PAUL BOVI
DETROIT LIONS
The Bills are bucking the trend of Coach Dick Jauron as hey sport a 2-1 preseason record. They are off a short week here as they disposed of Indy on Sunday night and are back days later to take on the undefeated Lions, who now sport a balanced attack on offense. The Lions are rested having last played a matinee on Saturday, and will be anxious to keep the momentum going into the preseason. A short flight from Detroit to Buffalo as the Lions get in and out with the win and an undefeated record after 4 preseason games
DUSTIN HAWKINS
OREGON STATE / STANFORD UNDER 46
Oregon State is known for running the ball and doing it well. When you run the ball and do it well you control the clock. Stanford is very in consitant and should turn the ball over in this game. LooK for oregon state to get up early and run the ball as they increase the lead and shorten the game. This SHould Stay under the number Oregon State 24 Stanford 10.
INFO PLAYS
HOUSTON ASTROS -139
Houston will beat up on Aaron Harang tonight just like every other team has been doing all season long. Harang is 4-13 with a 5.55 ERA as a starter this season. He's 1-2 with a 10.80 ERA and a 2.176 WHIP over his last 3 starts. Houston is 9-2 against the Reds in 11 games facing Cincinnati in 2008. Harang allowed 8 earned runs in 4 frames in his only start against the Astros earlier this season, a 13-4 Houston victory. Brandon Backe is 4-0 with a 2.54 ERA in his career against the Reds. With Harang struggling, and the Astros taking care of the Reds in every way possible this season, we'll bet Houston at home as our free play Thursday.
Bobby Maxwell
L.A. Dodgers at WASHINGTON
The Dodgers offense has disappeared lately and even though they got four runs on Wednesday, they still fell to the Nationals 5-4 and have now dropped six games in a row. But we're looking for a big win and explosive offense show from them tonight and we're playing them on the Runline.
Look for Los Angeles to break out of it in a big way tonight. The offense is going to jump all over Washington hurler John Lannan (7-12, 3.95 ERA) who allowed five runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings Friday against the Cubs. That came after a five-start streak when the Nationals lost every game he pitched and he went 0-3 with a 5.76 ERA.
The Dodgers have 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw (2-4, 4.11) on the mound who will rebound from a lousy outing last time out. He gave up six runs in four innings of a 9-2 loss to the Phillies on Saturday. But he'd been dominating before that start, going 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in his previous five starts. He blanked the Nationals for six innings of a 2-0 win back on July 27.
The Nationals have swept just two series this season and they'd lost 10 of 15 before the Dodgers got to town. Los Angeles wins this one big.
Make it a Runline play on the Dodgers.
2♦ L.A. DODGERS (RL)
Oregon State at STANFORD +3
These teams jump right into the fire with a Pac 10 game as the opener for both teams comes on the first day of college football. We'll play the home team Cardinal in this one as they are going to be a much-improved team this season.
Stanford is in its second year under coach Jim Harbaugh and returns virtually its entire defense from a season ago. And this early in the season, defenses tend to dominate. The Cardinal also have QB Tavita Pritchard back after a shaky season last year. He threw for 1,114 yards, five TDs and nine INTs, but we all remember what he did in the shocker of the year against Southern Cal.
Pritchard led a game-winning drive against the dominant Trojan defense and completed a 10-yard TD pass on fourth down with 49 seconds left to pull off the stunner and get Stanford a 24-23 outright win as a 39-point underdog.
Oregon State relied on its defense to win games last season but has nobody back from the front seven. The team that led the nation in rush defense has nobody back to stop the run this season. The Beavers weren't lighting up the scoreboard under QB Lyle Moevao who started the final three games and won all three but was just 77 of 147 for two TDs and six INTs. Those aren't good numbers for winning QB.
Oregon State struggles in road games to start the season, going 3-10 ATS including a 34-3 loss at Cincinnati a year ago as 3 1/2-point favorites.
Take a chance with the Cardinal as they are pumped up for this home opener.
