CNOTES 2024 2025 NHL NEWS BEST BETS AND OPINION !

[Udog]

NHL
Dunkel

Thursday, May 29

NHL

Thursday, May 29

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edmonton VS Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Edmonton's last 6 games.
Edmonton is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games.
Edmonton is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games against Dallas.
Edmonton is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas' last 7 games.
Dallas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas' last 6 games against Edmonton.
Dallas is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday, May 29​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
EDM at DAL	08:00 PM	EDM +119 U 6.0	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

NHL 2025 PLAYOFF BEST BETS !

05/29/2025.....................1 - 1 - 0............................50.00%...............+ 0.45
05/28/2025.....................1 - 1 - 0............................50.00%................- 0.50
05/27/2025.....................1 - 1 - 0............................50.00%................- 0.50
05/26/2025.....................0 - 2 - 0............................00.00%................-- 14.05
05/25/2025.....................1 - 1 - 0.............................50.00%................- 0.50
05/24/2025.....................1 - 1 - 0.............................50.00%.................- 0.50
05/23/2025.....................1 - 1 - 0.............................50.00%.................- 0.65
05/22/2025.....................2 - 0 - 0...........................100.00%.................+ 10.75
05/21/2025.....................1 - 1 - 0............................50.00%...................- 0.50
05/18/2025......................0 - 2 - 0 ...........................00.00%..................- 10.50
05/17/2025......................2 - 0 - 0..........................100.00%..................+ 10.00
05/16/2025......................0 - 2 - 0...........................00.00%...................- 17.00
05/15/2025......................1 - 3 - 0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,25.00%...................- 10.50
05/13/2025......................2 - 0 - 0.........................100.00%....................+ 10.00
05/11/2025......................1 - 2 - 0...........................33,33%....................- 6.00
05/10/2025......................4 - 0 - 0..........................100.00%...................+ 20.25
05/09/2025......................3 - 1 - 0...........................75.00%.....................+ 9.50
05/08/2025......................3 - 1 - 0...........................75.00%.....................+ 8.65
05/07/2025......................4 - 0 - 0.........................100.00%....................+ 20.95
05/06/2025......................0 - 4 - 0..........................00.00%......................- 22.60
05/05/2025......................1 - 1 - 0..........................50.00%......................+ 0.10
05/04/2025......................2 - 0 - 0.........................100.00%.....................+ 10.00
05/03/2025......................2 - 0 - 0.........................100.00%......................+ 12,40
05/02/2025......................2 - 0 - 0..........................100.00%.....................+ 10.00
05/01/2025......................4 - 4 - 0...........................50.00%......................- 1.35

TOTALS..........................40 -29 - 0...........................57.97%.......................+ 37.81

***************************************

NHL 2025 PLAYOFF BEST BETS !

TOTALS...................39 - 28 - 0.....................58.20%....................+ 44.95

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s 6-pack:
— Knicks 111, Pacers 94- Knicks were +26 with Towns on the floor.
— Nationals 9, Mariners 3 (10)- Washington scored 7 runs in the 10th.
— Phillies 5-3, Braves 4-9; Chris Sale threw six shutout IP in nightcap.
— Blue Jays 12, A’s 0- Toronto scored eight runs in second inning.
— Rays 13, Astros 3- Game was 3-3 after six innings.
— Edmonton 6, Dallas 3- Florida-Edmonton are in Stanley Cup final.

Quote of the Day
“Anyone who’s ever been in my situation would agree that it sucks.”
Titans’ QB Will Levis; Tennessee drafted QB Cam Ward this past spring

Friday’s quiz
Since the 2009-10 NBA season, which team has won the most playoff games?

Thursday’s quiz
In the football movie The Replacements, Gene Hackman coached/Keanu Reeves played QB for the fictional Washington Sentinels.

Wednesday’s quiz
In the history of the New York Mets, John Franco has the most saves.

**********************************************

Friday’s Den: 13 of my favorite TV shows…….​

13 of my favorite TV shows (in alphabetical order):

— Batman— When you’re six years old, and in the opening credits every week, they show “WHAP!!! POW!!! BIFF!!!” and your name is Biff, this quickly becomes a favorite show.
The villains were some pretty big stars back then (Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero, Milton Berle, Vincent Price, Liberace, Ethel Merman)
I haven’t seen much of the Batman movies that have been made over the years, but the TV show had some humor; one week there was a 3-foot Martian on the loose in Gotham City, and Robin blurts out “Holy interplanetary yardstick, Batman!!!” Good stuff.

— Billions— Showtime series about a hedge fund manager who pushes the boundaries of the law while his marriage falls apart. His arch-enemy is a prosecutor in NYC who is into S&M and his wife is his dominatrix— the wife is also the psychiatrist for the hedge fund manager’s company.
Trivia: Paul Giamatti plays the prosecutor; he is the son of former baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti. I suggested a cameo role for Pete Rose, but that never happened.

— CSI— I spent a good chunk of my work career searching fingerprints and working for the NY State Division of Criminal Justice, so I enjoyed all the CSI shows, but especially the one set in Las Vegas— the actors seemed to have a chemistry working together.
One of my weirder ideas (a teacher friend of mine scoffed at this) is that CSI should be taught to all high school kids, so they realize how difficult it is to get away with crimes, so maybe there would be fewer crimes. What could it hurt?

