Angels resume set with White Sox hoping to keep Thome in the yard

Baseball Betting Lines

09/15/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago slugger Jim Thome will attempt to become the 23rd player in major league history to reach the 500 home run mark this afternoon when the White Sox resume their three-game series with the visiting Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at U.S. Cellular Field.

Thome remained stuck on career homer No. 499 on Friday, as he finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Chicago's 5-3 win. Jermaine Dye finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI and a run scored in the victory, while Paul Konerko finished 2- for-3 and scored twice for the White Sox, who have won two in a row after a three-game slide.

Jose Contreras (9-16) yielded 11 hits and three runs over 7 1/3 innings, winning for the third time in his last four starts. Bobby Jenks pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 38th save.

Angels hurler Bartolo Colon (6-7) was charged with eight hits and five runs -- three earned -- over 4 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking two in his first start since July 23. He is 0-5 in his last seven outings and turned in a poor start after missing almost seven weeks with right elbow troubles.

Garret Anderson had three hits and scored twice for the AL West-leading Angels, who have dropped two straight and four of six. Howie Kendrick and Maicer Izturis added two hits and an RBI each and Kendry Morales added a run- scoring single.

Thome, the only player in Chicago's starting lineup to not reach base on Friday, can become the third player to hit his 500th home run this season. Toronto's Frank Thomas accomplished the feat on June 28 and the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez did so on August 4.

Jered Weaver will have the task of trying to keep Thome in the park today, as he tries to improve upon his 11-7 record. Weaver was tagged with the loss on Sunday against the Cleveland Indians and was charged with six runs and nine hits in five innings, raising his earned run average to 4.00.

Weaver held the White Sox scoreless over 5 2/3 innings to get the win earlier in the year in his only other appearance against them.

Chicago will pin its hopes on righty Jon Garland, who is 9-11 with a 4.59 ERA. Garland was tagged with the loss on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins, as he allowed five runs (one earned) and five hits in eight innings.

Garland has struggled mightily in his career against the Angels, going just 3-7 against them with a 4.86 ERA in 13 starts. However, one of those wins came the last time he faced them back on May 5.

Chicago has won four of it seven meetings with the Halos this season, with the Angels taking two of three from the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field in April.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

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.

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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.

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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.

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