Nadal at +193 for 3 units. Federer has won the past 3 meetings in straight sets, but Nadal still leads the H2H 23-15. Nadal’s first serve win rate is higher than 70% in this tournament. He struggled with his first serve a little in his most recent loss to Krygios. Nadal dropped 3 match points in that match. He has been refocused since losing that heated match. The conditions have been a little slow this week compared to past years, which I think helps Nadal. I missed Federer’s last match (straight sets win over Hurkacz) due to watching basketball, but I watched the highlights and read some twitter opinions. It was more of the same for Federer who has now won 7 straight matches in a row in straight sets. Nadal does have some fitness problems, but he fights through it and gets the win today behind a more consistent first serve than Federer.
Zion Williamson got his win over UNC and his signature dunk against them. I have never seen someone that can secondary jump as high as him. His first jumps have insane vertical, then he lands and does it again way too quickly for a man his size. Some UNC fans were mad Roy didn’t call a timeout on the final possession. He never does. They practice end of game scenarios for that reason. I trust Roy over people on twitter. Roy can’t know Coby would slip. UNC has never won the ACC tournament title during Roy’s 3 National Championship seasons in Chapel Hill. I wouldn’t hate a Duke/UNC rematch in the NCAA as an UNC fan. No way UNC or dook doesn’t win the title this season. Will make a futures play on both of them when the bracket comes out. I went from watching the UNC/Duke game to watching Clippers/Bulls last night. The change in atmosphere between the two games was bigger than Mama June before she started doing crack.
4-1 yesterday. WVU couldn’t get the cover for the perfect day, but that’s okay.
70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units
36-29-1 this season up 20.05 units
11-2 over the past four days.
Rhode Island at +114 for 4 units. Fatts Russell did not play much against VCU due to foul trouble. The small quick guard, coupled with Cyril Langevine playing better than he did against VCU, gets Rhode Island the win. I have some stats, but want to get this posted as I’m writing late today so I’ll refrain.
Old Dominion at +113 for 4 units. Can’t quit this team. They played so poorly in their win over UAB yesterday, but they still won. They play better today and beat Western Kentucky. ODU beat WKU twice this season. If they were gonna lose in this tournament, it was yesterday.
Nad Nariman/Mike Grundy under 2.5 at +220 for 1 unit. Neither of these guys have anything to lose in this one. This is Nariman’s 3rd UFC fight (2-0) and Grundy’s first. Grundy is the “bigger” guy for their weight class, but both are around 165-170 lbs. If Grundy can get this fight on the ground, he will win. I just think Nariman will come out swinging and Grundy will be aiming for takedowns. That combo will lead to the under hitting more than these odds imply.
Dan Ige at -136 for 2 units. Ige has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and brown belt in Judo. Ige’s nickname is dynamite. His opponent’s nickname is hatchet. Dynamite explodes hatchets, everyone knows that. Don’t let Ige get on top of you…
Joseph Duffy/Marc Diakiese under 2.5 at -104 for 2 units. Marc Diakiese looks better at fighting than his results indicate. He has lost 3 in a row and had this to say when asked about his recent slide..
“I still feel the passion for it. Now I know it’s not just about being tough. It’s about being smart in the cage, as well, and having a team around you, which I’m doing.”
The man is a beast though. Duffy, on the other hand, has submitted or TKO’d his opponent in the first round in half of his UFC fights. Duffy is a black belt in taekwondo, purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and a black belt in Ju-Jitsu. Diakiese has his back against the wall in this one because if he loses, it’ll be tough to book another UFC fight. Diakiese comes out swinging and either gets caught off-guard or gets the win.
Darren Till at -221 for 5 units. Darren Till is the much more consistent fighter when compared to Jorge Masvidal. Till impressed me in his win over Stephen Thompson. This is his first fight back in England since he beat Thompson. Masvidal has a kickboxing background and Till has a muay thai, luta livre background. Till has to win this one if he wants to stay in the welterweight title picture. Masvidal hasn’t won since he beat Cerrone in January of 2017. Till has the power and Masvidal has the pace when it comes to the stand-up game, which is where I think the majority of this fight will take place. Siding with the consistent power on this one.
