12-10-11

[Mr. IWS]

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[Mr. IWS]

NCAA Football Game Picks

Army vs. Navy

The Black Knights look to take advantage of a Navy team that is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games against teams with a losing record. Army is the pick (+7) according to Dunkel, which has the Midshipmen favored by only 3. Dunkel Pick: Army (+7). Here are all of this week's picks.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10 Time Posted: 6:00 a.m. EST (12/8)

Game 103-104: Army vs. Navy (2:30 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Army 76.150; Navy 79.144 Dunkel Line: Navy by 3; 52 Vegas Line: Navy by 7; 57 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Army (+7); Under

OTHER MAJOR GAMES: Time Posted: 6:00 a.m. EST (12/8)

Game 153-154: Montana State at Sam Houston State (12:00 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Montana State 75.665; Sam Houston State 85.226 Dunkel Line: Sam Houston State by 9 1/2 Vegas Line: No Line Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 155-156: Maine at Georgia Southern (2:00 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Maine 67.697; Georgia Southern 80.154 Dunkel Line: Georgia Southern by 12 1/2 Vegas Line: No Line Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 157-158: Lehigh at North Dakota State (4:00 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Lehigh 73.987; North Dakota State 77.520 Dunkel Line: North Dakota State by 3 1/2 Vegas Line: No Line Dunkel Pick: N/A

OTHER GAMES: Time Posted: 6:00 a.m. EST (12/8)

Grambling State at Alabama A&M (1:00 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Grambling State 50.000; Alabama A&M 53.599 Dunkel Line: Alabama A&M by 3 1/2 Vegas Line: No Line Dunkel Pick: N/A

[Mr. IWS]

Rickenbach
10* Army/Navy Under

[Mr. IWS]

Football Crusher
Play of the Day:

Army + Navy UNDER 58

[Mr. IWS]

Hockey Crusher
Play of the Day:

Anaheim Ducks + Nashville Predators UNDER 5.5

[Mr. IWS]

Basketball Crusher
Play of the Day:

Purdue -24 over Eastern Mich

[Mr. IWS]

Richard Saber Gaming Today

Saturday

Army +7 vs Navy (at Landover, MD): The Black Knights lost their last three off a 3-win season. A little research revealed they have lost Game 12 straight-up the last seven years. The Midshipmen have not done much better, winning four. But, 2 of the last 3 were wins and covers. In fact, Navy has covered in all four victories. Also, the Middies are 10-2 ATS in Game 12, including last year’s 31-17 win over the Cadets. NAVY.

[Mr. IWS]

Mark Mayer Gaming Today

Army +7 vs Navy: Maybe Army will make one year make a stand in Landover and finally beat Middies, but until it does…NAVY.

[Mr. IWS]

Army vs. Navy: What bettors need to know

Army Black Knights vs. Navy Midshipmen (-7, 58)

The 112th Army-Navy is the only FBS game on the board Saturday and will generate plenty of betting action.

The Midshipmen (4-7, 6-5 ATS) have won nine straight against the Black Knights (3-8, 5-6 ATS) by an average of 22.5 points per game. The nine-game run is the longest streak in series history. Navy has covered the spread in seven of the last nine meetings.

Navy has looked like the superior team again this year and has played better competition. The Midshipmen’s opponents were a combined 58-46. Army’s opponents went 48-55.

Per usual, both squads feature potent ground games. Army leads the nation in rushing at 350.9 yards and needs 140 yards against Navy to become the first team at West Point to rush for 4,000 yards in a season. The Blacks Knights have put up prolific numbers, despite being without starting quarterback Trent Steelman for much of the second half of the season.

Steelman is expected to start against Navy, but isn’t thought to be 100 percent. Freshman Angel Santiago and senior Max Jenkins will backup Steelman.

Both teams have had ample time to prepare, but that hasn’t always helped the Black Knights, who are 5-22 ATS after a bye week.

The game will be played at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

The line

Navy opened as a 7-point favorite and remained there throughout the week. There were a few 7.5s popping up as of Friday but the vast majority of sportsbooks in Nevada and offshore were offering -7.

