Teddy Covers
Texas Rangers
Bobby Maxwell
300-Unit World Series E-Z Winner - Texas Rangers
There’s no way I’m going against the Rangers’ starter Cliff Lee tonight in Game 1 of the World Series. I don’t care that the game is in San Francisco, or that he’s going up against Giants’ ace Tim Lincecum. He is an absolute beast in the playoffs and the Rangers have the bats to get this job done tonight.
Texas is 5-1 on the road in the postseason, beating the Rays three straight times in Tampa and taking two of three in the Big Apple against the Yankees to take a commanding 3-1 lead before finishing that series in six.
Lee is 7-0 in eight career postseason starts, posting a 1.26 ERA. So far this playoffs, he’s 3-0, striking out 34 and walking one. The lefty has great command on the hill and can change speeds with the best of them. Throw in the fact that Lee, and the rest of the Rangers have a distinct advantage with catcher Benji Molina behind the plate.
Molina was the Giants catcher for the first half of the season, so he knows the San Francisco pitchers very well. He knows their tendencies and their preferences for certain pitches in certain situations. That is going to be so huge in this series, because the Texas hitters will have a fighting chance against this very good rotation.
Lee has faced the Giants three times in his career and beaten them each time, including twice at AT&T Park. Last time was 2009 when he started for the Phillies and held San Francisco to one run on four hits, throwing a complete-game 5-1 victory. He’s allowed three earned runs in 24 innings against the Giants in his career.
Lincecum has never faced the Rangers, but he has been very good in the playoffs, giving up five runs in 23 innings. He did give up three runs in seven innings against the Phillies in his last home outing, losing 4-2, so he is reachable and if anybody has the key to success against him, it’s Molina.
Texas is 8-1 in its last nine roadies, 4-1 in Lee’s last five road starts and 10-1 in their last 11 interleague road games. The Rangers know how to win on the road and have the bats to plate some runs tonight.
I’ll pay the price to take this dominant pitcher. Play the Rangers behind Lee tonight to take Game 1.
100-Unit NBA Smart Play - Charlotte Bobcats
Two playoff teams will square off in Dallas tonight, but the bookmakers are giving way too many points with the upstart Bobcats in this one, so grab them and play Charlotte against the Mavericks.
The Bobcats have a very athletic frontcourt with Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace and Boris Diaw, plus they have brought back Tyrus Thomas who went to Charlotte in a trade from Chicago back in February. Key for Charlotte will be the emergence of point guard D.J. Augustin who takes over for Raymond Felton who was not re-signed in the offseason.
Augustin is in his third year in the NBA and this is his first real chance to show he belongs and has the potential to be a superstar. He needs to develop on the defensive end and he’ll be just fine.
Dallas has the same cast of characters we’ve been watching age in front of our eyes every year with the likes of Jason Terry, Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki. They did get a little more athletic in the middle with the addition of Tyson Chandler, but he doesn’t bring a lot of offense to the table. This team is solid, but it is so predictable and so easy to defend.
Dallas won the two matchups last season against the Bobcats, but neither win was easy, taking a 98-97 overtime win at home and coming up short as 7 ½-point favorites, then scoring an 89-84 win in Charlotte later in the season. The Bobcats have cashed in their last two trips to Dallas
Charlotte finished last season 3-1-1 ATS as a road ‘dog of between 5 and 10 ½ points while the Mavericks were just 7-18-1 ATS as a home favorite of 5 to 10 1/2 points. Dallas also finished on ATS skids of 9-29-1 at home, 8-28-1 as a home chalk and 0-5 against Eastern Conference teams.
In this series, the road team has cashed in four straight meetings, so let’s go ahead and grab the points with the Bobcats.
Bob Valentino
To Win World Series
50 Dime - SF Giants
BIG AL
Texas/SF Over
Clippers
Cavaliers
Spurs Over
Ben Burns
Main Event - SF Giants +1.5
Beat Your Bookie
10* Play Texas (-125) over San Francisco
Teddy Covers
Texas Rangers
20* Jazz
Bucks
Knicks/Raptors Over
Rocketman
3* Penquins -115
Red Zone Sports
Texas/SF Under 5.5
Jeff Benton
20 Dime SF Giants
10 Dime LA Clippers
Fantasy Sports Gametime
100* Play Texas (-125) over San Francisco
Texas pitcher, Cliff Lee has won 8 consecutive playoff games and he has also won 7 consecutive road games when playing with seven days or more of rest. Cliff Lee is 3-0 vs. San Francisco over his career with an ERA of 1.13 and he is also 3-0 over the last 3 overall starts with an ERA of 0.75.
NHL
25* Play Montreal (-160) over NY Islanders
Tim Trushel
20* LA Clippers
Texas/SF Under 1st Five innings
WunderDog
Washington/Carolina Under 6
Atlanta/New York Under 5.5
Rich Green
3* Cleveland + 4
3* SF Giants + 1.5
Chuck O'Brien
30 Dime - Giants/Rangers Under
10 Dime - NY Knicks