Matt Fargo
New York Mets at Florida Marlins
Prediction: New York Mets
This is a crucial series for both teams as the Mets and Marlins are fighting for a spot in the playoffs. New York earned a split with the Phillies in that small two-game set to remain in first place by a game in the National League East. The road has been kind of late as the Mets have won seven of their last nine games away from home, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 53-27. New York is 15-6 over its last 21 games overall and the offense has been solid, averaging 5.4 rpg over that stretch.
This could very well be the last stand for the Marlins who are coming off a very disappointing roadtrip. Florida went 4-5 but two series losses came against teams well out of the playoff hunt and those were not the games that should have gone down. Overall, the Marlins are 7-12 over their last 19 games and the offense has been extremely unproductive over this stretch, scoring four runs or fewer 11 times while averaging only 3.8 rpg. Florida has dropped 13 of the last 17 meetings at home in this series.
Pitching has been inconsistent this season for the Mets but Oliver Perez has been as consistent as they come over the last couple months. After getting hit hard by the Mariners on June 24th, he had an ERA of 5.29. In 11 starts since then, he has put up a 2.50 ERA with nine of those starts being quality outings. The Mets are 4-0 in his four starts against the Marlins this year as he has a 2.16 ERA including 0.75 in two starts at Dolphin Stadium. The Mets are 7-1 in his last eight starts against a team with a winning record.
Florida counters with Chris Volstad who is coming off a rough outing at Arizona last time out. He has been solid this season with a 3.42 ERA but he has allowed a lot of baserunners and that can certainly be an issue against an offense such as the Mets. He has a 1.42 WHIP on the season including 1.68 in four home starts. Florida is averaging only 2.3 rpg in his starts on the season and that drops to 2.0 rpg in those home outings. New York is 8-1 in its last nine games against a right-handed starter and will take advantage here. Play New York Mets 1.5 Units
Frank Jordan
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Play: Milwaukee Brewers
Both teams were off on Thursday as the division foes square off in Pittsburgh for an old fashion NL Central clash. Milwaukee is sending Dave Bush to the hill as he lookes to even up his record at 9-9 with the road win. Pittsburgh is running Tom Gorzelanny who is 6-8 with an era North of 6.50. Look for the Brewers to have an easy time of it in Pittsburgh in this match up. Play Milwaukee
WILD BILL
NFL
Arizona -3 (5 units)
Broncos-Cardinals Over 38 (5 units)
NCAAF
Rice-Smu Over 69 (5 units)
Ron Raymond
5* CFL GAME OF THE WEEK
Edmonton Eskimos +5.0
5* CFB GAME OF THE WEEK
SMU +3.5
Steve Janus
SMU vs. Rice
Play: SMU
SMU and Rice have some very close games in their recent history. Their last two meetings have been decided by a total of 5 points. Playing in the same state and in the same conference usually makes for those types of close games. So what do we have to look forward to Friday? One thing you can count on is that there will be a lot of offense in this game. It's not that both teams field a great offense, far from it, both teams had some of the worst defenses in the entire nation last year. SMU was ranked 116th in total defense, while Rice's defense gave up 42.9 points per game and over 500 yards of total offense per game.
SMU is looking to put their recent past failures behind them. They hired Hawaii's former coach, June Jones to come in and re-tool their offense. There's certainly going to be a learning curve in picking up a new offensive scheme for the Mustangs, but the good news is that they get a chance to test out their new strategy against a very poor Rice defense.
Rice is returning a couple of its star offensive players in QB Chase Clement and WR Jarret Dillard, but offense is not really the concern for this team. The Owls were able to score over 30 points per game last season, it was just that they couldn't keep their opponents under 40 points per game. Unfortunately for the Owls, it looks like they are in for more of the same in 2008.
There is a definate possibility that this game could be decided by whichever team is holding the ball last. There won't be much of a defensive struggle, so it's going to come down to who can stop who in key situations and who can take the ball away from the other team's offense. SMU doesn't get a clean slate just by hiring a new head coach, but it is a step in the right direction and I think they come out in their first game of the year and make a statement about the direction they are heading.
