Our Lines Manager?s @ BetWWTS view on what is happening in the world of sports each week.
Hook ?em Heisman
If you didn?t like that big Texas-Ohio State football game, you just don?t like football. Or you?re a Buckeyes fan - in which case, there?s still some good news, and I promise it has nothing to do with car insurance.
Longhorns quarterback Vince Young may one day unseat Bobby Layne as the best quarterback in Texas Longhorns history. You?d think he already has the way some commentators have gushed over Saturday night?s effort in beating OSU 25-22. True, Young did rally the ?Horns for the winning touchdown with under three minutes left to go. But he also threw two interceptions in Texas territory. The Longhorns? defense saved the day by forcing the Buckeyes to settle for five Josh Huston field goals to go with their lone touchdown.
But how many defensive players have won the Heisman Trophy? One, if you don?t include the two-way players of yore. That would be Michigan?s Charles Woodson in 1997. Defense isn?t sexy, but quarterbacks who run and throw (and win) are. That?s where the good news comes in for sharp bettors. On the futures market, Young?s odds to win the Heisman have shortened from +1500 to +400. By taking the national spotlight and collecting all that steam, Young has made some of his counterparts an even better value Heisman pick for those who believe USC?s Matt Leinart (+200) is due for a letdown.
One of the biggest beneficiaries may be Florida?s Chris Leak. All the junior pivot from Charlotte, N.C. has done in two games is throw five touchdowns with no picks while posting a QB rating of 130. Granted, those games were against Wyoming and Louisiana Tech, so it isn?t much of a shock to see Leak still available at +1000 to win the Heisman.
Expect that line to move after Florida?s first big matchup of the season against the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers. This will be the first chance for a national audience (CBS has this one in prime time, 8.p.m. Eastern) to see how well Leak and the No. 6 Gators perform under new head coach Urban Meyer and his vaunted ?spread? offense. The Vols counter with one of the fastest secondaries in the nation. It promises to be a heck of a football game. We currently have Florida as a 6-point chalk with a total of 49.
No. 13 Miami @ No. 20 Clemson, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Speaking of defense, the Miami Hurricanes gave up just 10 points to the potent FSU Seminoles in their season opener. Unfortunately for ?Canes fans, they only scored seven. Quarterback Kyle Wright was sacked nine times and threw two picks. The Tigers, on the other hand, rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to upset Maryland 28-24.
By the time they face Clemson, the Hurricanes will have stewed over their loss to the Seminoles for 11 days - plenty of time to remember how the Tigers dumped them 24-17 last year, doing it in overtime at the Orange Bowl. Expect Miami to come out like somebody sprinkled sand in their breakfast cereal. The ?Canes are listed as 7-point faves with a total of 43 ?.
No. 8 Florida State @ No. 17 Boston College, Saturday, 7:45 p.m. ET, ESPN
While Miami-Florida was licking its wounds, the ?Noles were busy beating up on Division II representatives The Citadel 62-10. Not a fair fight by any means. But FSU still took the opportunity to get some of the bugs out of the offense, with quarterback Drew Weatherford throwing for a pair of majors (earning ACC Rookie of the Week honors in the process) and three different receivers racking up over 100 yards apiece.
The Seminoles will need all that offense to put away Boston College. The Eagles have a competent offense of their own, but their defense is truly special, as illustrated by the low, low 38-point total for this matchup. We have the Seminoles as a slim 1-point favorites.
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MLB: The nitty-gritty
Baseball traditionalists hate the Wild Card. Presumably they hate excitement as well.
Playoff races in both the National League and the American League have fans across the nation biting their nails in suspense. With fewer than 20 games left to go in the regular season, seven teams are in excellent shape to earn a Wild Card berth - and that doesn?t include a tight division race in the AL West between the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim) and the Oakland Athletics (of Oakland).
National League
The senior circuit is about to go nuclear. After Wednesday night?s action, the Philadelphia Phillies and Florida Marlins were tied atop the Wild Card standings, with the Houston Astros just half a game behind. The Washington Nationals are within shouting distance at three games back.
The Marlins were a game up when the day started, but Houston scored a very important 10-2 win to knock Florida down a peg. Roger Clemens allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings, a stellar effort that would be brushed off as routine for the Cy Young Award candidate if it were not for the fact that his mother, Bess, passed away that morning. Clemens decided to pitch anyway to honor his mother.