— Green Acres— As a kid, I spent lot of hours watching Green Acres re-runs; my dad would walk into the room, say “Why the hell are you watching that?”, but within five minutes, he’d be sitting there laughing harder than me and would leave the room before my mother came in and saw the both of us laughing. She wasn’t a big fan of Hank Kimball or Arnold Ziffel.

— Law and Order— 20 years, 456 episodes, a great launching point for lot of acting careers, not to mention the spinoff shows that branched off this original show.
Take Billions; there are 32 actors who have appeared in 12+ episodes of Billons; 14 of those 32 actors appeared in at least one episode of Law and Order, and two others were in Law and Order SVU, and that doesn’t count Eric Bogosian, who was in Law and Order: Criminal Intent for 61 episodes, but was only in 11 episodes of Billions.

— Magnum PI— I’ve never been to Hawai’i, but if I ever went, would like to visit Robin Masters’ estate; I’m told you can visit there, it is kind of a museum or something.
One of the best episodes was when Frank Sinatra played a retired New York City cop whose granddaughter was murdered— this was near the end of both the series and Sinatra’s career.
The overriding themes of the show were that great friends will do all kinds of stuff for each other, and if you’re really good looking and drive a Ferrari, women will like you

Famous birthdays, May 30th:
Mike LaCoss, 69
Billy Donovan, 60
Manny Ramirez, 53
Jordan Palmer, 41
Zack Wheeler, 35
Harrison Barnes, 33
Jeremy Lamb, 33
Shaedon Sharpe, 22

— M*A*S*H— Years later, after watching re-runs of this show on our local channel 10 and the Boston channel for hours at a time, it dawned on me that this was actually a very sad show, with humor/jokes masking the grotesque sadness of wartime Korea.
The McLean Stevenson episodes were the best; he was Colonel Henry Blake for the first 75 episodes, and a lot of them were classics, just funny as hell.

— Mr Ed— This show ran on network TV from 1961-66, so I never saw it until the re-runs came on at 4:30 weekdays on a local channel in the early 70’s. Mr Ed was a talking horse, but he only talked to Wilbur Post, an architect who worked at home but never actually seemed to work.
Mr Ed was a big Dodger fan; his favorite player was OF Willie Davis. In one episode, the horse takes batting practice against Sandy Koufax, and hits a ball off the wall at Dodger Stadium, with the bat held in his mouth. A fun show, not necessarily a realistic one.

— Odd Couple— As a kid, Oscar Madison was one of my heroes; a sportswriter who always spilled food on his clothes but was a good natured guy who somehow dated a doctor or one of the Pidgeon sisters.
To this day when I see my cousin’s husband, we recite lines from Odd Couple episodes; when they owned a greyhound racing dog , or appeared on Password (a game show), or when Oscar dated a princess from some obscure European country “You bought her a salty pretzel; oh, boy!!!” Great stuff.

— Ray Donovan— The most violent program on this list; just about everybody on this Showtime series that isn’t related to the Donovans eventually winds up dead.
Ray Donovan is a fixer for rich people, but he can’t fix his own family; his wife passes away from cancer, and the last time we saw him, he was still struggling with that.
Live Schreber plays Ray, Jon Voight plays his father (a genuine creep); they’ve had guest stars like Susan Sarandon, James Woods, Wendell Pierce, Hank Azaria. Alan Alda, C Thomas Howell.
Very good show but also very violent.

— Suits— This show was about a law firm that hired a young guy with a photographic memory who had one small problem— he is a college dropout who never went to law school, but he gets paid to take bar exams for other people.
The show had to change directions because one of the actresses (Meghan Markle) moved to England after she married Prince Harry in real life. Her character was married to Mike (the fraudulent lawyer) so they got written out of the last couple years of the show.
They introduced Suits LA this year, which is similar; Harvey Spector (Gabriel Macht) made a couple appearances, as did Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman). Pretty good show.

— West Wing— Martin Sheen plays the President in this show; his cabinet included Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer— great cast.
Actor Duke Hill was in both West Wing and Suits; Mary Louise Parker was in this and is also in Billions. Alan Alda was in this, Ray Donovan and of course, M*A*S*H
Jimmy Smits, Mary MacCormack, Tim Matheson, Gary Cole, just a ton of excellent actors.
In one episode, President Bartlet has to throw out the first pitch at an Orioles’ game, but he never played ball, so one of his aides has to teach him how to throw a baseball in a hallway in the White House, where an errant toss breaks an expensive vase.

— White Shadow— Ken Howard plays a washed-up NBA player who becomes a high school basketball coach in Los Angeles. Show only lasted three years, because well, high school kids graduate so they would’ve had to turn most of the cast over every other year.
The basketball scenes were really well-done; Gwyneth Paltrow’s father was the creator of the show. Lot of the issues they tackled in this show were issues that real high school in the inner city had to deal with. Ken Howard was great as Coach Reeves; he wasn’t some all-knowing guy; he had flaws but he fought for his kids and they respected him for it (most of the time).

 

[Udog]

No games today. NHL finals begin Wednesday.

