| Date | W/L |
| 6/8/2025 - MLB | WINNER |
At 1:40 pm,
our selection is on the Cleveland Guardians over the Houston Astros.
The Guardians won the AL Central pretty comfortably last season (6 1/2
games) but they've round the waters in their division a bit deeper in
2025 as both the Tigers (42-24) and Twins (34-29) appear to be
improved. Meanwhile, Cleveland has taken a small step backwards. There have been injuries and some
regressions among their best players, including RH Tanner Bibee. The
26-year-old broke out last season with 12 victories and a 3,47 ERA and
he parlayed that performance into a new five-year contract to stay in
Cleveland. But this year has been more of a struggle as Bibee is just
4-6 after 12 starts although he does seem to do his best work later in
the season. He started June off with a quality start against the
Yankees and he's looking to follow that up with another good performance today against the Astros. The Guardians are 28-14 in their last 42 day games at home. And they are 30-11 as a favorite with Bibee on the hill (and 14-1 at home with Bibee, if priced from -100 to -150). Take Cleveland. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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| 6/7/2025 - Horse Racing | LOSER |
At approximately 7:04 pm, on Saturday, our selection in the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes (race #13 at Saratoga) is #5, Crudo to WIN and SHOW. Please place equal amounts on those two wagers. And also please note that we are not playing Crudo to "place" -- only WIN and SHOW. Todd Pletcher knows a thing or two about winning this race. After all, he's done it four times -- most recently with Mo Donegal just three years ago. He sends two runners out in this year's edition of the Belmont Stakes -- to be run as it was last year at Saratoga Race Course at 1 1/4 miles as opposed to the normal 1 1/2 miles at Belmont Park. One of these runners, Uncaged, is likely to be the longest shot on the board on Saturday and even the owners and Pletcher admit that putting him in this race was a stab in the dark at best. But the other one is an up-and-coming 3YO named Crudo. And this one has the talent -- if still lacking the seasoning -- to win today and be a great horse going forward. This son of Triple Crown winner Justify had arguably the most impressive performance on "Preakness day" three weeks ago when he beat six others in the $100,000 Sir Barton Stakes, pulling away to win by 7 1/2 lengths. Among his competitors that day was a highly-thought-of colt named Invictus. The Brad Cox-trainee went off as the 1-2 favorite in what was supposed to be his coronation and possible lead-up to a Belmont entry but all Crudo did (at 7-2 odds) was leave him in his wake. Most importantly, Crudo has the running style that could really benefit him on Saturday. Saratoga's dirt track is known to favor early speed and "pressers" -- those that are close to the early pace -- at the detriment of the closers (those that come from far out of it). The likely three favorites in the Belmont are all closers or horses that run on at the end. And the only other early speed in the race, it would seem, is the Bob Baffert-trainee Rodriguez. If Crudo can stay close to the front with Rodriguez early, he might have things his own way when they turn for home with the closers not having enough track left to catch him. At what should be very juicy odds (the morning line is 15-1), it's definitely worth finding out whether Crudo can play with the big boys, as he's yet to try Graded Stakes company. His regular rider John Velazquez is back on board Crudo today and Johnny V (as he's known) knows something about winning this race, having done so twice before (2007 and 2012). And few jockeys know New York racing as well as Velazquez does. We have to acknowledge that both Journalism (who we cashed in the Preakness) and Baeza (who finished 3rd in the Kentucky Derby -- a race we cashed with Sovereignty) are more than capable of winning today, but their short odds make all the difference in the world for me (the morning line odds are 8-5 on Journalism and 4-1 on Baeza). I may sprinkle a little money on Baeza and Journalism in an exacta box with Crudo. But our play here is the longshot Crudo. Play #5 Crudo to WIN and SHOW (in equal amounts) in the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes, race #13 at Saratoga. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
| 6/7/2025 - MLB | LOSER |
At 2:15 pm,
our selection is on the Los Angeles Dodgers over the St. Louis
Cardinals. The Cards drew first blood in this series on Friday night
with a shutout of the Dodgers. This, despite the fact that Los Angeles
out-hit St. Louis by 10-7. It might have been a bit of a throwaway game
for the Dodgers as they sent a sixth starter to the mound -- Justin Wrobleski -- due to the fact that it was their eighth game
in as many days. Things seemingly get back to normal for L.A. today as
it will send out #1 starter Yoshi Yamamoto for his 13th start of the
season. The 26-year-old RH had his shortest start of the season last
time out, lasting just 3 2/3 innings vs. the Yankees in a 7-3 loss.
Yamamoto should be able to put that clunker behind him this afternoon as
he faces the Cards for the second time in his career. Last season,
Yamamoto threw five shutout innings vs. St. Louis on March 30, allowing
just two hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Erick Fedde will toe the rubber for the Cards. And they've lost 16 of his 22 starts since acquiring him from the ChiSox. Take the Dodgers. As
always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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| 6/6/2025 - NHL | LOSER |
At 8:00 pm, our selection is on the Edmonton Oilers over the Florida Panthers. If Game 1 is any indication, this is going to be one heck of a Stanley Cup Finals. Edmonton took the early lead on a first period goal from Leon Draisaitl, only to have Florida tally the next three goals to take what looked like a pretty safe lead two minutes into the second period. But then the Oilers got one more in the 2nd and the only goal in the 3rd to force overtime and they ended it the way they started it -- with a goal from Draisaitl with just 31 seconds to go in the extra stanza. The score may have been close, but the Oilers out-shot the Panthers by a lopsided 46-32 margin. The Oilers were my preseason pick (at +850 odds) to win the Stanley Cup, and I have no reason to doubt them now. Edmonton has its two-headed monster of Draisaitl and Connor McDavid and those two seem to get stronger with each playoff game. The Oilers are 24-7 this season coming off a home win, and they're 8-3 when leading in a playoff series. Meanwhile, the Panthers are a poor 10-15 (minus 2.5 net games) as a road underdog. Take Edmonton. As always, good luck...Al McMordie. |
| 6/6/2025 - MLB | WINNER |
At 7:10 pm, our selection is on the Detroit Tigers over the Chicago Cubs. Tarik Skubal -- last year's Cy Young Award winner -- will match up against Ben Brown on this Friday night. Skubal is having another great campaign, and especially here at Tigers Stadium, where he is 4-0 (in 6 starts) with a 1.83 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP. Brown, meanwhile, has struggled on the road, where his ERA is 5.88 in five starts. This will be a tough match-up for the Cubs against the American League's best southpaw, as Chicago is a wallet-busting 23-27 (minus 9.9 net games) vs. lefties. The Tigers have excelled at home this season, with a 21-8 record, including 4-0 their last four. We'll back Skubal and the Tigers tonight. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
| 6/5/2025 - NBA | WINNER |
At 8:30 pm, on Thursday, our selection is on the UNDER in Game 1 between Oklahoma City and Indiana. The Thunder come into this game off back to back high-scoring wins to eliminate the Timberwolves: 128-126 and 124-94. Off those two offensive outputs, we'll look for a relatively low-scoring game on Thursday. Indeed, NBA teams have gone UNDER 65.6% since 1990 following back to back games where they tallied 124+ points. OKC has gone 21-14 UNDER its last 35 home playoff games. Take the Under. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
| 6/5/2025 - NBA | LOSER |
At 8:30 pm, on Thursday, our selection is on the Oklahoma City Thunder minus the points over Indiana. The Thunder set the record this season (at least since 1990, the year my database goes back to) for best point spread percentage. Including the in-season tournament, OKC went 54-26-3 ATS in the regular season (67% ATS). It's true that the Thunder are just 7-9 ATS in the post-season. But that includes an 0-7 ATS mark on the road in the playoffs; at home OKC has been terrific, going 7-2 ATS. And at home in the regular + post-season combined, the Thunder are 35-14-1 ATS this season, including 13-1-1 ATS vs. Eastern Conference foes. (Dating back to 2022, OKC is 32-11-2 ATS at home vs. the Eastern Conference.) I won't fade these numbers. Lay the points with the Thunder. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
| 6/5/2025 - WNBA | WINNER |
At 7:30 pm, our selection is on the Washington Mystics + the points over the New York Liberty. These two teams met a week ago here, in the nation's capital, and the Liberty won by 22, 85-63, as a 9-point road favorite. For this rematch, the oddsmakers have significantly raised the price on the Liberty, who are now a big double-digit road favorite. We'll take Washington, as the Liberty are a lousy 46-88 ATS when playing a revenge-minded foe, including 0-10 ATS if they won the previous meeting by a margin ranging from 19 to 29 points. And the Mystics are 9-1-1 ATS as a double-digit home underdog. Grab the points with Washington. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
| 6/5/2025 - MLB | WINNER |
At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the New York Yankees -1.5 runs over the Cleveland Guardians. Max Fried will get the start for the Pinstripes this evening as he looks to continue a sensational start to 2025. Fried is 7-1 with a 1.92 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 12 outings. This is a favorable match-up for Fried, as Cleveland is 3-9 vs. lefties this season (and 4-8 vs. lefties on the run-line). And the Guardians are a dreadful 3-10 on the run-line with Slade Cecconi in his nighttime starts, while Fried's teams are 73-50 (+23.2 net games) on the run-line in his nighttime starts. The Yankees have outscored their opponents in Fried's six home starts this season by an aggregate of 50-18. Take New York -1.5 runs. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. |
| 6/4/2025 - NHL | WINNER |
At 8:00 pm,
our selection is on the Edmonton Oilers over the Florida Panthers. With
all the talent in the NHL this past season, the chances of getting the
Oilers and Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals again were pretty slim
(especially when you consider that neither team was in the top four in
their respective Conference, points-wise). But here we are in early June
and it's Game 1 with Florida traveling north to Edmonton to face Connor
McDavid & Co. The Oilers won the Western Conference title over a
very good Dallas Stars team despite the fact that they lost veteran LW
Zach Hyman -- surgery to repair an upper body injury -- which is a
testament to how deep they are. But if there's a differentiator between
these two teams, it's that the Oilers will have home ice advantage. The Oilers are 65-29 (+12.3 net games) as a home favorite, while Florida is 10-14 (minus 1.5 net games) as a road underdog. And the Oilers are 31-11 at home when playing with revenge. Take Edmonton. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
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