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07/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves can't afford to lose any ground in the competitive National League East Division. Tonight they have a good shot at bouncing back with Tim Hudson on the mound in the third test of a four-game series versus the Milwaukee Brewers at Turner Field.
After taking the opener of this series by a 2-1 score on Thursday, the Braves dropped a 9-3 decision last night and starter Tommy Hanson was roughed up for four runs -- three earned -- in five innings to suffer the loss. Kenshin Kawakami did no better by allowing three runs in an inning of work.
"When you don't pitch and you don't play defense and you don't get any timely hits, that's a good formula for getting taken out behind the woodshed," Braves veteran Chipper Jones said.
Troy Glaus and Brain McCann both knocked in a run and Jones ended 0-for-3 for the Braves, who still lead the NL East by five games over New York and 5 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia. The Mets and Phils lost on Friday.
Atlanta lost for just the second time in seven tries and hopes Hudson can pitch the ballclub back into the win column. Hudson, who has alternated wins and losses over his previous seven decisions, pitched seven shutout innings in last Saturday's 4-0 road victory against the Mets.
Hudson allowed four hits, struck out three and issued a pair of walks to improve to 9-4 in 18 starts and lower his ERA to 2.30. He will try to remain dominant at home, as he sports a 5-2 record in seven trips to the Turner Field mound. Hudson will also face Milwaukee for a second time in 2010 and beat the Brewers back on May 11 at Miller Park, hurling six innings of one-run ball in an 11-3 rout.
The right-hander is 3-2 with a 2.98 earned run average in seven career starts against the Brewers.
Milwaukee won for the fourth time in five tries with its six-run victory over the Braves and got a decent performance from starter Randy Wolf. The southpaw held the Braves to three runs and seven hits in six innings, while Todd Coffey, Zach Braddock, Kameron Loe and Trevor Hoffman went the rest of the way to preserve the win.
"I think I've only had a few good games in this stadium, but I felt pretty good today," Wolf said. "You have to have a good day to really pitch well here. It's gratifying to pitch well against a good team, especially knowing my history of definitely not being Cy Young in this stadium."
Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer, Prince Fielder knocked in a pair of runs and both Casey McGehee and Carlos Gomez recorded three hits for the Brewers, who are nine games off the pace in the NL Central and will also visit Pittsburgh for four contests on the trek.
Brewers starter Chris Narveson hopes his first career appearance against Atlanta goes better than he has fared lately. He'll take the hill tonight and is 7-6 with a 6.02 ERA in 23 games, 14 of which have been starts, this season.
Since winning two straight and three of four decisions, Narveson has dropped consecutive trips to the hill and is coming off a nightmare performance on July 7 in a 15-2 setback versus San Francisco. He was reached for 10 runs -- nine earned -- and nine hits through 3 1/3 innings.
The left-hander is 4-3 in 12 games (7 starts) as the guest in 2010.
The Braves had won five straight and seven of their last eight versus the Brewers before last night's game.
<< Richard, Padres resume series vs. D'Backs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clayton Richard was bailed out by his offense the last time
he took the mound. The San Diego Padres hope that Richard won't need the help
when he gets the nod tonight in the second installment of a three-game series
versus
<< Mets try to rebound against homestanding Giants
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets are hoping something will give when they
take on the San Francisco Giants Saturday night in the third installment of a
four-game set at AT&T Park.
New York has lost the first two games of this set
<< Szavay, Zahlavova Strycova advance to Prague final
Prague, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Agnes Szavay and Barbora Zahlavova
Strycova were both easy semifinal winners Saturday at the $220,000 Prague Open
tennis event.
Szavay, last week's Budapest titlist, downed unseeded Czech Lucie
<< Oosthuizen five clear with 2nd round completed
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A wind delay Friday forced the
completion of the second round of the British Open into Saturday morning.
Louis Oosthuizen remained atop the leaderboard as he finished his five-under
67 on Fri
Soderling to meet Almagro in Swedish Open finale >>
Bastad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Swedish stalwart Robin Soderling
and Nicolas Almagro will square off in the Swedish Open final after each won
their respective semifinal matches on Saturday.
Soderling lost the first set for
Reds starter Volquez takes ball vs. Rockies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One-time Cincinnati staff ace Edinson Volquez makes a long-
awaited return to the major leagues tonight, when the Reds host the Colorado
Rockies in the middle game of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.
A 1
Astros vie to continue mastery of Buccos >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros can continue a season's worth of success
against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight, when the teams get together for the
middle game of a three-game series at PNC Park.
Houston made it seven in a row aga
Marlins ace Johnson squares off with Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson can match a Washington pitching gem with one
of his own tonight, when the Florida Marlins ace takes on the Nationals in the
second test of a three-game series between NL East Division foes at Sun Life
Stadium
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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