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(901) LA Dodgers
(902) PHI Phillies
Take "Over"
The Dodgers have peaked at the right time and they swept right through the Cubs to the NLCS. The addition of Casey Blake and Manny Ramirez has been the catalyst to a stagnant Dodgers' offense. Manny has more post season home runs than anyone and they continued against the Cubs. But most unexpected has been the return of Rafael Furcal, who missed 122 games with a back injury. He has been the spark plug who has led the Dodgers top of the lineup and his return could be the final piece to the puzzle. Both Lowe and Hamels have been very good this year, but with these lineups and power for both clubs we look for an offensive series. The Cubs had some of the best starters in the league this year and they couldn't keep the Dodgers bats down - so we don't see the Phillies fairing much better. Both teams will get their runs here, take the OVER in game one!
(105) UAB
(106) Houston
Take "(106) Houston"
Houston is only 2-3 through their first five games, but they're better than their record shows. They gave Oklahoma State a decent battle before getting run over. Their loss to Air Force was easy to forgive due to the distractions of the hurricane and the same holds true for their follow up effort against Colorado State. I thought the Cougars showed what they're made of in an impressive upset of East Carolina. Now Houston plays with extra rest against a weak UAB entry that's really pathetic defensively. Look for Houston to roll in this game, and I believe laying the points is the way to play
Jeff Bonds | CFB Side
triple-dime bet103 Clemson 3.0 (-120) Bodog vs 104 Wake Forest
Analysis:
The Clemson Tigers rarely find themselves as underdogs in regular season games against current ACC competition - but when they do - WATCH OUT.
Clemson is a PERFECT 9-0 ATS in their last nine games in this situation - winning seven of those games SU! The Tigers blew an 11-point lead over a good Maryland team (Leave their Virgiina loss out) and have now had a week to sit around and get focused on the task at hand: Not losing a second ACC game in as many weeks.
Head coach Tommy Bowden is 5-2 in his career against Jim Grobe of Wake Forest and Clemson is the ONLY TEAM to defeat the Deacons the past two years. Why's that of significant? Mainly all of Clemson's players have been a part of the past two victories - including their entire backfield and QB.
Clemson hasn't been an underdog in at least the past 10 meetings and have won 11 of the last 14 meetings.
The Tigers have a balanced attack - but a HUGE MISMATCH presents itself on the ground, as Wake Forest ranks 114th in that nation.
Wake QB Riley Skinner will find it tough to bounce back from a five turnover performance (3 INTs) against a Clemson secondary that's 8th in the country with eight interceptions.
Don't worry about the negative talk around the nation about Clemson's QB. Cullen Harper is actually averaging more yards per pass attempt (7.49) than he did last year (6.93). He's also completing passes at a higher percentage.
Finally a very interest angle: Ranked teams at home that are favorites of a TD or less are 0-6 ATS this year - failing to cover by more than 9 points! The spread opened at a PK and has moved to -2.5/3.....I don't think so - take the points!
King Creole | CFB Side
double-dime bet103 Clemson 3.0 (-110) Bodog vs 104 Wake Forest
Analysis: 2** Best Bet on: CLEMSON TIGERS plus the points vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons / 7:30pm ET / ESPN TV
1* Play on: OVER THE TOTAL
Both ACC teams come into Thursday night game on a 2-week "STEAM". They each took last week off after dropping games as a FAVORITE two weeks ago. As a result, we have plenty of dynamite ATS ammo that indicates the DOG (Clemson) is the play. As of Wednesday night, the line in this game was Wake Forest -2.5 points. An interesting side note so far in 2008 is this: Home favorites of -2.5 points EXACTLY are 1-6 ATS so far this season. So if the line at KICKOFF is exactly -2.5 (at most sportsbooks), we'll be backed up by a 86% System.
First, let's run through the UPSET losses that both teams come in off.
0-10 ATS since 1995 for ALL Conference favorites of 9 < points off a SU loss as a favorite of -16 > points. Wake Forest was a fav of -17 in their upset loss to Navy, so they indeed qualify in this rare System.
24-9 ATS since 1999 for ALL Conference road underdogs of 13 < points off a SU conference loss in which they were a home fav of -10 or more. If our doggie scored 17 or less points in that upset loss, the results improve to 10-1 ATS. Clemson lost to Maryland 20-17 as a fav of -11 pts two weeks ago. So we have another qualifier. We also note that these conference dogs tend to score (and allow) a lot of points, as the "OVER" is 9-1-1 O/U in this spot.
When Navy burst Wake's bubble two weeks ago, it was the first loss of the season for the Demon Deacons.
0-6 ATS since 2000 for ALL Conference home favorites in Game 5 or greater who lost their first game of the season as a FAVORITE.
Based on the fact that BOTH teams are coming in off a week of REST, that leads to some interesting queries as well.
5-18 ATS since 1990 for ALL Conference home favs playing with REST and a SU loss (Wake Forest)... vs any opponent also playing with REST and a SU loss (CLEMSON). Conference favs of LESS than (<) 10 points are a PERFECT 0-11 ATS in this situation.
Clemson is an OUTSTANDING underdog in the ACC. In the last 5 season, the Tigers are a PERFECT 5-0 ATS as a conference road underdog. On the other hand, Wake Forest is a LOUSY favorite against pissed-off opponents. The Demon Deacons are 5-16 ATS since 1980 as conference home favs against an opp off a SUATS loss. Within this 5-16 ATS set, we note that Wake is a PERFECT 0-3 ATS if they are off a SUATS loss of their own (and they are).