3♦ STANFORD
Karl Garrett
UTEP at BUFFALO -3
Tonight the G-Man takes it to the college gridiron.
Go ahead and lay the small impost with Buffalo, as they play host to UTEP.
The Miners are making a bizzare road trip to the northeast tonight to open the 2008 campiagn, and they will be in trouble in this one, as Buffalo coach Turner Gill continues to recruit strong classes, and does have an experienced QB in Drew Willy to run the show.
UTEP's defense was terrible last year, and with limited returning starters for the new season, things don't look to get much easier for Mike Price, and his 5 new assistants!
Throw in the fact the Miners are caught in a classice "look-ahead" spot, as the Texas Longhorns are on-deck for UTEP in El Paso, and you have an easy win and cover for Buffalo served up tonight.
Take the Bulls.
1♦ BUFFALO
JEFFERSONSPORTS
MLB EARLY RELEASES FOR THURS
MINN TWINS-147
CHIC CUBS-140
PlusLineSports
Philadelphia vs Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs-1.5
Black Magic Sports
1 Unit on New York Yankees -120
It’s going to be tougher than hell for the Red Sox to beat the Yankees in three straight at Yankee Stadium Thursday. New York throws their best starter in Mike Mussina at the Sox to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, Jon Lester is coming off his worst start of the season, yielding 7 earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings at Toronto on Saturday, August 23rd. Mussina didn’t allow a single earned run in his last start against Boston, and he’s 16-7 with a 3.45 ERA on the season. Boston is just 8-18 in road games vs. an AL starting pitcher whose ERA is 4.00 or better this season. This is the last series with Boston at Yankees stadium, and I have a hard time believing the Pin Stripes will just fold and let the Sox walk all over them again Thursday. Cash in with the Yankees as the favorite.
Matt Foust
Stanford +3.5
Head Coach Mike Riley has turned Oregon State into a well respected PAC 10 football program. In his seven years his has put together a 47-38 record as well as five straight bowl appearances. Last year’s 9-4 club may have been his best yet in Corvallis. Jim Harbaugh is trying to put the same sort of program together at Stanford, and although his club finished at 4-8, they showed progress.
Stanford was anything but a powerhouse offensively last year. They averaged just 111 yards rushing per game and 211 yards passing, which equated to 19.6 points per game. However, they return seven starters from last year’s offense and they have had over a year to soak in Harbaugh’s system. They should be much improved on the offensive line too. That, combined with what should be improved quarterback play (Tavita Pritchard, Jr) and running back play (Toby Gerhart, So), will increase the yardage and point totals by quite a bit.
Oregon State was a force on defense last season, especially against the run and they have dominated Stanford in this area for several seasons now. However, the Beavers are returning just three starters from last season’s 9-4 team and the entire starting front seven is gone. They should still be good, but far short of last season’s success.
We are going to go with the Cardinal here at home +3.5. The OSU drop off in defense contrasted with the Stanford upgrades on offense is the motivating factor in our selection. Last year the Beavers overwhelmed the Cardinal at home 23-6. I would expect OSU to be somewhere in that point range again as Stanford returns nine starters from last year’s defense, but I expect the Cardinal to produce far more than six points.
Things to consider: OSU has lost their last five road openers. Stanford beat USC, Arizona, and California in Harbaugh’s first year, the only figure to get better this season and they are catching OSU at a good time.
Take the Stanford Cardinal +3.5 at home.
Matt Fargo
Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics
Prediction: Minnesota Twins
Minnesota picked up a huge victory on Wednesday as it took out Seattle and ended a four-game losing skid. That streak did not hurt the Twins too much as they remain just a game out of first place in the American League Central. The Republican National Convention has forced the Twins on its longest roadtrip in 39 years and they are hoping for a better second half after going 3-4 through the first seven games. The Twins are 22-9 in their last 31 games against a team with a losing record.
Oakland is coming off a rare series win over the Angels, its first since taking three of four against Seattle way back on July 7-10. That was actually the last time that the A's won back-to-back games as they have gone 0-10 in their last 10 games following a win. They lost those 10 games by an average of 3.7 rpg. The bats woke up with six runs last night but one game isn't a cure as Oakland has averaged only 2.8 rpg over its last 12 games. The A's are 7-21 in their last 28 games against a team with a winning record.
