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09/15/2007 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Francoeur's two-run single in the 13th inning led Atlanta to an 8-5 victory over the Washington Nationals.
Chipper Jones, who returned to the lineup after missing three starts due to a strained muscle on his right side, had three hits with an RBI and scored twice for the Braves, who won the rain-soaked contest and remained 4 1/2 games behind San Diego for the wild card lead. The Padres beat the Giants, 5-4, in 10 innings Friday night.
Colorado, Los Angeles and Philadelphia are also ahead of the Braves in the wild card chase.
Yunel Escobar and Edgar Renteria each had three hits and scored once for Atlanta, which has won two of its last three.
Jose Ascanio (1-1) threw two innings to get the victory, while Jesus Colome (4-1) suffered the loss in the opener of the three-game series that ended after 5 hours, 13 minutes, not including a 16-minute delay due to wet grounds.
Ronnie Belliard went 4-for-7 with a homer and scored three times, and Ryan Zimmerman also went deep, driving in three for Washington, losers of three straight. The Nationals' last two games have ended in extra innings, including a 5-4 loss in 12 at Florida on Wednesday.
Martin Prado and Jones singled with one out in the 13th, and Mark Teixeira walked. Francoeur lined a hit to right field, and Andruw Jones followed with a sacrifice fly to left.
Chuck James, going for his second straight win after a 9-2 Braves victory against the Nationals Saturday in Atlanta, allowed three runs on six hits with two strikeouts in only three-plus innings.
Washington lefty Matt Chico, who has not won since July 31, allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk in six frames for Washington.
With the score deadlocked at three, the Nats got the go-ahead two runs in the seventh off reliever Tyler Yates, whose second and third pitches accounted for a Belliard single and Zimmerman's two-run shot to right field.
Atlanta started to rally in the eighth off reliever Jon Rauch, who surrendered a double to Andruw Jones and an RBI single to Matt Diaz with two outs. The potential go-ahead run, pinch-hitter Scott Thorman then struck out swinging.
The Braves tied the score with a run in the ninth off closer Chad Cordero, who surrendered a single to Renteria that deflected off the pitcher's foot before he could make a play. Pinch-runner Pete Orr then scored on a Chipper Jones double to right field. Teixeira and Andruw Jones walks loaded the bases, but Brian McCann grounded out to leave them stranded.
The Nats blew a golden opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. Belliard grounded a double down the left-field line. Pinch-hitter Ryan Church was walked intentionally and Austin Kearns drew a free pass to load the bases with one out for Tony Batista, who struck out swinging on three straight fastballs. Jesus Flores then lined out to send the game into extra innings.
Washington again failed to score in the 11th, as Flores flied out to end the frame, stranding runners at second and third.
Atlanta exploded out of the gate in the first when Escobar, Renteria and Chipper Jones hit consecutive singles to load the bases for Teixeira, whose double brought in two runs before Andruw Jones lifted a sacrifice fly.
Washington answered with a run in the home half on Belliard's solo shot to left-center field on a 2-2 pitch.
Zimmerman doubled in a run in the third and Wily Mo Pena came home on Chico's groundout in the fourth to tie the game.
Game Notes
Washington pitcher John Patterson underwent surgery Friday to decompress the radial nerve in his right arm. Also, the Nats acquired outfielder/first baseman Andrew Lefave from Milwaukee to complete the September 4 trade in which the Brewers acquired pitcher Ray King; and placed pitcher Micah Bowie on the 60-day disabled list.
<< Hermida leads Marlins over Rockies
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Hermida homered and drove in three runs
as the Florida Marlins edged the Colorado Rockies, 7-6, in the start of a
three-game series at Coors Field.
Dan Uggla also had two hits and scored a run for
<< Yanks overcome five-run deficit to shock Sox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez's RBI single capped an incredible
six-run rally in the eighth inning, as the Yankees made an improbable comeback
to clip the Boston Red Sox, 8-7, to maintain hope for another AL East crown.
It wa
<< Ray's five TD passes lead Eskimos past Alouettes
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Ray completed 20-of-29 passes for 322
yards and a career-high tying five touchdowns to lead the Edmonton Eskimos
over the Montreal Alouettes, 47-28.
Jason Tucker had 10 receptions for 217 yards a
<< Dye, White Sox fend off Angels
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jermaine Dye finished 2-for-4 with a pair of
RBI and a run scored as Chicago held on to beat Los Angeles, 5-3, in the first
installment of three at U.S. Cellular Field.
Paul Konerko was 2-for-3 and scored t
Heavy wind delays Solheim Cup >>
Halmstad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heavy wind gusts of 40 mph forced
tournament officials to delay the start of the Saturday foursomes matches at
the Solheim Cup.
The wind knocked over signs, tents and even some trees at Halms
Sinclair double leads Canada over Ghana >>
Hangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Christine Sinclair scored two goals to
lead Canada to a comfortable 4-0 win over Ghana in Group C action on Saturday.
Sophie Schmidt and Martina Franko also found the net for the Canadians, who
cont
Denmark overcomes distractions to top New Zealand >>
Wuhan, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katrine Pedersen scored and set up a goal as
Denmark, playing with its coach in the stands because of a suspension, topped
New Zealand, 2-0, on Saturday.
Coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller was suspended two games
New mom Davenport moves into Bali final >>
Bali, Indonesia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lindsay Davenport continued her remarkable
ride in Bali on Saturday, cruising past Italian Sara Errani, 6-1, 6-3, in
semifinal action at the $225,000 Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic.
The three-time
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.
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Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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