Scott Rickenbach Free Sports Picks & Handicapper Review

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Game #65 Saturday 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay Lightning vs New Jersey Devils @ 3:05 ET - There were 3 goals scored very early in Game 4 and it easily could have been 5 and should have at least been 4 as one was taken off on a questionable offsides call bases on video review. Long story short, more goals will be scored in Game 5 after some craziness took the wind out of the sails of the teams early in Game 4 and then it settled into a tighter, lower-scoring game. I expect the high-scoring to resume today back in Tampa Bay where the Lightning have scored 5 goals in each game in this series! In fact the Bolts are averaging 5.3 goals per game their last 4 games on home ice. The Devils have been very scrappy throughout this series and I don't expect them to go away quietly. That said, they had averaged 3.3 goals per game in the first 3 games of this series before struggling in Game 4 and I look for a bounce back here. Each of these clubs is 9-4 to the over this season when playing with 2 days of rest between games. The over is 11-4 in New Jersey's last 15 games. The over is 30-14-2 in the Bolts last 46 games. 10* OVER the total in Tampa Bay 

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NHL Game #69 Saturday 8* Columbus Blue Jackets Money Line (+) @ Washington Capitals @ 3:05 ET - The road team is a perfect 4-0 in this series. The Capitals certainly have a reputation of choking so don't think for a second that just because they tied up the series by winning two straight at Columbus that they actually have this locked up now. Look for the Blue Jackets to come out with a ton of fire in this one as fiery coach John Tortorella has them ready to go here. The Jackets won 16 of 23 this season when off of a loss by a multiple goal margin. The Capitals lost 15 of 29 this season when off of a game they won by a margin of 2 or more goals. Also, Washington has lost 3 of their last 4 when tied in a playoff series. Upset time. 8* COLUMBUS

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NBA Game #721 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Minnesota Timberwolves vs Houston Rockets @ 7:35 ET - Ladies and gentlemen, this total opened up at a 213 and is now as high as a 214.5 despite the fact that both games in this series have easily stayed under the total AND the Rockets are on an 11-2 run to the under. So what does that tell you? Some sharp money is on the over here folks. This is a contrarian play. Most will be enticed to the under but the over is the way to go. Yes, the Timberwolves are on a 5-1 run to the under also but, after struggling with their shot at Houston, look for them to shoot much better at home in Minnesota. Also, the Rockets are making just 29% of their three pointers so far in this series but that is not going to continue. Houston is too strong of a shooting team and they will hit their stride again. The Rockets actually hit 38 of 82 (46.3%) of their three pointers in their two games at Minnesota in the regular season and they'll get it rolling again tonight. The Wolves have averaged 114 points per game in their last 4 home games versus the Rockets and the over is a perfect 3-0 in the last 3 meetings there. The Timberwolves are 8-4 to the over this season when off of a loss by a double digit margin. 10* OVER the total in Minnesota

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NBA Game #719 Saturday 8* Portland Trail Blazers (+) @ New Orleans Pelicans @ 5:05 ET - Now the Blazers are left for dead because they're down 3-0 in this series. However, with a big upset win on the road they can send this series back to Portland knowing that 2 of the last 3 games would be home if they can keep winning. To come all the way back is certainly improbable but not impossible and it is a game by game approach right now for the Blazers. What I particularly like about his play is the over-reaction of the markets. Thursday's Game 3 match-up opened up at a -3. Now, Saturday's Game 4 match-up is up as high as a 7.5 as of early game day morning. This is the true definition of value because there is no way Portland is laying down here and now we're getting 7.5 points instead of 3. Taking a closer look at the losses. The Blazers lost Game 3 because of 24 turnovers. They lost Game 2 because the Pelicans made 12 of 24 three pointers. They lost Game 1 because they couldn't throw it in the ocean as the saying goes as they took 98 shots but only made 38%. They lost that game by 2 and if they lose Game 4 I also expect it to be by just a single possession. The Trail Blazers are 6-2 ATS this season when they enter a game on a losing streak of 3 or more games. 8* PORTLAND