We'll also enjoy a very 'HIGH'-scoring series history when we play a little bit on the OVER. We have the benefit on Thursday of a very nice low OU line.... based on previous matchups. The current line of 43.5 is 6 points LESS than the averages. In the last 7 years, the average OU line in the Wake/Clemson series is 49.4. And the average combined points scored is 56.5. That's more than a TD (+7.4) in OU line value based on the history of this series. When you factor in Thursday's (relatively) low OU line, one can see the obvious value (up to 13 points).
Nick "BookieKiller" Parsons | NHL Money Line
double-dime bet4 COL (-134)Bodog vs 3 BOS
Analysis:
Colorado ? The Avalanche were expected to exhibit more of a wide open style with the return of head coach Tony Granato. However, while the offense should be impressive, especially with ?all hands on deck? and healthy, the defense looks like it could also impress this season. With a top six featuring Adam Foote, Brett Clark, Jordan Leopold, Scott Hannan, John Michael-Liles, and Ruslan Salei, the Avs defense should enjoy success in shutting down a Bruins offense that is the club?s Achilles heel. Boston just can?t seem to score enough goals to enjoy success. Yes, Patrice Bergeron is back but don?t underestimate the loss of center Glen Metropolit as he?s the kind of gritty forward that makes things happen in the offensive zone. Also, Bergeron and goalie Manny Fernandez are both back and healthy for this season but it could take awhile for Bergeron to return to form and the question regarding Fernandez is how his return will impact the play of Tim Thomas who was solid during the time Fernandez was out. Now with Fernandez coming back for this season, could this get into the head of Thomas? As for the Avs, they bring a lot of firepower to the ice as usual and with Granato back we expect some solid offensive performances for this club as that will be his emphasis. Keep in mind that part of last season?s struggles for Colorado had to do with injury issues and being, for the most part, healthy coming into the season is a step in the right direction for this club. The injuries last season forced this Avs team to play under it?s potential. That is offering some line value to the Avalanche in this spot because, on home ice, and facing a weaker Eastern foe, the Avs should roll at home in this one! Colorado was 27-12-2 at the Pepsi Center last season while the Bruins won just 21 of their 41 road games last season. Also, the Avalanche did get off to a quick start last season as they went 7-4 in October. With Granato, 72-44-17 in his career, back coaching the Avs we see renewed enthusiasm with this club and that spills onto the ice right away in their home opener. The Avs in a home rout!
The Tigers take on the Deacon Demons in a key ACC clash Thursday night in Winston-Salem. With both teams entering off a loss, this game becomes pivitol to post-season positioning. More so for Clemson, who has suffered a pair of upset losses this year. With that we note Tiger head coach Tommy Bowden is 19-11 ATS as a conference dog in his head coaching career, including 9-0 in his last nine tries. Better yet, when Bowden is a dog of 5 or less points in a conference game he is 13-2 ATS, including 5-0 SU and ATS when playing off a loss. With Wake Forest 1-12 ATS as a favorite in the 2nd of back-to-back home games, look for Bowden to improve on his numbers here this evening. Grab the points with the Tigers.
Greg Shaker | CFB Side
double-dime bet103 Clemson 2.5 (-110) BetUS vs 104 Wake Forest
Analysis: NCAAB: Clemson Tigers at Wake Forest Demon Deacons - Clemson +2.5 -110 | Unit Value: 2 UNIT "Destroyer"
Game Date: 10/9/2008
Note: This game was supposed to be a Big Game for both of these two teams winning the ACC's Atlantic Division. That may still be the case when it is all said and done, but the fact is, both squads have struggled this year and both most recently. We no know that the Tigers loss to Alabama was not as bad as first expected but losing at home to Maryland is a bad spot on their record. Wake's home setback to Navy was a shocker by anyone's imagination. So what gives in this game? I am sure that both squads have been hearing it from their coaching staffs over the last 10 days. They both will be ready to play. The Tigers have more to play with though and the key to this game is the Tigers to ability to run the ball, Wake's inability to stop it. Conversely, Wake has not shown us much via the run game, and Clemson has not allowed their opponents much leeway in this department. We saw some of that last year with Clemson having their way with the Deacons in a 44-10 romp. That game saw Wake manage just 2.2 yards per carry and they did try to make it work 37 times for just 87 yards. The Clemson D matches up very well with Wake. They are bigger but they also are just as quick as the Wake's offense is. It would not surprise me to see the Demon Deacons come up strong on D to open this game and we could easily see a low scoring affair because of that. But over 60 minutes of play, our team has the much better chance of wearing down their opponent, and I do think that is exactly what we will see. The Tigers have been a very good Dog Proposition under Bowden, and this one should be no different than the past.
College Football
Wake Forest -2.5 over Clemson
Both teams are coming off of shocking losses at home two weeks ago. Clemson lost to Maryland and Wake lost to Navy. Wake Forest was not sharp turning the ball over six times. Wake Forest does lead the nation in takeaways which is a huge stat to have under you belt playing at home. This is Clemsons first road game of the season other than the neutral site game against Alabama in which they were hammered. Clemson has a real tough time performing in the spotlight and I expect that trend to continue tonight. The Wake Forest home crowd will be in a "black out" and the stadium should be rocking. Kicker Sam Swank is questionable for the Deacons. This is big because he is one of the nations best kickers. If he does not play they do have a decent backup who needs to get game experience anyway for when Swank goes to the NFL. Wake might actually end up going to short yardage 4th downs turning a potential 3pts into 7. Wake has an excellent defense and should slow down James and Spiller. This game is also double revenge for a lot of the Wake veteran players who have lost the last two years to Clemson. Take Wake as the home favorite.
Major League Baseball
Phillies -130 over Dodgers
Hamels/Lowe
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