Triple Threat Sports
Houston (+) over Utah
Utah was our Top Play on Monday and they delivered, but we fade them here as this line is out of whack unless you give the Jazz a SIX point home court edge, and no team gets six points in line value for being at home. Also, this has been a close series in the regular season and the playoffs, and also cannot ignore the fact that the Rockets are playing with absolute desperation. We look for the Jazz to win this one, but only by about five points.
Ben Burns
Florida Marlins at Atlanta Braves
Prediction: Atlanta Braves
Reason: The Marlins took yesterday's game but the Braves should have several edges here. Yesterday, the Braves sent a right-hander to the mound while the Marlins countered with a southpaw. Today, the roles are reversed with Atlanta sending left-hander Chuck James to the mound to match up against Florida's Burke Badenhop, a righty. That's signficant, as the Braves are averaging a whopping six runs per game (.286 average) vs. right-handed starters while the Marlins are managing a mere 3.1 runs per game vs. southpaws, hitting just .241 in the process.
Badenhop hasn't exactly been pitching well either. In fact, in two starts, he's 0-1 with a terrible 7.87 ERA and 2.125 WHIP. Conversely, James pitched well (1.80 ERA) in his most recent and lone home start, after being recalled to fill in for Glavine, allowing one run through five complete innings, while earning a 4-1 win over the Dodgers. James has also dominated the Marlins, going 3-1 with a miniscule 1.35 ERA and 0.9.75 WHIP. Look for him to enjoy success against the Marlins again today, as he continues his quest to prove he belongs in the starting rotation, while getting enough run support to lead to an Atlanta victory.
Black Magic Sports
1 Unit on Minnesota Twins +107
(Listing Liriano Only)
Francisco Liriano will get he season finally going today when he faces and Oakland A’s lineup that struggles against lefty pitching. The A’s are putting up a mere 3.1 runs against left-handed starters this year. In 8 games, the A’s don’t have a single stolen base against left-handed starters. This will be crucial in keeping the A’s from having runners in scoring position, allowing Liriano to get out of the few jams he may see. Minnesota is 16-9 (+10.7 Units) against the money line vs. an AL starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.20 or better over the last 2 seasons. The Twins will buckle down after getting shut out 3-0 last night and get to Greg Smith today. The Athletics are 1-10 in their last 11 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. Cash in with Minnesota as the underdog.
Bob Balfe
NBA Basketball
Cleveland +4.5 over Wizards
Vegas did a great job at setting this line. This was simply done to get money off of the Cavs. A lot of peoples will take the Wizards just because the line is higher and they think its a sucker bet to take Cleveland. I would agree with that, but the Cavs have owned the Wizard and now its personal for Lebron James. Cleveland just looks to strong from the Washington team home or away. You know the saying "If it aint broke then don't fix it". Take the Cavs.
Houston +9.5 over Utah
The Jazz are so good at home and only have lost four times this year at home. One of those losses were to the Rockets. I do think this game will be close and the Jazz like to play a slower tempo game making it a lot harder for them to win by double digits. Houston does have Alston back in the lineup tonight which will make them a little more balanced. Look for a close game. Take the Rockets.
Major League Baseball
Braves -145 over Marlins
James/Badenhop
Savannah Sports
2 Units on Seattle -143
JeffMoney
BLUE JAYS -105 (POD)
MARINERS -135
WHITE SOX EV
JAZZ -8.5
Teddy Covers
St. Louis Cardinals/Pittsburgh Pirates Over 9.0 / 3 units
Spritzer
ko............................tor
tko slam dunk............utah
Cokin
3*.........................cavs
Feist
total.........................magic over
1st round goy.................utah
personal best.................cavs
5*.............................tor
GOLD SHEET'S LTS
WASHINGTON
Houston-Utah OVER
LT Profits:
MLB SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS +120 2 units
NBA WASHINGTON WIZARDS -5 2 units
NHL PHILADELPHIA FLYERS +160 2 units
Mike Rose
MLB
2* NYY/CWS UNDER 10' -115 (HUGHES/FLOYD)
3* AZD/LAD OVER 8 -12(GONZALEZ/BILLINGSLEY)
NBA
2* CLEVELAND (+5') VS. WASHINGTON
3* HOUSTON/UTAH OVER 181'
AJ Apollo:
MLB
3* Washington Nationals +121
NBA
3* Washington Wizards -5
Doc NBA
5* Over 182 Utah
The Hitman Guaranteed Selections
1500 LARGE BASEBALL WINNER
Cleveland w/Carmona -160
1500 LARGE BASEBALL PITHING MISMATCH WINNER
NY METS w/Perez -126
O.C. Dooley Guaranteed Selections
"3 UNITS" on Diamondbacks/Dodgers OVER 8'
INDIAN COWBOY
Raptors -4 (POD)
The Raptors have to show up at some point in this series and did you notice what this team was able to do at the middle of the second quarter? They started to come back, play with some heart and this was despite being down 35-17 to this Magic team who was shooting lights out. It just goes to show that this Raptors team was playing with plenty of heart and now they will have to show up with that same heart and dedication at home today. Look, this team nearly won outright on the road at Orlando, they are the same team that beat this Magic team by 17 points at home which just goes to show that when they are healthy, and given the plenty of revenge that they have, they should do well tonight. The Magic are just 1-7 ATS in their last 8 meetings in Toronto and this will be an up hill battle for them tonight. I do think that the Magic have a great shot at winning game 4, but watch the Raps give it all they have tonight in game 3, if they lose this game, then look for a sweep to occur in Game 4 in Toronto.
Jazz -9
I mentioned earlier in a post today that today was a day of favorites. If the Rockets were actually going to step up in this series, it would have bee in Game 2 at home, and frankly, they should have won that game as AK clearly flopped on the Luis Scola touch. Obviously it was a flop, but the Jazz find themselves up 2-0 as they now have a clear command of this series and are at home, which is the toughest place to play in the league as they have just dominated teams at home. Do you know why the total is so high at -9 in a playoff game and a must win game for the Rockets? Do not fall for this trap. The Rockets could barely compete at home, granted they do get Alston back today, but regardless, they could barely compete at home, how are they going to compete on the road with a Jazz bench that is clearly better with Millsap, Harpring, Korver and Price. Far too much offense for the Jazz tonight, the Rockets are also 0-7 ATS in their last 7 Quarterfinal games, while the Jazz are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 quarterfinal games. Need I say more? Jazz roll by double-digits tonight and literally take the spirit out of the Rockets tonight as Game 4 of this series will be nothing more than the motions running through as the Rockets deeply miss Yao.
Wizards -5
To be frank, this was nearly my POD today. The Wizards have an immense deal of revenge against this Cavs team that now has a 2-0 nothing lead, spanked this team at home by 30 points, have hurt the pride of quality players such as Arenas, Butler and Jamison and now the Wizards return home where they play extremely well and this team has a legitimate shot at breaking this series even as they go back to Cleveland. After all, why else would this series price still remain at -450? There is a specific reason why and that is because the Wizards have a legit shot at winning the next 2 games of this series - after all, what interest is it in the nba to see Cleveland sweep and move on here? The Wizards lose 4-0 to this Cleveland team last year without Butler and Arenas and trust me when I tell you that their coaching staff will ring their behinds a new one as this team is the whipping stick for the Cavs. Look for the Wiz to show plenty of heart today, look for Arenas to likely be in the starting lineup as the Cavs are just 1-6 ATS after winning by a game by a straight up 10 points and the favorite is 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings.