on Thursday, "I think it's going to be a welcome thing for all of us to get away from the game for a day and come back and pick up on Friday," said Gaston.

Boston earned a split in Minnesota, with 3-1 afternoon victory Thursday, to start 10-game road trip 2-2. "(Playing) .500 baseball on the road is pretty good," Jeff Bailey said. "If you can get above of that, it's excellent. It's a good thing -- especially coming off two straight losses -- to get that win." This allowed Boston to have half-game lead over New York for first place in the AL East.

The Red Sox have had their problems are artificial turf and are 11-23 on the fake stuff the last couple of years. Toronto is ninth in on-base percentage with .353 average and Boston is 18-4 vs. an AL team with an on base percentage of .345 or better this season. The Red Sox will start Tim Wakefield (6-2, 3.99) in the opener, who is 17-11 lifetime against the Jays with 3.68 ERA. DiamondSportsbook.com has Boston and their knuckle-baller as -114 money line favorites, with a total of Un10 and they are 16-7 OVER as a favorite of -110 or higher since last season.

Toronto counters with Casey Janssen (0-1, 4.50 ERA), who started six days ago and had a solid game, which was his first big league outing since 2007. He pitched six innings and allowed three runs after returning from torn labrum he suffered to pitching shoulder in March 2008. The Jays are 20-7 in home games after allowing eight runs or more, which they did in 12-10 loss to Orioles two days ago.

Game 1 Edge: Boston

This will be the first game of the day on Saturday, with just after 1:00 Eastern start and Toronto has won 11 of last 15 games on this day of the week. The Blue Jays coming into the series being one the best home team’s in baseball with 16-6 record, picking up +8 units of profit. Toronto has also enjoyed playing in the daytime with 14-5 record. They will start Brian Tallet (2-3, 4.31), who is a career reliever, forced into action with depleted starting staff. He’s pitched well in seven of eight starts and the left-hander has been much tough on right-hand batters who are hitting only .190 against him (lefty’s .270). He’s also pitched much better at the Rogers Centre with 2.66 ERA.

Brad Penny (5-1, 5.96) has a very good record, which doesn’t explain how poorly he has pitched, with ERA more indicative of efforts, coupled with a great deal of luck. In Penny’s nine starts, Boston batters have averaged 6.4 runs per game. He could be the beneficiary of more run support with the BoSox 10-3 versus left-hand starters.

Game 2 Edge: Boston

The series concludes with a battle of young port-siders going head to head. Boston’s Jon Lester (3-5, 6.07) has been a disappointment, continually finding too much of the plate and getting the ball up, as teams are hitting .307 against him this season. His ERA is over seven on the road, though he is 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA in six career starts against the Blue Jays. Ricky Romero (2-1, 3.08) is the Toronto hurler and the 24-year old is known as more of ground ball pitcher. In 26 1/3 innings, he has better than 3-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. Like most young pitchers, he throws much better at home, with 1.38 ERA. Romero generates fastball in the low-90’s, with a good curve. He’ll have to keep his wits about him, since the Red Sox come north of the border 10-3 OVER against lefties on the road.

Game 3 Edge: Toronto

Everything would seem to favor Boston in this series, having better pitchers facing a slumping team. The Red Sox pitchers haven’t exactly performed well and the Toronto pitchers have been much more effective on home turf. These teams have split last 18 contests at the Rogers Centre, thus expect a hotly-contested series, especially with Blue Jays having been swept. In the end, the Red Sox record against left-hander starters and having better bullpen make the difference.

DiamondSportsbook.com series odds: Boston -125, Toronto -105

3DW Edge Pick: Boston

2009 Record – 2-4

Thursday May 28 action and wife's birthday

You get knocked down and you get right back up, which is what we did yesterday with 3-0 day. Not much to choose from today, which is why Sal is passing; however LLC bettors have a curious, in my opinion, selection, which won’t be official Free play. Top Trend looks at Game 5 in the East and Best System is on the base paths at 48-11 since 2004. Good Luck.

