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Virginia Mountaineers -3 at Colorado Buffalos
Both teams have had an off week to prepare for this game, but in their last game the Buffalos beat Eastern Washington 31-24, wile the Mountaineers were upset, losing to East Carolina 24-3. West Virginia looks to get back in the BCS picture after getting upset 2 weeks ago, while Colorado looks to get some respect and some national attention by beating a nationally ranked team and staying undefeated. The Mountaineers are led by QB Pat White (280 yds 5 TD 1 INT), who is also the leading rusher (160 yds). White is helped in the rushing attack by RB Noel Devine (141 yds). White's main targets are Jock Sanders (11 rec 82 yds 2 TD yds) and Alric Arnett (4 rec 70 yds 2 TD). The Buffalos are led by QB Cody Hawkins (475 yds) 4 TD 2 INT). The Buffalos rushing attack is led by the freshman RB duo of Darrell Scott (93 yds 1 TD) and Rodney Stewart (76 yds). Hawkins' main targets are Scotty McKnight (11 rec 157 yds 1 TD) and Patrick Williams (8 rec 82 yds).
Staff Pick: White has to rebound from a horrible performance (72 yards passing) against East Carolina, as that game was the first that WV did not have a TD since the 2001 season. The Buffalos feature a strong D up front, as in their first 2 games they have held their opponents to an average of only 59 yards per game. The Buffalos need to get more production from the running game, as they average only 3.5 yards per carry (90th in the nation). Hawkins has played well for the Buffalos (71.6% completion percentage), but the running game must help him out or the Mountaineers D will blitz often and drop LB's into coverage. This is the first ever meeting between the two schools and WV is 12-10 all time versus Big 12 opponents. Colorado is a young team that has a ton of talent and they can prove they are legit with a win at home on Thursday night. Look for the Buffalos to put up a valiant effort, but Pat White will bounce back and have a big game passing, as the Buffalos secondary is mediocre. The Mountaineers will win a close game and cover the spread, as they begin to climb back up in the rankings.
Mountaineers 31 Colorado 27
Wunderdog
Connecticut at New York
Pick: New York -1
The Eastern Conference Semifinals will begin in New York as the Connecticut Sun take on the New York Liberty. The Sun opened the season looking like the class of the WNBA with an 8-1 start, but the finish was a very pedestrian 13-12 mark, which included losses in three of their last four games. What is most eye-opening here is the Sun has failed to beat a team with a winning record on the road since June 20! They have averaged losing these games by 6.5 points a game. The Liberty suffered two losses to the Sun during their opening 8-1 run, but when these teams met later in the season, the Liberty won at Connecticut by six points, as a 5.5 point dog. The Liberty has not only bridged the gap between them and the Sun at the beginning of the season, but is valued here at home especially in a game they just basically have to win to get the cover.
Marc Lawrence
San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks
Prediction: San Francisco Giants
Tim Lincecum and the Giants close out their series against Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks in Arizona tonight. Lincecum loves hurling on Thursdays, going 5-1 in his MLB career, including 3-0 away. With 8 walks and 36 strikeouts in his five career starts against Arizona, and with the Diamondbacks having scored more than 4 runs in just 1 of their last 10 games, we'll back Lincecum and the Giants here this evening.
Jimmy The Moose
San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks
Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks
The Giants have been playing a lot better but heading into last night's game they had lost 2 straight and are facing a team they always struggle against. The Giants are 20-41 in their last 61 road games vs. a left-handed starter. San Francisco is 17-36 in their last 53 games overall vs. a lefty. The Giants have lost 5 of their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning record. Heading into game 3 of the series last night the Diamondbacks had already won the first two games. Arizona needs to win this one to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Giants are 5-13 in their last 18 trips to Arizona prior to Wednesday's game. Play on the Arizona Diamondbacks -.
Big Al McMordie
Houston Astros vs. Florida Marlins
Play: Houston Astros
Add the Houston Astros' 24-year-old righthander Alberto Arias' name to the list of young pitchers who have made an big initial impression this season switching from reliever to starter for his team. Arias was plugged into the rotation for injured starter Wandy Rodriguez as they opted to keep spot starter Chris Sampson in the bullpen. And Arias took full advantage of his first Major League start at home against Pittsburgh on September 8, giving up no runs on only two hits with six strikeouts over five innings. Keeping guys like Sampson in the bullpen allows Houston to give a youngster like Arias an abbreviated start without having to worry about their relievers ruining it for him. Houston probably wishes the season had started after the All-Star Break as it has been firing on all cylinders in the 2nd half. It's winning situations like this that can give young starters like Arias the confidence they need as they progress forward to perhaps become a full-time rotation member. Florida's 24-year-old lefty Scott Olsen hadn't won a game in nine straight starts heading into his last appearance on Friday, but he finally got the monkey off his back in that game. But it took a start against the lowly Washington Nationals to put Olsen back on the winning track. Look for Houston to put Olsen back in the loss column tonight. Take the Astros.
