Matt Fargo

This is a play on the ATLANTA BRAVES for our MLB Saturday Sweet Spot. The Braves and Dodgers will be facing each other in the NLCS for a second straight season and last year was epic with the Dodgers rallying from a 3-1 deficit to win three straight and make it to the World Series. We will going with the home team in Game One. Max Fried gets the ball for the Braves and has been sensational. He posted a 3.04 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 28 regular season starts. He backed that up with six shutout innings while allowing just three hits and striking out nine and walking none in a 3-0 win over the Brewers. He faced the Dodgers twice, posting a 2.25 ERA and 0.83 WHIP, striking out 13 and waking one. Corey Knebel will open Game One tonight, with Tony Gonsolin expected to provide bulk innings at some point in the game. This bumps Max Scherzer to start Game Two on Monday. Gonsolin has not pitched this postseason but in 2020, he posted an 8.68 ERA in three starts over 9.1 innings. Here, we play on National League home teams between +125 to -125 with a slugging percentage of .430 or better starting a pitcher on 5 or 6 days of rest going up against a starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.25 or better. This situation is 43-16 (72.9 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (906) Atlanta Braves

This is a situation on the NASHVILLE PREDATORS for our NHL Central Game of the Month. We won with Carolina on Thursday as it dominated the Islanders but that game was at home where the Hurricanes are now 21-3-5 at home dating back to last season. The Hurricanes outshot New York 41-28 and scored two power play goals on five attempts while going 3-3 on the penalty kill. Carolina was playing in front of its first full-capacity crowd (18,680) at PNC Arena since February 2020 so the Hurricanes fed off of that to open the season with a convincing win. Carolina now hits the road to face the Predators in a rematch of the first-round playoff series from last year. Nashville lost that series 4-2 so it gets some early season revenge on home ice. Speaking of home ice, the Predators lost their home opener 4-3, giving the Seattle Kraken their first ever franchise win. They outshot Seattle 30-25 but allowed two back-to-back power play goals, both in the first period. Bounce back time. The Predators are 20-6 in their last 26 games as a home favorite. Here we play on home teams with a winning percentage of .300 or worse off a home loss by one goal, a playing a team with a winning record in the first half of the season. This situation is 23-9 (71.9 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (20) Nashville Predators

This is a play on the B.C. LIONS for our CFL Game of the Week. Saskatchewan came into Week Nine with a 5-2 record but lost two games against Calgary which improved to 4-5 on the season to get back into the playoff race. B.C. is a half-game ahead of the Stampeders so this is a big game for the Lions to gain some space. Both teams are in a battle for third in the West, but a Lions win could see them pull into a tie with Saskatchewan for the No. 2 seed. The Lions possess the number two scoring defense in the West Division while Calgary has the second lowest scoring offense in the league. Calgary backup quarterback Jake Maier has COVID-19 and he will be in isolation until further notice so Michael O'Connor will back up Bo Levi Mitchell until his return to the roster and while it should noy be an impact, an injury to Mitchell would be catastrophic for Calgary. B.C. is 15-4 ATS in its last 19 home games after allowing 350 or more passing yards in their last game while the Stampeders are 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine games following a straight up win. Here, we play on underdogs or pickems coming off a loss against a division rival going up against an opponent off an upset win as an underdog. This situation is 68-32 ATS (68 percent) since 1996. 10* (676) B.C. Lions

This is a play on the TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS for our CFB Saturday Supreme Annihilator. Tennessee is off to a solid 4-2 start following a pair of blowout wins over Missouri and South Carolina. The offense is ranked No. 19 overall and No. 7 in rushing offense and this is big as they face a defense that is ranked No. 102 overall and No. 106 against the run. Tennessee is 3-1 at home, outscoring opponents by close to 27 ppg. Last season, they went 3-7 and had the tough task of facing five ranked opponents, four of which were top six or better. With Alabama on deck, this is a big game to win. Mississippi was in a shootout last week against Arkansas and dodged a bullet as Arkansas went for two on its last touchdown and did not convert and the Rebels prevailed by just one point. One big thing that stands out is that they allowed 350 yards rushing last week and that will bite them here. The Rebels are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game. Here, we play on home teams off two consecutive wins by 10 points or more against conference rivals, in a game involving two teams with winning percentages between .600 and .800. this situation is 31-8 ATS (79.5 percent) over the last 10 seasons. 9* (194) Tennessee Volunteers