70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units
32-28-1 this season up 13.32 units
7-1 over the past three days.
Old Dominion at -183 for 7 units. UAB beat ODU by 14 at home, but loss by 11 on the road against the Monarchs. Now we get a neutral site rubber match. ODU did not come to play in that loss. They come ready to play tonight. UAB’s biggest starter is 6-foot-7. ODU’s is 7-foot-1. ODU got outrebounded in their loss to UAB, which highlights their lack of hustle in that game. They come ready to play today. Aaron Carver, Ahmad Caver, B.J. Stith, and Xavier Green get it done for ODU. Taking the team with better guard play.
Nebraska +8 for 2 units. Wisconsin struggles to score at time. Nebraska’s James Palmer Jr. does not struggle to score. James was on fire in Nebraska’s upset over Maryland. Nebraska lost by 11 to Wisconsin at home this season, but Wisconsin got them playing their worst basketball of the season. Nebraska are playing better now.
Davidson at -257 for 3 units. This line should be closer to -400 than -200. It is that simple.
North Carolina +4 for 2 units. Zion is back, but beating Syracuse without Syracuse’s best player doesn’t impress me too much. North Carolina’s Coby White and Cam Johnson are silky from deep. Kenny Williams is one of the best defenders in the country, but somehow didn’t make the All-ACC defensive team. The voters had to be drunk. Luke Maye is nowhere near as athletic as Williamson or Barrett, but can still have a huge impact on the game. Marques Bolden being out hurts Duke. UNC can be taken advantage of inside, but his ankle injury makes that a little tougher to do. UNC makes 3s and hits the offensive glass for the cover.
West Virginia +11 for 2 units. WVU’s hustle and rebounding were amazing last night. Jarrett Culver settled for too many jumpers for Texas Tech, but credit to the Mountaineers for their great defense on him. This WVU team is playing too hard right now to lose by 11 or more.
Astralis -1.5 at -177 for 4 units. Astralis haven’t dropped a map since February 21st. Avangar had their chances going up big on Overpass, but Astralis pulled it back. The new economy update should help the best teams like Astralis, as there are more gun rounds and less ecos. Device and Dupreeh are just too nice. NiP has draken standing in for Dennis. Draken will be the main AWPer, but the new update coupled with lack of gametime for this group of 5 means a loss for NiP.
Two first round matchup predictions today. Small units. Mainly just scouting so I can go big on the Masters.
Byeong-Hun An vs Beau Hossler at -153 for 4 units. Hossler shot a 77 on this course in his last round here. Byeong-Hun An has always had the driving distance, but he has been one of the best on tour around-the-green this season. Also, he has shown the ability to consistently play out of bunkers, which is needed here. Hossler lacks the driving distance and approach play An has shown this year. Hossler will have more difficult 2nd and 3rd shots throughout the day and that will show on the scorecard.
Patrick Reed vs Tiger Woods at +113 for 3 units. Value play. Tiger has to be a little rusty and it is anyone’s guess how he will perform in his first tournament back from a neck injury. Reed played well at this course in February.
Honestly not a lot of spots I like today like the past few days. Not going to force, just going to keep building the bank.
70-62-2 on NCAAB last season and went up 8.95 units
30-28-1 this season up 7.44 units
Buffalo/Virginia/Wichita State Parlay risking 5 units to win 3.08 units. Buffalo won both meetings over Akron in the regular season. Buffalo have won 9 in a row. The Bulls have the advantage in the paint and on defense. UVA’s best defense in the nation goes up against a NC State that struggles to score. Keatts is a winner even if they lose though. UVA lost to a 16-seed the last time they played here in Charlotte. They won’t lose back 2 back games here. Wichita State beat ECU by 17 when they played just 9 days ago. The Shockers have been getting hot at the right time, ECU has not been hot.