Pitching performances like the one Clemens just delivered have carried Houston though a season filled with injuries to star players like Jeff Bagwell and emerging slugger Morgan Ensberg. We have the Astros listed at +700 to win the NL pennant. Although the Marlins and Phillies have identical records at 78-68, the pitching-thin Phils are priced at +2000 compared to Florida at +600. And the Nationals are way behind at +10000. Three games may not seem like a lot, but with three weeks left to go and three teams to vault in the standings, it?s a very, very long shot.
American League
How about those Cleveland Indians? They took two of three games from the Athletics to up their record to 84-62. That?s one game better than the New York Yankees (who have also clinched their three-game set against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays by winning the first two outings) and 3.5 better than Oakland.
It?s safe to say Cleveland?s rebuilding job has been a success. Everyone in the regular lineup has reached double digits in home runs. The pitching staff boasts a shiny 3.69 team ERA. With those numbers, it?s no wonder Cleveland is being given +500 odds to win the pennant. But the Yankees are ahead of them at +350, based partly on New York always being overvalued and partly on the chance that the Yankees may beat out the Boston Red Sox for the AL East division crown. That will be tough, however, as the Red Sox lead New York by 2.5 games.
Likewise, we have the A?s priced at +800 to win the pennant even though they?re farther out of the Wild Card race than the Nationals, thanks to their presence in the AL West race. Oakland is still within a single game of the Angels, who did themselves no favors by getting swept for the second time this season by the Seattle Mariners. Although ?Los Angeles? won it all in 2002 and took the division in 2004, it?s the A?s who have been to the playoffs four out of the past five years. Their pitching strength and proven second-half prowess makes them a solid pick to get back into the postseason, even if someone else ends up with the Wild Card berth. That someone could be the Angels (a +400 bet to win the pennant) should Oakland win the division.
Now that we?re in the final month of the regular season, cast your eyes toward the standings to see how teams have fared against their division opponents. Oakland is head-and-shoulders above the competition with a 28-18 record against AL West foes, while Cleveland and New York (and all of the contenders in the National League) are floating around .500 against their division rivals.
The A?s wrap up their schedule with one series each against the Angels, Mariners and Texas Rangers. After finishing the Boston series, Oakland enjoys a 10-game homestand before closing out at Safeco Field. The deck appears to be stacked for the A?s. Now if only they can find a way to win in the playoffs.
Hook ?em Heisman
If you didn?t like that big Texas-Ohio State football game, you just don?t like football. Or you?re a Buckeyes fan - in which case, there?s still some good news, and I promise it has nothing to do with car insurance.
Longhorns quarterback Vince Young may one day unseat Bobby Layne as the best quarterback in Texas Longhorns history. You?d think he already has the way some commentators have gushed over Saturday night?s effort in beating OSU 25-22. True, Young did rally the ?Horns for the winning touchdown with under three minutes left to go. But he also threw two interceptions in Texas territory. The Longhorns? defense saved the day by forcing the Buckeyes to settle for five Josh Huston field goals to go with their lone touchdown.
But how many defensive players have won the Heisman Trophy? One, if you don?t include the two-way players of yore. That would be Michigan?s Charles Woodson in 1997. Defense isn?t sexy, but quarterbacks who run and throw (and win) are. That?s where the good news comes in for sharp bettors. On the futures market, Young?s odds to win the Heisman have shortened from +1500 to +400. By taking the national spotlight and collecting all that steam, Young has made some of his counterparts an even better value Heisman pick for those who believe USC?s Matt Leinart (+200) is due for a letdown.
One of the biggest beneficiaries may be Florida?s Chris Leak. All the junior pivot from Charlotte, N.C. has done in two games is throw five touchdowns with no picks while posting a QB rating of 130. Granted, those games were against Wyoming and Louisiana Tech, so it isn?t much of a shock to see Leak still available at +1000 to win the Heisman.
Expect that line to move after Florida?s first big matchup of the season against the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers. This will be the first chance for a national audience (CBS has this one in prime time, 8.p.m. Eastern) to see how well Leak and the No. 6 Gators perform under new head coach Urban Meyer and his vaunted ?spread? offense. The Vols counter with one of the fastest secondaries in the nation. It promises to be a heck of a football game. We currently have Florida as a 6-point chalk with a total of 49.
No. 13 Miami @ No. 20 Clemson, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Speaking of defense, the Miami Hurricanes gave up just 10 points to the potent FSU Seminoles in their season opener. Unfortunately for ?Canes fans, they only scored seven. Quarterback Kyle Wright was sacked nine times and threw two picks. The Tigers, on the other hand, rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to upset Maryland 28-24.
