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I really went back and forth with this game. At first I thought the Spurs blew it and now Miami is going to blow them out in Game 7. This might actually happen, but as a handicapper you have to separate your emotions from selecting games. Just like when I picked the Spurs in Game 6 I said “What has Miami done to prove they should be a 7pt favorite”? Well, nothing has changed in 48 hours. I will say this about the Spurs. This is the best team in the last 15 years. They have won on big stages and losing in the NBA Finals is something they have not experienced. This team is well coached and as far as team level talent there is no question they are the better team. Everyone is making a big deal about Lebron taking off his headband for the first time. He doing that did not make him a better basketball player. This is a team game. The guy gets so much heat and in a way it’s deserving. Simply put the Spurs counted their eggs before they hatched and chocked that game away. Miami might very well win this game and to be honest I don’t care and hope they do because I am tired of hearing about Lebron and you know that is all we will hear about in the offseason if they lose. I do not think the Spurs are going to go down without a fight. We are playing the odds here. We had a great NBA playoff run and I hope you take advantage of my early bird special which ends after this weekend. Baseball remains free at the website. Take San Antonio.
After two decades of failure, the Pittsburgh Pirates are a team on the rise. This is a team has been rebuilt to finally reach "contender" status. They are playing .500 baseball on the road for the first time in ages, and are certainly in a winnable situation every time they take the field. Homer Bailey has a losing record for a top-level team, and his season has been up and down. The Pirates have been strong off a weak offensive showing in their previous contest, as they have an admirable 20-7 mark in their last 27 after scoring 2 or less in their previous game. They stand a perfect 5-0 in an extended four-game series finale in their last five. The Reds have taken the donut in Bailey's last 6 starts on regular 4 days rest at 0-6. Take the Pirates.
**1 UNIT = Miami Marlins @ San Francisco Giants - GIANTS TO WIN (-173)
**1 UNIT = Miami Marlins @ San Francisco Giants - GIANTS -1.5 (+130)
Listed Pitchers: Koehler vs Gaudin
(Note: I’m risking 1.00 units to win 0.58 units and 1.00 units to win 1.30 units)
The Miami Marlins will travel to San Francisco after losing the final two games in a three game series with Arizona. Over their three games they managed just 5 runs scored and drop to 22-49 on the season (9-26 on the road). This will be their first meeting with the defending World Series champs who took the final 2 of 3 from San Diego to improve to 37-34 on the year and 23-12 at home. Miami’s starting pitcher is Tom Koehler who is 0-5 on the season with a 5.09 ERA, .250 OBA and 1.23. He had a good start to the year, but he has allowed 3+ earned runs in 5 straight starts and has a 9.18 ERA over his last three starts which includes allowing 9 earned runs over 4.2 innings of work in his last time out. Chad Gaudin will go for San Francisco and he is 2-1 with a 2.83 ERA, .227 OBA and 1.20 WHIP over his 21 appearances. Two of his three starts have been quality and he’s 2-0 as a starter. His only non-quality start was his last time out and it wasn’t too bad allowing 4 earned runs over 5 innings in Atlanta. Take note that the Marlins are just 12-40 in their last 52 road games dating back to last season, 1-4 in Koehler’s last 5 starts as an underdog between +151 and +200, and 1-7 in his last 8 starts overall. The Giants are 54-18 in their last 72 games as a home favorite between -151 to -200, 37-17 in their last 54 home games overall, and 19-7 in their last 26 home games vs a team with a road winning % of less than .400. 8 of the Giants last 10 wins have been by 2+ runs. We will split up today’s play into 2 one unit plays again going one unit on the money line and one unit on the run line to reduce our risk.
DOUBLE DRAGON SPORTS - NBA / MLB - Thursday, June 20th - FINAL REPORT
The Zig-Zag theory which has been phenomenal with the HEAT over the last two series (Finals & Conference championships) at 5-1 in the Finals & undefeated in the Eastern Finals versus THE PACERS!
We expect THE HEAT to play a much looser game tonight, as they know they have come back from the dead and are now playing with house money... No matter what the spurs say, it is impossible for that very fresh trauma to not be at the very least in the back of their minds....
We expect LeBron to start driving the lane and playing much more aggressively (selfishly) from the get-go in this one. Yes, the refs are going to"let them play", but James had an underwhelmiming Game 6 and we DO NOT see that happening again....
Yes, the spurs are the best coached team in the league and if anyone can rebound from a heat-wrenching loss like that, it would be the spurs, but we expect a far looser and more accurate HEAT team to show up on Thursday night, and given the built-in advantage for the home team in ANY Game 7, we see a frantic HEAT D to lead to a lot more easy turnover points and the line very well could dip below 6 as we get closer to tip-off...
So, despite the fact that we already have a sizable play on THE HEAT TO WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP at (-220), which we played prior to the Series' beginning, we are adding an additional 10-UNIT MEGA-HYDRA on THE HEAT laying the points (hopefully at -5.5 or less by game-time). although it will be graded at -6.5 which is what it was on Tuesday night when we originally released it (nobody we have talked to has laid more than 6)...
We also expect a tighter overall defensive battle, as games tend to become lower scoring defensive struggles as the get deeper into the series. Plus, the last three have gone over, although once was due to overtime...
10-UNIT MEGA-HYDRA HEAT -6 (-105) vs spurs (6pm) (Game #7)
9-UNIT XXX-TRA LARGE HEAT / SPURS UNDER 190 (6pm) (Game #7)
*All Lines from Sportsbook.com 6/20/13 2:22am **All times Pacific
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Released before Finals started:
10-UNIT MEGA-HYDRA (Risking 22 UNITS to WIN 10) HEAT (-220) TO WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP
*All Lines from Sportsbook.com 6/5/13 11:58pm **All times Pacific
The FIFA Confederations Cup continues with two matches Thursday. Here is a quick cheat sheet as the action in Group B continues in Brazil.
Spain v Tahiti (-50000, +8000, +25000)
Site: Rio De Janeiro
Spain's quest to fill the trophy case continues as the World Cup and Euro champions face Tahiti. The Spanish posted a 2-1 victory over a tough Uruguay squad in their opener and should continue their winning ways against a Tahitian squad that is simply out of their element here. With a win, Spain will advance to the semifinals and despite chatter that Spain will field their "B" team, it should be a relatively easy affair. Tahiti suffered a 6-1 defeat to Nigeria in its first match and this one could get even uglier than that.
Spain and Tahiti have never faced each other in international soccer.
* Rumor has it that Cesc Fabregas will be the only starter from Spain's opening match against Uruguay to return to the lineup for this game.
* Defender Jonathan Tehau scored Tahiti's lone goal against the Nigerians.
Nigeria v Uruguay (+400, +250, -138)
Site: Salvador
The Nigerians come into their second Group B match as underdogs versus Uruguay, but confidence should be at a decent level after the 6-1 victory over Tahiti. A win here and the Super Eagles advance from the group stage and it should be a tightly contested affair. The Nigerians play tight at the back and have given up six goals in their previous seven matches. Uruguay need the three points to keep any hope of advancing out of the group alive. Uruguay played decent football versus Spain, but not their best. La Celeste only managed four attempts at goal versus Spain and must play with a greater sense of urgency against Nigeria.
The two nations have never played against one another.
* Nigerian forward Nnamdi Oduamadi scored three goals in the 6-1 defeat of Tahiti.
* Though Spain defended him well, Luis Suarez was Uruguay's best player in the 2-1 loss. Suarez only had 36 touches and one shot, but he made that shot count as he bagged Uruguay's goal.
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