Ben Burns
Thursday Roast - N. Carolina
Northcoast
Marquee - Virginia Tech
Charlie
500* Phillies/Yankees Under 9, Spurs/Bulls Over 193, North Carolina +16' (500*)
30* Phillies+175
20* UNC/V Tech Under 43'
20* Denver +7
10* St. Louis -140
Chicago +4' Free Play
Wayne Root
Upset Club
4* VA TECH -16.5
BRANDON LANG
15 DIME - NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS - (if the line is 16 1/2, you buy to +17, never get beat by the hook!) - A lot of wood for Virginia Tech to cover tonight facing the 3rd best defense in the country.
Everyone is going to look at this game as a match up of the horrible North Carolina offense versus this great Virginia Tech defense but my friends, it's the wrong way to look at it.
If you are going to cover a number like this you are going to need your offense to score you some points, and if you think Virginia Tech is going to just go up and down the field on this Tar Heels defense, well let's just say I don't think so.
Virginia Tech offensively is not Florida State. In fact, just throw out anything that happened in the Florida State game because unlike Virginia Tech, who ranks near the bottom in offense in the ACC, the Seminoles brought the best offense into Chapel Hill.
Against a similiar fast defense earlier this year against Nebraska, the Hokies struggled to a 16-15 win and we all see just how good Nebraska turned out to be. The Cornhuskers held V'tech to 270 yards total offense.
I believe North Carolina's defense will keep them in this football game. I believe their offense, which has been improving each week and faces a Virginia Tech run defense ranked 79th in the country, will make enough plays to stay within this very generous number and if the Tar Heels don't turn it over, they might just shock the world.
The bottom line is I will gladly take +17 points with the 3rd best defense in the country versus the 67th best offense in college football including just 102nd in the passing game.
The Tar Heels have the corners and safeties to shut down anything Virginia Tech wants to do in the air and I believe that is exactly what Butch Davis will do here. Put 8 in the box, man up on the outside and say to Frank Beamer, "Beat me throwing the ball buddy."
The dog is the play here. The dog is the play and the dog is the way I am going here tonight.
15 Dime TAR HEELS
5 DIME - PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES - Just like last night, I can't pass up this kind of value with the Phillies in game two.
In case you didn't watch last night's game, the Phillies showed you why they will repeat as world champions on many different levels.
Great starting pitching. Great defense. Timely hitting. Their whole lineup can come through on you any time as you saw last night.
Tonight I love the way they match up with A.J. Burnett. He is capable of making mistakes out over the plate and this is a home run hitting Philly team that will make you pay for those mistakes.
As for Pedro, nobody is as familiar with this Yankees lineup as he is. Simple as that.
He was as dominant as anybody this entire post season in his only playoff start versus the Dodgers going 7 shutout innings of 2-hit ball before being lifted for a pitch hitter in the 8th. Charlie Manuel probably should have left him in but no worries.
I love Pedro at this price just as I liked Cliff Lee at that great price last night.
As for Burnett, this could get ugly early as evidenced by his struggles over his career versus these Phillies.
He is 5-8 with a 4.85 ERA in 16 career starts including a 7-3 loss at Yankee Stadium on May 22, when he allowed five runs in six innings. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Like didn't Sabathia have those same kind of numbers versus the Phillies in a playoff start last year?
I am rolling with the Phillies to make it 2 straight in this series and take complete control tonight.
FREE SELECTION - SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Fantasy Sports Gametime
100* Play Virginia Tech (-16.5) over North Carolina
Virginia Tech has won 16 of the last 17 home games over the last 3 seasons and they have also won 14 of the last 17 games coming off a loss against the spread. Virginia Tech has won 9 of the last 11 games coming off a road game and they are averaging over 36 points a game on offense in home games this season.