This is a play on the ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE for our Blowout Game of the Week. Alabama got shocked last weekend by Texas A&M on a last second field goal and you can bet that it will be out for blood this Saturday. The loss against the unranked Aggies ended an incredible streak of 100 straight victories against unranked opponents which went back to 2007. It also snapped an overall 19-game winning streak. While the Crimson Tide defeated Florida by just two points, the other four victories have all been blowouts. In 2019 after losing to LSU, they travelled to Starkville and defeated Mississippi St. 38-7 and we are expecting the same here. The Crimson Tide are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games following an ATS loss. The Bulldogs are off to a 3-2 start following a win over Texas A&M prior to their bye week and while the extra prep time is normally a good thing, they are in a horrible spot here. Two of its wins came by a combined five points including a one-point win over Louisiana Tech at home. The Bulldogs are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games following an ATS win. Here, we play against home underdogs of 10.5 to 21 points in conference games, off a win against a conference rival. This situation is 42-14 ATS (75 percent) over the last five seasons. 9* (183) Alabama Crimson Tide

This is a play on the UTEP MINERS for our C-USA Game of the Month. UTEP has won and covered three straight games to improve to 5-1 on the season and are now two wins away from bowl eligibility as one of those victories came against Bethune Cookman of the FCS. The Miners finished 3-5 last season and had two close losses and were close to being a .500 team. While not much was expected this season, they are very experienced with every starter back on offense and eight starters back on defense. They are a sizeable home underdog here as many are still not trusting UTEP based on what transpired the prior three years from last season where it went 2-34. UTEP is 16-5 ATS after allowing 125 or less rushing yards in two straight games. Louisiana Tech is coming off a bye week following a solid effort at NC State where it lost by a touchdown. The Bulldogs are expected to contend in the C-USA West Division but we are not sure about laying this number on the road against a very confident team. The Bulldogs are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up loss. Here, we play against road teams (off a road loss going up against an opponent off a double digit road win. This situation is 52-23 ATS (69.3 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (206) UTEP Miners

This is a play on the PURDUE BOILERMAKERS as part of our CFB Afternoon Triple Play. We won with Iowa last week as it overcame a 10-point deficit to score the final 13 points of the game to win by three. The Hawkeyes may still be celebrating that victory which vaulted them to No. 2 in the country as they are now 6-0 on the season including a 3-0 record in the Big Ten. They have covered all but one game this season and now they are laying double-digits to a dangerous team. The team defense has been great but Iowa is ranked No. 119 in total offense so trying to outscore a team by putting up a ton of points is not likely an option. The Hawkeyes are 3-11 ATS in their last 14 games as favorites of 10.5-14 points. Scoring could be even more difficult as Purdue is ranked No. 14 in the country in total defense which is not a surprise as it brought back nine starters. The Boilermakers are 3-2 but have failed to cover their last three games which adds value. Purdue is ranked No. 10 in passing offense so it does have an opportunity to move the ball down the field. Head coach Jeff Brohm is 14-3 ATS against teams outscoring opponents by 10 or more ppg on the season in all games he has coached. 9* (181) Purdue Boilermakers

This is a play on the VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES as part of our CFB Afternoon Triple Play. After a 3-0 start to the season, Virginia Tech has lost two of its last three games and has gone 3-0 ATS over that stretch. The Hokies lost a tough one last week against Notre Dame as they blew an 8-point lead with just over two minutes left including the Irish go ahead field goal with 17 seconds remaining. Virginia Tech is 3-1 at home with that lone loss coming against Notre Dame by two points. The Hokies are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog. Pittsburgh is coming off a pair of blowout wins although one of those was against New Hampshire of the FCS. The Panthers are 4-1 on the season with the lone defeat coming against Western Michigan as two touchdown favorites. They have one of the best offenses in the country but face a formidable Hokies defense and Virginia Tech has a big edge in turnover margin. The Panthers are 2-5 ATS against teams with a winning record. Here, we play against road favorites averaging 440 or more ypg going up against a team allowing between 330 and 390 ypg, after allowing 6.25 or more yppl in their previous game. This situation is 73-34 ATS (68.2 percent) since 1992. 9* (128) Virginia Tech Hokies

This is a play on the BOWLING GREEN FALCONS as part of our CFB Afternoon Triple Play. Bowling Green opened the season 0-2 and then won two straight games including a big win at Minnesota and now has dropped its last two games including an awful loss against Akron at home as a two-touchdown favorite. The Falcons are 2-0 in the MAC so this is a big game to try and stay within pace in the MAC East. They were predicted to finish last in the division but will be facing a team that was picked to finish last in the MAC West so this game is very winnable despite the spread no indicating that. The Falcons are 17-6 ATS in their last 23 road games off an upset loss as a favorite. Northern Illinois has won three straight games after a 1-2 start and it is coming off an upset win at Toledo this past Saturday by two points as a 13-point underdog. The Huskies are very average on both sides of the ball and are ranked No. 120 in passing offense, going up against a Bowling Green passing defense that is ranked No. 10 so running the ball will kill clock. Here, we play on conference road underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points off an upset loss as a double digit home favorite. This situation is 50-19 ATS (72.5 percent) since 1992. 9* (123) Bowling Green Falcons