BEN BURNS NBA
MINNESOTA
Game: New Orleans Hornets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Game Time: 4/9/2008 8:05:00 PM Prediction: Minnesota Timberwolves . *Best Bet
BURNS
BASEBALL
TEXAS
Game: Baltimore Orioles vs. Texas Rangers Game Time: 4/9/2008 8:05:00 PM Prediction: Texas Rangers . *Personal Favorite
BEN BURNS
NBA
MINNESOTA
Game: New Orleans Hornets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Game Time: 4/9/2008 8:05:00 PM Prediction: Minnesota Timberwolves Reason: I'm taking the points with MINNESOTA. Both teams played and lost last night. The T-Wolves were arguably more impressive though, as they lost a close one at Charlotte while the Hornets, playing at home, were beaten by the Jazz, managing a mere 66 points, including just 42 in the final three quarters. Off that type of loss, the majority of the betting public will expect the Hornets to bounce back with a big win. However, I won't be surprised if they have their hands full once again. Its not always that easy to just "turn it on" after such an off night and tonight's opponent, while young, generally works a lot harder than many realize. The T-Wolves lost their last game here. However, they'd won four of their previous five games, including a win over the same Utah team that handled the Hornets last night. The lone loss during that stretch came by just four points, vs. Detroit. Looking back further and we find that the T-Wolves are 9-11 SU their last 20 games here and that only five of those games resulted in losses of greater than seven points. Due to their competitive play at home, the T-Wolves haven't been listed as home underdogs in this range very often. They've fared well when they have though and have enjoyed some success against the league's top tier teams. The last time that they were home underdogs of greater than eight points, they lost by one point (at +8.5 point dogs) vs. San Antonio. They've also played the Celtics tough here (two point loss) while knocking off the Suns outright. The T-Wolves lost badly when they hosted the Hornets earlier but did win one of the two meetings at New Orleans, giving them some confidence that they can hang with the Hornets here tonight. It should also be noted that the T-Wolves are 2-1 SU/ATS in 2008 when playing a home game after having played the previous night. This is Minnesota's second last home game and last vs. a Western Conference opponent. With a shot at upsetting one of the top teams in the West and playing a part in the playoff seeding, I look for the T-Wolves to give another motivated and competitive effort, keeping things much closer than most are expecting and improving to 33-19-2 ATS the last 54 times they played a home game with an over/under line ranging from 200 to 204.5. *Best Bet
Write Ups
BASEBALL
TEXAS
Game: Baltimore Orioles vs. Texas Rangers Game Time: 4/9/2008 8:05:00 PM Prediction: Texas Rangers Reason: I'm laying the price with TEXAS. I lost with the Rangers in their home opener yesterday but I'm willing to give them another shot today. Gabbard gets the call and he's coming off a superb outing in which he held a powerful Angels lineup scoreless through seven complete innings. After the victory, Rangers manager Ron Washington said: "He certainly proved what pitching is about - change speeds and throw strikes and work fast." Note that Gabbard is 1-0 (team was 2-0) with a 2.53 ERA in two starts vs. the Orioles, including a 30-3 victory last season. Conversely, while its been some time since he faced them, Trachsel is 1-1 with a 7.06 ERA in four career starts vs. the Rangers. While Trachsel, now 37 years old, was relatively solid in his opening start, let's not forget that he was horrible with the Orioles last season, before moving on to the Cubs. He finished the season with a 4.90 ERA after recording a 4.97 mark the previous year. He was particularly brutal on the road last season, going 4-9 with a 5.96 ERA, allowing opposing hitters to bat over 300. Yesterday's victory notwithstanding, the Orioles remain an awful 65-97 on the road the past two seasons. During that stretch, they've also gone a terrible 37-60 (-26.4) when facing a left-handed starter. The Rangers were 55-41 (+6.8) when playing a home game with an over/under line of 10 or 10.5 the past two seasons. Look for the Texas offense to finally get on track as Gabbard outpitches the veteran Trachsel en route to the Rangers' first home win of the season. *Personal Favorite