Total of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #41 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Avalanche vs Los Angeles Kings @ 9:05 ET - The Avalanche are starting Jonas Johansson here. This will be just his 2nd appearance in a period of 3 weeks. That is not good in terms of a rust factor and he was playing better for Colorado when he was getting more ice time. Now he has allowed 6 goals on just 38 shots over his last two starts. Keep in mind, he went 0-5 with a 3.79 GAA in his time with the Sabres this season before coming over to the Avs. Johansson is going to be pressured by the Kings here in what is their final game of the season. Los Angeles has nothing to play for but pride and to play the role of spoiler and to prevent the Avalanche from winning the division and the Presidents Trophy for most regular season points totaled in the standings. I do not expect LA to get the upset but I do expect them to be very aggressive in wanting to score a few goals after getting shutout yesterday. At the same time, they are not going to stop an ultra talented Colorado attack that is determined to enter the playoffs as the #1 seed for this NHL season. The Avs looked fantastic yesterday and I expect more of the same today. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Total of the Month - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #567 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Atlanta Hawks vs Orlando Magic @ 7:40 ET - Neither team shot well in Orlando's loss at Milwaukee Tuesday but the game still totaled 216 points. This followed a game in which the Magic allowed 128 points but the game stayed under the total. This was on the heels of a 12-2 run to the over in Orlando's games. One of the few unders in that stretch was a loss at Atlanta that was on pace for an over as of halftime but both teams shot poorly overall for the game. This ended a streak of 3 straight overs in this series and I fully expect the high-scoring ways to resume today. The Hawks are trying to secure the #4 spot in the East but they sure as hell are not playing defense in hopes of doing so. Now these tired defensive legs are playing the 2nd night of a back to back and 3rd game in 4 days and Atlanta has allowed 124.3 points per game last 3 games. The Magic have allowed 124 points per game last 4 games. Orlando has nothing to play for other than pride and the fast pace played at Milwaukee is very likely to be repeated here. Look for plenty of points as a result as both teams have been giving up a ton of points as of late. More of the same here. 10* OVER the total in Atlanta

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach MLB Rotation #973 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Atlanta Braves vs Toronto Blue Jays @ 12:20 ET - Yesterday's game was dominated the pitchers but I expect that to change today in a big way. The Braves Charlie Morton is having trouble with his breaking stuff and that has really wrecked his current form. Morton did not even get out of the 1st inning versus the Phillies in his most recent start. Prior to that, he had allowed 9 earned runs in 10 and 2/3 innings over his two most recent outings. Against the Blue Jays, Morton has allowed 10 earned runs in 9 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts. Toronto will have Ross Stripling on the mound for this one. He has allowed 6 earned runs on 12 hits in a 8 and 1/3 innings spanning his last two starts against the Braves. Also, Stripling enters this start with a WHIP near 2.00 and a 6.61 ERA in his four starts this season. Poor current form for him and the Braves will take advantage with a big day at the plate here. We get line value here with the total dropping from a 9 to an 8.5 and I will step in and take advantage. 10* OVER the total in Atlanta

NOTE: This match was rescheduled from earlier this month but my original write-up still holds true. In fact, with Chelsea losing yesterday, this actually gives Liverpool a little more hope in terms of staying alive for a top four spot in the table while Manchester United can be aggressive on the attack here knowing they are very nearly already locked into the #2 spot in the table as the campaign is winding down. Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach EPL Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Manchester United vs Liverpool @ 3:15 PM ET -  ORIGINAL WRITE-UP: Always a big match-up, the first one in the league action this campaign was a scoreless draw. I feel strongly that this is serving to give us excellent line value with the total in this one. Both clubs are pretty well set in the table with perhaps Liverpool having a little extra hunger but knowing that the chances of them moving into the top four rest somewhere between slim and nil! That said, there will be a little more aggression on the attack in this one from both clubs and Liverpool has been showing much stronger away form over its last 7 league matches on enemy soil. Also, on the campaign, Manchester United has averaged 2 goals per match in home matches and Liverpool has averaged 2 goals per match on the road. 2-2 final here? Certainly would not totally surprise me and we just need 3 goals here to be a winner. Manchester United has scored 2 or more goals in 6 of last 7 matches across all competitions and actually scored an average of 3 goals in those 6 matches! When these clubs met in English FA Cup action in January it was a 3-2 win for Manchester United. Liverpool's recent matches heading into this one have featured some tougher luck in scoring goals but the opportunities have been there. That said, and given this situation, Liverpool will be relentless in their quest for cashing in those opportunities in this one. 10* OVER the total in Manchester United

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Thursday Free Pick Aston Villa Money Line +195 vs Everton @ 1 ET - Just as in other sports, I often like to fade the line moves to get even more value. That is the case here as Aston Villa was as low as a +140 but is now as high as a +195 as of game day morning. The fact is that Everton is getting plenty of attention from the betting markets and I certainly understand this since they have one of the best away records in the league this season. However, Aston Villa has proven to be their nemesis for quite some time and won the reverse fixture less than two weeks ago. Overall I like the way Aston Villa has been playing of late with their recent losses coming against only the best clubs in the table. This included defeats at the hands of Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool. I look for the hosts to come up with another big effort against an Everton club still lamenting what could have been had they not slumped and won just once in eight matches prior to coming up with a 1-0 win over West Ham. Note that in that match West Ham controlled possession by more than a 2 to 1 ratio so I am not putting a ton of stock in that Everton win and feel we have great value with the hosts here. Free Pick ASTON VILLA +195