Rhode Island -4.5 for 3 units. La Salle are not 5 points worse than Rhode Island when you simply look at their records and resumes; however, Rhode Island are a bad matchup for the Explorers. Rhode Island had 18 turnovers and still won by 11 in their only meeting this season at La Salle. That game was close for about half the game and then Jeff Dowtin, Cyril Langevine, and Fatts Russell flipped the switch for the Rams. They start with the switch on today. I could see Rhode Island winning this game by double digits.
Ronaldo’s aerial ability, leadership, and sheer athleticism dominated his forever rival Atletico Madrid. Juventus were down 2-0 after the first leg, but a Ronaldo hat-trick erased that deficit.
I mean what more can be said about this man. Juventus signed him to win these games and he does more than enough for the team. Szczęsny and Bernardeschi were amazing as well, but Juventus doesn’t move on without Ronaldo. I’m on team Messi in this great debate, but Jesus, Ronaldo makes it hard to hate him with performances like this. Diego Simeone’s “showing” of his team’s big balls was awesome in the first leg, but Ronaldo got the last laugh.
Man City beat Schalke 9-2 on aggregate. Pep has nothing but respect for Ronaldo and knows that he has to go through him or an equally amazing person to get his first Champions League title with Manchester City….
That equally amazing person… Lio Messi. Barcelona did not score in the away leg at Lyon. They scored at the Camp Nou though and won 5-1 on aggregate. Messi didn’t get a hat-trick like Ronaldo.. he only had 2 goals and 2 assists.
I honestly just feel blessed that I get to watch these two in their prime. I was too young to watch Michael Jordan in his prime and got stuck with this Lebron guy, but Messi and Ronaldo show GOATness every time they get on the pitch.
Bayern tied Liverpool 0-0 in Liverpool in the first leg, but that clean sheet was not enough for Bayern as they lost 3-1 at home in the second leg. Messi and Ronaldo are the two best players in the World, but Mane is 3rd in my opinion. Step aside Salah, Hazard, Modric, Kane, Lewandowski, De Gea, and whoever else.
Mane’s first touch on his first goal is simply sublime. He is the best in the world at the first time touch that goes backwards a few yards. Every time he does it, it seems so calculated. Klopp is my favorite manager right now. He won me over when he first joined Liverpool with this interview.
Little did I know he would take this Liverpool team to greatness. Salah, Mane, van Dijk, Alisson, Henderson, and many others are playing at their best under Klopp. There are some great managers left in the Champions league and he is certainly one of the best of this elite group. Manuel Neuer seemed to be playing as a centre-back for most of the game. Not wise against Liverpool’s fantastic forwards.
I doubt Europa can surpass what we saw in Champions league over the past few days simply because this competition lacks Messi, Ronaldo, and Mane; however, with 8 teams getting knocked out of Europe today, drama will happen.
92-78-9 on Soccer in 2018 up 8.17 units
35-28-7 on Soccer in 2019 up 1.15 units
“I’m blowing ganja, so much work they call me old school, I remind ya” It’s always a winning day when new Schoolboy Q comes out.
Rennes +2 at -144 for 8 units. Arsenal will be without Bellerin, Holding, and Sokratis in this game. That means Mustafi will start. That is a plus for Rennes. Rennes won the first leg 3-1. Rennes were not supposed to beat Real Betis and they definitely are not supposed to beat Arsenal, but Rennes don’t care bout that. The French side backed their first leg victory with a 3-1 result against Caen over the weekend. Rennes have scored in 13 of their past 14 away games. Benjamin Bourigeaud has scored in each of his last 3 games for Rennes. Sarr, Ben Arfa, and Grenier each have more goals in this competition than any player on the Gunners. Arsenal have to win by 2 or more, but they won’t get it done. Arsenal gets knocked out of Europe today.
Frankfurt+0 at +136 for 4 units. Frankfurt average over 2 goals in away European matches this season. Ivan Perisic has never lost to Frankfurt and they were the last team he scored against before leaving the Bundesliga. Sorry Perisic, but I think that run ends today. Icardi, Miranda, and Nainggolan are all less than 100% for Inter even if they play. Asamoah and Martinez are out due to card suspensions for Inter. Jovic, Haller, and Gacinovic of Frankfurt are too much offense for Inter to handle in this one.