By the time they face Clemson, the Hurricanes will have stewed over their loss to the Seminoles for 11 days - plenty of time to remember how the Tigers dumped them 24-17 last year, doing it in overtime at the Orange Bowl. Expect Miami to come out like somebody sprinkled sand in their breakfast cereal. The ?Canes are listed as 7-point faves with a total of 43 ?.
No. 8 Florida State @ No. 17 Boston College, Saturday, 7:45 p.m. ET, ESPN
While Miami-Florida was licking its wounds, the ?Noles were busy beating up on Division II representatives The Citadel 62-10. Not a fair fight by any means. But FSU still took the opportunity to get some of the bugs out of the offense, with quarterback Drew Weatherford throwing for a pair of majors (earning ACC Rookie of the Week honors in the process) and three different receivers racking up over 100 yards apiece.
The Seminoles will need all that offense to put away Boston College. The Eagles have a competent offense of their own, but their defense is truly special, as illustrated by the low, low 38-point total for this matchup. We have the Seminoles as a slim 1-point favorites.
===============
MLB: The nitty-gritty
Baseball traditionalists hate the Wild Card. Presumably they hate excitement as well.
Playoff races in both the National League and the American League have fans across the nation biting their nails in suspense. With fewer than 20 games left to go in the regular season, seven teams are in excellent shape to earn a Wild Card berth - and that doesn?t include a tight division race in the AL West between the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim) and the Oakland Athletics (of Oakland).
National League
The senior circuit is about to go nuclear. After Wednesday night?s action, the Philadelphia Phillies and Florida Marlins were tied atop the Wild Card standings, with the Houston Astros just half a game behind. The Washington Nationals are within shouting distance at three games back.
The Marlins were a game up when the day started, but Houston scored a very important 10-2 win to knock Florida down a peg. Roger Clemens allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings, a stellar effort that would be brushed off as routine for the Cy Young Award candidate if it were not for the fact that his mother, Bess, passed away that morning. Clemens decided to pitch anyway to honor his mother.
Pitching performances like the one Clemens just delivered have carried Houston though a season filled with injuries to star players like Jeff Bagwell and emerging slugger Morgan Ensberg. We have the Astros listed at +700 to win the NL pennant. Although the Marlins and Phillies have identical records at 78-68, the pitching-thin Phils are priced at +2000 compared to Florida at +600. And the Nationals are way behind at +10000. Three games may not seem like a lot, but with three weeks left to go and three teams to vault in the standings, it?s a very, very long shot.
American League
How about those Cleveland Indians? They took two of three games from the Athletics to up their record to 84-62. That?s one game better than the New York Yankees (who have also clinched their three-game set against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays by winning the first two outings) and 3.5 better than Oakland.
It?s safe to say Cleveland?s rebuilding job has been a success. Everyone in the regular lineup has reached double digits in home runs. The pitching staff boasts a shiny 3.69 team ERA. With those numbers, it?s no wonder Cleveland is being given +500 odds to win the pennant. But the Yankees are ahead of them at +350, based partly on New York always being overvalued and partly on the chance that the Yankees may beat out the Boston Red Sox for the AL East division crown. That will be tough, however, as the Red Sox lead New York by 2.5 games.
Likewise, we have the A?s priced at +800 to win the pennant even though they?re farther out of the Wild Card race than the Nationals, thanks to their presence in the AL West race. Oakland is still within a single game of the Angels, who did themselves no favors by getting swept for the second time this season by the Seattle Mariners. Although ?Los Angeles? won it all in 2002 and took the division in 2004, it?s the A?s who have been to the playoffs four out of the past five years. Their pitching strength and proven second-half prowess makes them a solid pick to get back into the postseason, even if someone else ends up with the Wild Card berth. That someone could be the Angels (a +400 bet to win the pennant) should Oakland win the division.
Now that we?re in the final month of the regular season, cast your eyes toward the standings to see how teams have fared against their division opponents. Oakland is head-and-shoulders above the competition with a 28-18 record against AL West foes, while Cleveland and New York (and all of the contenders in the National League) are floating around .500 against their division rivals.
The A?s wrap up their schedule with one series each against the Angels, Mariners and Texas Rangers. After finishing the Boston series, Oakland enjoys a 10-game homestand before closing out at Safeco Field. The deck appears to be stacked for the A?s. Now if only they can find a way to win in the playoffs.