 

[Cnotes53]

Saturday’s 6-pack:
Week 1 NFL spreads:
— Cowboys @ Philadelphia (-7)
— Chiefs (-2.5) vs Chargers (@ Brazil)
— Steelers (-3) @ Jets
— Dolphins @ Indianapolis (-1.5)
— Panthers @ Jacksonville (-3.5)
— Giants (+6.5) @ Washington

Quote of the Day
“A mind is like a parachute; it doesn’t work if it isn’t open.”
Frank Zappa

Saturday’s quiz
In the history of the Houston Astros, who has the most hits?

Friday’s quiz
Since the 2009-10 NBA season, Boston Celtics (118) have won the most playoff games; Golden State is next, with 113.

Thursday’s quiz
In the football movie The Replacements, Gene Hackman coached/Keanu Reeves played QB for the fictional Washington Sentinels.

****************************************

Saturday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy Friday night……..​

— Dodgers 8, New York 5
Judge, Ohtani both homered in first inning.
Ohtani added a second homer in the 6th inning.
Dodgers improve to 20-8 at home.

— Astros 2, Rays 1
Yainer Diaz hit a walk-off home run for Houston.
Tampa Bay led 1-0 after seven innings.
Framber Valdez threw an 83-pitch complete game.

— Nationals 9, Diamondbacks 7
Game was 6-6 after the third inning.
Washington won 10 of its last 13 games.

— Twins 12, Mariners 6 (10)
Minnesota tied game with three runs in 9th inning.
Seattle led 4-2 after the sixth inning.
Mariners lost seven of their last ten games.

— Padres 3, Pirates 2
San Diego beat the Pirates for the 10th time in a row.
Pittsburgh left the bases loaded in top of the 8th.
Nick Pivetta is 6-2, 2.74 for San Diego this year.

— Brewers 6, Phillies 2
Christian Yelich homered twice, had four RBI
Milwaukee won its fifth game in a row.
Quinn Priester pitched six innings in relief for the win.

— Mets 4, Rockies 2
Francisco Lindor homered from both sides of the plate.
Mets won the last 25 games that Lindor homered in.
Colorado has lost six in a row, is 9-48 this season.

Famous birthdays, May 31st:
Clint Eastwood, 95
Joe Namath, 82
Sharon Gless, 82
Tom Berenger, 76
Susie Essman, 70
Chris Elliott, 65
Lea Thompson, 64
Brooke Shields, 60
Kenny Lofton, 58
Duane Causwell, 57
Dave Roberts, 53
Matt Harpring, 49
Jake Peavy, 44
Nate Robinson, 41
Spencer Schwellenbach, 25

— Stanley Cup Finals don’t start until Wednesday in Edmonton; pretty long layoff for the two teams.
Edmonton Oilers are -115 favorites against the Florida Panthers. It has been 32 years since a Canadian franchise won the Stanley Cup.

— Indiana Pacers lead the Knicks 3-2 in the NBA’s Eastern Conference final; Knicks are 0-14 in playoff series when they trailed 2-0. They need a road win Saturday to force a Game 7 in Madison Square Garden.

— Denver Nuggets hired interim coach David Adelman as their new full-time coach, but this week he fired four assistants, all of whom were with the Nuggets two years ago, when they won the NBA title.
Nuggets made headlines when they fired their coach/GM three games before the end of this year’s regular season, highly unusual for a team with a winning record.

— On a typical game night, the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder use around 500 towels; that’s a lot of freakin’ towels. Lot of laundry to do after every game.

— Los Angeles Dodgers have $102M in payroll on the injured list; Mookie Betts missed Friday’s game after he injured the 2nd toe on his left foot during an off-the-field incident Wednesday. He was supposed to have x-rays before Friday’s game.

— The other night in Anaheim, Angels walked Aaron Judge intentionally in both the first/second innings, which almost never happens. Angels lost the game 1-0.

— Was reading some stuff about the Red Sox, and their 2024 budget, which aired on a Netflix series about the team:
In 2024, the Red Sox……..
Spent $150,000 to buy 120 bats for each player.
Spent $19,000 on custom batting helmets.
Spent nearly $500,000, just on baseballs. Thats a lot of baseballs.
They also spent $500 on mud from the Delaware River in New Jersey, which is what they use to rub up the baseballs before each game.

 

[Udog]

No games today. The finals begin Wednesday.

 

[Cnotes53]

Sunday’s 6-pack:
Week 1 NFL spreads:
— Bengals (-5.5) @ Cleveland
— Raiders @ New England (-3)
— Cardinals (-5) @ New Orleans
— Buccaneers (-2.5) @ Atlanta
— Titans @ Denver (-7.5)
— 49ers (-1.5) @ Seattle

Quote of the Day
“The way to success is they way of the craftsman, where you work really hard for years. You show up every day, you do the work. You put your heart and soul into the work as you strive for excellence. You strive to create perfection, knowing you’ll never truly achieve it but hoping to get close to it.”
Unknown

Sunday’s quiz
Last time the Indiana Pacers made it to the NBA Finals, who did they play?

Saturday’s quiz
In the history of the Houston Astros, Craig Biggio has the most hits (3,060).

Friday’s quiz
Since the 2009-10 NBA season, Boston Celtics (118) have won the most playoff games; Golden State is next, with 113.

