Strange things have been happening on the sports gambling front. The National League won the All-Star Game for the first time since 1996, and South Africa?s Louis Oosthuizen won golf?s British Open at hallowed St. Andrews, just the second time he?s even made the cut at a major tournament. What mayhem do we have in store for this week?s betting preview? All times are Eastern, and fresh lines are available right here at Bodog Sports.
1. MLB: N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodgers (Sunday, 4:10 p.m.)
ESPN is planning to air this contest instead of their usual Sunday Night Baseball timeslot at 8:05 p.m. Eastern. Each team has a record of 49-43; the Mets are 5.56 units in the black, while the Dodgers are down 2.11 units after getting swept by the Cardinals four straight in St. Louis. The Dodgers have three regulars listed as day-to-day: Manny Ramirez (.925 OPS), James Loney (.802 OPS) and Russell Martin (.670 OPS). The Mets, 2-6 in their last eight games, are expecting both Jose Reyes (.731 OPS) and Luis Castillo (.624 OPS) to return to the line-up on Monday. New York swept L.A. in three straight back in April at Citi Field by a combined score of 21-8.
2. CFL: Saskatchewan at Calgary (Friday, 9:30 p.m.)
Only one team in the CFL is undefeated after three weeks, and that?s the Roughriders at 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS. The reigning West Division champions dropped the cash for the first time this season in a narrow 24-20 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos (+7 road dogs). Darian Durant threw the game-tying touchdown to Andy Fanutz early in the fourth quarter, and the defense forced a pair of fumbles to keep the Eskies from retaking the lead. The Stampeders (2-1 SU and ATS) are coming off a disappointing 27-24 loss to the previously winless Toronto Argonauts (+5.5 home dogs).
3. MLS: San Jose at Los Angeles (Thursday, 10:30 p.m.)
The Galaxy are firmly in top place in the Western Conference with 12 victories, two losses, and three draws, earning 8.4 units for win bettors against the soccer odds. They?ve also got striker Landon Donovan back after a pretty good run at the World Cup; he kicked the winning penalty in Sunday?s 2-1 final over DC United. The Earthquakes are fifth in the eight-team West at 6-4-4, enough to earn win bettors 2.95 units. Their last match was back on July 10, a 2-1 away victory over the Philadelphia Union. This will be the first time these California rivals have met this season.
4. WNBA: Indiana at Washington (Saturday, 7:00 p.m.)
The Seattle Storm are running away with the Western Conference, but the East is entirely up for grabs with just one game separating the top four teams. The Fever (13-7 SU, 12-8 ATS) vaulted into a tie for the lead on Sunday with an 84-81 overtime win over the New York Liberty (+2.5 home dogs). Indiana is now 5-2 SU and ATS in its last seven games with the UNDER cashing in every time. The Mystics (12-7 SU, 11-6-2 ATS) are the most profitable team in the conference, and they?re 2-0 SU and ATS against Indiana this season. But Washington has also lost its last two games SU and ATS to slip to third in the East standings.
5. Boxing: Danny Green vs. Paul Briggs (Card Begins Wednesday, 5:30 a.m.)
We?re heading "down under" for this IBO cruiserweight title bout between champion Danny ?Green Machine? Green and his former sparring partner, Paul ?Hurricane? Briggs. Green (29-3, 26 KO) established himself as a local hero after stopping Roy Jones Jr. last year with a first-round TKO, but the international boxing media didn?t seem to care about Green?s win as much as Jones? loss. Briggs (26-3, 18 KO) has been inactive since retiring three years ago due to problems with excess adrenaline running through his system. Green is a sizeable ?575 favorite; Briggs is +375 with the UNDER priced at ?165 on a total of 9.5 rounds.
Honorable Mentions
MLB: St. Louis at Chicago Cubs (Saturday, 1:05 p.m.)
CFL: British Columbia at Toronto (Friday, 7:30 p.m.)
MLS: Philadelphia Union at Colorado (Wednesday, 8:30 p.m.)