Arsenal/Rennes over 3 at -142 for 3 units. Arsenal have to beat Rennes by more than two and are missing 3 defenders. This game will see goals.
Valencia +0 at -149 for 2 units. Valencia are scoring more than they are drawing lately, which is saying a lot because they seem to love ties more than Ronaldo loves scoring hat-tricks in the Champions League… That’s how you make an article come full-circle ladies and gentlemen.
Lori Loughlin of Full House and Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives are the latest big names in this scandal. The scandal includes bribing deans, coaches, and board of trustees members to get their kids into school on an “athletic” scholarship. There is an episode of Full House where Lori’s husband in the show, Jesse, lies to get their twins into a prestigious preschool. Lori feels bad and tells the truth. Too bad she didn’t do that in real life. Her bail was 1 million dollars. She paid it like she paid the Board of Trustees Chairman at the University of Southern California.
Olivia Jade Giannulli should prolly check her privilege. This really is like in the Sopranos when Carmela Soprano bribes the Dean of Georgetown (in the show) to get her daughter into the school.
This story is wild. My favorite part is that they would photoshop the face of their kid on someone who played sports at their high school in their high school’s uniform to “prove” that their kid played the sport.
Longtime UCLA soccer coach Jorge Salcedo is indicted. The scheme at UCLA involves bribes over $25 million since 2011, cheating on entrance exams, mail fraud, lying, and even more. Bruce and Davina Isackson’s older daughter was on the team during 2017, but did not play in any games and did not play competitive soccer in high school. She was not on the 2018 women’s soccer roster, but served as the women soccer’s team manager from 2016-2018, according to her LinkedIn page. Bruce and Davina bribed and committed mail fraud. The universities are trying to act like the victim, but where are the checks, balances, and accountability?
Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, UCLA, and USC are the main schools in this fraud. Nothing like rich kids getting where they want with their parents money. That’ll teach them to not be entitled and spoiled.. yeah right.
I am going to start with the Odell Beckham trade and then go in order of teams.
Giants trade Olivier Vernon and Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns for Kevin Zeitler, Jabrill Peppers, as well as, a first and third round pick in this year’s draft.
Let me start off by saying I love Odell Beckham Jr’s talent. I picked him up off of waivers in week 3 of his rookie year and him and Julio led me to back 2 back titles in my older brother’s fantasy keeper league. I know no one cares about my fantasy league, but I just say that to say I don’t hate Odell. I love him. He has made me a lot of money. This play below won me the fantasy championship. I still have chills watching it. He jukes Mark Barron (#26) on the Rams so bad I prayed for Barron that night.. and I ain’t even that religious.
Odell is amazing, but I don’t think he is a great leader. I know him and Giants’ owner John Mara don’t get along. I know he ate a pepperoni pizza while a stripper did cocaine in his room during the offseason. He prolly did the sex that night. I know he went on a boat and had a good time the week before his only playoff game, a 38-16 loss to the Packers. He had 11 targets, 4 catches, and 28 receiving yards in that game. That’s bad. I know he had an interview with Lil Wayne that aired on a Sunday gameday where he called Eli “slow”, New York “cold”, and blamed the coaching staff for not calling aggressive enough plays. That could not have helped the locker room. He says he tried to bring energy to the locker room. Now in 2016, Ben McAdoo was his coach, so I don’t blame him at all for his multiple fines and ridiculous antics that season. If Ben McAdoo was my coach, I may have quit football.
So Giants fans are pissed they lost one of the best wideouts in the game, which is reasonable. Where has Odell taken you is my question? Yes his catches against the Cowboys and R-words will be remembered forever, but it’s not like those catches led to postseason success. Hell Mario Manningham has a better playoff resume than Odell. Olivier Vernon is a great defensive end, but he has history of dirty play (See hits on Dak and Mariota). When him and Suh were on the Dolphins I hated him. In my opinion, Vernon and Beckham are some of the best NFL players, but they are not great locker rooms guys and that is why they have had hardly any playoff success. Football is a team sport, and these players seem bigger than the team.