*****************************************

Sunday’s Den: NL teams’ records, by starting pitcher…….​

Teams’ records by starting pitcher:
(thru Saturday’s games)
Diamondbacks (27-31)
Gallen 4-8 (under 4-2 last six)
Kelly 6-6
Burnes 5-5 (under 4-1 last five)
Pfaadt 7-5 (over 3-1 last four)
Rodriguez 4-5 (over 6-0 last six)
Nelson 1-2 (under 3-0)

— Braves (27-30)
Sale 6-6 (under 6-2 last eight)
Schwellenbach 7-5 (over 6-2 last eight)
Smith-Shawver 5-4 (under 7-2)
Holmes 5-6 (under 5-1 last six)
Elder 4-4 (under 6-1 last seven)
Lopez 0-1
Strider 0-3 (under 3-0)
Blewett 0-1

— Cubs (36-22)
Imanaga 5-3 (under 6-2)
Steele 3-1 (over 4-0)
Taillon 5-6 (under last seven)
Boyd 6-5 (home team 10-1)
Brown 6-4 (over 9-1)
Rea 6-3 (over 4-2 last six)
Horton 4-0
Pomeranz 1-0 (opener)
Keller 1-0 (opener)

— Reds (29-30)
Greene 5-5 (under 7-2 last nine)
Lodolo 5-7 (over 6-3 last nine)
Martinez 3-8 (under 7-1 last eight)
Singer 7-4
Spiers 0-2
Abbott 7-2 (under 4-1 last five)
Petty 0-2
Suter 2-0 (opener)

— Rockies (9-49)
Freeland 1-11 (under 8-4)
Senzatela 2-10
Feltner 1-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Marquez 2-9 (over 7-3 last ten)
Dollander 2-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Blalock 0-3
Gordon 1-2
Palmquist 0-3

— Dodgers (36-22)
Yamamoto 8-3 (under 8-3)
Snell 2-0 (over 2-0)
Glasnow 3-2
Sasaki 6-2 (over 6-2)
May 5-5 (under 4-1 last five)
Knack 4-2 (over 4-2)
Gonsolin 3-3
Wrobleski 0-1
Miller 1-0
Kershaw 1-2 (over 3-0)
Casparius 0-1 (opener)
Dreyer 2-1 (opener)
Sauer 1-0 (opener)

— Marlins (23-33)
Alcantara 4-7 (over 7-4)
Gillispie 1-5 (over 5-1)
Bellozo 1-4
Meyer 5-6 (over 6-1 last seven)
Quantrill 6-5 (under 5-0 last five)
Cabrera 5-4 (under 4-1 last five)
Weathers 1-2

— Famous birthdays, June 1st:
Brian Cox, 79
Tim Daly, 69
Teri Polo, 56
Shane Matthews, 55
Paula Malcomson, 55
Alanis Morissette, 51
Santana Moss, 46
Nick Young, 40
Andrew Abbott, 26

— Brewers (31-28)
Peralta 6-5 (under 8-3)
Cortes 1-1
Civale 2-1
Patrick 5-7 (under 9-3)
Priester 1-6 (under 5-2)
Myers 2-3
Rodriguez 0-2 (over 2-0)
Alexander 2-2 (over 3-1)
Quintana 4-2 (under 5-1)
Henderson 3-1 (over 3-1)
Hall 1-0
Zastryzny 1-0 (opener)

— Mets (36-22)
Holmes 8-3 (under 3-0 last three)
Megill 5-6 (over 6-2 last eight)
Senga 7-4 (under 10-1)
Canning 8-3 (under 7-4)
Peterson 8-4
Tidwell 0-1
Brazoban 0-2 (opener)

— Phillies (36-22)
Wheeler 8-4 (under 3-1 last four)
Luzardo 8-4
Nola 3-6 (under 6-3)
Sanchez 9-2 (over 3-0 last three)
Walker 4-4 (under 3-1 last four)
Suarez 4-1 (under 3-1 last four)
Abel 1-0

— Pirates (21-37)
Skenes 4-7 (under 5-2 last seven)
Keller 3-9 (under 4-1 last five)
Falter 6-6 (under 7-2 last nine)
Heaney 4-7 (under 8-3)
Mlodzinski 3-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Harrington 0-1
Burrows 0-1

— Cardinals (33-25)
Gray 10-2 (over 9-3)
Fedde 3-8
Mikolas 6-5 (won last six) (under 5-2 last seven)
Liberatore 5-6
Pallante 7-4
Matz 2-0

— Padres (32-24)
King 5-5 (1-5 last six) (over 3-0-1 last four)
Cease 7-5
Vasquez 6-5 (under 8-3)
Pivetta 8-3 (under 6-2 last eight)
Hart 3-3 (over 4-2)
Kolek 3-2 (over 3-1 last four)

— Giants (32-26)
Ray 10-2 (under 7-1 last eight)
Hicks 4-5 (over 7-2)
Webb 6-6 (over 4-2 last six)
Verlander 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Roupp 6-5 (under 3-0 last three)
Birdsong 1-1 (under 2-0)
Harrison 1-1 (under 2-0)

— Nationals (28-30)
Gore 4-7 (under 5-1 last six)
Irvin 7-5 (over 4-2 last six)
Parker 7-4 (under 7-4)
Williams 5-6 (over 4-2 last six)
Lord 2-4
Soroka 2-4

 

[Udog]

No games today. NHL Finals begin Wednesday.

