05/13/2008 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Marino Salas from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
In a corresponding move, the club optioned righthander John Van Benschoten to their Triple-A affiliate.
Salas, 27, was acquired from Milwaukee in exchange for Salomon Torres on December 7, and has no major league experience. The righty reliever went 2-0 with two saves and a 0.77 earned run average in 14 appearances with Indy this season.
Van Benschoten was demoted to the minors after losing to Atlanta on Monday. The 28-year-old surrendered nine hits and six runs in four innings, raising his ERA to 9.39 and dropping his record to 0-2 on the season.
<< Red Sox' recent road plagued with pitching problems
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As many expected, the Boston Red Sox continue to show the
way in the American League's East Division at the quarter-point of this
season. But that lead isn't quite as cushy as when the defending world
champions started their
<< Fans deserve years, not months, of Sorenstam v. Ochoa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Annika Sorenstam was laying out her reasons for wanting
to walk the earth, and I couldn't help but think what that means for the rest
of us.
Just as the LPGA Tour had finally discovered a foil for its biggest star (ask
th
<< Middlesbrough cuts midfielder Rochemback loose
Middlesbrough, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Middlesbrough have decided against
offering midfielder Fabio Rochemback a new contract when his current deal
expires next month.
The 27-year-old Brazilian, who scored a sensational free-kick
<< Phillies lose ground on western swing
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Philadelphia Phillies left the City of Brotherly
Love a little over a week ago, they led the National League East by a slim
margin. Upon returning back home, the club now finds itself second in the
standings.
Aft
Detroit G Billups out for Game 5 >>
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pistons guard Chauncey Billups will
miss Game 5 of Detroit's Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Orlando
Magic on Tuesday with a strained right hamstring.
Billups was hurt with 8:11 left
Mets place Pagan on DL, shuffle up roster >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ailing New York Mets shook up their
roster on Tuesday, making six moves, including placing outfielder Angel Pagan
on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder injury.
The Mets also designated
Red Wings' Franzen out for Game 4 >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen is still
experiencing concussion-like symptoms and has been ruled out for Wednesday's
Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Stars.
Franzen was also
Tigers release Jacque Jones >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers waived struggling
outfielder Jacque Jones on Tuesday.
Jones had struggled with the Tigers in his first season with the club, batting
just .165 with one homer and five runs batted i
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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