The total

The total opened at 56, but was up to 58 by Friday. Army is averaging 25.18 and allowing 28.36 points. Navy is averaging 29.91 and surrendering 29.64 points.

The last five meetings have stayed under the total, averaging 36.6 points, and Army has scored a total of two touchdowns in the last four games against Navy.

Weather

Temperatures are expected to be in the low 40s by kickoff with a 13 mph NW wind.

Trends

Army is 9-20-1 ATS in last 30 as an underdog of 3.5-10.
Navy is 10-4 AT in its last 14 games in December.
Under is 10-2 in last 12 games following a bye week.

[Mr. IWS]

Ice picks: Saturday's best NHL bets

Tampa Bay Lightning at Philadelphia Flyers (-200, 5.5)

The last time these two teams got together, there was a whole lot of standing around going on.

The Flyers refused to play into Tampa Bay’s 1-3-1 system, opting instead to sit back in their own zone with the puck as the seconds ticked by. Watching the ice melt was just about as exciting, though the Lightning did come away with a 2-1 win in overtime.

Both clubs will be without some serious star power for this matchup. Tampa Bay lost Martin St. Louis indefinitely this week when he was hit in the face with a puck at practice while Philadelphia continues to manage without defenseman Chris Pronger and forward Brayden Schenn.

The Lightning will come into this one fired up after a near brawl broke out at MSG on Thursday, but don’t expect them to stray from the system that frustrated Philadelphia so much last month.

Pick: Under

Montreal Canadiens at New Jersey Devils (-125. 5.5)

The Devils are a tough team to figure out.

They came out flat again and were down 2-0 after the first period Thursday against Ottawa before rallying to a 5-4 overtime win. Coach Pete DeBoer likely had a little to do with the comeback.

“For all the right reasons we got a little critique after the first period,” goalie Johan Hedberg told reporters after he replaced Martin Brodeur after the first. “I think the right things were said in the dressing room. We knew what we needed to do to come back.”

The Devils have found themselves in that situation far too often this year. They fall asleep at the wheel and then battle like hell just to get back in the game, but that won’t cut it against the Canadiens. Montreal just picked up Tomas Kaberle off the scrap heap and this is likely his last shot.

The new guy in the room will give the Habs a boost here and they need a win here in a bad way. They’ve picked up points in four straight but have just one win over that stretch.

Pick: Canadiens

[Mr. IWS]

College funds: Saturday's best NCAAB bets

Michigan State Spartans at Gonzaga Bulldogs (-3.5, 139)

Even though the Spartans have won seven straight games and have covered the last three pointspreads they’ve seen, coach Tom Izzo isn’t about to let his club get complacent.

They spanked Central Connecticut State 89-69 on Wednesday that didn’t have a posted line, but Izzo was far from impressed.

"There's been a little too much credit given so we're back to dog eat dog," Izzo told Michigan State's official website. "We are just going to have to play a lot better than we played inside. Our outside defense has been pretty good, but (Wednesday) it wasn't. That's disappointing going into a big game. You kind of hope to go in there on a high."

They’ll need to be ready Saturday, because the Bulldogs will come out firing. They are coming off their first loss of the season, an 82-75 decision at Illinois as 3-point underdogs. Gonzaga shot 51 percent from the floor but coughed up 17 turnovers.

Spartans keep this one close.

Pick: Spartans

Kentucky Wildcats at Indiana Hoosiers (5, 147)

The Kentucky Wildcats may be the No. 1 team in the nation according to the polls, but you won’t hear hoops bettors hanging that handle on them right now.

The Wildcats won their 39th consecutive home game last weekend, slipping by North Carolina 73-72 but failed to cover as 6.5-point favorites.

"We felt like this was a good test to see where we're at against one of the best teams in the country," senior Darius Miller told reporters. "We came out with a W. I think we're all pretty happy about it."