 

[Cnotes53]

Monday’s 6-pack:
Last six Stanley Cup champs:
2024— Florida over Edmonton
2023— Florida over Vegas
2022— Colorado over Tampa Bay
2021— Tampa Bay over Montreal
2020— Tampa Bay over Dallas
2019— St Louis over Boston

Quote of the Day
“I love mankind……it’s people I can’t stand!!”
Linus, from the Peanuts comic strip

Monday’s quiz
Hall of Fame baseball player Dave Winfield was drafted by four teams in three different sports; which NBA team drafted him in the 5th round in 1973?

Sunday’s quiz
Last time the Indiana Pacers made it to the NBA Finals, they played the Lakers, and lost in six games. Shaquille O’Neal scored 38 ppg in the series, was named MVP.

Saturday’s quiz
In the history of the Houston Astros, Craig Biggio has the most hits (3,060).

*****************************************

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Sunday……​

— Odds for the NBA Finals, which start Thursday:

Oklahoma City -700…….Indiana +500
Thunder are heavy favorites; they haven’t won an NBA title since 1979, when the franchise was the Seattle SuperSonics.
Pacers have never won an NBA title; they won three ABA titles back in the day, but are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.

— There are 27 American TV markets in the NBA; Indiana is the 21st biggest market, Oklahoma City is the 25th biggest market. Should be really good basketball, with two small market teams.

— Oklahoma City/Indianapolis are 688 miles apart, the closest the two NBA Finals cities have been to each other since 1971, when the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Baltimore Bullets- those cities are 642 miles apart.

— Oklahoma City figures to be really good for a long time; over the next seven years, Thunder owns 12 first round draft picks, and 17 more second rounds picks. They can’t package those picks and acquire some big stars.

— Famous birthdays, June 2nd:
Stacy Keach, 84
Jerry Mathers, 77
Lawrence McCutcheon, 75
Joanna Gleason, 75
Dennis Haysbert, 71
Al Wood, 67
Earl Boykins, 49
Nikki Cox, 47
Bobby Simmons, 45
Tim Stauffer, 43
Austin Davis, 36
Ryan Lindley, 36

— Mets drafted Darryl Strawberry with the first pick in the 1980 amateur draft; he was a great player, led the Mets to their last World Series title, in 1986.
Mets had another first round pick in 1980; they drafted OF Billy Beane, who later became famous as GM of the Oakland A’s (Brad Pitt played him in Moneyball).
201st pick that year was Eric Davis, who led Cincinnati to a World Series title in 1990.
Billy Beane was the 23rd player drafted that year; the pick before him was Terry Francona, the current Reds’ manager who was taken by the Montreal Expos.
Three other future managers were also drafted that year: John Farrell, John Gibbons and Lloyd McClendon.

— Mets have won the last 26 games that Francisco Lindor has homered in; 11 of his 13 home runs this season have come in home games.

— Arizona scored three runs in the first inning Sunday, the fifth time this season Diamondbacks scored 3+ runs in the first inning. Sunday was the first time Arizona won one of those games.
Diamondbacks are 13-10 this season when they score 6+ runs; no other team has lost more than five such games.

— Colorado Rockies have now lost 22 series in a row, dating back to last year; they’re 9-50 this year, on track to becoming the worst team ever.

— Dodgers star Mookie Betts broke the second toe on his foot walking around his house late at night last week; he missed the Dodgers-New York series this weekend.

— Movie of the Day: Begin Again (2013)- A chance encounter in Manhattan between a down-and-out music executive, and a young singer-songwriter turns into a promising collaboration between the two people.
Keira Knightley plays the singer, Mark Ruffalo the executive; James Corden is very good as her old friend from back home in England. Hailee Steinfeld plays Ruffalo’s daughter; in real life, she married Buffalo Bills’ QB Josh Allen this weekend.
This is a very good movie, a nice movie. We need more nice in the world.

— Astros 1, Rays 0
Hunter Brown is the first 8-game winner in the majors.
There were a total of only six hits in this game.
Teams split a 4-game series; Astros scored total of only nine runs in the games.

— Tigers 1, Royals 0
Only run scored on a wild pitch in the third inning.
Royals beat Detroit 1-0 in Saturday’s game.
Royals called up their big OF prospect Jac Caglianone Sunday night.

— Mariners 2, Twins 1
Cal Raleigh hit his 23rd home run for Seattle.
Twins tied the game on a sac fly in top of the 9th.
Randy Arozarena had a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th.

— Mets 5, Rockies 3
Pete Alonso hit a 3-run homer for New York.
This was only the sixth game this season a starting pitcher for the Mets threw a pitch in the 7th inning.

— Padres 6, Pirates 4
San Diego rallied for four runs in the 7th inning.
Robert Suarez got his MLB-best 19th save in this game.
Andrew McCutchen hit his 324th home run, 240 of them with Pittsburgh.

— If the baseball playoffs started today: (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Padres, StL/SF
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Astros, Twins

 

[Udog]

No games today. The finals start Wednesday.

 

[Cnotes53]

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2025: Panthers vs. Oilers marks the fifth Stanley Cup Final rematch in expansion era​

The Panthers and Oilers will do battle for the second consecutive season after Edmonton's Game 5 win on Thursday​

The 2025 Stanley Cup Final is officially set after the Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final courtesy of a 6-3 win on Thursday. Now, the Oilers will get a chance at redemption as they'll face off against the Florida Panthers in a rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

The Panthers were able to outlast the Oilers in seven games to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time in franchise history. This came after the Panthers had won the opening three games by outscoring the Oilers 11-4. However, the Oilers rallied to force a Game 7 before the Panthers ultimately won the series.

