Monday News, Notes and Trends

Monday, April 17, 2006 

 

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MLB

·        San Fran is 11-3 to Miguel Batista

·        The Cubs are 8-2 to Brett Tomko

·        Paul Byrd has a 5-1 lifetime mark with a 2.33 ERA to Detroit

·        The White Sox are 4-15 to Joe Mays

·        Kansas City is 0-7 to Jose Contreras

 

NBA

·        The Bulls are 8-2 to Orlando

·        Indiana is 1-10 their last 11

·        Indiana has gone under 16-6 their last 22

·        Milwaukee is 11-2 this year after allowing 105 or more points

·        New Orleans-Phoenix have gone under 8-of-10

 

Here are news and notes from Godspicks.com private clipboard.  They are compiled from hometown newspapers and the team’s own press releases. Get advanced news and notes ready for opening lines at blog on our home page. 

Bulls-Magic

Orlando Sentinel

The playoff chase is over, but Orlando’s eight-game winning streak is still alive, which should keep the game interesting. In their last home game of the season, the Magic will be holding their Fan Appreciation Night. Chicago qualified for the playoffs with a victory Sunday against the Heat in Miami, but their position will be determined by their final two games. Chicago hopes to guard against a letdown. The Bulls have won eight of their past 10 games, making a nice run despite some key injuries. Chicago leads the season with Orlando 2-1.

Cavaliers-Celtics

Akron Beacon Journal

Cavs coach Mike Brown is committed to resting his front-line players, with the exception of Hughes, this week. With the luxury of having their playoff situation settled, Brown said he will continue to pull his starters in the fourth quarter and is considering sitting James for an entire game against the Boston Celtics tonight or the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

Pistons-Bucks

Wisconsin State Journal

The Pistons come to the Bradley Center tonight seemingly on cruise control with the NBA’s best record at (64-16), a first-round date with a playoff opponent still to be determined and almost a lock on home-court advantage all the way through to the final round if they should make it that far. The Bucks don’t have that luxury, even though they qualified for the playoffs Saturday night despite an embarrassing loss to the Atlanta Hawks at the Bradley Center. That loss combined with Philadelphia’s loss to Orlando allowed Milwaukee to back into a playoff berth. But that loss put a major crimp in the Bucks’ hopes of finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference, which would allow them to face fellow Central Division member Cleveland in the best-of-seven first round. The only option that remains for Milwaukee is to win its final two games of the season against the Pistons and at Washington Tuesday night and see how everything else works out in the down-to-the-wire race with Indiana and Wizards for the fifth spot.