What I learned yesterday- Johan Santana allowed three runs in six innings in the Mets win. That snapped a streak of 14 consecutive home starts in which he did not allow more than two runs, tying the longest such streak by any pitcher in baseball's "modern era" (i.e. since 1900). Doc White (1905-06 White Sox) and Ed Reulbach (1906-07 Cubs) also had 14-start streaks at home.

Free Baseball System-1) PLAY AGAINST road underdogs like Atlanta with a money line of +100 or higher, who are batting .200 or worse over their last three games, against opponent with a hot starting pitcher with WHIP of 1.000 or less over his last five starts. This is the only quality system on a short sked, which is 48-11, 81.4 percent.

Free Basketball Trend -2) The Orlando Magic are 13-1 ATS in last 14 contests with Cleveland.

Free Baseball Selection -3) Sal doesn’t like anything today, but five of seven Left Coast Connection members prefer Baltimore for some reason tonight.

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Inhospitable home MLB teams

Its happened to all of us, we are invited over someone’s home as a guest and the place is set up as a palace. The entire house looks like out of magazine, where everything is perfect. If you have or did have children visiting this palatial estate, your body temperature just rose about three degrees, thinking about how you are going to keep your kids in tow, without messing up beautiful setting. You know you are in conundrum when the host gives you coasters, before they ask you what you want to drink.

This happens to be how many major league baseball teams feel when they have to play at certain ballparks. Though they can spit and spill drinks, more often than not, they are ill-equipped to do their job as visitors, win in opposing parks.

Sometimes, teams are just superior and the park has nothing to do with it. Other times there are quirks, which intimidate opponents and make them feel unsettled. Whatever the rationale, it works for these teams that take the field first and have the last at bat. Here is what clubs have enjoyed the home cookin’ and been downright rude to guests.

At the top of the list are the Los Angeles Dodgers at 18-5, garnering +10.8 units of profit, after record start of 13-0. Dodger Stadium has always been known as pitchers’ park, with the heavy air for most evening encounters. Most of the time when the Dodgers are at their best, they are able to put together a potent offensive team. Los Angeles is tied with Tampa Bay with the most productive offense in the majors at 5.7 runs per game and they are second in the National League behind Colorado at home. The Dodgers have been lambasting teams wearing the home whites, winning by 2.5 runs per contest, thanks to balanced line-up that is not feeling the affects of Manny Ramirez’s suspension. Orlando Hudson and Casey Blake have been stripen’ the horsehide and Juan Pierre has made the most of his chance to play for Manny, batting almost .400 this season.

If there is one shocking team to be among the best in baseball at home, it is the San Diego Padres. The Friars were supposed to be among the worst teams in baseball, lacking talent at most positions and having to rebuild bullpen as cash-strapped club. For some reason, the people that designed ballparks in San Diego, like them to have outfield expanse similar to the Grand Canyon. This alone keeps scores down and add in the heavy marine air at Petco Park, which is situated not far from Pacific Ocean, well you get the picture. Though the offense has been as sorry as presumed in scoring 3.7 RPG at home, the pitching has looked like the 1969 Mets. The Padres are 17-6 (+10.3) at Petco, presently holding a 10-game winning streak. No team in baseball allows fewer runs at home than San Diego at 3.2 per contest and while Jake Peavy and Chris Young are the known quantities, it is a bullpen that has ERA of 2.20 (over six on the road) at home that has allowed the Pads to manufacture just enough runs to win home games.

Another team that plays to its park is Boston, who is 17-6 (+7.9) at Fenway Park this season. The Red Sox fans are right on top of the action at the venerable ball yard and create intimidation factor when the opposing batter has two strikes or pitcher is in challenging spot, if Boston has rally emerging. Talent of course is the number one factor and this team has evolved from one that used to just swing to beat the ball off Green Monster, to one that takes advantage of the deeper parts of center and right-center or left-handed hitters that jack the ball down the short right field porch. Playing the Red Sox on the run line is effective method of wagering, since they win by two runs per game and are 13-4 at home in games determined by two or more runs.

