08/20/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thanks to wins in the first two games of this series the Tampa Bay Rays now have the best record in all of baseball. Tonight, they will try to sweep the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the second time this season in a three-game set at Tropicana Field.
Tampa also broke the brooms out on the AL West-leading Halos from May 9-11.
Last night with Tropical Storm Fay bearing down, Willie Aybar's two-run single in a decisive eighth inning proved to be the difference and James Shields tossed eight effective innings to lead Tampa Bay to a 4-2 win.
The red-hot Rays picked up their ninth win in 11 tries and remained 4 1/2 games ahead of Boston in the AL East. Their 22-9 mark since the All-Star break and 47-17 ledger at home are also tops in the league.
Shields (11-7) yielded just two runs on nine hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in earning the win. B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena had an RBI apiece while Jason Bartlett doubled and scored twice for the Rays.
Vladimir Guerrero homered and doubled, scoring twice, while Garret Anderson extended his hitting streak to 22 games with an RBI double for LA, which has dropped five of its last six contests, but still leads the AL West by 15 1/2 games.
The Angels had entered this matchup with the best record in the league.
Hoping to complete the sweep for the Rays tonight will be right-hander Matt Garza, who is coming off one of the best efforts of his career. Garza tossed a two-hit shutout on Friday to beat Texas, as he improved to 10-7 on the year, while lowering his earned run average to 3.63. He also struck out nine and walked a pair in the win.
Garza lost his only other start to the Angels.
Los Angeles will counter with righty Jered Weaver, who is 10-9 with a 4.47 ERA. Weaver did not get a decision on Friday in Cleveland, as the Indians managed two runs and five hits off of him in 5 1/3 innings of his team's 3-2 loss.
Weaver gave up one run in eight innings to beat the Rays back on June 10 and is 2-0 lifetime against them with a 1.93 ERA in two starts.
Tampa Bay has won six of its eight games with the Angels this season and is the only team in the league with a winning record against them.
<< Haren, Peavy to go toe-to-toe in Diamondbacks-Padres tilt
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A showdown between two of the top pitchers in the National
League is on tap for tonight at Chase Field, where Dan Haren will lead the
Arizona Diamondbacks in the second test of a three-game series versus Jake
Peavy a
<< Brewers, Astros to complete Central clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's too bad CC Sabathia can't pitch every night for the
struggling Milwaukee Brewers, who are 8-1 with the big lefty on the hill.
Manny Parra will try to begin a streak of his own when he handles pitching
duties f
<< Rolling Red Sox shoot for another win in Baltimore
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox try for their fourth straight road win
this evening, when they attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the
Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
Boston continued to thrive without Manny Ramirez
<< Mets' Pelfrey toes rubber versus Braves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Pelfrey tries to win for the 10th time in his last 12
decisions this evening when the New York Mets play the middle test of their
three-game series with the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium.
Pelfrey's emergence ha
Marlins, Giants resume series in San Francisco >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins will be trying to put together a
winning streak for the first time this month when the young club takes the
field tonight against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Florida kicked off an import
NASCAR hands out stiff penalties to Gibbs Racing >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR came down hard on Joe Gibbs Racing
Wednesday for cheating during Saturday's Nationwide Series race.
Drivers Tony Stewart and Joey Logano were each stripped of 150 points and
their respective
NCAA Football Preview - Texas A&M Aggies >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
2007 SEASON IN REVIEW: Wins in their first three games, including a thrilling
47-45 overtime triumph over Fresno State, had the Aggies feeling pretty good
about the prospect of making some serious noise in th
Addition of Artest has moved Rockets up ladder >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There have been some significant moves in the Western
Conference during the offseason which should impact the way the West will be
won during the 2008-09 campaign.
Houston traded for Ron Artest, New Orleans inked swingman
MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:
Saints +6 @ Colts -6
Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)
Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)
Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5
Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1
Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3
Patriots -5 @ Jets +5
Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5
Steelers -4 @ Browns +4
Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6
Bears +6 @ Chargers -6
Lions +3 @ Raiders -3
Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5
Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4
Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3
Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3
Super Bowl line (2008)
NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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