05/12/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to extend their franchise-record home-winning streak to 10 games this evening when they start a four-game series with the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field.
Extending the streak may be easier said than done, though for the Rays, who have dropped four straight and six of their last eight to the Yankees. Tampa is also just 15-27 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign, including losses in six of its last seven at home to New York.
Tampa moved five games above .500 for the first time in team history on Sunday, as Carl Crawford blasted the go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning and the Rays used 15 hits to beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 8-5, completing a three-game weekend sweep.
Crawford had three hits and stole two bases, while Akinori Iwamura finished 3- for-5 and scored twice for the Rays, who won for the fourth straight time and improved to 13-5 over their last 18 games overall.
Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine went five innings, surrendering five runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out three. J.P. Howell (2-0) came on to pitch three strong innings, retiring seven straight and nine of 10 to secure the win.
Troy Percival came on in the ninth to record his ninth save of the season.
Matt Garza hopes to keep Tampa in the win column this evening, as he tries to follow up his best performance of the year. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old right-hander, though, he absorbed the loss against Toronto Wednesday, despite surrendering just a run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Garza, who is 1-1 on the season with a 4.91 earned run average, is 0-1 in two games (one start) against the Yankees, pitching to a 4.91 ERA in those outings.
New York will counter with Andy Pettitte, who was scheduled to pitch on Sunday for the Bronx Bombers, but their game in Detroit was postponed due to rain.
Pettitte will try to get back into the win column after going 0-2 in his last three starts, and is coming off an outing in which he held the Cleveland Indians to just two runs on five hits. Pettitte struck out six batters and only walked one, but finished with a no-decision, while the Yankees fell by a final score of 5-3.
The 35-year-old left-hander has been successful on the road this season, posting a strong 3-1 record with an equally impressive 2.81 ERA. Overall Pettitte is an even 3-3 on the season and comes into this game with a mediocre 3.77 ERA.
Pettitte lost to Tampa earlier in the year, but is an impressive 14-3 lifetime against the Rays with a 3.62 ERA in 23 games, 22 of which have been starts.
New York, meanwhile, enters tonight's opener with wins in five of its last eight games, but still finds itself four games back of the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox, and 2 1/2 games behind the Rays.
A pair of Yankees, though, seem to have broken out of their season-long slumps, as Robinson Cano has hit in six straight games, while Jason Giambi is 5-for-his-last 13 with six RBI and five extra-base hits. However, they are still batting .185 and .183, respectively.
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<< Red-hot Marlins take streak into Cincinnati
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<< Red Wings aim for 3-0 lead as West finals head to Dallas
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Detroit has grabbed a
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Livan Hernandez
Angels open series with White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hope a return home gets
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Padilla leads Rangers in series opener vs. Seattle >>
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Sorenstam makes modest gain in Rolex Rankings >>
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Garcia gets back into top 10 in the world >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Garcia collected the biggest win
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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.
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