Angels continue homestand with visit from Rangers

Baseball Betting Lines

08/28/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels continue to tune up for the postseason as they open a four-game series with the Texas Rangers tonight at Angel Stadium.

Los Angeles enters tonight's tilt having dropped nine of its last 14 matchups, but still leads the second-place Rangers by a whopping 15 games in the AL West. The Angels fell in the rubber match of their three-game affair with the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, dropping a 6-5 decision at McAfee Coliseum.

Erick Aybar went 2-for-4 with three RBI before leaving with a hamstring issue for the Angels. Howie Kendrick had one RBI, but also exited the game with a tight hamstring.

Joe Saunders (14-7) took the loss for Anaheim after he lasted just 1 1/3 innings and yielded six runs on eight hits. Saunders now has two losses and no wins over his last five starts.

Jon Garland gets the call for the Halos tonight as he tries to bounce back from a pair of shaky outings. Garland, who is 11-8 with a 4.49 ERA, did not get a decision on Saturday against Minnesota, surrendering five runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings of his team's 7-5 win.

Garland lost to the Rangers the last time he faced them and is 4-8 lifetime against them with a 5.87 ERA in 18 games, 17 of which have been starts.

Texas will counter with righty Brandon McCarthy, who will be making just his second start of the season. McCarthy received a no-decision against the Cleveland Indians on Saturday, allowing just a run and three hits in four innings of the Rangers' 8-7 loss.

McCarthy has faced the Halos six times (2 starts) and is 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA.

The Rangers won their third straight game on Wednesday, as Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored to lead Texas to a 3-2 victory and a series sweep of the Kansas City Royals.

Matt Harrison (6-3) threw 6 2/3 innings and gave up two runs -- one earned -- on seven hits to earn the win, his fourth in August. Frank Francisco tossed a scoreless ninth to record his first career save for Texas.

The Rangers were without slugger Josh Hamilton, who was scratched from the lineup before the game with an abscessed tooth. He was replaced by Brandon Boggs, who started in left field and homered during the game. Marlon Byrd moved from left field to center with Hamilton out.

The Angels have won five of their nine matchups with the Rangers this season.

Wmajorleaguebaseball Baseball Betting News

<< Rays aim for monumental win in finale with Blue Jays
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red-hot right-hander Edwin Jackson goes for a sixth win in seven starts when the first-place Tampa Bay Rays close out a three-game midweek series with the visiting Toronto Blue Jays tonight at Tropicana Field. The

<< Marlins close road trip in Atlanta
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins hope to end a nine-game road trip on a winning note in tonight's rubber match with the Atlanta Braves from Turner Field. Florida has gone 4-4 thus far on the swing, which also featured stops in San Fr

<< Dodgers try to avoid sweep at hands of lowly Nats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Los Angeles Dodgers wind up eventually falling short in their quest to win the National League West, the team will likely point to its current road trip -- and in particular, this series with the Washington Nationals

<< Harang targets back-to-back wins in finale with Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Aaron Harang will try to win consecutive starts for the first time this season tonight when the Cincinnati Reds close out a three-game midweek series with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Harang, a 16

<< Around FCS: CAA Heavyweights Take Aim For Title
Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Every week in the Colonial Athletic Association is something akin to a series of heavyweight elimination bouts. The contestants get battered and bruised and a team or two is eventually is left standing with

Twins visit A's in next stop on grueling trip >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins continue their push towards the postseason this evening, when they continue their 14-game road trip with the first of four clashes against the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum. Minnesota,

Around FCS: Rest Of Conference Chases McNeese State >>
Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - McNeese State regained its swagger in 2007, going undefeated in the regular season on the way to another Southland Conference title. It was the second straight championship for the Cowboys after they had slipp

Keeping the Good Times Rolling >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - College football fans across the country have waited patiently (tongue planted firmly in cheek) for the 2008 season to arrive. The anticipation is that much greater for programs that surprised the country in

Around FCS: Are You Ready For Some Football? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I'm not usually one for the raspy, bellowing Country vocal tones of Hank Williams Jr., but this is one day each year when putting Hank in the CD drive is appropriate. He had it right when he asked "Are you

Around FCS: Figuring Out The Perrilloux Factor In OVC >>
Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The landscape in the Ohio Valley Conference changed the day that LSU transfer Ryan Perrilloux visited the Jacksonville State campus last spring. The day before, JSU was a team without an experienced quarterb


College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

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.








Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.