Twins go for sweep of Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Losers of two straight and five of the last six, the LA Angels of Anaheim try to salvage a win as they close out a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome this afternoon.

On Saturday Joe Mauer produced one of the most exciting plays in baseball when he hit an inside-the-park home run that scored three in the bottom of the eighth inning to help give the home team a 5-2 triumph over the Angels.

Jason Bartlett and Torii Hunter also homered for the Twins, who won their second straight outing after falling in three straight to Detroit. Starting pitcher Boof Bonser, who has not earned a victory since the second week of June, allowed two runs on five hits with one strikeout over 7 2/3 innings before Pat Neshek got the final out in the eighth for the win, his fifth in six decisions this season.

Chone Figgins finished up 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run for the visitors, while Garret Anderson and Maicer Izturis both added a pair of hits in the setback.

Jered Weaver, who has not won in more than a month, gave up two runs on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts over seven innings for LA. Scot Shields was saddled with the loss, his third of the campaign.

Off the field it was announced that catcher Jose Melina was switching teams and coasts as the Angels traded him to the Yankees for pitcher Jeff Kennard.

Matt Garza, who has yet to allow a run this season, makes his way to the mound for the Twins this afternoon. The right-hander out of Fresno State is making just his fourth appearance of the season and his first since dropping a 1-0 decision to Detroit on Tuesday.

Against the Tigers Garza allowed just a single unearned run on three hits over seven innings of action and still that wasn't enough as the Minnesota offense failed to supply any support.

Garza, who is 4-7 in his career thus far, is facing off against the Angels for the very first time.

Similarly, LA's Joe Saunders is getting his first-ever look at the Twins lineup as he tries to remain undefeated on the campaign.

The left-hander, who hails from Virginia, has been called up from Triple-A Salt Lake to take the spot in the rotation previously held by Ervin Santana who was optioned to the minors on Wednesday.

Saunders last threw at the major league level against Pittsburgh back on June 22, a game in which he allowed four runs on seven hits and fanned three in six innings of work. His performance was just enough to push him to 3-0 on the season and 10-3 for his career thus far.

The Angels, who have now gone 14 straight games without a home run, are just one game ahead of Seattle in the AL West and are a game below .500 on the road at 25-26. Over the last week the team has averaged barely three runs per game, with Figgins accounting for five runs scored and a batting average of .545, the rest of the club just .248.

As for the Twins, who are five games over .500 this season yet still eight games out of the race for first in the AL Central, they have Justin Morneau accounting for two home runs and six knocked in over the last six games, giving him 81 RBI on the season and keeping him in second place in that department in the AL.

The Angels took two of three meetings with Minnesota out in the Golden State earlier this season.

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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.

It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.