One of the early surprises in the first quarter of the MLB season has been the Toronto Blue Jays. A miserable road trip has dropped the Blue Jays out of the AL East lead, but when they return home to Rogers Centre, Toronto will try to pick up where they left off with 16-6 record (+8 units). The most notable factor about the Jays playing at home is the pitching and defense. The RC is fairly neutral ballpark, however no team in the American League surrenders fewer runs than the Jays at home (3.9). Having Roy “Doc” Halladay at the top of the rotation is a benefit to pitching staff that was riddled with injuries to start the season. With so many youngsters forced into action, like most youthful hurlers, they are more comfortable at home. The team ERA is over 1.50 lower at home and the offense picks up, scoring 5.2 RPG and ranking fifth in home park home runs among the 30 competing teams.

How will these four teams be playing by the All-Star break, nobody knows for sure, nonetheless, for the present, each club deserves our attention as possible Play On squad when playing on own diamond.

Cleveland Cavs and backers in search of answers

It’s not a great time to be a Cleveland basketball fan, because what looked like a return to the NBA Finals is in serious jeopardy. The Cavaliers situation has everything to do with what is taking place on the court, not preconceived notions. Cleveland may have one of the two best players in basketball; however their team is not as good as Orlando’s. The margin of difference is not dramatic, but it is enough to matter and Cleveland backers have four losing wagering tickets to prove it in this series.

So what have been the differences to this point, let’s examine.

Orlando plays an unusual style of offense; basically they have Dwight Howard as only true post player, surrounded by four perimeter players. Howard, though limited in offensive moves, has superior strength over Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao and its laughable to suggest Ben Wallace would do better job than either of those two. Howard has had his way in the paint and uses his quickness to snatch offensive rebounds and have put-backs.

When Cleveland decides to double-team Howard, this leaves open the Magic’s array of shooters, who either can make medium or long distance shots, or drive to the basket thru open lanes created by doubling-down on Howard. It is clear the Cavs players are much more comfortable double-teaming within 5-15 feet range, as compared to being spread out like Orlando forces them to do at greater distances. This leaves coach Mike Brown with a real dilemma, either drink the poison or be injected with it.

Though Mo Williams and Delonte West are normally reliable shooters, they have not been in this series, not even close. This was never more evident than in Game 4, when the Cavaliers where moving the ball crisply and players that were able to get into the teeth of Orlando defense were kicking out passes to Williams and West and neither looked like they could make a shot if the basket was 2-feet larger in diameter. West to his credit worked on isolation matchups and was effective on the block in postup situations. Unfortunately, this twosome was gruesome 0-6 beyond the arc.

Cleveland returns home, where they are 44-3 (31-16 ATS), with one of the losses coming in the East Finals. As mentioned previously, one of the most difficult challenges for a sports bettor to overcome is believing what you are seeing and letting go of paradigms. Though Cleveland had the best regular season record and breezed thru first two rounds, they were 2-8 ATS versus teams that had 70 percent or higher win percentage during the regular season and four more losses have been added during this series.

Because Orlando had never accomplished much in the postseason, they were fairly easy to dismiss going up against Cleveland. The fact is the Magic are 32-18 SU and ATS on the road and though they were hammered a couple times in the postseason, to be that strong as a visitor speaks to the team’s true value.

Also, matchups are important and seeing Orlando is 10-4 and 13-1 ATS against the Cavaliers, this proves they have the physical and physiological edge.

DiamondSportsbook.com has Cleveland as 7.5-point favorite with total of 190. For the Cavs to force Game 6 and beyond, they have to have starters play as they have all season. Orlando has gone through shooting droughts and still managed to make enough baskets to matter, Cleveland has not. The Cavs need to find help off the bench as well, since they are being buried by Magic reserves. Cleveland is 13-2 ATS off a road loss and 17-6 against the spread if it was three points or less.

