Sports betting

Updated November 4, 2009 

If you were watching Game 5 of the World Series Monday night on Fox, you no doubt saw Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino head to the outfield in the eighth inning only to head back to the dugout.

Victorino had been hit in the right hand with a pitch in the first inning and it was thought that Philly skip Charlie Manuel was taking his OF out as a precaution.

Fans of the Phillies can relax as ESPN reports X-rays were negative and Victorino “expects to play in Game 6 . . . Wednesday night.”

Going into Game 6 of the World Series, the Phillies are +172 underdogs.

Updated November 4, 2009 

The New York Yankees almost came back from an 8-2 deficit last night in Game 5 of the World Series but it was still the Philadelphia Phillies that prevailed 8-6.

Game 6 will go tonight at Yankee Stadium with Pedro Martinez scheduled to start for Philly and Andy Pettitte for the Yanks–the Phillies are +172 ‘dogs while the Pinstripes are favored at -205 and a Total of 9.5.

Pedro will have to sharpen up as his teams are 4-10 SU in his last 14 road starts against the Yankees.

Pettitte’s last 13 home starts have seen the Under cash 10 times and in the last six games between the two teams in New York, the Under has cashed in six-straight games.

The Los Angeles Lakers screwed chalk bettors last night when they failed to cover as 7.5-point faves in a 101-98 OT win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Lakers travel to Houston to play the Rockets listed as 2-point road faves and -135 on the Money line. Better luck tonight?

In the last 10 times when the Lakers play the second game in two nights, they are 7-3 straight up.

The Total has been set at 203 and in the Lakers’ last 11 backenders, they have taken the Over 8 times.

With the New Orleans Saints hours away from playing a Monday nighter against the Atlanta Falcons, news has leaked that Saints defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis is out.

New Orleans is a 12-point home favorite for MNF with the Total at 55.

According to ESPN, Ellis suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament when New Orleans covered as 6.5-point road faves in a 46-34 win against the Miami Dolphins last week.

The Saints are merely 5-15 ATS in their last 20 home contests against the Falcons but are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games at the Superdome.

Also, the high-powered New Orleans offense has produced 14 Overs and 6 Unders in its last 20 home games.

Updated November 2, 2009 

With a 3-1 stranglehold in the 2009 World Series, the New York Yankees can win clinch tonight with a win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Despite being up, the Yanks are +138 in Game 5 while the home town Phillies are favored at -153 with a Total of 8.5.

Righty A.J. Burnett will be tasked with helping the Yankees capture the championship but in his last 10 road starts against Philly, his teams are a combined 3-7 straight up.

Cliff Lee goes for Philadelphia and in his last outing (Game 1), he went the distance and the Phillies won 6-1, covering as +158 underdogs.

Lee has made 16 starts since coming to the City of Brotherly Love and the Phillies have gone 12-4 SU in that time.

The shoe was on the other foot as Green Bay Packer fans lustily booed when former QB Brett Favre returned to Lambeau Field.

Favre weaved his magic with the Minnesota Vikings just like when he was a Packer as the Vikes and he won 38-26 covering as 3.5-point road ‘dogs–the combined score of 64 went Over the Total of 47.

Favre went 17/28 for 244 passing yards complemented with 4 TD passes.

Looking at today’s big matchups, the betting public has weighed in on the home team Packers as we head to kick-off (about an hour from now), as it looks like people are expecting the home side to get some revenge from the loss in Minnesota a few weeks back.

The sports betting public is also looking for the Ravens to deal the Broncos their first loss of the year as Baltimore money flows in Sunday morning…and with the announcement Westbrook is out, the Giants have become very popular leading up to the first batch of kick-offs as well.

Week 8 gets started in less than an hour…good luck.

The Georgia Bulldogs and the No. 1 Florida Gators take part in their annual rivalry game, aka the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, on Saturday with Florida favored by 14.5-points. 

Florida is 8-3-1 ATS in its last 12 games when favored by more than 8-points while Georgia has struggled in its last 12 road games going 3-9 ATS.

The rivalry game between the two has really heated up the last two years.

There was the “Gator Stomp” in 2007 and Urban Meyer’s two timeouts in the last minute in 2008 despite a 49-10 lead where Florida covered as a 7.5-point favorite.

The Total for Saturday’s game is set at 48.5.

Ranked No. 21 in the BCS, the West Virginia Mountaineers play the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium and are 3-point road faves.

The Bulls are listed at +135 on the Money line and are 15-5 SU in their last 20 home games.

The Mountaineers are -155 on the Money line and are 14-6 in their last 20 road games.

The Total for tonight’s game is 47.5.

There won’t be any brotherly love for the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the World Series as they head to Philly’s Citizens Bank Park.

The Yanks are -120 road faves and will send Andy Pettitte to the mound Saturday night while Cole Hamels goes for the Philadelphia Phillies, who are +110–the Over/Under is set at 9.

New York holds the edge in its last seven games in Philly with a record of 5-2 straight up but Pettitte’s teams (Houston and the Yanks) have gone 3-7 SU in his last 10 road starts in October.

The Phillies are 7-3 SU in Cole Hamels’ last 10 starts in October. 

The Yanks defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 last night to even the World Series at a game a piece.