05/13/2008 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zack Greinke threw six solid innings, Jose Guillen hit a two-run double, and the Kansas City Royals used a Detroit error to edge the Tigers, 3-2, in the opener of a three-game set.
Guillen finished the game with a pair of doubles, while Mark Grudzielanek went 3-for-4 for the Royals, who have won two in a row.
Greinke gave up two runs on nine hits, with a pair of strikeouts and walks each, in the no-decision. Leo Nunez (3-0) threw two-thirds of an inning in relief, while Joakim Soria -- who hasn't allowed a run in 15 1/3 innings this season -- earned his ninth save of the season.
Nate Robertson allowed two runs on 10 scattered hits in seven innings of work for Detroit, which has lost eight of 10. Francisco Cruceta (0-1) was credited with the loss after allowing an unearned run on two hits in the eighth inning.
Miguel Cabrera had two hits and two walks, while Matt Joyce hit a solo homer and Carlos Guillen hit an RBI double.
With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth, Grudzielanek grounded out to lead off, and Alex Gordon missed swinging on strike three. But Guillen stroked a double to left off Cruceta, and Esteban German entered the game as a pinch- runner.
After Cruceta gave Billy Butler a free pass, Mark Teahen hit the ball up the middle, just to the left of second base. Shortstop Edgar Renteria was able to range left and get to the ball, but his backhanded flip to Placido Polanco was off the mark, and German raced home to give the Royals a 3-2 edge.
Soria shut down Detroit in the ninth to end the game, by inducing three consecutive ground outs.
Detroit struck quickly in the first, as Carlos Guillen followed Polanco's single with a double to give his team a 1-0 edge.
Greinke worked out of that frame, but gave up another run in the second, when Joyce -- who hit his first major league homer on Saturday against the Yankees -- ripped a solo shot to deep center field.
Robertson ran into trouble in the third inning, after a Joey Gathright single and a fielder's choice that left David DeJesus on first. Grudzielanek followed with a single to put two men on with one out.
The Tigers' starter got Gordon to pop out and had a distinct chance to end the inning. But Jose Guillen smoked a double off the wall, just to the left of center, allowing both runners to cross home and tie the game at 2-2.
Game Notes
Teahen and John Buck each had two hits for the Royals...The Tigers left nine runners on base, while Kansas City stranded seven...Detroit has lost all four games against Kansas City so far this season; the Tigers were swept by the Royals at home to open the season.
<< Rays climb to first in AL East; top Yankees in 11
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gabe Gross had the game-winning single
off Mariano Rivera in the 11th inning to lead the Tampa Bay Rays past the New
York Yankees, 2-1, and into first place in the AL East.
Akinori Iwamura went 2-fo
<< Pirates' Doumit leaves with thumb injury
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit left after one
inning of Tuesday's game against the Cardinals with a left thumb injury.
A pitch from Pittsburgh starter Phil Dumatrait hit the catcher on the thumb of
his glove
<< Laird propels Rangers over Mariners
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Laird went 2-for-3 with an RBI and
three runs scored as the Texas Rangers upended the Seattle Mariners, 5-2, in
the second test of a three-game series at Rangers Ballpark.
Texas starter Kason Ga
<< Braun leads Brewers past struggling Dodgers
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun went 2-for-4 with a double, a
triple and two runs batted in, as the Milwaukee Brewers topped the suddenly
scuffling Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3, in the opener of a three-game series at
Miller
Hornets push Spurs closer to elimination with blowout win >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West had career playoff-highs of 38
points and 14 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets continued their success at
home with a 101-79 win over San Antonio, pushing ahead after five games of
their W
Drew, D'Backs down Rockies >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Drew clubbed a three-run home
run to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Colorado Rockies, 8-4 in the
opener of a three-game set.
Orlando Hudson went 2-for-4, knocked in two runs and s
Cain does it all as Giants nip Astros >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Cain allowed just two runs over
eight innings and hit his second home run of the year as the San Francisco
Giants edged the Houston Astros, 4-2, in the second of a four-game set at AT&T
Par
Weaver flirts with no-no as Halos edge ChiSox >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver threw seven innings of one-hit
ball, and Mike Napoli's sacrifice fly drove in the winning run, as the Los
Angeles Angels earned a 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Weaver actually had a no-hitte
Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
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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 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.
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