grapevine

Pittsburgh Penguins over Philadelphia Flyers 60 Minutes ONLY: Phil continues to experience the same problems weak defense and goaltending. We get a med adv with Fleury vs. Mason. Crosby is back and that obviously helps. Despite the juice on the road I have his game at 1.46 giving us excellent value.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish over Miami Hurricanes: Two teams that mirror each other. Two teams with good QB’s whereby both teams have had very disappointing seasons. Mia started 4-0 and has now lost 3 straight. They were ranked as high as #10. They are having huge issues on the offensive line. ND cannot put a complete game together. One time the offense plays well next time defense. Coach Kelly is now on the proverbial hot seat. Coming off a bye home field adv some misleading close losses and the prior reputation of Mia gets us our value on ND.

Edmonton Oilers over Vancouver Canucks 60 Minutes ONLY: Both teams are off to very good starts. Edm has won 4 in a row and off a self-called bench mark win at home over Wash. I simply do not see a let down here. Biggest improvement for Edm has come on the defensive side. Chances are being limited Talbot is playing great in goal and they are still maintaining their offensive edges. ON the other side with Vanc it is more smoke and mirrors. They have lost 3 in a row after starting 4-0. However 3 of those 4 wins were in OT and they were all by 1 goal.

Cleveland Indians over Chicago Cubs: Clev was 32-20 on the year vs. LH. These 2 teams have wider than usual home away dichotomies giving the home field adv to Clev in game 1 even more weight. Current form adv on offense will go to Chic. However depth in bullpen and legth goes to Clev. If Kluber can get this to the 6th with a tie or lead Miller and Allen for Clev take over. WE will rate the starting pitching even both are excellent. Lester however has trouble fielding his position and holding runners close. So look for Clev whenever possible to bunt and to attempt to steal a base.

Washington Redskins over Detroit Lions: Wash has won 4 in a row while Det has won 2 in a row. However Det has been outgained in 3 straight. DEt has a strong receiver group but even though Wash is ranked 15th in pass defense Norman continues to adj to the new team and system and this crew is improving game by game. Conversely I am expecting a very big day from the trio of Jackson, Crowder and Garcon going up against the 23rd ranked pass defense of Det. Wash has also created more balance with the effective running of Jones.

We all know in sports betting there are NO situations that work all the time. There are also NO situations on their own without other reasons that would constitute a bet. Finding a spot that consistently wins 55% of the time well that is something to focus on.

Penn State Nittany Lions over Ohio State Buckeyes: Oh St. is fully deserving of their #2 ranking. However they are off a tough OT road win over Wisc which puts them in a letdown spot as they take the road as a huge favorite in Penn St. Penn St. by the way is off their bye week they are battle tested and at home a very tough venue for visitors to play at. I am not suggesting Penn St. can win this outright but should be able to stay well within this number with the back door wide open. I have this game at 17.5 giving us excellent value.

Carolina Hurricanes over Philadelphia Flyers 60 minutes ONLY: Car will play game 5 of an opening season 6 game road trip because of a state fair at home. Car has collected points in 3 out of their 4 games. As long as Car gets solid goaltending and going with Lack there is a better chance of that this team is going to do well. Phil has lost 3 in a row incl their home opener against Ana. Year after year this team has the same issue slow moving defensemen and weak goaltending. This year is no different. I have this game at 1.05 giving us excellent value.

Chicago Cubs over Los Angeles Dodgers: A 13 hit 10 run explosion should take some pressure off the Chic offense especially Russell and Rizzo. Lester faced Maeda in the opener of this series with Chic taking it at home 8-4. All indications shoe Maeda is out of gas. 2 weak post season starts and 6 straight starts with 5 inngs or less. Lad despite having an excellent season have really struggled against LH pitching. 210 BA for the year and a record of 22-25. Not surprising given most of their better hitters hot from the left side.

Chicago Cubs over Los Angeles Dodgers: We will rate the bullpens equal for this one. We will also rate the offenses equal. Much is being made of the cold Chic bats however LAD bats are just as cold. I fully expect Arrieta to pitch deeper into this game. Hill had 2 starts against Wash and went a total of 7 inngs. The gap in starting pitching is wider than the posted line and we will take advantage of this value.