WNBA: New York at Connecticut (Tuesday, 8:00 p.m.)
Golf: RBC Canadian Open (Begins Thursday, 7:30 a.m.)
1. MLB: N.Y. Mets at L.A. Dodgers (Sunday, 4:10 p.m.)
ESPN is planning to air this contest instead of their usual Sunday Night Baseball timeslot at 8:05 p.m. Eastern. Each team has a record of 49-43; the Mets are 5.56 units in the black, while the Dodgers are down 2.11 units after getting swept by the Cardinals four straight in St. Louis. The Dodgers have three regulars listed as day-to-day: Manny Ramirez (.925 OPS), James Loney (.802 OPS) and Russell Martin (.670 OPS). The Mets, 2-6 in their last eight games, are expecting both Jose Reyes (.731 OPS) and Luis Castillo (.624 OPS) to return to the line-up on Monday. New York swept L.A. in three straight back in April at Citi Field by a combined score of 21-8.
2. CFL: Saskatchewan at Calgary (Friday, 9:30 p.m.)
Only one team in the CFL is undefeated after three weeks, and that?s the Roughriders at 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS. The reigning West Division champions dropped the cash for the first time this season in a narrow 24-20 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos (+7 road dogs). Darian Durant threw the game-tying touchdown to Andy Fanutz early in the fourth quarter, and the defense forced a pair of fumbles to keep the Eskies from retaking the lead. The Stampeders (2-1 SU and ATS) are coming off a disappointing 27-24 loss to the previously winless Toronto Argonauts (+5.5 home dogs).
3. MLS: San Jose at Los Angeles (Thursday, 10:30 p.m.)
The Galaxy are firmly in top place in the Western Conference with 12 victories, two losses, and three draws, earning 8.4 units for win bettors against the soccer odds. They?ve also got striker Landon Donovan back after a pretty good run at the World Cup; he kicked the winning penalty in Sunday?s 2-1 final over DC United. The Earthquakes are fifth in the eight-team West at 6-4-4, enough to earn win bettors 2.95 units. Their last match was back on July 10, a 2-1 away victory over the Philadelphia Union. This will be the first time these California rivals have met this season.
4. WNBA: Indiana at Washington (Saturday, 7:00 p.m.)
The Seattle Storm are running away with the Western Conference, but the East is entirely up for grabs with just one game separating the top four teams. The Fever (13-7 SU, 12-8 ATS) vaulted into a tie for the lead on Sunday with an 84-81 overtime win over the New York Liberty (+2.5 home dogs). Indiana is now 5-2 SU and ATS in its last seven games with the UNDER cashing in every time. The Mystics (12-7 SU, 11-6-2 ATS) are the most profitable team in the conference, and they?re 2-0 SU and ATS against Indiana this season. But Washington has also lost its last two games SU and ATS to slip to third in the East standings.
5. Boxing: Danny Green vs. Paul Briggs (Card Begins Wednesday, 5:30 a.m.)
We?re heading "down under" for this IBO cruiserweight title bout between champion Danny ?Green Machine? Green and his former sparring partner, Paul ?Hurricane? Briggs. Green (29-3, 26 KO) established himself as a local hero after stopping Roy Jones Jr. last year with a first-round TKO, but the international boxing media didn?t seem to care about Green?s win as much as Jones? loss. Briggs (26-3, 18 KO) has been inactive since retiring three years ago due to problems with excess adrenaline running through his system. Green is a sizeable ?575 favorite; Briggs is +375 with the UNDER priced at ?165 on a total of 9.5 rounds.
Honorable Mentions
MLB: St. Louis at Chicago Cubs (Saturday, 1:05 p.m.)
CFL: British Columbia at Toronto (Friday, 7:30 p.m.)
MLS: Philadelphia Union at Colorado (Wednesday, 8:30 p.m.)
WNBA: New York at Connecticut (Tuesday, 8:00 p.m.)
Golf: RBC Canadian Open (Begins Thursday, 7:30 a.m.)