Edmonton and Florida will be just the fifth Stanley Cup Final rematch in consecutive years in the NHL expansion era, which began in 1967. With that in mind, here's a look at the other four Stanley Cup Final rematches that the sport has seen over the last six decades.

Canadiens vs. Blues (1968-69)​

The 1960s and 1970s were heavily dominated by the Montreal Canadiens. The franchise won a staggering 11 Stanley Cups during those two decades, including hoisting the Stanley Cup in back-to-back campaigns in 1968 and 1969. In 1968, the Canadiens ended up sweeping the St. Louis Blues in four games despite every single contest in the series being a one-goal game. Despite not winning a game in the series, Blues goaltender Glenn Hall won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP after posting a 2.75 goals-against-average and a .927 save percentage in four games. Hall is just the sixth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy despite being on the losing team.

In 1969, the Canadiens were able to top the Blues yet again in four games. It was a very different story this time around as the Canadiens outscored the Blues 12-3 in the series and St. Louis failed to score multiple goals in any game. Montreal defenseman Serge Savard took home Conn Smythe Trophy honors as he tallied four goals and six assists during the postseason that year. This marked the fourth Stanley Cup in five years for the Canadiens.

Canadiens vs. Bruins (1977-78)​

The Canadiens returned to their former glory in the late 1970s with consecutive Stanley Cups. Montreal was victorious in the 1977 Stanley Cup Final when they swept the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens began the series in spectacular fashion as they scored seven goals in a Game 1. Montreal totaled 16 goals in the series and won three of the four contests by multiple goals. Hall of Famer forward Guy Lafleur won the Conn Smythe Trophy after scoring two goals and recording seven assists in the 1977 Stanley Cup Final.

When the teams did battle in 1978, the Bruins did make a little bit more noise. The Canadiens captured wins in each of the first two games before the Bruins exploded with eight goals in Games 3 and 4 to tie the series. However, Montreal was ultimately able to fend off Boston's rally by outscoring the Bruins 8-2 over the final two games. Canadiens defenseman Larry Robinson tallied four goals and 17 assists throughout the playoffs to earn Conn Smythe Trophy honors, including tallying two goals and four assists in the Stanley Cup Final.

Oilers vs. Islanders (1983-84)​

The Islanders and Oilers dominated the NHL during the 1980s and the two faced off in consecutive years for hockey's ultimate prize. The rivalry began in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final where the Islanders came away with a four-game series sweep. New York outscored its counterparts 17-6 in those four games, and racked up at least five goals in two of those contests. Islanders goaltender Billy Smith won the Conn Smythe Trophy with an impressive 13-3-0 record throughout the 1983 postseason. Smith allowed just six total goals during the Stanley Cup Final.

When the script flipped to the 1984 Stanley Cup Final, it was a completely different story as the Oilers imposed their will this time around as Edmonton defeated New York in five games. The two teams split the series over the first two games with the Oilers being held to just two total goals, but produced an offensive explosion after that. The Oilers registered at least five goals in each of the final three games. Oilers star forward Mark Messier secured Conn Smythe Trophy honors with eight goals and 18 assists during the postseason, while tallying three goals and an assist in the Stanley Cup Final.

Penguins vs. Red Wings (2008-09)​

The most recent Stanley Cup Final rematch came in the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Final when the Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Detroit Red Wings. In 2008, the Red Wings were arguably the league's most dominant teams after capturing the Presidents' Trophy with 115 points during the regular season. The series began with Detroit outscoring Pittsburgh 7-0 over the opening two games. Despite Pittsburgh picking up winning one game at home and then getting a triple overtime winner to force a Game 6, Detroit proved to be too much. Red Wings winger Henrik Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy as he racked up 13 goals and 14 assists during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including two goals and four assists in the Stanley Cup Final.
The 2009 Stanley Cup Final ended up being a series for the ages. The Red Wings were victorious in the first two games of the series yet again, but the Penguins were able to make the necessary adjustments down the stretch. Pittsburgh won four of the final five games -- including a 2-1 win in Game 7 on the back of Max Talbot's two-goal performance -- to secure their first Stanley Cup since 1992. Penguins winger Evgeni Malkin took home the Conn Smythe Trophy thanks to 14 goals and 22 assists in the playoffs, including two goals and six assists in the Stanley Cup Final.

 

[Cnotes53]

Stanley Cup Final 2025: Panthers vs. Oilers preview, predictions​

Which team will win this Stanley Cup Final rematch?​

One year after a hard-fought seven-game series, the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers battled their way back for a Stanley Cup Final rematch. The Panthers fight to defend their title after taking the first round, but Connor McDavid and the Oilers are out for revenge.

Both teams advanced to the Stanley Cup Final with relative ease, and Florida comes off a dominant performance against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. The Panthers outscored the Canes 21-10 while ousting their opponent in just five games.

Florida began its playoff run by dominating the rival Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, but the team did get a scare from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round. The Leafs took a 2-0 series lead and pushed the defending champs to seven games, but the Panthers took Game 7 in a rout.