Scott Ferrall
Baltimore +170 with Olson upsetting Litsch at Rogers
Saunders -130 and Angels at Oakland
KC -170 and Zach Greinke over the Mariners at Kaufmann
CINCY -130 and Volquez over Loshe and Cards in the Queen City
HOUSTON +130 at Florida--Arias over Olsen in Miami
CUBS -250 over Brewers--Harden beats Bush at Wrigley
NCAAF
Colorado +3 from WVU
Frank Jordan
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves
Play: Philadelphia Phillies
Simple as this it is Cole Hamels and the Phillies at Atlanta against a 3-11 pitcher. Play Philadelphia
The Gold Sheet
KEY RELEASE
COLORADO by 7 over West Virginia
COLORADO 24 - West Virginia 17—Both teams off last week. Key question is whether WV can get its offense going after 5 Patrick White TDP in opener vs. Villanova, but then only 3 points & 251 yards at East Carolina?Colorado sees plenty of spread offenses in the Big XII, allowing 23 ppg LY vs.Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas and Texas Tech, but 55 to Mizzou. Buffs need some ball control from frosh RB Darrell Scott to help scrappy QB Hawkins.
SPORTS REPORTER
*COLORADO over WEST VIRGINIA by 2
Our Zone Blitz rated West Virginia’s 2008 investment prospects as “Poor”, so don’t be looking for one of those boring, generic forecasts that says something like, “West Virginia should be just fine post-Rodriguez.” It just doesn’t have to be that way. Colorado to visitor: ‘We’ve got rushing speed to match your rushing speed, we’ve got defensive contain speed for the edges you love to exploit, and our quarterback was raised to throw the ball first.’ For Cody Hawkins, throwing it into the visitor’s 3-3-5 defense is a bit of a sticky wicket, for he is sometimes a little too fearless for his own good. But West Virginia is off turf, on grass, at altitude, in trouble. COLORADO, 29-27.
Power Sweep
West Virginia at COLORADO - 1st meeting. Colorado does have a large altitude edge as they have been in it for TWO months while WV just came in this week. WV is off a bye (like CU) and is 14-3 SU on the road (11-5-1 ATS). Colorado did upset #3 Oklahoma at home LY, has 14 returning starters and is in year 3 under Hawkins (traditionally the year a new HC does best). LY they only lost to Kansas (finished 12-1, #7) by 5 but are just 3-7 as a HD and WV is 9-4-1 as an AF. Two out of WV’s L/3 SU road losses came in a night game.
Winning Points
West Virginia over Colorado* by 9
Bill Stewart is making major statements about going back to more basic zone option plays, and that is bad news for a Colorado defense that sees little of those tactics in the Big 12, and will have a difficult time adjusting to the speed of Pat White. WEST VIRGINIA 31-22.
Jim Feist
BAL Orioles @ TOR Blue Jays
Take Over
A couple of decent offensive teams meet here. Baltimore is 6th in the AL in runs scored, while Toronto has been terrific offensively in the second half of the season while getting key offensive players healthy. The joke in Baltimore is that the Orioles are in a tailspin these days, thanks to a pitching staff that can't even get health insurance anymore. They are on their way to their 11th straight losing season. You can't walk batters in a hitter-friendly stadium like Toronto, but Orioles righty Daniel Cabrera has walked 90 in 180 innings, a terrible ratio. And he's getting worse: 14 walks in his last 12 innings! Jesse Litsch is 1-3 with a 5.24 ERA against the Orioles, and an 11.57 ERA this season. Cabrera is 4-8with a 4.92 ERA against Toronto, walking 48 in 93 innings. Look for plenty of runs in this one. Play the Orioles/Blue Jays over the total.
Dave Cokin
MIN Twins @ TB Rays
Take MIN Twins
The Twins are really struggling on the road, rookie Glenn Perkins has been terrible lately and James Shields is usually money at home for the Rays. So how come I like the Twins tonight? It's the situation. TB is in a big letdown spot off the two tremendously important wins over the Red Sox, and they can actually relax a bit here as they clinched the AL East tie-breaker with the Wednesday win, in effect giving them a three game lead over Boston. The Twins desperately need to get some good things done this weekend as they're still down in the Central and time is running out. Given the scenario, I'll go for the price and call for the Twins to upset the Rays tonight.
