Thursday's Betting Tips
Covers.com
WEATHER TO WATCH
The wind will be blowing out to right field at around 10 mph AT&T Park for tonight’s game in San Francisco between the Giants and Braves. It will also be slightly chilly in the mid-50s.
WHO'S HOT?
Anthony Calvillo of the Montreal Alouettes. Calvillo has six straight games with over 300 yards passing and has led the Als to two straight wins and covers. The over/under is edging upward for tonight’s game against Hamilton – it was 60 Wednesday night and had moved to 60.5 Thursday morning.
WHO'S NOT?
The Arizona Cardinals. They are they the only team to go 0-3 against the spread so far in the NFL preseason. They face Tennessee tonight on the road as 3-point underdogs.
KEY STAT
40 percent. The Ravens have scored just two times in five red zone trips through two preseason games. They say they are going to be working on scoring touchdowns in tonight’s preseason game at home against Jacksonville, perhaps if it means giving away a chance at a field goal. They scored 25 touchdowns in their 49 red-zone possessions last season, a mediocre 17th the league for a touchdown percentage of 51.
GAME OF THE DAY
Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants (-106, 7.5)
INJURY THAT SHOULDN'T BE OVERLOOKED
Albert Pujols. The Angels’ slugger had two hits Wednesday night in a 7-3 win over Boston but suffered a calf injury while running the bases that has left him questionable for today’s game in Boston. According to the OC Register, “Pujols is 8 for 19 over the past five games with a .729 slugging percentage over his past 21 games, a major-league high 14 home runs since the All-Star break and 28 of his 82 RBIs since May 6. The Angels are -108 faves today with a total set at 8.5.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"It really pays to win one of the Playoffs events. It doesn't really pay to be consistent." – Luke Donald on the FedEx Cup playoff system on the PGA Tour.
BETTING NEWS AND NOTES
The FedEx Cup playoffs begin this week on the PGA Tour. In case you need a referesher of how they work - and you do - here's a link that lays it all out.
From PGAtour.com: ”Sergio Garcia has the second-best stroke average in the history of the FedExCup Playoffs. In 55 rounds in Playoffs event, his stroke average is 69.02. Only Woods (67.75) has a better stroke average.”
There was no line out for either the A’s-Rays game or the Twins-Rangers game as of Thursday morning. However, linesmaking service The Sports Club in Las Vegas originally had these odds set at -150 and -185 respectively on the overnight line. The totals were set at 8 and 10.
Five Things You Need to Know for Thurs., Aug. 23
Atssportsline.com
5 Things You Need to Know in Sports
Want to start your day off right? Looking for some action and the most interesting events of the day? There are three NFL preseason games and eight baseball games. Here is a brief look at the top four important matchups of the day along with a glance at future odds.
1)Green Bay at Cincinnati, NFL Preseason Week 3, Paul Brown Stadium
Green Bay visits Paul Brown Stadium looking for the first win on Thursday at 7pmET. The Packers have lost both preseason games including last week's 35-10 home loss against Cleveland. The Bengals are 2-0 after beating Atlanta, 24-19 last week. The Packers are as healthy as they've been all preseason.Green Bay is 31-12 OVER as a favorite. Green Bay is a 3-point favorite and the total is 45.5.
2)Jacksonville at Baltimore, NFL Preseason Week 3, M&T Bank Stadium
Jacksonville visits M& T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to take on the Ravens. The Jags have won both preseason games, while Baltimore split both games, including a home loss to Detroit last week, 27-12. Last season, Jacksonville upset Baltimore at home in 12-7 in the regular season, getting 10. Jacksonville has a backup QB battle between Jordan Palmer and Chad Henne. Baltimore is 8-15 Under off an ATS loss. The Ravens are 6.5-point favorites and the total is 41.
3)Arizona at Tennessee, NFL Preseason Week 3, LP Field
Arizona takes on Tennessee at 8pmET from LP Field in Nashville. Arizona has lost all three of their preseason games against the spread, but did win last week's game over Oakland, 31-27 (giving 6). Tennessee split their first two games, but did win last week's game at Tampa Bay, 30-7 getting 2. Jake Locker takes over for the Titans and John Skelton is expected to play into the third quarter. Tennessee is 5-1 ATS off BB road games. Tennessee is a 3-point favorite and the total is 42.5.
4)Cincinnati at Philadelphia, Johnny Cueto (16-6, 2.44 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (14-6, 2.94 ERA)
This is a very good pitching matchup. Cueto is having a dominating year, while Cole Hamels is one of the few good stories for the Phillies this year. The Reds are trying to keep pace with the Nats in the National League race for best overall record. Phillies are 10-0 in Hamels' last 10 starts vs. Reds. The Phillies opened as a -115 favorite and the total opened at 7.5.
5)Odds to Win the 2012 SEC Championship
Here are the latest odds to win the SEC Championship from 5dimes. Alabama is a slight favorite to win the SEC Championship over LSU. A nice dog to take a chance on would be South Carolina at +1250.
NCAA Conferences SEC Champion
Alabama +225
LSU +230
Georgia +525
Arkansas +1100
South Carolina +1250
Florida +1500
Auburn +3200
Mississippi State +4500
Tennessee +5500
Missouri +6000
Texas A&M +6000
Vanderbilt +10000
Mississippi +30000
Kentucky +30000