The Panthers are now just the fourth team since 1980 to reach the Stanley Cup Final in three consecutive seasons. They can be the third team since 2000 to win back-to-back Cup titles.

In order for the Panthers to accomplish that feat, they will have to get by an Oilers team desperate to win their first Stanley Cup since 1990. They were one win away last year, but the Panthers narrowly edged them out in Game 7.

This postseason, Edmonton has been on a mission to get another crack at the Cup. Since falling behind 2-0 in their first-round series against the Kings, the Oilers have gone 12-2 while rolling through the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have been brilliant, and they lead the NHL in scoring this postseason with 26 and 25 points, respectively. That duo will try to drive Edmonton to a Cup, and they'll be leaned upon even more heavily than usual with Zach Hyman out of the lineup.

Before this Stanley Cup Final rematch gets started, check out our expert predictions on which team will be the last one standing.

Stanley Cup Final predictions​

Nivison: The Oilers and Panthers have looked like the best two teams in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, so it's only fitting they're the last ones left. As is usually the case, this matchup will likely come down to how well Edmonton's depth fares when McDavid and Draisaitl are off the ice because the Panthers have a very clear advantage there.

When McDavid and Draisaitl are at the top of their games, the Oilers are next to impossible to beat, and that has been the case over the last few rounds. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has stepped up, and Evan Bouchard has shined on the blue line. Most importantly for Edmonton, Stuart Skinner has completely turned things around in goal. Over his last six starts, Skinner has saved 4.81 goals above average with a .936 save percentage.

Florida's roster has no clear holes. The team is getting key contributions from everyone - the stars, role players and the defense. Ten Panthers have double-digit points in these playoffs compared to just seven Oilers, one of which is now out for the season. Edmonton has defended quite well, but the Panthers are unlike any other opponent. Florida has four lines that can grind even the best defensive corps into a pulp, so the Oilers' defense will face its greatest test in this series. Florida's team defense, from Aleksander Bakov to Seth Jones, has been top-notch. That matchup against McDavid and Draisaitl will be quite the show.

This should be another terrific series between these two teams, but the result will be the same as it was last year. The Panthers' depth and tenacious forecheck outlast the Oilers for back-to-back Stanley Cup wins. Prediction -- Panthers def. Oilers 4-2

Bengel: Despite neither team being a top seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there's very little doubt that the Oilers and Panthers have been the two most impressive teams in this year's field. It'll mark just the fifth Stanley Cup Final rematch during the NHL's expansion era (since 1967) as the two teams attempt to go to war once again.

The Oilers possess an extremely top-heavy roster that is paced by the dynamic one-two punch of McDavid and Draisaitl. When the two are at the top of their game, Edmonton is an incredibly dangerous team from an offensive standpoint. However, the team's depth could be called into question with their top six forwards taking a massive hit in the Western Conference Final. Forward Zach Hyman suffered an upper-body injury in Game 4 against the Dallas Stars and was forced to have season-ending surgery. Without Hyman in the lineup, that takes a ton of goal-scoring prowess away from the Oilers at the top of their lineup.

Meanwhile, the Panthers are about as deep of a team as has been constructed in recent years. Florida possesses a veteran-laden group that is extremely aggress on the forecheck, while also having a very capable back end defensively. The Panthers are led by a ridiculous forward group that has five players with at least five goals this postseason. The addition of Brad Marchand at the trade deadline continues to pay massive dividends with the veteran winger bringing a little bit of everything to the table. His 10 assists are tied for second on the team entering the Stanley Cup Final and his experience should rise to the occasion as this series moves along.

This should prove to be another entertaining series like we got last season, but the Panthers will ultimately prove to have too much depth for the Oilers to handle. Prediction -- Panthers def. Oilers 4-3

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
NFL regular season wins, since 2000:
270— New England
255— Pittsburgh
251— Green Bay
244— Baltimore
242— Philadelphia
238— Indianapolis

Quote of the Day
“My swing, my timing was good. There was a lot of trust in my swing. That’s kind of why things like tonight happen.”
Tigers’ OF Kerry Carpenter, who hit three homers Monday

Tuesday’s quiz
Who is the only player in the College Football Hall of Fame who played college football at Utah?
(Hint: He played in the NFL in the last ten years)

Monday’s quiz
Hall of Fame baseball player Dave Winfield was drafted by four teams in three different sports; NBA’s Atlanta Hawks drafted him in the 5th round in 1973.

Sunday’s quiz
Last time the Indiana Pacers made it to the NBA Finals, they played the Lakers, and lost in six games. Shaquille O’Neal scored 38 ppg in the series, was named MVP.

*****************************************************

Tuesday’s Den: Trends for every major league team…….​

— Arizona (28-31)
Arizona lost 10 of its last 12 games.
Diamondbacks are 8-11 in one-run games.
Arizona is 2-10 in last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (27-31)
Atlanta lost eight of its last 11 games.
Braves are 17-11 at home, 10-20 on the road.
Under is 15-3 in their last 18 home games.

— Cubs (37-22)
Chicago won nine of its last eleven games.
Under is 5-1 in their last six games.
Cubs are 8-1 vs American League teams.

