08/29/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins hope to avoid their fourth straight loss in Oakland this evening, as they play the second test of a four-game set with the Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.
The Twins lost for the fifth time in their last six tries on Thursday when Kurt Suzuki's pinch-hit, game-winning double in the ninth lifted Oakland to a 3-2 win.
With the contest knotted at 2-2, Ryan Sweeney opened the ninth with a single off Craig Breslow (0-2) and moved to second on Daric Barton's sacrifice bunt. Jesse Crain was called upon to face pinch-hitter Emil Brown, who worked a walk before being replaced at first by Cliff Pennington. Suzuki then belted a double off the wall in left-center to score Sweeney for the 3-2 victory.
Sweeney and Bobby Crosby, both activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, each had two hits and scored a run in the win, while Barton added an RBI for the A's, who have won two straight for the first time since July 10-11.
Starter Dana Eveland pitched well but wound up with a no-decision, as he lasted seven innings and gave up two runs on five hits while walking three with a pair of strikeouts. Joey Devine (4-0) was credited with the win after tossing a scoreless ninth.
Justin Morneau and Nick Punto both drove in a run for the Twins, who are 3-5 on their season-long 14-game road trip. Starter Nick Blackburn lasted 5 2/3 innings and was touched for two runs on six hits while registering a pair of walks and as many strikeouts in the no-decision.
With the loss, Minnesota fell 1 1/2 games back of the idle first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central and remained 2 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the wild card standings. Boston fell to New York earlier Thursday.
Hoping to get the Twins back on track tonight will be right-hander Kevin Slowey, who is 10-8 with a 3.74 ERA. Slowey did not get a decision in his last start on Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, as he allowed a pair of runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 frames of a his team's 5-3 loss.
Slowey, though, has won his last three and four of his last five decisions, surrendering two runs or less six of his last seven outings.
The 24-year-old hurler defeated the A's two starts ago and is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA against them in two starts.
Oakland, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on 27-year-old lefty Dan Meyer, who is still searching for his first big league win. Meyer was tagged with the loss on Sunday in Seattle, yielding four runs and three hits in five innings, dropping him to 0-2 on the year, while raising his ERA to 5.95.
Meyer, who is 0-4 lifetime with a 6.87 ERA in 15 games (five starts) for the Braves and A's, has never faced the Twins.
Oakland has won four of its seven matchups with the Twins this season, but is 10-14 in the series since the start of the 2006 campaign.
<< Senderos happy about move from Arsenal to AC Milan
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan's new signing, Philippe Senderos, is
delighted to have sealed his move from Arsenal to the San Siro on an initial
season-long loan.
The 23-year-old Switzerland international will seal a perma
<< Spurs' Ginobili needs surgery
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Antonio Spurs star guard Manu
Ginobili needs arthroscopic surgery to repair a ligament in his left heel.
Ginobili, who helped Argentina to a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics,
revealed
<< Everton to play Standard Liege in UEFA Cup
Merseyside, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton learned Friday it will face
Standard Liege in the UEFA Cup first round after being paired with the Belgian
side that almost ended Liverpool's Champions League hopes earlier in the week.
St
<< Everton signs striker Saha from Man United
Merseyside, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton agreed to a deal with Manchester
United to sign Louis Saha for an undisclosed fee Friday.
The France striker will sign a two-year contract with the option for a third
with the Toffees, subjec
Kazmir, Rays welcome Orioles to the Trop >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southpaw Scott Kazmir pitches for a piece of Tampa Bay
franchise history tonight when the Rays take on the visiting Baltimore Orioles
in the opening test of a three-game weekend series at Tropicana Field.
A former first-r
Blue Jays send Burnett to hill in test with Yanks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Burnett takes aim at his 17th win of the season this
evening when the Toronto Blue Jays play the first of three games against the
New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Burnett, who had never won more than 12 games befor
Indians host Mariners hoping to extend win streak to 11 games >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland's current 10-game winning streak may be too
little too late as far as a second straight playoff appearance is concerned.
The optimistic Indians will try to stay on the winning track tonight, when
they begin a three-
Tigers resume homestand with opener against Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers are still searching for the first win on
their current homestand and will take a shot at the Kansas City Royals tonight
in the opener of a three-game series at Comerica Park.
Detroit has lost four in a r
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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