Angels, Mariners continue set at Big A

Baseball Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have owned the Seattle Mariners this season and they will try to continue that dominance tonight as the squads resume a four-game set at Angel Stadium.

Following last night's 3-2 result, the Angels are now 9-2 versus Seattle this season, including seven straight victories in the series.

Jered Weaver pitched seven innings of two-run ball, as the Angels held off the Mariners for the 3-2 victory in the second test of a four-game series.

Weaver (9-5), who gave up six hits, snapped a two-start skid. The right-hander fanned five batters and walked zero to improve to 10-3 in 17 career starts versus Seattle.

"Me and Felix (Hernandez) had some good battles," Weaver said. "I am glad we got the win tonight. Our guys put some good at-bats against Felix and scored three runs."

Kevin Frandsen and Bobby Abreu each had an RBI for the Angels, who won 8-3 in the opener of this series on Thursday. Los Angeles remains 4 1/2 games back of Texas for the top spot in the AL West.

Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer for Seattle, which has lost three in a row and 11 of 13 overall. It was Smoak's first homer in a Mariners uniform after he was acquired from Texas as part of the Cliff Lee deal.

Felix Hernandez (7-6) allowed three runs on 10 hits in an eight-inning start. The right-hander also struck out three and walked zero in his first loss since June 8 against the Rangers. It was his fourth complete game in his last six starts.

"I thought Felix pitched great," Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said. "Early he got hurt with his fastball, but he settled down after the third inning. It's a shame we couldn't get him some more runs."

The Mariners will surely need a lot of run support for tonight, as Ryan Rowland-Smith toes the rubber. The left-hander has just one win in 16 starts and he is 0-5 with a 7.38 ERA in nine road appearances this season. In his last appearance on Sunday, Rowland-Smith lasted only four innings, allowing six runs - four earned - and six hits in an 8-2 loss to the New York Yankees.

Despite boasting a 2.84 ERA, Rowland-Smith is 0-2 in four career starts against the Angels. He last faced them on June 5th, when he gave up just one earned run over five innings. He did not factor in the decision, an 11-2 home loss.

Joe Saunders gets the call for Angels and he will try to continue his mastery of Seattle. In 13 career starts versus the Mariners, Saunders is 8-1 with a 3.58 ERA. He has faced them three times this season, going 1-0 but with just a 5.06 ERA.

The left-hander, though, has had some struggles of late and is just 1-3 with a 5.90 ERA over his previous five overall appearances. He last started on July 7th, when he gave up five earned runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 5-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

Vitualvegas Baseball Betting News

<< Marlins ace Johnson squares off with Nats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Johnson can match a Washington pitching gem with one of his own tonight, when the Florida Marlins ace takes on the Nationals in the second test of a three-game series between NL East Division foes at Sun Life Stadium

<< Astros vie to continue mastery of Buccos
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros can continue a season's worth of success against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight, when the teams get together for the middle game of a three-game series at PNC Park. Houston made it seven in a row aga

<< Reds starter Volquez takes ball vs. Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One-time Cincinnati staff ace Edinson Volquez makes a long- awaited return to the major leagues tonight, when the Reds host the Colorado Rockies in the middle game of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park. A 1

<< Soderling to meet Almagro in Swedish Open finale
Bastad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Swedish stalwart Robin Soderling and Nicolas Almagro will square off in the Swedish Open final after each won their respective semifinal matches on Saturday. Soderling lost the first set for

<< Cubs seek another win over visiting Phils
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been all smiles for the Chicago Cubs on their current homestand and they'll go for a series victory this afternoon in the third test of a four-game series versus the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field. The Cubs o

Twins hope to make up more ground vs. White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins will try to make up some more ground on the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, as the teams continue a four-game set tonight at Target Field. Last night, Joe Mauer had two hits, including a bi

A's try to keep rolling in Kansas City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics take aim at their fourth win in a row tonight, as they resume a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. On Friday, Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in two runs and Gio Gonzalez

Rangers lefty Lee toes rubber in Boston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Lee is hoping for a better showing in his second start for Texas, as the Rangers and Boston Red Sox continue a four-game series tonight at Fenway Park. Lee, who was acquired on July 9th in a six-player deal wit

Yanks bring momentum into second test with Rays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off an emotional win, the New York Yankees will now try to put even more distance between them and the Tampa Bay Rays, as the two AL East foes continue a three-game set today at Yankee Stadium. Last night, Ni

Jays shoot for more success against O's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays will try to continue their mastery of the Baltimore Orioles, as the clubs resume a three-game set tonight at Camden Yards. The Blue Jays have won all seven meetings this season with Baltimore and th

Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009

Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.

MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.

Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.

Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.

After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.

Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.

Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.

If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.

Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.