TOM FREESE
UNC at Virginia Tech
Pick: Under 44
North Carolina is 7-2 UNDER thier last 9 road games vs. a team with a winning home record and they are 4-1 UNDER their last 5 road games. The Tarheels are 4-1 UNDER as an underdog of 10.5 or higher and they are 4-1 UNDER their last 5 games vs. the Hokies. Virginia Tech is 10-1 UNDER their last 11 Thursday games and they are 18-5 UNDER their last 23 games vs. a team with winning road record. The Hokies are 13-5 UNDER their last 18 home games as a favorite and they are 6-2 UNDER their last 8 games after allowing less than 170 yards passing in their last game. 10* "NO BRAINER" PLAY ON 'UNDER'
Detroit Red Wings vs. Edmonton Oilers
Play: Over 5½
Detroit is 34-16-1 OVER when playing with one day of rest and they are 7-3 OVER their last 10 road games. The Red Wings are 19-9 OVER vs. Northwest Division teams and they are 7-3-1 OVER their last 11 games at Edmonton. The Oilers are 20-6-1 OVER vs. an opponent that scored 5 or more goals in their last game and they are 4-1 OVER when playing with one day of rest. Edmonton is 5-2 OVER after scoring 2 or less goals in their last game and they are 5-2 OVER on Thursday. 10* PLAY ON 'OVER'
Dave Malinsky
Top of the Ticket
4* San Antonio Spurs (-2.5) over CHICAGO BULLS
When we get deeper into the season, a rested home team against an opponent that had to travel after playing the previous night is an advantage. But not now; in fact it is the team that played already that brings the edges, particularly for the way that the Spurs performed in a dominating 113-96 win over New Orleans that was even easier than the final score would indicate. And that gets us in the game at this short price range. When we do our usual pre-season work of compiling the most improved teams in the league, it is usually a set of mediocre squads that made some personnel additions to move forward. Rarely is it ever a team of San Antonios class, and we believe the markets will take some time to adjust properly. First note that LYs 54-28 was an injury-riddled affair, and that merely having the roster back to health would lead to more wins, even with the age of the veteran corps. But take that corps and add the likes of Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, and DeJuan Blair and you have something special. Now it is a deep and talented roster filled with players that are only after a Championship ring, not personal numbers, and there is no one better than Gregg Popovich at putting the pieces together. Last night?s rout was an almost perfect tune-up for this game. No San Antonio player was on the court longer than Matt Bonners 28 minutes, with the starters playing exactly half (120 minutes) of the total game time. The bench actually scored 61 of the 113 points, while the Hornet reserves had 19, and that is going to be a major story line all season. Of particular note were the opening 14 points and 11 rebounds from rookie Blair, who New Orleans coach Byron Scott referred to simply as a monster. Not only does Blair bring muscle and determination, but can he learned the position from anyone better than Tim Duncan? The Spurs should bring their best value in settings like this one, with the poise to handle a road crowd and their late-game polish grinding out wins in tough environment. For the Bulls it is another matter. The starting five is a collection of young players that have not had much time working together, and the bench is going to miss the punch of Ben Gordon. They will play with some frenetic energy, but that does not always translate to good basketball, and they fall down tonight vs. an opponent that can exploit that aggressiveness.
Sammy Jankus Reverse Barometer
I rate my plays 3, 4 and 5 stars. Always play the OTHER SIDE of my game writeups.
San Antonio at Chicago
5* Chicago +3
OH… MY… GOD… this is gonna be such a rout that ol' Sammy's dragging out the deed on my mobile home so I can get a bank loan this afternoon and LOAD UP on a sure thing! The Spurs made mincemeat out of a solid New Orleans team last night and get this – Super Spur Tim Duncan only scored 9 frickin' point! That's right, SIX Spurs scored in double figures in the 113-96 whipping of the Hornets and Duncan was so busy grabbing rebounds that he wasn't one of them. Wow… if these guys can pound a quality team like N.O. without a major contribution from Duncan, just think what they can do to a second-rate bunch like these Bulls! Plus, San Antonio will be riding a wave of momentum off yesterday's win while Chicago is playing its FIRST game of the new season. I'm convinced the jingle-jangle boys from old San An-tone will DESTROY the Bulls tonight – so your play (and believe me, I feel awful doing this to you) is on CHICAGO.
Payne Sports
6 Units UNC / Virginia Tech Under
igz1 sports
4* San Antonio vs Chicago Under 193
4* Denver vs Portland Under 199.5
Anthony Redd
20 Dime - Nuggets
10 Dime - Virginia Tech
Executive
200 Phillies
Doc's Sports
3 Units Denver +8
KBHoops
4* Bulls /Spurs Under 193 **POD**
3* Virginia Tech -15.5
3* Yankees Under 9