Well, at least somebody was pleased. It was the fourth time straight time they dropped the cash, putting their record against the spread at 3-4.

Meanwhile, this isn’t a Hoosiers team to mess around with, especially with freshman Cody Zeller getting it done inside. He’s posting 15.5 points and 7.5 boards per game.

We'd like to back the Hoosiers here, but this line looks a little short.

Pick: Wildcats

[Mr. IWS]

Saturday’s betting tips: Massive betting support for Navy

Weather to watch

Army vs. Navy: Temperatures are expected to be in the low 40s by kickoff with a 13 mph NW wind.

Who’s hot

NCAAF: Navy is 13-6 against the spread in its last 19 neutral-site games.

NCAAB: Michigan State has covered in four of its last five.

NCAAB: Villanova has covered in nine of their last 13 meetings with Temple.

NHL: Minnesota is 16-5 in its last 21 overall.

NHL: St. Louis is 10-3 in its last 13 home games.

Who’s not

NCAAF: Army is 2-9 against the spread in its last 11 conference games.

NCAAB: The over is 0-4-1 in Syracuse’s last five games.

NCAAB: Kansas is 1-10 against the spread in its last 11 against Big Ten opponents.

NHL: Buffalo is 2-6 in its last eight overall.

NHL: Edmonton is 6-20-1 in its last 27 games in Calgary.

Key stat

12 – Navy has won nine straight meetings with Army since installing the triple-option offense in 2002. The Midshipmen have won each of those games by at least 12 points with an average margin of victory of 26 points. They’re currently sitting as 7-point favorites for Saturday’s game and more than 73 percent of Covers.com Consensus bettors are backing the Midshipmen.

Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State Buckeyes- Sullinger ws questionable for Saturday’s game against Kansas with back spasms, but he participated in practice this week and told coach Thad Matta that he feels good to go. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging better than 19 points and 10 rebounds per game and will match up against Kansas big man Thomas Robinson.

Game of the day

Army Black Knights at Navy Midshipmen (-7, 57.5)

Notable quotable

"Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner’s Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.” – NBA commissioner David Stern on a three-team trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers that was nixed late Thursday night. Since then, the NBA has been under fire for the decision and rumors have surfaced that the parties involved may be re-engaging in trade talks again.

Notes and tips

The Montreal Canadiens acquired Tomas Kaberle from the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday for fellow defenseman Jaroslav Spacek. Despite posting four points in his last two games, Kaberle has disappointed during his first season with the Hurricanes. The 33-year-old has collected just nine assists and is a minus-12 in 29 games. The 37-year-old Spacek, who is currently on injured reserve with an upper body issue, has three assists and two penalty minutes in 12 games this season. Spacek hasn't played since Nov. 14, but is expected to return as soon as this weekend.

St. Louis Rams quarterbacks Sam Bradford and A.J. Feeley sat out practice again Friday, making it increasingly likely both players will sit out Monday's game against Seattle. Oddsmakers have the Rams set as 9.5-point underdogs. Third-string quarterback Tom Brandstater, who has never taken a snap in an NFL game, could be in line to make the start. However, Brandstater split snaps during Friday's practice with newly signed Kellen Clemens, who was claimed off waivers from the Houston Texans. Clemens does have experience as a starter, appearing in 25 games with the New York Jets over parts of five seasons. Bradford is dealing with a high ankle sprain while Feeley suffered a broken bone in his thumb in last week's loss to San Francisco.

[Mr. IWS]

FantasySportsGametime

Saturday Hockey Plays

Play Boston -160 over Columbus
Play Vancouver -150 over Ottawa

[Mr. IWS]

DCI CFB

Saturday, December 10, 2011
FCS Playoffs
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 32, Maine 28
Lehigh 25, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 23
SAM HOUSTON STATE 33, Montana State 26
FBS Non-Conference
Navy 34, Army 22
Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship
Grambling vs. Alabama A&M: TOO CLOSE TO CALL

[Mr. IWS]

LuckyDaySports

Saturday’s Comp Play

NCAAF
Army +7