Prediction: SMU 41 Rice 33
Jeff Alexander Sports
Texas Rangers vs. LAA Angels
Play: Over
The Over is 12-4-2 in the last 18 meetings between these two AL West rivals and 7-1-1 in the last 9 meetings in Los Angeles. The Over is 8-1 in the Rangers last 9 vs. the American League West. The Over is 10-3-1 in the Angels last 14 games vs. a right-handed starter and 4-0-1 in Santana's last 5 starts vs. the Rangers. We saw 12 runs yesterday and I think we'll see at least that many again today. Take the OVER.
Vegas Experts
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays
AJ Burnett has made the Yankees pay for not acquiring him by posting a 5-0 team start record the last two years against New York, including a recent performance where he allowed just one run and five hits over eight innings and struck out 13 Yankee hitters. Even better news for the Jays is that they are 16-5 after allowing three runs or less in three straight games.
Play on: Toronto
Tom Stryker
St Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros
Play: St Louis Cardinals
St. Louis picked up a nice come-from-behind win over Milwaukee in its last contest and the Cardinals will look to ride that momentum at Houston on Friday night.
On the hill for the Redbirds will be veteran Kyle Lohse. The big right-hander has been a pleasant surprise for the Cards this year. With 168.0 frames in the bank, Lohse has been touched for only 74 earned runs and 178 hits. That adds up to a stellar 13-6 record and a blistering 3.96 ERA. Kyle's best work this season has been with the lights shining. At night, Lohse has been nicked for only 28 earned runs and 84 hits in 83.0 innings of work. That equates to a sensational 9-1 mark and a powerful 2.82 ERA.
Houston will counter with southpaw Randy Wolf. In his last two starts against the Mets and Brewers, Wolf was roughed up pretty good. Randy pitched 10.0 innings and was tagged for 10 earned runs and 12 hits and allowed six walks. That equates to a dismal 9.00 ERA!
The Cards have cashed eight of 12 in this series and nailed 14 of their last 19 coming off a day of rest. With the Wild Card still a possibility, manager Tony LaRussa will have the Redbirds playing hard. Take St. Louis with listed pitcher Lohse. Thank you and best of luck, Tom Stryker.
Chad Jordan
600 Temple
100 Nationals
100 Astros
100 Diamondbacks
DCI
Conference USA
RICE 51, Smu 45
FBS Non-Conference
Temple 22, ARMY 21
Maddux Sports
San Diego +2.5
Vegas Steamline
Temple
Jack Clayton
White Sox
The Scout
Astros
ARMVIN SPORTS
INDIANS -113
Tippster
Cardinals -140
Rice -3
PlayByPlayInc.
ARMY
MJP Sports
SMU
Lance's Lock
SMU/Rice Over 69
C-Stars Guaranteed Plays
Temple/Army Over 41
lasvegassportsadvisors
Boston
Vegas Vet
San Francisco
JerseySteveWins
NY Mets
floridabookybusters
LA Angels
PERRY'S PREMIER PICKS
Temple Owls -7
ARTHUR RALPH
Army/Temple Under
Cappers Access
Army
Broncos
Vegas Hotsheet
Rice
Joe Wiz
49'ers
Chargers/49'ers Under
Glen Mcgrew
Rockies
Donald Tran
SMU at Rice Under 69.5
Florida Marlins +120
Chad Jordan
Chicago White Sox +140
ELPsports
San Francisco Giants
EASY MONEY SPORTS
TORONTO -115
HUDDLE UP
SF Giants
DARK HORSE
Philadelphia +210
MIKE WYNN
Tampa Bay
PLATINUM PLAYS
Army/Temple Over 41
RAZOR SHARP
TEMPLE/ARMY OVER
TOTALS 4 U
DODGERS/DBACKS UNDER
#1 SPORTS
DIAMONDBACKS
Winning Points
SMU @ Rice
Play: Rice
The move of June Jones to S.M.U. is creating a lot of attention, including the ESPN cameras showing up for his debut. It has also led to the oddsmakers setting this one in a rather short range, assuming that the public buys into the notion of Jones turning the downtrodden Mustangs around. That may happen, later, but for now we may see a team actually get worse before they can get better, the usual result when a young and inexperienced team that lacks a winning history has to adjust to new systems. Exacerbating matters is that freshmen Bo Levi Mitchell and Braden Smith will be sharing the snaps at QB, which means zero experience not only in running the Jones playbook, but also in working with their teammates in the WR corps. The Owls see plenty of spread tactics in Conference USA, which helps to set their own game plan, and Chase Clement is the kind of veteran that can take control of this one in the latter stages, especially against a Mustang defense that returns only four starters.