Nick Blackburn gets the call for Minnesota and he is looking to snap a three-game winless streak. He has not been pitching bad especially last game where his defense let him down. Over his last six starts, he has a 3.62 ERA which is just under his season ERA of 3.78. He faced the A's 10 days ago and pitched a solid game, allowing three run on six hits in eight innings of work. Minnesota is 5-1 in his last six road starts against a team with a losing record.
Oakland hopes to get a similar start from Dana Eveland like the one he tossed last time out. He allowed just one run seven innings against Seattle which was his first start since getting called back up from the minors. He had gone six straight starts without tossing a quality outing and posting an 8.36 ERA. One start is not going to suddenly turn him back around. The Twins are hitting .337 in their last 10 games against lefties and are 19-7 in their last 26 games against a left-handed starter. Play Minnesota Twins 1.5 Units
Tony Stevens
Troy vs. Middle Tenn St
Play:Troy -6.5
Favorite is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings.
Trojans are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Trojans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Brian Graves
Boston vs. New York
Pick: Boston +105
The Red Sox said goodbye to the Yankees playoff chances last night and they have a good matchup to drop the coffin all the way in the ground today. Jon Lester has been dominant against the Yankees this year and coming off one of his worst outings of the season in Toronto over the weekend I expect hime to shut down the lifeless Yankee offense. Even though Mussina has been a great story this year he doesn't have enough to keep the Sox from scoring their share of runs this afternoon. Boston wins 7-2!
Frank Jordan
New England Patriots vs. New York Giants
Play: New York Giants -1
This is the annual preseason rematch of the two teams that met 6 months ago in the Super Bowl. That game was won by the 17 point underdogs NY Giants by a score of 17-14. Look for the Giants, despite the loss of Osi Umenyiora, will once again show they were and are the better team with a win at home. Play NY Giants
TONY WESTON
We've got a solid game tonight that we're cashing in with as we're going with Oregon State on the road at Stanford in some Pac-10 action.
The teams finished in opposite directions last season as Oregon State went 9-4 SU and 8-4 ATS on their way to a bowl game. After starting the season 2-3 SU and 1-3 ATS, the Beavers finished strong, going 7-1 SU and ATS to finish the year, including wins SU and ATS in each of their last four games.
Stanford, on the other hand, finished the year 4-8 SU and 5-7 ATS, including a huge upset of USC, beating the Trojans outright 24-23 as 39-point dogs. But that was about the only highlight for the Cardinal, who won only two games SU and ATS over the last month and a half of the season.
Now Oregon State and Stanford are set to do battle to start the season. Consider that over the last two years the Beavers are 2-0 SU and ATS against the Cardinal, having beat them by a combined 53-13. And including last year's 23-6 win, Oregon State is 7-3 SU and 8-2 ATS against the Cardinal in their last 10 meetings.
Also, Stanford was only 2-4 ATS as a home dog last year and is only 6-14 ATS their last 20 home games. The Cardinal are also 0-3 their last three Pac-10 openers.
The Beavers are favored by about a field goal, and that's subject to change, but that won't matter. Oregon State will still get over easily tonight. Go with the Beavers on the road.
3♦ OREGON STATE
TONY MATHEWS
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Selection: Toronto/Tampa Bay Under 8.5
The Toronto Blue Jays will use starting pitcher Jesse Litsch. Jesse Litsch has pitched well as of late. In fact, Jesse Litsch has a 3.06 ERA in his last 3 starts. We see Jesse Litsch pitching another great game today.
The Tampa Bay Rays will use starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. Edwin Jackson has also pitched well as of late. In fact, Edwin Jackson has a 1.89 ERA in his last 3 starts. We also see Edwin Jackson pitching another great game today.
The bottom line, we should see a low-scoring game today!
Take the Toronto Blue Jays/Tampa Bay Rays Under 8.5