Cleveland has too often talked, instead of played in this series. Even coach Brown is living in make-believe land. “This is about as even of a series as you can ask for. They’ve just made one or two plays down the stretch more than us. But I still feel the confidence, I still feel the togetherness and I still feel like we have a chance to win this,” Brown said. Coach, I hope you know this, but it is those one or two critical plays in games that make the difference between wins and losses and your team isn’t making them, no matter how much you love each other.

Though Orlando won’t discuss it, they are 9-1 ATS off two or more consecutive home wins this season and teams with 3-1 leads in NBA playoffs are 182-8 in league history to finish off series as winners.

The action continues on TNT starting at 8:35 Eastern.

Climbing up the hump on Hump Day

Got punched in the mouth but good yesterday with 0-3 record. It was one of those days you felt it coming, since I missed both personal wagers, and if I would have been real smart, would have passed yesterday all together. But this blog is about information and sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. In our last 127 plays we are 75-50-3, 60 percent. We come right back to same series for Best System that is 62-9, none too shabby. Heading to the ice for Top Trend, wondering if Red Wings close out series? Sal off a sharp day, can he keep it up with Free play, check it out. Good Luck.

What I learned yesterday- Zack Grienke allowed six hits in a complete-game 6-1 victory over the Tigers, raising his ERA to 0.84 in 10 starts this season. Greinke is only the third pitcher in the live-ball era to compile an ERA below 1.00 over his first 10 starts in a season. The others were Hoyt Wilhelm (0.83 in 1959) and Juan Marichal (0.59 in 1966).

Free Baseball System-1) This system is hybrid version of article listed below about Pale Hose and Halos and it reads this way – PLAY AGAINST underdogs with a money line of +175 to +250, with an on base percentage of .310 or worse over their last 20 games, against opponent with a hot starting pitcher with WHIP of 1.000 or less over his last five starts. This is Jered Weaver and Angles at 62-9, 87.3 percent.

Free Hockey Trend -2) The Detroit Red Wings are 11-0 in home games after playing two games where seven or more total goals were scored.

Free Baseball Selection -3) Sal was 5-0 yesterday and likes Minnesota Twins to series over Boston.

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Hot Sox bats could cool against hot Halos hurler

The Chicago White Sox have found their hitting shoes in Anaheim, totaling 35 hits the last two days against Los Angeles, beating the Angels twice. Though the White Sox are showing strong signs of coming out of slump, this has not been the case recently.

The team from the south side of Chicago prior to leaving for the West Coast, went thru a period where they went 12 consecutive games without registering double digit base hits (longest streak in baseball this season) and 16 of 17 overall. Take away the 17 runs Chicago scored on Monday night and they had totaled a drought-like 3.3 runs per game in 19 of last 20 games.

Chicago will try to become the first team since Kansas City on June 24-27, 2007, to sweep Los Angeles at the Big A in a three-game series. Their task won’t be easy, going up against Jered Weaver (3-2, 2.52 ERA, 1.071 WHIP), who is winless in last three starts.

That is not entirely Weaver’s fault, since he has 2.25 ERA in last three outings and has allowed just 10 runs in last 35 innings of work. In home games, the right-hander has been almost impossible to score on, with 3-0 record and miniscule 1.23 ERA in five starts.

The Angels are -200 money line favorites according to DiamondSportsbook.com, with the total Un9. The Halos are sensational 24-6 after two or more consecutive losses over the last two seasons, playing the White Sox, who are up against a super system.

Play Against road underdogs with a money line of +150 or more, who are batting .250 or worse over their last 20 games, against opponent with a hot starting pitcher, with a WHIP of 1.000 or less over his last five starts.

Since 2004, this is a money-making baseball system with 72-13 record, at 84.7 percent. In recent seasons, this system has performed even better, with 31 wins in 35 tries. Despite winning the first two games of the series, the Pale Hose are 18-33 (-17.2 Units) against the money line after winning three of their last four games and the Angels are 30-10 revenging a loss vs opponent as a home favorite.

