News and Notes For Wednesday

Wednesday, May 03,
2006

PROMISES DELIVERED! America’s greatest sports service the Dream Team at Godspicks.com goes 3-1 in
the NBA including nailing the Postseason Game of the Year in which Miami routed Chicago by
14 points in a game that wasn’t even as close as the blowout indicated. We also
nailed Dandy Dogs on San Diego and Oakland
in MLB. Dandy dogs are dogs of 140 or more in MLB.

We
have an NHL playoff and six MLB.
It includes at least one Dandy Dog.
Listen folks, tonight is yet another illustration of why we are the Industry Standard. After a sensational
night in the NBA (of course only loss by a half-point) and in the midst of
another top shelf postseason, 95 percent of handicappers would force a play
tonight for the sake of making extra sales. 
Considering we have most sharp players locked up for life, we could pick
up “de jour” players by forcing a play. 
We will leave that to the wannabees. 

No NBA play rises to our threshold for Premium, so you
will have to settle for 7-0.  The ENTIRE card  is just
$17 at www.godspicks.com.  Alternate forms of payment
are available
.
Godspicks is proud to be part of the Handicapper’s Sampler rundown
of which sports services are hot and who has the big play at JoeDuffy.net  

Tonight we have:

Ø     
A game in which the home team is a combined
10-0
in the starting pitchers’ starts

Ø     
A system that is plus more than 100 units, based on ONE
unit per game

Ø     
Another game in which the road team is 8-1 combined in
the starting pitchers’ starts

 

All this and much more at The Dream Team of Godspicks.com.

 

NBA

Wizards-Cavaliers

Associated Press

Both franchises have struggled in Game Fives as the
Wizards are just 3-18 all-time, while Cleveland
is 2-6. The series is tied at two-two, and Game Six is Friday in Washington.

Bucks-Pistons

Green Bay Post Gazette

Detroit hosts Milwaukee
tonight in Game 5 of their first-round NBA playoff series with a 3-1 lead. When the Pistons have had a chance to end a series since
the 2003 playoffs, they have won nine of their last 10 games — with the only
loss coming last year at San Antonio
in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Drawing comparisons to how franchises have done in
previous years can be misleading for some teams and their changing faces. But
the Pistons are using four of the same starters for the fourth straight
postseason, and the other, Rasheed Wallace, is a
Piston in the playoffs for a third year in a row. Experience should be an edge
against a team with only one starter — Michael Redd
that had played in a postseason game before this year. The Bucks plan to defend
Chauncey Billups with Redd, instead of T.J. Ford, after the All-Star point guard scored 24 of 34
points after halftime to lead Detroit
to a 109-99 victory Monday night. “We’re going to try to put a bigger guy on
him and have T.J. chase around Rip (Richard Hamilton)
a little bit more,” Redd said. Billups is leading Detroit
with 23.5 points per game in the playoffs.

Hamilton has
been easier to defend than he usually is because he’s slowed by a bruised thigh
and a sprained ankle. The shooting guard is averaging 16.8 points — down from
his career playoff average of 20.9 — on just 34.5 percent shooting. Detroit
coach Flip Saunders isn’t considering resting Hamilton.
“You can’t just shut guys down,” Saunders said. “It’s not that bad, really.”

MLB

Los Angeles-San Diego

MLB.com

Over the first 10 games of the season, the Dodgers offense
averaged 6.8 runs. Over the next 16 games, it averaged half that, 3.4. So
manager Grady Little said it was time for “a little
tinkering.” Here’s Little’s definition of tinkering:
Nobody from Monday night’s batting order returned in the same place on Tuesday
night against Arizona. Slumping
shortstop and leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal and center
fielder Kenny Lofton, who have batted first and second since Lofton returned
from a calf injury, swapped spots. J.D. Drew moved from No. 3 to cleanup,
slumping cleanup hitter Jeff Kent dropped to fifth and No. 5 hitter Nomar Garciaparra moved up to
third. Andre Ethier, called up to replace the
disabled Ricky Ledee, made his Major League debut in
left field batting sixth. Catcher Dioner Navarro, who
did not play on Monday night, hit eighth. And Oscar Robles batted seventh in
place of Bill Mueller, who was given the night off.

Pirates-Mets

NY Sun

Since becoming the first team in major league history to
build a five-game division lead after only 12 games,
the Mets won a franchise-record 16 games in April to open a six-game lead over
the rival Braves and Phillies. In fact, Baseball Prospectus’s adjusted playoff
odds report gives the Mets a 70% chance of winning the NL East and a 74% chance
of making the postseason, even at this early hour.

Blue Jays-Red Sox

Toronto Globe and Mail

The loss
last night left the 13-12 Blue Jays with a 2-3 record on this seven-game trip. The
Red Sox’ game against the New York Yankees was rained
out last night, meaning the pitching matchup tonight, weather permitting, will
be Roy Halladay (3-1, 2.84 earned run average)
against the Red Sox’ Josh Beckett (3-1, 4.50).
Josh Towers (0-5, 10.45) will pitch against
Matt Clement (2-2, 6.14) tomorrow night.

Baltimore-Texas

Toronto Globe and Mail

The
Orioles’ bullpen is a mess, too. After Monday’s 9-7 loss to the Blue Jays, in
which
Toronto pounded out 16 hits, the club designated Jim
Brower for assignment and optioned Eddy Rodriguez, purchasing the contracts of
Julio Manon and Kurt Birkins
from Triple-A Ottawa. They are the 12th and 13th
different relievers used by the Orioles this season.

Angels-Tigers

Detroit Free Press

Jeff Weaver
returns to Comerica Park
to pitch tonight for the Angels. It was four years ago this July that Dave Dombrowski,
in his first big move as Tigers general manager, swapped Weaver to the Yankees.
This will be Weaver’s second start in Detroit
against the Tigers. The first came in 2003, when as a Yankee he lost to the
Tigers team that lost 119 games. Weaver has made one other start against the
Tigers—he beat them for the Dodgers in Los Angeles
last season.

Royals-Twins

St. Paul Pioneer Press

The Twins went to Kansas City
last week hoping to right the ship. They won two of three games but didn’t play
well, and any momentum they hoped to gain was quickly quashed during the
weekend debacle in Detroit. So they’ll
try again against the majors’ worst team. The Twins’ lineup should be
salivating at the chance to face Mays, the former Twin who has lasted into the
sixth inning in only one of his five starts for his new team.

Leave a Reply