June 25th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)1-2-0 today again, and I have to think I'm a bit overdue for a run. I'm on vacation now as my family prepares for my sisters wedding so I'm not going to have even less time to look at the picks so I'll try to focus on one pick from each time slot and preview the shit out of those. Then if possible preview some alternate time slots (8pm games, for example) and alternate picks. So yea, Serena Williams was very focused on her game yesterday and blew Groth out in 15 games. Then I got back on track with Sam Querrey who apparently bet on himself to record more aces on Streak for the Cash, then the Evil Empire hit my man Kenshin in the neck and broke out of their slump a couple of innings later. HAHA, take that you lousy Braves! Anyways, on to the picks then.

Recaps

Watch Out Venus; Serena Dominates Groth To Advance To Third Round

S. Williams def. J. Groth 6-2 6-1

In between writing screenplays and eating kit kats in the locker room Serena Williams enjoys playing tennis.

``In the past six months alone, Williams has earned more than Groth has in a lifetime and, in pursuit of her third Wimbledon title and her 11th Grand Slam title in all, she looked in no mood to offer her Slovak opponent a pay rise. Not much is going Groth’s way at the moment. The WTA Tour lists her as Slovakian; the Wimbledon draw sheet lists her as Australian. Her game appeared to be in almost as much disarray as her paperwork as she took on Williams. To tackle a serial champion like Williams on a show court at Wimbledon is hard enough but to do it with an error to winner ratio of 48 (forced and unforced) to nine is a bit like taking on a battleship armed only with a feather duster. Just for good measure, Groth also racked up 10 double faults – this was not pretty to watch."

Read more....Match StatsWilliams Interview (non-match)

Sam Querrey Puts Cilic Under Pressure Early Before Falling Late

Sam Querrey 24 aces - 13 aces Marin Cilic (Cilic def. Querrey 4-6 7-6(7-3) 6-3 6-7(4-7) 6-4)

Sam Querrey reportedly (I didn't see the interview) told ESPN he was happy he had more aces than Cilic, that he'd bet on himself on Streak for the Cash, and had a streak of 4 now. Check his serve stats out, he topped out at 141mph!

``For much of this gripping encounter, it was Querrey's ability to produce an ace - he hit 24 of them - that kept the eager Croatian at bay when he mounted his recovery after dropping the opening set in 37 minutes. The 11th-seeded Cilic needed a touch of good fortune, and found it when he broke the Querrey serve with an outrageously lucky net cord that fell dead into the American's side of the court. All square after two hours and 52 minutes. It had now become a question of whether darkness would end this battle before one of them suffered a break of serve. Then, with a 5-4 lead to Cilic, it was Querrey who turned out to be the victim of the dagger thrust."

Read more....Match Stats

Yankees End Offensive Woes, Atlanta Gives Up First Runs In 23 Innings In Loss

New York Yankees 8 - 4 Atlanta Braves

Kenshin Kawakami got hit in the neck with a line drive, but he's OK. The real trouble for Atlanta was when the Yankees remembered how to pee at a urinal.

``The Braves stretched their scoreless streak to 23 innings with a 1-0 lead through five despite losing starter Kenshin Kawakami, who was struck at the base of the neck with a liner in the third. After five stellar innings, the Braves suddenly fell apart. McCann had two throwing errors and reliever Eric O'Flaherty was late covering first, giving the Yankees an extra out. Nick Swisher led off the seventh with a homer, stretching New York's lead to 4-1, and had a great catch in the bottom half. Turning three different ways, he looked back in time to catch Nate McLouth's drive, keeping him to a sacrifice fly that made it 4-3. New York restored its three-run lead in the top of the eighth, scoring on McCann's first errant throw and Swisher's RBI groundout. Damon and Teixeira added run-scoring hits in the ninth."

Read more....Box Score

Picks
1) Hunter Mahan vs. Paul Goydos - Goydos has a lower front 9 score or ties
2) How Many Games Will Be Played: Venus Williams vs. Kateryna Bondarenko - 17 or fewer
3) How Many Sets Will Be Played: Andy Roddick vs. Igor Kunitsyn - 4 or 5 sets
4) Vijay Singh vs. Lucas Glover - Singh will card a lower first round score by 1 or more strokes
5) St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Mets - New York
6) Kansas City Royals @ Houston Astros - Houston
7) Brazil vs. South Africa - Brazil wins by 2+ goals
8) New York Yankees @ Atlanta Braves - Atlanta
9) Toronto Nationals @ Boston Cannons - Boston
10) Boston Red Sox @ Washington Nationals - Washington
11) Who Will Be The #2 Pick In The NBA Draft: Hasheem Thabeet vs. Any Other Player - Thabeet
12) How Many Big East Players Will Be Selected In The 1st Round: 6 or fewer vs. 7 or more - 7 or more
13) How Many PAC-10 Players Will Be Drafted #6 - #10: 1 or fewer vs. 2 or more - 2 or more
14) Who Will Be Drafted First: Tyler Hansbrough vs. Ty Lawson - Hansbrough
15) Will A Foreign Born Player Be Drafted #20 - #25: Yes vs. No - no
16) How Many Home Runs Will Be Hit (Texas Rangers @ Arizona Diamondbacks): 0 or 1 vs. 2 or more - 0 or 1
17) Texas Rangers @ Arizona Diamondbacks - Arizona

Previews
11) through 15) The table below contains links to ten different mock drafts and shows what they predict the results of the picks up on the board today will be. There are also a couple of mock draft databases that you can access by clicking here or here. Omri Casspi, from Israel, is the only foreign born player projected to go in the #20 to #25 range. The seven Big 10 players many are projecting to go in the first round are Terrence Williams, Sam Young, DaJuan Summers, Earl Clark, DeJuan Blair, Jonny Flynn, and Hasheem Thabeet with DaJuan Summers being the odd man out on many mock drafts. There's actually a lot of debate whether Hansbrough or Lawson will go first, and I'm thinking he might go early but I'm hoping he drops down to #20 to Utah. If so he'll be second most likely. Thabeet and 2 or more PAC-10 in the bottom half of the top 10 picks seem to be the most agreed upon picks. Good luck!

Mock Draft	Thabeet @ #2	7+ Big East	2+ PAC-10	Lawson 1st	Foreigner #20-#25
MyNBA Draft	X	X	X	X
MSN Mock Draft	X		X		X
InsideHoops	X		X
Draft Express	X		X	X
NBC Sports	X	X	X	X
NBA Fanhouse	X		X	X	X
Sports Illustrated			X	X	X
Charlie Ziegers	X	X	X		X
DC Sports Report	X	X	X		X
NBA Draft Depot	X		X	X	X