05/12/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs enter a four-game set with a chip on their shoulders, as they are coming off an impressive sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Tonight, the club will welcome the San Diego Padres to town for the series opener at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs opened their 10-game homestand in red-hot fashion, outscoring the Diamondbacks 16-7 over the weekend. In Sunday's 6-4 victory in the series finale, Daryle Ward's two-run pinch-hit double in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted Chicago to victory after the start of game was delayed for 58 minutes due to rain.
Reed Johnson hit a two-run homer for the Cubs, winners in four of their last five games overall. Derrek Lee also went deep in the win, while Kosuke Fukudome finished 2-for-4 and scored a run.
Carlos Marmol earned the win as four Chicago relievers combined for 4 2/3 shutout innings. Kerry Wood picked up his seventh save with a scoreless ninth.
Sean Gallagher lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits for the Cubs, who will also host the Pittsburgh Pirates for three games in the Windy City on this homestand.
Carlos Zambrano, whose scheduled start on Sunday was pushed back because of weather conditions, gets the call for Chicago this evening. Zambrano is 5-1 with a 1.80 earned run average in eight starts this season, and 4-0 over his past five trips to the mound.
Zambrano is coming off his best performance of the season, in which he hurled a season-high eight shutout innings of three-hit ball during a 3-0 win at Cincinnati on Tuesday.
The fiery right-hander, who is 3-0 in five home starts in 2008, owns a 4-1 record and a 1.94 ERA in seven career outings versus San Diego.
Taking the hill for the Padres on Monday will be Randy Wolf. Wolf is 2-2 with a 4.14 earned run average in seven starts in 2008, but is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA over his last three starts.
Wolf pitched on Wednesday in a 5-2 loss at Atlanta and was shelled for five runs and eight hits in six frames. The left-hander is 2-5 with a 4.35 ERA in 12 career games against the Cubs.
San Diego just won the last two games of a three-game series from the Colorado Rockies after losing five in a row. It posted a 6-1 triumph in Sunday's series finale, as Khalil Greene belted a two-run home run and Tadahito Iguchi added three hits with a run scored and an RBI.
Scott Hairston had a solo home run and Kevin Kouzmanoff chipped in a pair of hits and an RBI for San Diego. Padres starter Chris Young got the win after he went six innings and allowed only one run on five hits.
The Padres will open a seven-game road trip tonight in Chicago. They went 5-3 against the Cubs last season, with a 3-2 mark at Wrigley Field, and are 12-3 over the previous 15 matchups in this series.
<< Red Wings aim for 3-0 lead as West finals head to Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Detroit Red Wings will try to take a
commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals tonight,
when they visit the Dallas Stars for Game 3 at American Airlines Center.
Detroit has grabbed a
<< Hernandez tries to continue hot start in finale with Red Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the opportunity to achieve a series win over the
defending world champions, the Minnesota Twins will send out their newfound
ace in tonight's finale of a four-game set with the visiting Boston Red Sox.
Livan Hernandez
<< Jays, Tribe play doubleheader in Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting an unscheduled day off due to bad weather,
the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays conclude a four-game series today
with a doubleheader from Progressive Field.
The Indians have won the first two tests o
<< Oswalt, Zito square off at AT&T Park
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League's hottest team during the month of May
invades San Francisco's AT&T Park for the opener of a four-game series, as the
Houston Astros attempt to keep up their torrid stretch in tonight's matchup
with t
Rays try to extend home winning streak vs. Yankees >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to extend their franchise-record
home-winning streak to 10 games this evening when they start a four-game
series with the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field.
Extending the streak may be
Pirates, Braves play two at PNC Park >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jair Jurrjens seeks a fifth straight start without a loss
today, when the Atlanta Braves enter PNC Park for the third and fourth games
of a weather-interrupted series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Sunday's scheduled
Angels open series with White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hope a return home gets
them off the schneid this evening when they kick off a four-game series with
the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium.
The Angels, who will be home for the nex
Padilla leads Rangers in series opener vs. Seattle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vicente Padilla tries to win his fourth straight start this
evening when Texas begins a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners at
Rangers Ballpark.
Padilla improved to 5-2 on the season against Seattle on Wed
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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