Vegas Sports Experts
VSE NFL Pre-Season Plays for Friday are
3* Take Seattle -3 over Oakland
Seattle
· 3-0 ATS in all pre-season games this season
· 5-1 ATS in pre-season non-conference games
· 4-1 SU & ATS in pre-season home games the last 3 years
· 3-1 SU & ATS in pre-season as a favorite the last 3 years
Kevin O'Neill
Temple @ Army
Play: Army +7
Temple has all the characteristics the average handicapper looks for in an improving team: the coach, Al Golden is in his third season. He has brought in another good recruiting class, ranked tops in the MAC by Scout.com. And all of the 2007 starters return on both sides of the ball except for one. While Temple won just 3 games in 2007, their power rating improved over 2006 by more than a touchdown per game. And the improvement would have been greater if QB Adam DiMichele had not missed the final 4 games with an injury. The Black Knights notched 3-9 marks each of the last two years against some decent opponents. The Black Knights have won just 21 games against 1-A opponents over the last 11 seasons. In a bid to play more winnable games the administration had their schedule softened, getting out of games against Georgia Tech, Boston College and Tulsa. The administrators did their job to help the team, and now head coach Stan Brock is making a big change on the field: bringing back the option-based attack. The service academies are a natural fit for the option. The players are smart and disciplined, but lacking in size and speed. The deception of a good option attack helps level the playing field. Navy has prospered in recent years with the option, and Fisher DeBerry built an impressive legacy at Air Force with the wishbone. Army's last great season came in 1996 when they went 10-2 with an option-oriented offense headed by QB Ronnie McAda. But the option was scrapped in 2000 and the Black Knights have been awful ever since. The option should also help out a miserable defense by shortening the number of possessions it must defend. Even with Temple's big improvement in 2007, when adjusted for schedule the Black Knights were about two points per game better than the Owls. Assuming another big step up for Temple in 2008 one could justify making them a small favorite at Army. But not a touchdown favorite. And Army should improve as well in its return to the option. Army won their 2007 meeting 37-21 on this same field. That triggers a 69-39 ATS dominance-based system featuring games between two poor teams. I prefer the sizeable dog in what should be a low scoring game; the last 7 Temple games have gone under. Temple by only 1.
Craig Trapp
Texas Rangers vs. LAA Angels
Play: LAA Angels -1.5
LAA came back last night to win a tough one by getting 5 runs in the eighth inning. The Angels will give the ball to Ervin Santana (13-5, 3.41 ERA), who is looking for some help to win for the first time in four starts. The right-hander is 0-0 with a 3.10 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 20 1-3 innings over his last three starts, but has received only seven total runs of support in that span. Santana is 2-0 with a 5.79 ERA in two starts against the Rangers this season. Those games were both on the road, and he's 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three career home matchups against them. Texas turns to Dustin Nippert (1-3, 7.83) after Vicente Padilla was scratched from his scheduled start due to a strained neck muscle. Nippert was hit hard in his only start of the season on Aug. 17, getting tagged for seven runs and eight hits, including two homers, in four innings of a 7-4 loss to Tampa Bay. That came after the right-hander went 0-0 with a 4.35 ERA in eight relief outings following his recall from Triple-A Oklahoma on July 5. It's also the last time he's been used by the Rangers. Look for LAA bats to stay hot and win big here. LAA 8 - TEX 4