Chicago has been unable to solve Weaver’s assortment of pitches, as he is 3-0 with microscopic 0.34 ERA in four starts, all Angels’ wins. Consider this system for money line or run line action.

Denver Nuggets are better team

The title of this article won’t be real popular in L.A., but who cares, as Joe Friday of Dragnet used to say, “Just the facts”. After watching four games between Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers, the truth is in, the Nuggets are better team. That’s doesn’t mean they will win the NBA title, what the heck, it doesn’t even mean they will win this series against the Lake Show, it just means my adjusted 20-15 laser vision can see who the better team is after 16 quarters of professional basketball in the Western Conference Finals.

Denver has more players interested in playing hard than Los Angeles, which is fairly remarkable, since the supposed vision of the Lakers was to make up for losing in last year’s finals to Boston. All season, television talking heads spoke about the new Lakers toughness and the resolve they had, which is a whole lot easier to do against the Clippers, as opposed to mixing it up with Denver.

I’m wondering if the NBA should give up this all-access in game coverage, as NBA coaches are no longer coming off as wizards of the hardwood. It started last year really, when Doc Rivers didn’t so much coach his team, he more implored them to victory. This has followed up with George Karl, telling his team to “stay focused” or “keep playing hard”, not exactly how one pictures Red Auerbach in the huddle talking to his team. With this style of coaching, the only thing missing is pom-poms and “let’s go team”.

Maybe that is how coaches need to talk to their teams, since Phil Jackson has the greatest collection ever of unmotivated players expected to win a NBA title. In watching a portion of Spike Lee’s ESPN thing -John & Kate plus 8 - Kobe style, Bryant talked about the diversity of language spoken by the Lakers. This makes more sense than ever, since communication for motivation purposes is surely lacking for a team that has lost six postseason games by almost 10 points per game.

Maybe Jackson should lower himself to this primitive-method of coaching, since his players are too nonchalant, plus they are less athletic and less talented than their Denver counterparts.
L.A. has not lost two in a row in the playoffs, winning six times by 15 PPG, making bettors pleased with six matching covers.

We’ve all heard how complex the triangle offense is, but is it me or has Kobe given up on teammates, when Lakers need points? The number of assists Bryant has to have in the fourth quarter should be able to be counted on one hand. Besides if the triangle offense is so difficult to understand and execute properly, is Jackson really helping matters playing three different point guards, or does desperation force his hand?

If Derek Fisher didn’t have championship jewelry, retiring right now would be suitable option. Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar, no wonder Kobe is keeping the ball for a team that is 2-8 ATS after being burned for 100 or more points.

Denver’s frontcourt is SO much more active than the Lakers it’s ludicrous. Mark Cuban might have been right about Kenyon Martin being thug, but he’s outplayed Lamar Odom by a mile. Nene has played exceptional position defense on Pau Gasol, whose every touch has been as mechanical as Yao Ming, flustering the Spaniard. If the Denver does win NBA title, Chris “Birdman” Anderson, will be the most requested person on talk show circuit, with people wanting to hear his story of overcoming himself. Phil Jackson would love to look down the bench to find a high effort guy.

The Nuggets have covered like 49 of last 50 games, OK, 21 of last 26, including last six pressure-packed road tilts. Denver, despite playing so well is still volatile. J.R. Smith is loose cannon, as is Martin. Dahntay Jones is not above some chicanery and Denver shot selection can alter games towards the negative.

I checked DiamondSportsbook.com and they opened the Lakers as six-point favorites and Jackson coached teams on the left coast are 15-5 against the spread when series is tied up. Even with the Game 2 loss, L.A. has covered 11 of last 14 at Staples Center against the Nuggies, though I forget, this is different Denver team (wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that since playoffs began).

The Nuggets are 13-5 ATS after scoring 105 or more points and have covered the number is seven of last eight times with one day’s rest.

I’ll probably make a small wager on Denver, because they are the better team and if they really want to prove it, they win Game 5 setting up clincher at Pepsi Center Friday.

Penned by Red Wydley.