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07/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs are enjoying a very successful homestand and will hope that trend continues this afternoon with the opener of a three- game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs swept a three-game set with Houston to begin the 10-game residency before taking three of four against San Francisco, including Thursday's 9-8 victory that was overshadowed by two home runs from Barry Bonds.
Ted Lilly (10-4) served up Bonds' first homer, but got the win behind five innings of three-run ball. Aramis Ramirez provided the offensive spark in the absence of Derrek Lee, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored.
Alfonso Soriano also had three hits, scored twice and knocked in a run, while Jacque Jones finished 4-for-5.
The Cubs did suffer a set of injuries in the game, though. Daryle Ward, subbing for Lee at first base, was forced out of the game in the second inning due to a right calf strain, while Cliff Floyd left in the third with a sore neck after a collision at first.
Ward's injury may be the most concerning due to the fact Lee is currently serving a five-game suspension -- he will sit out his third game today -- and is not eligible to return until Tuesday. Mark DeRosa came off the bench to spell Ward yesterday.
Meanwhile, closer Ryan Dempster could be activated from the disabled list today for Chicago, which is 3 1/2 games behind first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central.
Jason Marquis will try to shake off two recent horrid outings when he starts today for the Cubs. The right-hander has allowed six runs and eight hits in each of his last two starts while pitching just a total of 8 2/3 innings. Marquis began the season 5-1 through seven starts, but is now just 6-5 with a 4.03 earned run average.
Despite a 2.84 ERA in seven career outings (six starts) against the Diamondbacks, Marquis is just 1-3 against them. That lone victory came on May 13 of last season behind seven innings of one-run ball and was the first of five straight winning starts for Marquis.
Chicago wasn't able to gain any ground on the Brewers despite their winning ways against the Giants, and the club has the Diamondbacks to blame for that. Arizona comes into this series having just lost three of four to Milwaukee, including a 10-1 rout at the hands of the Brew Crew on Thursday.
Livan Hernandez (5-6) was ripped for eight hits and six runs -- five earned -- in 5 1/3 innings, while Conor Jackson's solo homer provided the only run for Arizona.
Overall, the club has lost 12 of its last 16 games and is currently 4 1/2 games behind San Diego for the top spot in the NL West.
Brandon Webb will toe the rubber for the Diamondbacks today and is aiming for his first win in four starts. Webb is 0-2 over his last three outings, including a loss on Sunday against the Padres.
The right-hander allowed four runs (three earned), but was also battered for 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner did strikeout 10 batters, however, to just two walks.
The 28-year-old Webb is pitching to a 4.40 ERA over his last five starts and has fallen to 8-7 on the season with a 3.42 ERA.
He has pitched well historically against the Cubs in his career, going 4-0 with a 2.52 earned run average over six starts against them.
Arizona has also had recent success against Chicago. It won four of six against the Cubs in 2006, and is 13-6 against them since the start of the 2004 season.
<< Mussina, Yankees begin set with Devil Rays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Mussina attempts to extend an impressive streak of
home supremacy over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when the New York Yankees hurler
starts tonight's opener of a four-game series between the American League East
foes.
Si
<< Indians try to continue success against Rangers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians aim for a sixth consecutive victory
over the Texas Rangers when the clubs play the second test of a four-game
series tonight at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
The struggling Indians picked up a much-n
<< Francis set for return to Rockets
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Francis, who played his first five NBA
seasons in Houston, is set for a return to the Rockets.
The Houston Chronicle reports Francis, whose contract was bought out by
Portland last week, will
<< Birmingham set to add Mido
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Birmingham announced on Friday that
the club has agreed to terms with Tottenham to acquire striker Mido.
The deal is worth $12.3 million and represents the biggest move the summer by
coach Steve Br
Boston's Beckett eyes win No. 13 vs. White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Beckett tries to become the second 13-game winner in
the majors this evening when the Boston Red Sox continue their four-game
series with the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park.
Beckett has dropped two of his
Bard's suspension reduced to two games >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Padres catcher Josh Bard had his
three-game suspension reduced to two games on Thursday.
Bard received the initial suspension after he made contact with umpire Ed
Rapauno in the 11th innin
MLS All-Stars top Scottish champions 2-0 >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of Major League's Soccer's newest
stars, Colombians Juan Pablo Angel and Juan Toja, each scored first half goals
against Scottish Premier League Power, Celtic FC, to lead the North American
league'
Sabathia gets win No. 13 as Indians edge Rangers >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Grady Sizemore homered and drove in a pair
of runs, and C.C. Sabathia picked up his major league leading 13th win as
Cleveland bested Texas, 7-5, in the opener of a four-game set.
Trot Nixon and Ben
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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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