Easy winner on the St. Louis/Detroit ‘under’ on Wednesday night in a game that would be still going on had it gone any more ‘under’ as the Blues won 1-0.  I figured it was a good opportunity to review what we’ve done so far since I started doing daily sports selections here at SportsUntapped.

As of 12/9/09, we’ve posted a 15-9 record against the spread in all sports for a nice 62% winning clip.  Back when I was in the ‘handicapping for hire’ business whenever a new client came on board it was a no-win proposition for me.  While I was never one to employ sleazy marketing tactics or suggest that clients would be winning at an unreasonable clip, I can understand how a new client would be influenced by short term performance in their first week or two of membership.  If I underperformed and went on a losing streak, the client would rightfully wonder ‘WTF?  I could have picked losers myself.’  On the other hand, if I went on a solid performance–say running off 8 or 9 straight winners–the client might start to bet more than he should and start to panic when the inevitable slowdown occured.

The point of all of this is that what you’ve received here at SportsUntapped so far is pretty much representative of what I’m shooting for on a long term basis.  We’ll get you in the high 50%/low 60% winning range longterm and it won’t cost you a dime.

Here’s the breakdown of our performance by sport so far:

NHL:  9-6
NBA: 1-0
NFL: 0-1
CFB: 5-2

We also gave out selections on UFC 106 which I didn’t include in the ‘all sport’ tally.  The general strategy in MMA is a little different, as longterm we’re looking to play decent sized underdogs and hit around 50%.  And that’s what we’ve done so far, with a 2-2 mark on UFC plays for a +140 profit.

This is the reality of successful sports gambling.  It’s not very ‘sexy’, but its what works.  Notice the absence of terms like ‘lock’, ‘steam’, ‘inside information’, ‘never lost system’, ‘guaranteed winner’ so on and so forth.  If you’re ever looking to pay for handicapping information and see any of those terms used by a tout you’re considering scratch him off your list.

Anyway, tonight we’ll head back to that traditional cradle of professional hockey:  Nashville, Tennessee:

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS. NASHVILLE PREDATORS:

Neither team in great form, primarily because they’ve forgotten about that whole ‘playing defense’ thing.  Columbus did beat Florida at home on Wednesday night 3-0 but that was only their second win in the past ten games.  During that span they’ve gone over the total in seven of ten games.  Nashville in a little better shape, with three wins in their last seven games with 3 over, 2 under and 2 push in that stretch.  Columbus has a more potent offense than Nashville, ranking #7 in the NHL with 3.00 goals per game.  They’ve also got a more miserable defense, ranking #28 with 3.33 goals against per game.  Nashville is more balanced, ranking #13 in team defense and #25 in team offense.

The Jackets will likely go with backup goalie Mathieu Garon here.  Garon has actually played better than starter Steve Mason so far this season, but Mason did record his first shutout of the year on Wednesday night.  Garon has lost five straight starts against the Preds with a 4.43 goals against average, including a 0-4-0 record at Nashville with a 4.08 goals against average.  Pekka Rinne will likely be between the pipes for Nashville, and he’s cooled off considerably since the Preds winning run of mid to late November.  Rinne played well in a 4-2 win against Vancouver on Tuesday, but before that he’d lost four straight starts giving up a total of 13 goals.

Long story short, we expect to see some goals scored here.  Nashville should feast on Garon, while the Jackets’ more potent offense should at least keep the game competitive.  7 of the last eight meetings between the two teams at Nashville have gone over the total and we like this one to go over as well.

PLAY NASHVILLE/COLUMBUS OVER 5′