08/14/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Brett Myers took the hill he had a fantastic outing spoiled by his behavior. Tonight, Myers will try to keep his cool and put the Philadelphia Phillies back in the win column in the finale of a four- game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.
The fiery Myers last took the hill on Saturday versus the Pittsburgh Pirates in front of the Philly faithful at Citizens Bank Park. After tossing 7 2/3 solid innings of one-run, five-hit ball, manager Charlie Manuel decided he had seen enough from the right-hander and went to the bullpen. Myers and Manuel exchanged sentiments on the mound before the Phillies' skipper stormed back into the dugout to have a word with Myers.
A perturbed Myers and Manuel were then face-to-face before pitching coach Rich Dubee escorted the right-hander into the clubhouse. Manuel and Myers have apparently patched things up, while Myers seems to have corrected his approach on the mound. Myers is unbeaten over his last five starts (2-0), with the Phillies going 3-2 over that span.
Myers, who is just 1-6 with a 6.61 ERA in 12 away starts, has compiled an overall mark of 5-9 in 21 starts this season. He is 3-1 with a 2.76 earned run average in 10 career games, nine of which have been starts, against Los Angeles.
The Phillies are relying on Myers to help prevent a sweep and end a three-game losing streak that has left the ballclub tied with the New York Mets atop the NL East standings. The Florida Marlins are right behind at 1 1/2 games off the pace. Philadelphia blew a 6-1 lead in Wednesday's 7-6 loss thanks Nomar Garciaparra's game-winning homer off of Clay Condrey in the home ninth.
Ryan Howard, Greg Dobbs and Jayson Werth each belted two-run homers in the loss. Starter Joe Blanton went five innings and allowed four runs on nine hits and three walks for the no-decision. Philadelphia is winless so far on a seven-game road trip and 32-29 as the guest this season.
While the Phillies have slumped into a tie atop their respective division, the Dodgers have surged to the apex of the NL West with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Los Angeles is perfect so far on its 10-game homestand and improved to 35-27 at Chavez Ravine this season after another late-inning rally on Wednesday.
Andre Ethier was the hero in Tuesday's 4-3 victory, while Garciaparra provided the fireworks in last night's 7-6 win with a walk-off blast. Manny Ramirez continued to shine in his new digs by belting a two-run homer and Ethier added a solo shot. Jeff Kent was 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI for LA.
Jonathan Broxton worked a scoreless ninth to collect the victory and starter Brad Penny was touched for six runs on six hits in only three innings of work for the no-decision. Penny was making just his second start since a nearly two-month stint on the disabled list.
Taking the hill for the Dodgers on Thursday will be rookie Hiroki Kuroda, who is 6-8 with a 4.02 earned run average in 22 starts this season. Kuroda is 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA over the past two starts.
Kuroda last took the hill on August 9 at San Francisco, hurling eight solid innings of one-run ball in a 3-2 loss for the no-decision. In his previous start before the Giants, Kuroda yielded only one run in 7 1/3 innings of a 4-2 victory versus Arizona.
The right-hander will get his first taste of Philadelphia tonight.
Los Angeles has won five in a row against the Phillies.
<< Jackson makes Tribe debut versus O's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Recently acquired southpaw Zach Jackson makes his first
appearance in an Indians uniform tonight when Cleveland closes out a four-game
series with the visiting Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field.
Jackson began the se
<< NCAA Football Preview - USC Trojans
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
2007 SEASON IN REVIEW: The USC Trojans entered last season once again as the
team to beat in the Pac-10, and did not hesitate to flex their muscle in the
season opener, as the team pounded Idaho, 38-10. The T
<< NCAA Football Preview - UCLA Bruins
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
2007 SEASON IN REVIEW: Last season the Bruins opened the campaign ranked 14th
in the nation, and after victories over Stanford (45-17) and BYU (27-17) UCLA
moved up to 11th in the country, but after that the
<< Shields leads Rays against A's at McAfee Coliseum
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Shields tries for his seventh win in his last 10
outings this afternoon, as his Tampa Bay Rays close out a three-game series
with the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.
Shields is 6-2 with an earned run
Playoff hopefuls conclude set in South Beach >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have to be frustrated with the way
the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers have been playing lately. The Cardinals are four
games behind the Brewers in the NL Wild Card standings, but their Central
division riva
Penguins break ground on new arena >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins broke ground on
their new arena Thursday.
The new multi-purpose facility, which is located beside Mellon Arena, is
slated to open in time for the 2010-11 season.
Among
Blake ousts Federer from Olympics; Williams sisters out of singles >>
Beijing, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Blake has finally slayed the dragon.
The eighth-seeded Blake had been 0-8 against Super Swiss Roger Federer going
into Thursday's tennis quarterfinal match at the Olympics, but the American
pulled out
Saints DT Thomas out two months >>
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Hollis
Thomas suffered a right triceps injury in practice on Wednesday that will
sideline him about two months.
A starter for much of his two seasons with New Orlea
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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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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