09/26/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox try to keep their AL East title hopes alive this evening when they start a three-game series with the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.
Boston has already secured a playoff spot, but would be eliminated from division title consideration with a loss or another win by the Tampa Bay Rays, who hold a two-game advantage in the East.
After Tampa lost earlier in the day on Thursday, the Red Sox did their part, as Jon Lester took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Kevin Youkilis scored twice and drove in a pair of runs, helping Boston to a 6-1 victory over Cleveland.
Lester (16-6), who no-hit Kansas City on May 19, was his dominant self on the mound Thursday night, limiting the Indians to two hits and one run with four strikeouts and one walk in six innings. Josh Barfield broke up his no-hit bid with a leadoff double in the sixth, but the southpaw improved to 11-1 at Fenway Park in 17 home starts.
The top of the Boston order did almost all of the damage. Jacoby Ellsbury finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, Jed Lowrie had two hits and scored twice and Youkilis hit his 28th home run of the season for the Red Sox, who won the final three contests of the four-game set.
Boston will turn to Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka this evening, as he tries to win his eighth straight decision. Matsuzaka defeated the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, as he scattered two hits over seven scoreless innings to run his record to 18-2, while lowering his earned run average to 2.80.
Matsuzaka beat the Yankees back on April 13 and is 3-1 lifetime against them with a 6.30 ERA in five starts.
New York, meanwhile, had its run of 13-straight playoff appearances dashed this season, but would like nothing more than to spoil Boston's chances at a division title.
The Yankees, though, enter this tilt on a bit of a sour note after dropping the finale of their three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-2, on Thursday at Rogers Centre. Robinson Cano was 1-for-4 with an RBI single for New York, which lost for the first time in eight games.
Carl Pavano (4-2) was touched for five runs on eight hits in just 3 2/3 innings to pick up the loss.
Heading to the hill for the Yanks tonight will be righty Alfredo Aceves, who is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA. Aceves was brilliant against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, scattering five hits in six scoreless innings, but did not factor in the decision of his team's 1-0 win.
Aceves has never faced the Red Sox.
On the injury front, New York could be without closer Mariano Rivera this evening, as he was sent back to New York for an MRI on his sore shoulder. Team officials, though, believe he should be able to rejoin the team at some point this weekend.
Boston has won eight of its 15 matchups with the Yankees.
<< Twins try to stay atop AL Central vs. Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All of a sudden, the Minnesota Twins find themselves in
first place in the American League's Central Division heading into the regular
season's final weekend. The surging and surprising club will try to stay in
front
<< Brewers aim to keep postseason hopes alive in opener with Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers are still fighting for their first
postseason appearance since the 1982 World Series and will begin a three-game
set tonight versus the rival Chicago Cubs at Miller Park.
Milwaukee is tied with the Ne
<< NL West champion Dodgers close regular season in San Fran
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Lowe will get one final postseason tuneup tonight,
as the National League West-champion Los Angeles Dodgers begin a regular-
season ending three-game set with the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Lowe has been
<< Pirates, Padres start season-ending series at Petco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres will try to avoid their first 100-loss
season in 15 years tonight, as they begin a three-game series with the
Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park.
At 62-97, the Padres need just one victory in this set to
O's attempt to halt skid in opener with Blue Jays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles try and put the brakes on a nine-game
losing streak this evening, as they begin their final series of the season, a
three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards.
Baltimore is a brutal
Marlins hope to once again shatter Mets' playoff dreams >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets hope history doesn't repeat itself when
the Florida Marlins come to town this evening for the first of three straight
games of the final regular-season series at Shea Stadium.
The Mets, who will open
Angels try to inch closer to home-field advantage vs. Texas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On the verge of wrapping up home-field advantage throughout
this year's playoffs, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim close out their
regular season with a three-game home series with the Texas Rangers that
begins
Mariners, A's open series at Safeco Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners begin the final series of what's been
a miserable 2008 season with tonight's first of three straight meetings with
the Oakland Athletics from Safeco Field.
Seattle sports the worst record in the maj
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.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting