Cappers Sports Picks

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #731 Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (+) vs Portland Trail Blazers @ 6:35 ET - As I suspected the 76ers, whom have won 3 straight games SU but had not been covering, finally got their first cover in their most recent game. They played an Orlando team desperate for wins and it did not matter. With Al Horford back in the starting lineup because of Ben Simmons likely being out for the year, the Sixers played loose and relaxed and got the win. Look for a similar result here. Portland is desperate for wins and will be a popular choice here but a lot of pressure is on them to win and they are in a back to back spot. They totally blew their game against the Clippers and LA didn't even play Kawhi Leonard as he was rested. That was inexcusable on the part of the Blazers and now they are in a back to back spot and facing a rested 76ers team that has nothing to lose and is playing winning basketball and I look for them to make it 4 straight SU wins but will gladly grab the points being offered. 10* PHILADELPHIA

NBC Sports Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #21 Sunday 10* Top Play Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs @ 8 ET - The winner of this game takes on the Lightning. Wouldn't it be perfect if that team ended up being the Blue Jackets? The same Columbus team that swept Tampa Bay out of the first round of the playoffs last year after the Bolts had a regular season performance for the ages. I believe this is precisely what we'll see here. Yes I am aware of the injury situation with Zach Werenski and Ryan Murray of the Jackets but I am pulling the trigger on a huge bounce back performance from Columbus here. After the unreal loss to Maple Leafs Friday (Blue Jackets were up 3-0 with 6 minutes to go), Columbus will be right back to work here. Coach Tortorella would have it no other way and you're going to see one of the most physical and gritty performances from a wounded dog then you'll ever see in an NHL post-season. I just don't see the Blue Jackets being denied in this bounce back spot after the Maple Leafs miracle win on Friday night. To me the Jackets are the better playoff-built hockey team in this series. I know Toronto is very talented but I like the grit of this Blue Jackets team and feel we've got tremendous line value here with them as a sizable dog in a series where no team has managed to win back to back games. Look for that trend to continue here. 10* COLUMBUS

Divisional Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #23 Sunday 8* Dallas Stars Money Line (+) vs St Louis Blues @ 3 ET - Will either team want to win this game? All kidding aside the winner gets Calgary and the loser gets Vancouver. While neither match-up is particularly appealing I would argue that facing the red hot Flames who dominated Winnipeg appears a little more daunting than facing a young Canucks team that squeaked by the Wild in tighter games. In any event the fact is that this adds even more value to simply playing the hungry dog in this one. Both teams are disappointed about the way they've played as each are 0-2 in the round robin and haven't played well. But the key to the value on Dallas here is twofold. For one thing the Stars are desperate for a win because they were on an 0-4-2 run before the March shutdown. Then they lost their exhibition game before going 0-2 in this round robin. Stars need a win! Secondly the Blues went 4-0-1 against Dallas in the regular season. The Stars want to atone for that should they meet up again in this post-season. It is time for a little payback and while Dallas may get Klingberg back for this game the Blues will be without Barbashev and plus Tarasenko has logged only 14 minutes of ice time so far (all in 1st game of round robin) as he continues to try and come back from injury which he certainly doesn't want to re-aggravate here in a bit of a meaningless game to be honest. All above factors considered, there is solid underdog value here. 8* DALLAS

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #973 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in LA Dodgers vs San Francisco Giants @ 4:10 ET - The Giants Kevin Gausman went 3-9 with a 5.72 ERA. The hope for him was that a change of scenery would get him going here in San Francisco. However, though he piled up strikeouts in his first two starts he also makes too many mistake pitches. He also faced the Dodgers out of the pen two weeks ago and that won't help him here as it didn't go well and now Los Angeles will be seeing him again in a rather short span of time and plus with the Dodgers off a tight loss yesterday in which they didn't hit well, you can bet their lineup will be dialed in for a much better performance at the plate in this one. Also, it is a day game at Dodger Stadium and the ball does carry better here in day games than night games. Walker Buehler is familiar with that and has struggled more in day games than night games so far in his young career. Also, he's scuffling a bit early this season as he is still trying to round into form. Make no mistake he is ultra talented but his command is a little off and that is why he is giving up too many homers early on. We get a low total because he is on the mound for this one and this has led to good value on the over and so I am raising this one to my highest level. 10* OVER the total in LA Dodgers

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #963 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Kansas City Royals vs Minnesota Twins @ 2:05 ET - Jose Berrios is a respected starter in the majors and with good reason. However, the right-hander has made his mark as a strong pitcher over the last 3 seasons and one thing really stands out in 2 of those 3 campaigns. Berrios is a different pitcher when he is at home compared to on the road. Last season it didn't play out that way but each of the two prior seasons it did with a very strong home/road dichotomy. Couple that with the fact that the Royals have some guys in their lineup whom have hit him quite well and I expect some struggles for Berrios in this one. Kansas City has been swinging the bats well at home recently. Of course the Twins are known for their power at the plate and rookie Royals right-hander Brady Singer makes his first home start here. He has allowed 4 homers in his first 3 starts, all on the road, and now pitches at hitter-friendly Kaufmann Stadium in a day game with the wind blowing out. This one should turn into a slugfest. 8* OVER the total in Kansas City