Fightin Phils wrap up set with Tribe

Baseball Betting Lines

06/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Howard is hitting his stride and will try to continue the power surge tonight when the Philadelphia Phillies play the rubber match of their three-game set with the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field.

Howard had three hits, one of them a long solo homer, and tied a season-high with four RBI in the Phillies' 9-6 victory on Tuesday.

The homer was Howard's 16th of the season, and the reigning NL MVP has gone deep in consecutive games and in three of his last five contests. He also homered in back-to-back games on June 10-11.

Chase Utley added a two-run single and Pat Burrell a two-run double, as the offensive outburst helped young right-hander Kyle Kendrick to his first major league win.

Kendrick (1-0) allowed three runs on five hits, walked a batter and struck out one over six effective innings for Philadelphia, which snapped a two-game skid and moved within two games of the New York Mets for first place in the NL East.

Philadelphia's Jon Lieber will try to bounce back from a poor outing on Friday that dropped him to 1-3 over his last four starts. Against the Tigers last time out, the right-hander was hammered for seven runs -- six earned -- on 10 hits in just five innings of a 12-8 setback. Lieber also fanned five while falling to 3-5 on the season with a 4.21 earned run average.

The former Yankee, who threw his first shutout of the year on June 9 versus Kansas City, is 2-0 in three lifetime starts against Cleveland with a 2.75 ERA. He last faced them on September 2, 2004 and guided New York to a victory behind seven shutout innings.

Ryan Garko, who came into the game mired in a 2-for-41 slump, hit a solo homer in the second inning for Cleveland yesterday and added an RBI single in the fourth. Jason Michaels had a pair of RBI off the bench as he replaced David Dellucci in the game after Dellucci injured his left hamstring running out a ground ball.

The injury could land him on the disabled list.

Jason Stanford (1-1) was touched for six runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings for the Indians, who had their two-game winning streak snapped and fell into a tie with Detroit for first-place in the AL Central.

Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia will try to become the American League's third 10- game winner this evening. Sabathia has been stuck on nine wins for his last two starts, as he got a no-decision on June 10 at Cincinnati before being handed his second loss of the season on Friday against Atlanta.

The left-hander went 8 1/3 frames against the Braves, but allowed five runs -- four earned -- on 12 hits with seven strikeouts in a 5-4 setback. The outing lifted his ERA to 3.19.

Sabathia took the loss in his only career start against the Phillies. That defeat came on June 10, 2002 after he yielded three runs in 6 2/3 innings of a 3-1 setback.

Cleveland and Philadelphia last met in 2002 at Jacobs Field, with the Indians winning two out of three in the series. The Indians are 100-89 all-time in interleague play, while the Phillies are 86-97.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines

New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.

"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."

Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.

"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs..

About www.MySportsbook.com
MySportsbook.com is the foremost online sportsbook offering Internet wagering to its worldwide customers. Fully licensed and regulated in St. John’s, Antigua since 1997, MySportsbook.com offers a complete range of online casino games, sports betting lines, poker tournaments and horse racing offtrack betting daily through its portfolio of companies and managed services. With over 7 years of experience, MySportsbook.com has become one of the most respected companies in the gaming industry by providing unparalleled 24/7 customer support and timely payouts. MySportsbook.com is part of the SportingBet PLC group of companies that is publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE ) under the symbol SBT.L. MySportsbook.com provides a secure environment for sports and casino wagering and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MAXIM Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and CNN’s Paula Zahn Now among others.