Matt's Picks (4 Live)
I know Ed in Miami will hate this play because the Devils have burned us more than a few times, and I am rather treading water in the NHL right now if not worse. That's fine, stuff always goes a little sideways before a holiday break. The New Year is when we start cooking in hockey and both basketballs. But with star Jack Hughes activated off IR and Buffalo in the second of a B2B, well, have to. The Sabres have won five straight but all with Alex Lyon in net. He won't be tonight presumably. Hey, if they want start him twice in 24 hours, go for it.
You know I get it. Colorado is truly excellent. And the Wild did play Saturday. But goaltender Jesper Wallstedt didn't. He is one reason why I probably play Sweden at fairly long odds to win Olympic gold in a few months. The 23-year-old is 10-1-2 with a 1.96 GAA and a .936 save percentage. This might lose but still the right play. Winning and being right aren't always congruous.
Really feels like the books truly disrespect the Broncos weekly. I would say that fortune seems to be smiling on them in every close game -- like the Bears, to be honest -- and that's usually not super-sustainable. Jacksonville seems to be peaking. I do wish it would be snowing and freezing cold in Denver for a Florida team in town, but the Jags own maybe one quality away win (San Francisco). The Broncos could clinch the AFC West and conference's top seed with a win and some other results going their way. I might have worried in past years about them looking ahead a bit to a Christmas game in Kansas City, but the Chiefs are no longer relevant this year.
The Fighting Salamis aren't particularly good but neither is Atalanta. The visitors --almost typed Falcons but Atalanta's nickname of La Dea (The Goddess) is way, way better -- have some major availability concerns, not that I've heard of 98.3% of those guys. 98.3 ... now I want to listen to 80s alternative on the radio; kids, that's a device where music spews from but that you don't own or control what is being played. That's sorta the allure as you can be surprised once in a while. And the late Casey Kasem. That was appointment radio.
Raise your hand if you have been a Bears fan since can remember and missed the greatest comeback win in franchise history live. I'm just still in utter disbelief about all of it. Am I dead in a cornfield in Iowa? Will say that now I do understand why many senior citizens record stuff and delay watching sports for like an hour or two to skip through commercials on FF. The game went by much faster. This feels like one of the biggest letdown/trap games in NFL history honestly. Why would the Chiefs care one iota? Just deflation, holmes, after being eliminated last week and the Patrick Mahomes injury. Think Jackson Mahomes is at QB today; that buffoon might be better than Gardner Minshew.
Carolina's Rico Dowdle has seven total touchdowns this season, one shy of earning a $250K bonus for an eighth. You don't think his coaches and teammates know that and want to get it ASAP? Dowdle isn't making a bundle this year on a one-year deal. I will share in the Discord room at some point an excellent CBS Sports research document showing all relevant contract incentives that could be hit in Week 16. The Bucs have allowed 16 rushing TDs, among the most in the NFL.
Bit of a funny/sad story as mentioned in the newsletter. Biggest Bears regular-season game in a decade tonight. And yet I will be at a staging of "A Christmas Story" on ice or roller skates or mud or some craziness because someone clearly doesn't know me ... or sports. So I'm gonna play games in that entire show window as an excuse to go to the lobby and sit at the bar (there better be one). Sorry "gotta work". Have I mentioned I love this job? Gets me out of so much. Like the Curb episode where Larry uses his mother's death to get out of everything. I see Emory Hunt is on the Cats; will punch up to 3. True home game.
I recommend waiting to make sure Jaylen Brown is out, but he's doubtful. In a normal universe, that should mean out but it's the NBA so I trust nothing. Sometimes Joel Embiid goes from "corpse" to "probable" in like two hours. Don't get me started. Boston is in the second of a B2B and that's why not likely. Yeah, I guess it's hard making $40 million and playing basketball twice in 24 hours. Here is the world's tiniest violin. But I'm all about positivity today after that (quite ugly) Canes win. I don't think the Celtics win in Toronto without Brown. It's also one of those one-game trips that players despise.
I had not planned to play this, but the Flyers have ruled out No. 1 goalie Dan "Darth" Vladar. The former Calgary No. 2 has been excellent this year and stole the starting job from today's starter in Samuel Ersson (3.05 GAA). Which sounds a lot like Ershon and makes me think of the criminally underrated "The Other Guys." Truly love that movie. I also now want a glacier water with cucumber because it accents the water in such a way ... lol. In addition, Philly is without center Christian Dvorak (23 points, plus-8). Yeah, this got interesting real fast, although the Rangers for some reason are really struggling at home. Otherwise this should be probably -180.
I generally make plays with my brain and not heart .. but will make an exception for this one. I honestly believe Miami is one of the top-five most talented teams in the country if Mario Cristobal would just get out of his own way sometimes. At a neutral site, I'd crush this. But it's not. Obviously weather forecasts are tricky this far out. It looks rather nice in College Station down the road. Cold and I'm not doing this. Because the Canes are like the Dolphins. Fish out of water so to speak.
Obviously juiced but an outlier number at our books. West Ham has not lost a match in any competition by at least three goals since Sept. 13 and has drawn its past three away. Quick turnaround for the Citizens as they beat Brentford 2-0 on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup. In all competitions, Man City would have covered this twice in the past eight. Pep Guardiola's squad has some availability concerns, too. See in America I'd just say on the IR or whatnot. But in Love Actually-land (it's Christmas and that's a Top-5 all-time flick) guys might be hurt, suspended or with national teams. Many EPL clubs, including City, are missing a guy or two due to them playing in the Africa Cup of Nations.