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07/29/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suddenly slumping right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez has a few positives going for him today when he gets the call for the Colorado Rockies in the third and final game of their series with the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field.
First, the 26-year-old is unbeaten in eight starts this season on home turf in Denver, going 6-0 with a 3.52 earned run average across 53 2/3 innings of work. Second, he's never lost to the Pirates in four career starts, going 2-0 while holding Pittsburgh batters to just 18 hits while striking out 21 in 28 innings.
Still, the season's dominant first-half phenom has struggled along with his team of late, going winless in two post All-Star Game starts while lasting just 7 1/3 combined innings and allowing nine hits and 12 runs with nine walks.
He retired only six batters in a 10-2 loss at Philadelphia in his last start five days ago, walking six and striking out two. It was his first loss since May 9.
Pittsburgh counters with 28-year-old lefty Paul Maholm, who's alternated wins and losses in his last five decisions.
The Mississippi native fell to 4-6 on the season with a 13-3 loss at Texas on June 23, then bounced back with a 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on June 28 at Wrigley Field.
He lost, 12-4, to Philadelphia on July 3, then split a pair of post-break starts with a complete-game win over Houston on July 18 and a 5-3 loss to San Diego on July 23.
Maholm, who's making the 148th start of his career, is just 1-4 against Colorado in six outings with a 5.20 ERA.
He is 2-2 on the road this season.
On Wednesday, Garrett Jones homered twice as part of a four-hit night and drove in three runs as the Pirates overcame an early injury to pitcher Ross Ohlendorf to win, 6-2.
Neil Walker added a two-run single as Pittsburgh posted back-to-back road wins for the first time since May 14-15 against the Cubs.
Ohlendorf was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Troy Tulowitzki in the first inning. With a runner at third and two outs, Tulowitzki lined a ball off the side of Ohlendorf's head and the ball bounced into right field. Carlos Gonzalez scored on the play for a 1-0 Colorado lead.
Ohlendorf went to a local hospital, but a CT scan came up negative and he was diagnosed with a contusion and abrasion.
Sean Gallagher (1-0) fanned four batters over three innings to get the win.
Aaron Cook (4-7) allowed six hits and five runs over 2 1/3 innings to drop his second straight start.
Gonazlez homered for the Rockies, who have lost eight in a row, their longest skid since dropping eight straight from June 22-30, 2008.
Colorado won six of nine matchups with the Pirates last year and has dominated this series at home over the past two seasons, having gone 9-3 against Pittsburgh at Coors Field since 2008.
<< Tigers go for a road win against Price
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been over a month since the Detroit Tigers last won a
game on the road. A matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays and David Price doesn't
seem to bode well for the struggling club's chances of ending that drought.
Price w
<< Lowe tries to lead Braves to series win in D.C.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves shoot for a series win this afternoon
when they play the rubber match of their three-game series with the Washington
Nationals at Nationals Park.
A 3-0 loser in Tuesday's opener, Atlanta bounced back to
<< Newcastle signs goalie Krul to four-year deal
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle signed goalkeeper Tim Krul to
a four-year contract on Thursday.
Krul, 22, joined Newcastle in 2005 and has made seven starts and played twice
as a substitute. His new deal runs through the 20
<< Top-seeded Youzhny reaches Gstaad quarters
Gstaad, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian top seed Mikhail Youzhny
was a second-round winner Thursday at the Swiss Open Gstaad.
The world No. 14 Youzhny handled Swiss wild card Alexander Sadecky 7-5, 6-4 on
the clay courts at Roy
Indiana State seeking OC after Walters' departure >>
Terre Haute, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indiana State is conducting a fast search
to replace its offensive coordinator after Troy Walters resigned earlier this
week to accept the position of wide receivers coach at Texas A&M.
In his only seas
Padres send out Latos in hopes of taking set from Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mat Latos attempts to win his seventh straight decision
this evening, when the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers close out a
three-game series at Petco Park.
Latos, who had recently been sidelined with a strained le
Phils shoot for eighth straight win, sweep of D-Backs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Philadelphia Phillies wait for Roy Oswalt to
approve a trade to them, they will shoot for a three-game sweep of the Arizona
Diamondbacks tonight at Citizens Bank Park.
According to multiple reports, the Phillies
White Sox put home streak on line in finale with Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox try for their first 11-game home
winning streak in 21 years this evening, when they attempt to complete a four-
game sweep of the Seattle Mariners at U.S. Cellular Field.
Chicago won for the 17th time
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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