10/02/2008 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay made Boston forget about its former postseason standout left fielder Manny Ramirez with a game-deciding, two-run homer to help lift the Red Sox to a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels in the opener of their best-of-five American League Division Series.
Bay also doubled in making his postseason debut after being acquired from Pittsburgh in the trade that sent Ramirez to the Dodgers. Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, with an RBI, scored a run, stole a pair of bases and made a spectacular diving catch for the defending World Series champions.
Jon Lester (1-0) seemed to get stronger as the game wore on, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the opening frame and surrendering an unearned run in the third on six hits overall. The southpaw struck out seven and walked one through seven innings.
The Red Sox ran their postseason winning streak to eight and have 10 consecutive playoff wins over the Angels dating back to 1986, as the two teams met in division series play for the third time in the past five seasons. Boston is coming off its second World Series title in the past four seasons and has emerged victorious in four of its last five Division Series.
Lester got the nod for Game 1 after ace right-hander Josh Beckett strained an oblique during a bullpen session this past weekend. Beckett is expected to start Game 3 Sunday in Boston. Lester, who started Boston's World Series clincher a year ago, was 16-6 with a 3.21 ERA this season.
Jonathan Papelbon continued to pitch with ice in his veins, extending his career postseason scoreless streak to 15 2/3 innings in 10 appearances, working the ninth for the save.
The Red Sox also took advantage of a base-running mistake by Vladimir Guerrero, who was easily thrown out at third base in the eighth inning with Boston holding a one-run lead.
John Lackey (0-1) worked out of trouble when he needed to, but was touched for Bay's two-run homer in the sixth, one of just four hits allowed by the right- hander. He walked three and struck out five over 6 2/3 innings.
Torii Hunter drove in LA's lone run and was one of four players to collect a pair of hits for the Angels, who clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with an MLB-best 100-62 regular season record, but fell for the eighth straight time in postseason play.
The Angels took eight of nine from the Red Sox during the regular season and rattled off the last eight after a 7-6 defeat April 22 in Boston.
Game 2 is set for Friday in Anaheim with the Angels' Ervin Santana toeing the rubber against Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka.
<< Boise State bullies Bulldogs
Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kellen Moore threw two touchdown passes and D.J.
Harper ran for a pair of scores, as the 17th-ranked Boise State Broncos
pummeled the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 38-3.
Moore completed 20-of-28 passes for 3
<< Sheets done for season
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers ace Ben Sheets has a
torn muscle near his pitching elbow which will keep him off the club's
postseason roster.
Sheets has pitched only once in the last 11 days and was kept
<< Homer-happy Dodgers top Cubs in NLDS opener
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Loney clubbed a two-out grand slam in the
fifth inning and Manny Ramirez homered in the seventh as the Los Angeles
Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-2, in the opener of their National League
Divisio
<< Dickau signs with Warriors
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors signed guard Dan
Dickau on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old Dickau will join his seventh different NBA team since breaking
into the league in 2002. Last season, he averaged 5.3 poin
Ferrer, Roddick advance in Tokyo >>
Tokyo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seeds David Ferrer and Andy Roddick were
among Thursday's third-round winners at the $869,000 Japan Open Tennis
Championships.
The reigning Tokyo champion Ferrer rallied to top Japanese
Peng reaches Tashkent quarters >>
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Chinese Shuai Peng
led Thursday's charge into the quarterfinals at the $145,000 Tashkent Open.
Peng handled Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus 6-1, 7-5 on the hardcourts at
Tashken
Woodbine to host pair of Challenge races >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Breeders' Cup Challenge races take
center-stage for Saturday's Woodbine card. The $2 million Pattison Canadian
International and the $1 million E.P. Taylor Stakes will both be contested on
Woodbin
Rays host White Sox in first-ever postseason game at the Trop >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A lot of people felt that the Tampa Bay Rays were ready
to take the next step this season. But, taking the next step was believed to
be finishing at or near .500, not what eventually transpired.
One year removed from los
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 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.
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