JEFFERSONSPORTS
MLB EARLY RELEASE
KC -180 (Greinke)
Sports Gambling Hotline
St. Louis at CINCINNATI -130
We have no problem laying a little juice with the Reds tonight, as Cincinnati appears to be taking the end of this season very seriously, winning their last 4, and 7 of their last 9 games.
The same cannot be said for the Cardinals who have now lost their last 7 games, and are 8-12 their last 20 games played at Great American Ball Park.
Kyle Lohse's road ERA is a little bloated at 4.58, and he hasn't gone past the 6th in either of his last pair of starts.
Edinson Volquez did shut the Cards down back on August the 17th when he worked 7 scoreless against Lohse, and St. Louis and picked up the win.
For the year, Volquez is a positive 8-2 at home, and 16-4 for the year with an ERA just over 3. Cincy pitching has been dominant the last couple of nights against the Cardinals, and will be again tonight.
Play on Cincinnati.
1♦ CINCINNATI
Karl Garrett
White Sox at YANKEES -130
Tonight I will go with the Yankees to make it 3 of 4 against the White Sox.
Former Yankee Javier Vazquez has struggled the last 2 times he has faced his former team, as the righty has allowed 10 runs over his last 11 innings of work against New York for an 0-2 ledger.
Mike Mussina looks like he is going to fall short in his bid to win 20 games, as he is 17-9 for the year, but has lost his last pair of starts in ugly fashion.
I like the Moose to get back on track tonight, as Mussina is 2-0 his last 3 starts against Chicago, tossing 19 innings, while allowing 7 runs to scores.
New York is 4-2 in the season series this year, and more importantly 7-2 in the House that Ruth Built since 2006 versus the Pale Hose.
Lay a little home wood, and go with New York tonight.
2♦ YANKEES
Bobby Maxwell
Minnesota +140 at TAMPA BAY
Expect a letdown with the Rays tonight after they just took two of three from the Red Sox. Now they've got the Twins coming to town who are in a fight of their own with the White Sox for the A.L. Central division.
Minnesota is looking to regroup after losing four straight, including a 6-4 loss Wednesday in Cleveland. The Twins are 2 1/2 games out of first in the Central and they have to keep pace with the White Sox until they meet for a three-game set in Minnesota starting Sept. 23.
The Rays and Twins split a two-game series in Minnesota in April and the Twins have won 11 of their last 16 matchups in Tampa Bay. Glen Perkins (12-4, 4.40 ERA) goes for the Twins in this one, making his first start against the Rays.
James Shields (13-8, 3.50) is on the hill for the Rays and he's just 1-1 with a 5.94 ERA in three career outings against Minnesota. He gave up five runs in five innings of a 6-5 loss on April 16 in Minnesota.
Letdown factor plays a big part tonight as the Twins steal one in Tampa. Play Minnesota.
2♦ MINNESOTA
Sports Advisors
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
(21) West Virginia (1-1, 0-1 ATS) at Colorado (2-0, 1-0 ATS)
West Virginia, which took last weekend off after a stunning upset loss at East Carolina, travels to Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., for a nationally televised non-conference matchup against the Buffaloes.
West Virginia, then ranked No. 8 and considered a possible national title contender, got steamrolled 24-3 at East Carolina as a 7½-point road chalk on Sept. 6. Star QB Patrick White rushed for 97 yards to pace a ground attack that totaled 179 yards, but he threw for just 72 yards and led just one scoring drive – on a second-quarter field goal. The Mountaineers lost the turnover battle 2-0, were outgained 386-251 and were on the short end of a 36-24 difference in time of possession.
Colorado, which also had last weekend off, barely held off Division I-AA Eastern Washington 31-24 in a non-lined home game on Sept. 6. The Buffs trailed 21-7 at halftime and needed 17 fourth-quarter points to avoid the upset, capped by an interception return for a TD in the final two minutes. QB Cody Hawkins (28 of 38, 261 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) was steady, though his lone pick was returned for a TD in the second quarter. Colorado allowed just 47 rushing yards but yielded 303 through the air.
This is the first-ever meeting between these schools.
The loss at East Carolina aside, the Mountaineers have still won 14 of their last 17 games on the highway (11-5-1 ATS) and are on positive pointspread streaks of 9-4-1 as a road favorite, 5-1 after a loss of more than 20 points and 5-1 following a non-cover. The Buffaloes, conversely, are on ATS slides of 3-7 as a home pup and 2-7 after a SU win.
The over for West Virginia is on runs of 4-0 after a SU loss, 5-1 after a bye week and 5-1 in Thursday contests. Also, the total has also gone high in four of Colorado’s last five lined games and is on a 4-0 run following a SU win, though the under is 10-2 in the Buffs’ last 12 non-conference tilts and 4-0 in its last four in September.
ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee (84-68) at Chicago Cubs (91-59)
The Brewers, desperately trying to win the N.L. wild-card after having fired manager Ned Yost on Monday, send Dave Bush (9-10, 4.24 ERA) to the hill at Wrigley Field against the first-place Cubs and red-hot Rich Harden (10-2, 2.04 ERA) to close out a three-game set.
Milwaukee snapped a five-game losing skid with Wednesday’s 6-2 win at Wrigley Field, prevailing despite losing No. 2 pitcher Ben Sheets to an injury after two innings. The Brewers, who trail the Mets by one-half game in the wild-card race, still remain in a major freefall, losing 12 of their last 16 contests overall, and they’re also 1-8 in their last nine against winning teams and 4-12 in Bush’s last 16 road starts.
Despite having their five-game winning streak halted last night, the Cubs remain eight games up on the Brewers in the N.L. Central race. Chicago is 51-22 in its last 73 home games and has won five of six against Milwaukee.
The Brewers have lost three straight games started by Bush, after winning five in a row behind the right-hander. On Sunday at Philadelphia, Bush allowed three runs on five hits in six innings of a 7-3 loss.
Bush is 3-6 with a 5.25 ERA in 13 appearances (12 starts) on the road this year, and he’s 1-7 with a 5.16 ERA in 10 career starts against Chicago, including 0-2 with an 8.53 ERA in two outings against the Cubs this year.
Harden has been money for weeks, winning five straight decisions while the Cubs are 7-0 in his last seven starts, with the right-hander yielding two earned runs or less in six of those outings. On Thursday at St. Louis, he allowed two runs on five hits in six innings of a 3-2 victory.
Harden, acquired in a trade with Oakland earlier this year, is 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 combined home starts this year (2-0, 1.80 ERA in six outings at Wrigley Field). Also, in his lone career start against Milwaukee back in July, he allowed just a run on six hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings in an 11-4 road win.
The over is 21-8-4 run in the last 33 clashes between these rivals In addition, the over is on runs of 5-0-4 for Milwaukee overall and 6-2-3 for the Brewers on the road. On the flip side, for Chicago, the under is on streaks of 4-1-1 overall and 5-2-1 at Wrigley.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CHICAGO CUBS
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Chicago White Sox (84-67) at N.Y. Yankees (81-71)
The White Sox, looking to pad their lead in the A.L. Central, hand the ball to Javier Vazquez (12-13, 4.13 ERA) to wrap up a four-game road series against the Yankees, who will counter with fellow right-hander Mike Mussina (17-9, 3.63).
The teams have alternated wins and losses in the first three games of this series, with New York rallying late for a 5-1 victory on Wednesday. The Yankees sport several positive streaks, including 5-1 against the A.L. Central, 18-8 at home versus winning teams, 8-1 with Mussina facing a club above .500 and 7-1 with Mussina going against A.L. Central squads.
Chicago has been treading water lately with a 4-6 record in its last 10 games. The White Sox also carry a bevy of negative streaks, including 1-8 against right-handers on the road, 6-16 on the highway against winning teams and 3-8 against the A.L. East. In addition, with Vazquez throwing, Chicago is 0-6 in its last six against winning teams and 0-7 in the last seven against the A.L. East.
The Yankees are on a 9-3 tear in the last 12 meetings with the White Sox, 7-2 in the last nine clashes in the Bronx and of 5-0 in Mussina’s last five home starts versus the Pale Hose.
Chicago has won two of Vazquez’s last three starts, including Sunday’s 4-2 home victory over Detroit. In that outing, the 32-year-old threw 7 2/3 innings of three-hit shutout ball, and he’s given up a combined four earned runs over 19 2/3 innings in his last three starts (1.83 ERA).
New York had won seven straight behind Mussina before losing his last two outings. On Saturday against Tampa, he allowed five runs on eight hits in five innings of a 7-1 home defeat, his shortest outing since July 28.
Vazquez is 5-7 with a 4.47 ERA in 15 road starts this year, and he’s 1-4 with an inflated 6.14 ERA in five career starts against New York. Mussina is 10-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 19 starts at the Stadium in 2008, but he’s a mediocre 17-16 with a 4.57 ERA in 38 career starts against the Sox.
The under for Chicago is on runs of 7-1-1 on the highway and 21-6-2 against the A.L. East, and each of Vazquez’s last five starts have stayed low and the under is also 6-2-1 in Vazquez’s last nine road efforts. Meanwhile, for New York, the under has cashed in nine of Mussina’s last 12 home starts and is 8-3 in Moose’s last 11 outings against winning teams.
ATS ADVANTAGE: N.Y. YANKEES and UNDER