I hope Odell gets his act together and he seems to be doing that. Watching him, his college buddy Jarvis Landry, Baker, Njoku, and Chubb is going to be fun. His interview after the Giants’ MNF win over the 49ers showed a lot of maturity, which was refreshing as an Odell supporter.
The Giants needed a locker room change to make way for Saquon Barkley and whichever young QB they draft (I think Kyler Murray is the best one available) to be their leaders. Obviously, they have to move on from Eli. Jabrill Peppers will fill the void Landon Collins left and Zeitler adds much needed offensive line talent. I have not even mentioned Odell’s injury history either. The Steelers got a 3rd and a 5th for AB. I know AB is older and he wanted out, but I am not so sure Odell wanted to be in NY either.
I compare this trade to the Boogie Cousins/Pelicans trade. When that trade happened, it seems like everyone said the Pelicans won the trade. Achilles injury aside, the Kings won that trade. Draft picks and Buddy are worth more than Cousins is now. The Kings changed their locker room and got better because of it. They have won more games this season than they have in any season with Boogie. Mark my words, Giants will go further in the playoffs over the next 4 years than they ever did with Odell over the past 4 years. Finally, the Cowboys won the division last year with a good defense and a great running game. The Giants can do the same without Odell.
49ers trade a 2019 second round pick to the Chiefs for Dee Ford. I like this trade for both teams. San Francisco adds a needed pass rusher and the Chiefs were not going to pay him anyway. Good business. Also, the 49ers have signed LB Kwon Alexander.
DeSean Jackson has been traded back to the Eagles from the Buccaneers. Wentz can throw the ball further than Uncle Rio and DeSean Jackson can still go get it. Can Mahomes, JaMarcus Russell on his knees, or Wentz throw the ball the furthest you think?
Patriots trade a 2020 5th round pick for a 2020 7th and Michael Bennett. Coach Bill wins another trade.
Steelers trade LT Marcus Gilbert to the Cardinals for a 2019 6th. Arizona had the worst offensive line ever seen in the NFL last season due to injuries. They get depth here. Good business. Cardinals also have added LB Jordan Hicks, LB Terrell Suggs, QB Brett Hundley, and OG J.R. Sweezy. Arizona need LBs and O-linemen so great work for them. It is going to be weird seeing Suggs not in a Ravens’ uniform.
Broncos get a 2020 6th round pick from the Redskins for Case Keenum. The R-words didn’t sign Kirk Cousins and now they have, not 1, but 2 Qbs that a eerily similar to him in Keenum and Alex Smith. LOL. John Elway gets another tall Qb in Joe Flacco for a 2019 4th round pick. Ravens move on from their Super Bowl winner and Elway continues to suck at evaluating QB talent.
The Falcons have signed two guards in Jamon Brown and James Carpenter. Atlanta has talent on both sides of the ball, if they can stay healthy, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them make another deep playoff run. Can’t go wrong with proven offensive linemen.
The Buffalo Bills have been busy. They signed veteran wideouts John Brown and Cole Beasley. Both are short, fast, and have good hands. Bruce Arians likes John Brown so that’s enough for me. Beasley played well with Dak, so he will play well as the security blanket for Josh Allen. Also, Bills signed former Texans’ corner Kevin Johnson (not the same Kevin Johnson that worked Allen Iverson and became Mayor of Sacramento for clarification), former Bengals’ tight end Tyler Kroft (he can’t have more drops than Clay had last year), and offensive linemen Mitch Morse and Ty Nsekhe.
The Carolina Panthers have signed one of the best centers in the league in Matt Paradis. Denver fans have told me he is great in the running game, that is music to my ears as a Cam fan. Colin Cowherd can take all his Cam hate and shove it.
The Chicago Bears have signed RB Mike Davis, WR Cordarrelle Patterson, and CB Buster Skrine. Nothing earth-shattering here like Khalil Mack last season, but all solid role players.