— Reds (29-32)
Cincinnati lost four of its last five games.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.
Last 9 series, Reds are 0-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Rockies (10-50)
Colorado is 3-15 since they changed managers.
Under is 14-4 in Rockies’ last 18 road games.
Rockies are 1-17 vs lefty starters, 9-33 vs righties.

— Dodgers (36-24)
Dodgers won eight of their last 12 games,
Dodgers are 21-10 at home, 15-14 on the road.
Dodgers are 28-13 vs righty starters, 8-11 vs lefties.
Over is 14-4 in their last 18 home games.

— Marlins (23-35) )
Marlins are 8-9 in their last seventeen games.
Miami is 14-18 at home, 9-17 on the road.
Marlins are 1-8 in road series openers.

— Brewers (33-28)
Brewers have won eight games in a row.
Brewers are 18-10 at home, 15-18 on the road.
Under is 10-4 in their last 14 home games.

— Mets (38-22)
Mets won nine of their last eleven games.
Mets are 24-7 at home, 14-15 on the road.
Under is 15-5 in their last 20 games.

— Phillies (36-23)
Phillies lost their last four games.
Phillies are 28-13 vs righty starters, 8-10 vs lefties.
Under is 9-6 in their last fifteen games.

— Pirates (22-38)
Pirates are 5-3 in their last eight games.
Pittsburgh is 13-16 at home, 9-22 on the road.
Under is 10-4 in their last 14 road games.

— St Louis (33-26)
St Louis won 19 of its last 26 games.
Cardinals are 10-2 when Sonny Gray starts.
St Louis is 19-8 at home, 14-18 on the road.

— Padres (34-24)
Padres won six of their last eight games.
Under is 7-3 in their last ten home games.
Padres are 8-1 against their NL West rivals.

— Giants (33-27)
Giants are 4-7 in their last eleven games.
Giants are 27-15 vs rightly pitchers, 6-12 vs lefties.
SF scored total of 14 runs in their last nine games.
Under is 14-1 in Giants’ last fifteen games.

— Washington (28-31)
Nationals won ten of their last 14 games.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Washington is 10-3 last 13 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Famous birthdays, June 3rd:
Billy Cunningham, 82
Emmitt Thomas, 81
Az-Zahir Hakim, 48
Travis Hafner, 48
Al Horford, 39
Imogen Poots, 36
Harrison Bader, 31
Eric Lauer, 30
Luis Urias, 28
Ryan Jeffers, 28
Tuesday would’ve been the 100th birthday for Tony Curtis, the 88th birthday for Edward Winter (Colonel Flagg on M*A*S*H)

— Orioles (22-36)
Baltimore is 6-2 in its last eight games.
Orioles are 8-8 vs AL East foes, 14-28 vs everyone else.
Under is 6-2 in their last eight games.

— Red Sox (29-33)
Boston is 6-16 in one-run games.
Under is 10-4 in their last fourteen games.
Red Sox are 16-15 at home, 13-18 on the road.

— White Sox (18-42)
Chicago lost seven of its last eight games.
White Sox are 6-26 on the road.
White Sox are 12-33 vs righty starters, 6-9 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (32-26)
Cleveland is 14-5 against its AL Central rivals.
Guardians are 29-18 vs righty starters, 3-8 vs lefties.
Over is 4-2 in their last six games.

— Detroit (40-21)
Detroit is 12-6 vs its AL Central rivals.
Tigers won seven of their last eight games.
Under is 9-3 in their last 12 games.

— Houston (32-27)
Astros are 22-12 at home, 10-15 on the road.
Houston is 2-6 in road series openers.
Under is 13-6 in their last nineteen games.
Astros scored total of nine runs in their last four games.

— Royals (31-29)
Royals are 6-11 in their last seventeen games.
Kansas City is 19-13 at home, 12-16 on the road.
Under is 18-10 in Royals’ last 28 games.
Kansas City is 12-8 in one-run games.

— Angels (27-32)
Angels lost seven of their last nine games.
Over is 11-5 in their last 16 road games.
Under is 5-0 in their last five home games.
Halos are 13-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (32-27)
Twins lost five of their last eight games.
Minnesota is 18-8 at home, 14-19 on the road.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.

— New York (36-22)
New York won 17 of its last 23 games.
Under is 6-1 in their last seven home games.
New York is 28-17 vs righty starters, 8-5 vs lefties.

— A’s (23-38)
A’s lost 18 of their last 19 games.
A’s are 9-20 in Sacramento, 14-18 on the road.
Over is 9-3 in their last 12 home games.

— Seattle (32-26)
Mariners are 9-12 in their last 21 games.
Seattle is 4-8 in its last 12 home games.
Under is 7-2 in Seattle’s last nine road games.
Over is 5-1 in Mariners’ last six home games.

— Tampa Bay (30-29)
Tampa Bay won nine of its last 12 games.
Under is 16-7 in their last 23 home games.
Rays are 9-3 in last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (29-31)
Rangers lost nine of their last 13 games.
Texas is 5-13 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 20-13 at home, 9-18 on road.
Under is 13-4 in their last 17 road games.

— Toronto (31-28)
Blue Jays won their last five games, scoring 41 runs.
Under is 5-1 in their last six road games.
Toronto is 9-10 in series openers.

— If the baseball playoffs started today: (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Padres, Cardinals
AL: New York, Tigers, Mariners. Wild Cards: Guardians, Astros, Twins