Five Things You Need to Know for Monday, Oct. 1
Atssportsline.com
Five Things You Need to Know in Sports
Want to start your sports week off right? Looking for some action and the most exciting matchups of the day? October is here and there's one NFL game with three key baseball games in the last week of the regular season. Here is a brief look at the top four important matchups of the day along with future odds.
1)Chicago at Dallas, 8:35pmET, Cowboys Stadium
Last week, Chicago downed St. Louis, 23-6, while Dallas held off Tampa Bay, 16-10, but didn't cover the 7. Chicago is led by its defense, which recorded six of its league-best 14 sacks and had two interceptions, one returned 45 yards for a touchdown by Major Wright in the fourth quarter in a 23-6 win over St. Louis. Dallas (2-1) committed three turnovers and allowed Tony Romo to get sacked four times in an ugly 16-10 win over Tampa Bay last week, which also included 13 penalties for 105 yards. Dallas is 1-6 ATS L7 Monday game.. Dallas is a 3.5-point favorite with a total of 41.5.
2)Detroit at Kansas City, Rick Porcello (9-12, 4.69 ERA) vs. Bruce Chen (11-13, 5.13ERA)
Detroit is looking to clinch back-to-back postseason berths for the first time in 77 years. Detroit (86-73) moved three games ahead of Chicago in the AL Central on Sunday with a 2-1 win in Minnesota and the White Sox's 6-2 home loss to Tampa Bay. Miguel Cabrera is nearing AL's first Triple Crown since 1967 Royals are 1-5 last 6 following a loss. Detroit opened up as a -130 favorite with a total of 9.
3)Baltimore at Tampa Bay, Wei-Yin Chen (12-10, 4.11 ERA) vs. Alex Cobb (10-9, 4.18 ERA)
The Orioles clinched a playoff berth yesterday after a win over Boston. They have an amazing 92 wins and are tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tampa Bay has no shot to catch the Orioles but they can catch Oakland but will need help along with a tough sweep at home. Orioles are 6-1 last 7 road games. No opening line at press time.
4)Cincinnati at St. Louis, Bronson Arroyo (12-9, 3.70 ERA) vs. Jaime Garcia (6-7, 3.99 ERA)
St. Louis needs this one to wrap up the second wild card spot. The Dodgers are just two games behind for the final wild card spot, so this one is big. Reds still looking for best record in the National League. The Cards need a strong effort from Garcia, a solid lefty. St. Louis is 10-3 last 13 as a favorite. St. Louis opened up as a -135 favorite with a total of 8.
5)Odds to win the 2012-13 NBA Championship
Practice? We are talking about practice, which starts this week as the start of NBA training camp. Here are the latest odds from 5dimes. The Miami Heat are once again the favorite but the LA Lakers are a close second thanks to the additions of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard.
Odds to win NBA Championship
Miami Heat +175
Los Angeles Lakers +250
Oklahoma City Thunder +525
Chicago Bulls +1300
San Antonio Spurs +1400
Los Angeles Clippers +2500
Boston Celtics +2600
Brooklyn Nets +3700
Indiana Pacers +3900
Dallas Mavericks +4000
New York Knicks +4000
Memphis Grizzlies +4500
Philadelphia 76ers +5500
Denver Nuggets +7500
Houston Rockets +8500
Atlanta Hawks +9500
Minnesota Timberwolves +9500
Portland Trail Blazers +11500
Utah Jazz +12000
Orlando Magic +13500
Milwaukee Bucks +14500
New Orleans Hornets +17500
Golden State Warriors +18000
Phoenix Suns +19000
Cleveland Cavaliers +20000
Detroit Pistons +20000
Washington Wizards +20000
Toronto Raptors +22500
Sacramento Kings +25000
Charlotte Bobcats +50000
Monday's Betting Tips
By Covers.com
Weather watch
Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals: Forecasts are calling for clear skies in Washington until around 10 p.m. local time, when there’s a 30 percent chance of showers.
Betting notes and tips
Bears Running backs coach Tim Spencer is optimistic Matt Forte (ankle) will suit up Monday night against the Cowboys. "Matt looks good,” Spencer said Sunday. “Matt does everything he's supposed to do to try and get ready. He looks good to me. We should know more by Monday afternoon.” Chicago is 3.5-point dog at Dallas tonight.
Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira (calf) is expected to return to the lineup Monday. He has missed 30 of the last 31 games. New York is -224 favorite over the Red Sox.
The Blue Jays and Twins are meeting for the second series this season. They split a four-game set in Minnesota in May. Toronto has won the season series six straight years and is -130 favorite tonight.
The Kansas City Royals have dropped seven of their last eight games and allowed 15 runs to the lowly Cleveland Indians on Sunday. The Royals are +123 dogs when they host Detroit tonight.
Colorado has dropped nine in a row on the road, including a 7-1 defeat in Los Angeles on Sunday. The Rockies scored a total of one run in the three-game set and had gone 26 consecutive innings without crossing the plate until Andrew Brown led off the fourth on Sunday with his fifth home run. The Rockies are +173 dogs tonight at Arizona.