The Browns have added DT Sheldon Richardson along with the guys mentioned above. The Browns might have the best defensive line in football now (Broncos are neck and neck with them).
The Cowboys have signed Jason Witten. Their offense didn’t feel the same without the slow big guy. Witten was not good in the MNF booth, so this is a good move for him… for Dallas I’m not so sure. He has to help the locker room though so that’s a plus.
The Broncos have signed SS Kareem Jackson from the Texans and OT Ja’Wuan James from the Dolphins. Both of these players fill a need.
The Ravens have signed Mark Ingram and Earl Thomas. C.J. Mosley and Terrell Suggs are big losses, but Earl Thomas is one of the best safeties in the league when healthy.
The Lions have signed WR Danny Amendola. Wow a former Patriots coach adds a former Patriots player. Never seen that before. Lions also add former Seahawks CB Justin Coleman and former Patriot DL Trey Flowers. Wow a former Patriots coach adds a former Patriots player. Never seen that before. Former Steelers tight end Jesse James also signed with the Lions. I am not sure these signings make the Lions any better, but Stafford gets some weapons to keep building his hall of fame resume. The Hall is going to have a real problem keeping Stafford out when he holds every passing record.
The Packers add much needed pass rushers in Za’Darius and Preston Smith. Adrian Amos fills in nicely for HAHA. Also, they signed OL Billy Turner.
The Texans have added S Tashaun Gibson from the Jags and Bradley Roby from the Broncos. I don’t think these guys are enough to make Houston’s awful secondary better, but I’ve been wrong before.
The Colts sign WR Devin Funchess. Funchess had a lot of drops last season for Carolina and had trouble even seeing the field toward the end. He is still young and tall though.
The Jags sign Super Bowl Winner Big Dick Nick Foles.
The Chiefs sign Carlos Hyde, Tyrann Mathieu, and LB Damien Wilson. I love the honey badger. Hyde fills a need and adds depth. Good business.
The Rams sign veteran safety Eric Weddle. Weddle gets to go back to SoCal and LA gets more veteran leadership. Weddle is older than Sean McVay.
The Dolphins have signed TE Dwayne Allen and former Patriots CB Eric Rowe. Wow a former Patriots coach adds a former Patriots player. Never seen that before. I miss the days when their offensive line coach was doin cocaine on camera. Bold strategy Cotton, it didn’t pay off for him (yet).
The Vikings have signed former Seahawks DL Shamar Stephen. Cool. Kirk “can’t beat a team with a winning record” Cousins is still their QB.
The Saints are signing Latavius Murray, who will try to fill the void left by Mark Ingram.
The Giants have also signed veteran S Antoine Bethea to help fill the void Collins left.
The Buccaneers have signed OLB Deone Bucannon to a one year prove it deal. He is reunited with Bruce Arians.
The Jets have had the best free agency period in their history. Le’Veon Bell is the best running back the Jets have had since Curtis Martin had 7 1,000 yards seasons for the Jets. Martin ran for 1,697 yards in 2004. Martin and the big shoulder pads were fun to watch in the early 2000s. Jets also signed one of the best linebackers in the NFL in C.J. Mosley. Josh Bellamy and Jamison Crowder add some much needed Wideout depth as well. diddukewin.com
The Raiders have added 3 of the best players at their positions in the league in WR Antonio Brown, OT Trent Brown, and S Lamarcus Joyner.
The Eagles have signed DT Malik Jackson. Jackson is scary good at getting penetration from the DL position. He has averaged more than 5 sacks over the past 4 years for the Jags and Broncos.
The Steelers have signed one of the few bright spots in the KC secondary from last season, CB Steven Nelson.
The Titans have signed a WR in Adam Humphries who adds some much needed consistency. They also signed OG Roger Saffold and edge rusher Cameron Wake.
The Redskins have signed pro bowl S Landon Collins away from their rival Giants to a 6 year, 84 million dollar deal. Wow.
Posting my record here so it is easier for me to find when I bet too much money on my Panthers’ 1st preseason game.