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Game #717 Saturday Free Pick Philadelphia 76ers (-) @ Miami Heat @ 2:35 ET - With Joel Embiid back for the Sixers, the Heat are finding out how much tougher it is to attack the basket. His presence for the 76ers is huge on both ends of the floor. Philly won Game 3 by 20 and all 3 games in this series have been decided by double digits. That said, I won't hesitate to lay the small number here with Philadelphia in Game 4 on the road. The 76ers are now 18-1 SU in their last 19 games and only 1 of those games was decided by less than 4 points. The Heat have covered just 4 times in their last 13 games. Free Pick PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Month - Rickenbach MLB Game #959 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Rockies vs Chicago Cubs @ 8:10 ET - After combining for 21 runs yesterday's game, don't be surprised if we see another wild one tonight. Temperatures in the upper 40s not bad for this time of year in Denver and the winds, though light, are also expected to be shifting around to the south or southeast which will be pushing balls to left field. Ton of extra base hits in yesterday's game and more of the same expected here. Yu Darvish will be making his first ever start at Colorado. In his most recent start he got frustrated by a balk call and then unraveled from there. Wait until he gets frustrated by pitching in conditions where his pitches just don't have the same movement they normally would. Look for Darvish to get frustrated here and struggle like many hurlers do in their first starts at Coors Field. The Rockies did see him (and hit him hard) in September and now they get a shot at him at home. Darvish has struggled in 2 of his 3 starts this season. Tyler Anderson gets the start for the Rockies here and the southpaw was hit hard in his lone start versus the Cubs in his career. Also, he is coming off of a start in which he walked 6 batters in 6 innings. Prior to that he benefited from facing the light-hitting Padres twice this season. Now he faces a powerful Chicago lineup coming off of a 16-run outburst yesterday and this gets ugly quick in my opinion. The Cubs have gone over in 4 straight games and the Rockies have just 1 under in their last 6 games. Look for Chicago's over to improve to 6-2 in night games this season. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Game #969 Saturday 8* OVER the total in Baltimore Orioles vs Cleveland Indians @ 4:05 ET - Cleveland's Mike Clevinger biggest problem last season was command and he could be unraveling again. He certainly looked "off" in his start versus the Blue Jays and allowed 4 earned runs in just 4 innings. In his prior start, Clevinger allowed just 1 earned run but 10 hits in 7 and 1/3 innings. He threw 110 pitches in that start which was a career high and likely should have been pulled sooner. The rough outing versus the Jays could be as sign of things to come. As for Orioles starter Chris Tillman everything has been rough as he is 0-3 with an 11.92 ERA this season. Now he faces an Indians team that, prior to yesterday's 3-1 loss, had averaged 12.2 hits per game in their last 5 games. As they've been able to play in warmer weather the Cleveland bats are also starting to warm up. One could argue that Tillman could be better here today because he is pitching at home. However, last season he was 1-4 with a 6.58 ERA at home while allowing 17 homers in 14 innings and issuing more walks than strikeouts! Also, the last two times he faced the Indians, Tillman has allowed a total of 9 earned runs in 10 innings and Cleveland has hit 4 homers against him! 8* OVER the total in Baltimore

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Game #965 Saturday 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 1:05 ET - The Yankees are now 12-2-1 to the over this month after yesterday's 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays flew over the total. Toronto's Marcus Stroman has struggled with his command this season. The Jays right-hander has allowed at least 4 earned runs in all 3 of his starts (including one against the Yankees) even though he hasn't lasted more than 5 innings in any of the outings. Jordan Montgomery was rocked for 4 earned runs on 10 hits in just 4 and 1/3 innings in his most recent home start. Now he faces a Blue Jays team that is #1 in the AL in slugging percentage in day games this season with a .482 mark. Who is #2 in the AL in slugging percentage this season? The Yankees with a .461 mark. Look for the over to improve to 5-2 in Toronto's day games this season as both teams continue to pound the ball in afternoon action! 8* OVER the total in New York Yankees