It was a red letter day for me on Streaking in Public yesterday. it just so happened that that letter was a big fat L. Not a single pick on either Beat the Streak or Streak for the Cash came in. It is a troubling trend because that is the second time that has happened in less than a week. I need to get my head straight and get back on the winning side of things. Joe Dimaggio and whoever "MasterBroncos" is aren't going to catch themselves.
After Dee Gordon went 0-fer yesterday, even with extra innings, I am not quite ready to dive back into the double down end of the pool. Instead, I'll be once again picking a young left handed hitter from the NL East. That player today is Bryce Harper. He takes on Nathan Eovaldi and the Yankees. Harper has done reasonably well in a small sample against the Yankee right hander (.385 BA) during his time with the Marlins and I expect more of the same tonight in Washington.
I was on the wrong side of two 3-0 defeats in European soccer yesterday on Streak for the Cash, leaving me at an L2 for the first time in May. Parma could not muster a goal against Fiorentina while Chelsea were embarrassed against West Bromwich Albion. Tonight I'll be going with one prop bet and one game bet. The NBA Draft Lottery is tonight. As a Knicks fan I am both excited and petrified. I just sat through one of the shittiest campaigns in team history while J.R. Smith gets to Instagram little pot shots from the Conference Finals. There is no justice in this world it seems. There will be even less justice if I don't win the Streak prop that either the Knicks, Lakers, 76ers, or Pistons will win the #1 overall pick in the lottery proceedings. Four bad teams against the field seems like a no-brainer. The worst team hasn't won the lottery since 2004 so I am ruling Minnesota out as competition. The team that won that lottery in '04 though, Orlando, scares the living crap out of me. They've won the rights to the number one pick twice from much less favorable positions in the past. Come on Silver, freeze the Knick envelope like Stern would want you to! Follow along with me tonight on Twitter (@TREVORutley) during the lottery and look for by Bill Simmons rip-off Lottery Diary tomorrow morning.
My other pick on Streak for the Cash is the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is a pick for the heart as they are beginning a series with the bitter rival, and reigning World Series Champion, San Francisco Giants. Carlos Frias takes the mound for the Dodgers while Tim Hudson goes for San Francisco. I am hoping that even if the Lottery pick sends me down, the boys in blue pick me back up.
The NBA Playoffs are back tonight so therefore Drive To The Finals returns to Streaking In Public as well. In my last pick, Trevor Ariza tore out the Clippers' hearts like Kano from Mortal Kombat en route to a 32 PRA and a Game 7 win. I am hoping Ariza and the Rockets can't reproduce their performances against the West's top team, Golden State. I have very few options on the Rockets left, but I will exhaust them before I start using Warriors. The best of the bunch is Terrence Jones. He's the third most popular pick behind Josh Smith and Ariza, who have both already been used by yours truly. Here's to Jones having the game of his life...in a loss. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!!
Image Credits: Harper BTS (mlb.com), Streak picks (espn.com), Jones DTTF (nba.com)