Thursday's Betting Tips
Covers.com
Weather watch
Thunderstorms are in the forecast for tonight’s season-opening SEC showdown between South Carolina and Vanderbilt. There is a 30 percent chance of showers and winds blowing 7 mph at Vanderbilt Stadium.
Who’s hot?
Oakland Athletics – The A’s have won five straight heading into Thursday’s matinee with Cleveland. Oakland has outscored opponents 27-10 during this streak and is priced at -102 for Thursday.
Who’s not?
Phoenix Mercury – The Mercury have dropped 10 in a row going back before the WNBA Olympic break. Since returning to action earlier this month, Phoenix has lost four straight outings and has posted a 0-4 mark against the spread. The Mercury have covered just once during this 10-game slide.
Key stat
.217 – Angels rookie sensation Mike Trout is hitting the wall, going just 5-for-23 (.217) with eight strikeouts in his last five games.
Game of the day
South Carolina Gamecocks at Vanderbilt Commodores (+6.5, 45)
Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked
Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream – While it’s not an injury, the suspension of McCoughtry for violating team rules hurt the Dream Tuesday night, losing 84-80 to Tulsa – one of the worst teams in the WNBA. McCoughtry, who leads Atlanta in scoring, steals, blocks and 3-point shooting, was rumored to be feuding with coach-GM Marynell Meadors, who was fired earlier this week. The Dream are 9.5-point home favorites versus Washington Thursday.
Notable quotable
"It's just a matter of time before they get you, basically. And that's unfortunate. I think (Jon) Lester knows that. I think Clay Buchholz knows that. Your time will come." – former Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett bashing the Boston media and sports culture in Beantown.
Betting news and notes
The St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers are two teams planning on playing their starters in Week 4 of the preseason. Most teams rest their starters in the final preseason tilt. St. Louis is a 5-point favorite hosting Baltimore while San Diego is 3-point underdog versus San Francisco Thursday.
UCLA went 1-4 against non-conference foes last year and 1-6 on the road. The Bruins take on the Rice Owls in their season opener as 16.5-point road favorites.
UNLV and Minnesota have never previously met. The Rebels are 2-10 against Big Ten schools and the Golden Gophers are 5-2 against schools currently in the Mountain West.
The Dodgers are 50-4 when scoring five or more runs this season. Los Angeles scored 10 runs in a 10-8 win over Colorado Wednesday and is a -200 fave hosting Arizona Thursday.
The first two games of the Tigers-Royals series have been one-run affairs in favor of the Royals, who are 22-16 in one-run games. Detroit is 17-19 in one-run contests. Kansas City is a +117 home underdog Thursday.
The Deutsche Bank Championship takes center stage from TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts on this holiday weekend event that runs from Friday to Monday. TPC Boston has been one of the easier stops in recent years and there is no reason to think it will be any different this week. The 7,214-yard, par 71 layout is fairly wide open but it is the large greens that are pretty straight forward that contribute to the low scores.
Five Things You Need to Know for Thurs., Aug. 30
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? Forget the last day of preseason when no starters play. College football is here with several big tv games Here is a brief look at the top four important matchups of the day along with a glance at future odds.
1)South Carolina at Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, Tn
The #9 Gamecocks beat Vandy at home last year, 20-3, giving -15.5. Expectations are high for the Gamecocks this season after finishing 11-2 SU last year. It all starts with running back Marcus Lattimore, who is coming off a mid-season knee injury (missed final six games) and is now 100% healthy. The defense is led by soph. DE Jadeveon Clowney, who should have a monster season.The road team is 8-2 ATS Last 10 in series. SC is a 6.5-point favorite and the total is 45.
2)UCLA at Rice, Rice Stadium, Houston, Tx
This is the debut for new UCLA coach Jim Mora. Rice is coming off a 4-8 season. This is a squad that allowed 33.3 points per game but the addition of lSU transfer Kyle Prater to play linebacker and return of top tackler Cameron Nwosu (108 stops) should help stop the bleeding. It also helps that they are a big home dog to a UCLA team that couldn’t score points last year. Rice is 38-16 ATS as a home dog. UCLA is a 16.5-point home favorite. and the total is 59.
3)Washington State at BYU, LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Ut
Another coaching debut on national TV. The "pirate" returns to college football as Mike Leach tries to revive a moribund Washington State program. BYU had a strong defense, especially against the run last year. Their offense wasn't as dominant as in the past. Washington State is 9-4 ATS as a road underdog of 10.5 to 14 points BYU is a 12.5-point favorite and the total is 65.5.
4)Minnesota at UNLV, Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nv
Minnesota was 109th in passing and 111th in points scored last year. This year has to be better and it starts against a bad UNLV team. The Gophers should be improved in Year Two under Jerry Kill. They should be able to beat a struggling UNLV program, even on the road but you never know about openers. UNLV is 6-0 ATS on Thursdays. Minnesota is a 9-point favorite and the total is 50.
5)FCS (1-AA) Odds for Thursday
The college football season starts on Thursday and there are more extra games than FBS games. In other words, the games that involved FCS (1AA) teams are on the board and there are some good values. Here are the latest FCS (1-AA) odds from 5dimes listed below.
Towson at Kent State
Towson +6½ -120
Kent State -6½ -120
SE Missouri State at Central Michigan
SE Missouri State +27 -120
Central Michigan -27 -120
Northern Colorado at Utah
Northern Colorado +42 -120
Utah -42 -120
McNeese State at Middle Tennessee State
McNeese State +7 -120
Middle Tennessee State -7 -120
Southern Utah at Utah State
Southern Utah +20 -120
Utah State -20 -120
CS Scramento at New Mexico State
Sacramento +6 -120
New Mexico State -6 -120
Eastern Washington at Idaho
Eastern Washington +5½ -120
Idaho -5½ -120
Northern Arizona at Arizona State
Northern Arizona +29½ -120
316 Arizona State -29½ -120