Saturday’s Betting Tips
By Covers.com
Weather to watch
Oakland Athletics at San Francisco Giants – 11 mph winds are expected to blow out to right-centerfield.
Who’s hot
-The Spurs are 7-1-2 ATS in their last 10 games as a road favorite.
-Rangers are 10-3 in their last 13 games playing on two days rest.
-The White Sox are 20-6 in their last 26 interleague road games.
Who’s not
-The Clippers are 2-6-2 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog.
-The under is 1-4-1 in the Devils' last six home games.
-The Tigers were 3-8 in their last 11 home games heading into Friday's action.
Key stat
1 – Bayern Munich lost just one game on its home pitch, the Allianz, in Bundesliga play this season, going 14-1-2. They conceded just six goals in those home games while scoring 49 themselves.
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers – Griffin’s injury list continues to grow. It was well known that he has been playing through ankle and knee injuries, but he was also diagnosed with a hip pointer after Game 2’s loss to San Antonio. Griffin still hit seven of his 16 shots from the floor in that defeat, scoring 20 points.
Game of the day
Chelsea (+300) at Bayern Munich (-125) – Draw (+250)
Notable quotable
"We definitely feel that we can win this series. In any playoff series, momentum shifts dramatically every single game. I've seen it coming from the first day of training camp. This is who we've been all year. We're a balanced team . . . not two guys trying to create all the time." Pacers coach Frank Vogel after blowing out the Miami Heat Thursday to take a 2-1 series lead. The Pacers moved to +105 underdogs to beat the Heat (-125) in the series.
Notes and tips
The New Jersey Devils website is doing its part to ensure the club has a solid home-ice advantage against the New York Rangers Saturday afternoon. The Devils’ official website has urged New Jersey ticketholders to only sell tickets to Devils fans, as Rangers supporters continue to try to get a strong support group for their club across the Hudson River. The Devils organization is dubbing it as the “No Blue” campaign. With the series tied at one game apiece, New Jersey is set as a -130 favorite in Game 3.
The Arizona Cardinals aren't handing anything to quarterback Kevin Kolb entering training camp. Coach Ken Whisenhunt plans to determine Arizona's starting quarterback this summer in a competition between Kolb and John Skelton that could stretch into preseason games. Kolb entered the 2011 season as the undisputed starter but the 27-year-old missed seven games due to concussion-like symptoms. He had just over five weeks to pick up the offense, with no benefit of offseason workouts and minimal playbook knowledge, before starting his first game in September. Skelton, more than three years younger than Kolb, lacks mobility and didn't protect the ball well in seven starts in 2011. He was intercepted 14 times and sacked 23 times in 151 attempts last season.
The Miami Heat cancelled their practice Friday, a day after it lost in a blowout to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Heat, who fell to 2-1 in the series after losing 94-75 on the road Thursday, also cancelled media availability of players. The Indiana Pacers also cancelled their Friday practice. The series resumes Sunday with Game 4 in Indianapolis.
With Adam Lind banished to the minors, Vladimir Guerrero could return to the majors sooner than expected. Guerrero, recently signed by the Toronto Blue Jays to a minor-league contract, has impressed during workouts at the Blue Jays' spring training site in Dunedin, Fla. The 37-year-old former Montreal Expos star was scheduled to see some game action at extended spring training next week. Now the first appearance is supposed to come Friday. Then who knows? Asked how the time frame for Guerrero's possible return to the majors has been affected by Thursday's events, manager John Farrell said: "Quickly shortened up."