8-6-11

[Mr. IWS]

New Guys!

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[Mr. IWS]

MMA PROFESSOR

Nam Phan (+200) over Mike Brown

Matt Hamil (+160) over Alexander Gustafsson

Mike Pierce (+125) over Johny Hendrix

[Mr. IWS]

Baseball Crusher

Play of the Day:
Angels -150

[Mr. IWS]

MLB NEWS AND NOTES
Cueto And Reds Clash With Chicago Cubs
By: Adam Markowitz

Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs (+125, 9)

Rivals from the middle of the pack in the NL Central duke it out at storied Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon in MLB betting action, as the Cincinnati Reds pay a visit to the Chicago Cubs.

Cincinnati enters this one as fringe potential playoff teams. The Reds really need to get on a roll if they have any hopes of getting into the second season.

Chicago knows that its postseason hopes are finished, but the Cubs have won five straight in one of their best stretches of the entire season.

Those who want to take in this clash on the MLB odds can see it live starting at 10:05 a.m. (PT) on Comcast Sports Network and FOX Sports Ohio.

The pitcher with the best ERA in baseball is scheduled to be on display in the Windy City, as Johnny Cueto is going to take the bump for the Reds. He has a 7-4 mark on the campaign with a 1.72 ERA. The righty is coming off of a complete game shutout against the San Francisco Giants, and he has thrown 16 straight innings without allowing an earned run.

Batters are hitting just .197 against Cueto this year, and as a result, he only has a 0.98 WHIP. His K:BB ratio is just 67:32 over 109 2/3-innings on the campaign, but it is clear that just getting good wood on the ball is tough for batters.

Cueto hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in a game on the campaign, and he has pitched just as efficiently on the road as he has at home. Cueto is 4-2 with a 1.89 ERA this season as visitors.

Carlos Zambrano, who has strung together three consecutive quality starts, will get the ball Saturday afternoon from Chicago manager Mike Quade. The Venezuelan was part of rumors all week that pointed towards him heading to the Bronx, but that deal was ultimately nixed by the Yankees.

Zambrano has a ton of experience against the Reds over his career, tossing over 200 innings vs. Cincinnati with a personal 16-11 record and solid 3.24 ERA. None of that history meant a thing in his only start against them this season, however. Zambrano was a 145 road 'dog on May 16 and was charged with six runs in 5 1/3 frames of Cincinnati's 7-4 victory.

The Reds have gone 19-7 in their last 26 games against Chicago. The North Siders have only gone 2-6 in eight clashes this season, including losing two out of three in the first series of the year here at Wrigley Field.

Neither one of these teams have really done well on the MLB odds this year. Cincinnati is down 10.58 units, while Chicago is out 14.81 units. The Cubs are pitting their 25-31 home mark against the Reds' 24-30 away record.

Temperatures should be warm on Saturday with an isolated chance for storms. Expect temperatures to be in the low-to-mid 80s.

[Mr. IWS]

Saturday's Streaking And Slumping Starting Pitchers

STREAKING

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers (15-5, 2.24 ERA)

If the Tigers can keep rolling in the American League Central, there is more than Cy Young buzz surrounding Verlander. The right hander is getting some AL MVP chatter, and his last three starts are more evidence that he deserves the consideration. Verlander is 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA during that span. In his most recent start, he went eight shutout innings, allowing only one hit and striking out nine batters.

Joe Saunders, Arizona Diamondbacks (8-8, 3.56 ERA)

The Diamondbacks won’t leave the Giants alone in the National League West, and Saunders is a big part of this late-season push. Arizona’s lefty is 2-0 with a 1.90 ERA in his last three outings and, going back to June 15, he’s 5-2 with an ERA just over 2.00. Saunders took down the Dodgers in his most recent start, giving up only two runs on eight hits over 7 2-3 innings of work.


SLUMPING

Cory Luebke, San Diego Padres (3-6, 3.21 ERA)

Luebke has struggled since making the move to the starting rotation. He’s winless in his last three outings, touting a 5.40 ERA during that span. A lack of run support has spoiled a few of his good efforts, but even offense wouldn’t bail Luebke out in his most recent performance. He gave up five runs on 10 hits over 7 1-3 innings versus the Dodgers.

Carl Pavano, Minnesota Twins (6-8, 4.90 ERA)

It was a coin toss on who to feature in this slumping spot between Pavano and Chicago’s Jake Peavy, who the Twins will go against Saturday. Pavano’s last two starts have been disastrous, dropping his record to 0-2 with a 12.00 ERA in his last three outings. After allowing eight runs over five inning versus the Rangers, the Twins righty served up seven earned runs on nine hits in just two innings against the Athletics Sunday.

[Mr. IWS]

HOT LINES

Saturday's Best MLB Bets

Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins (+105, 8.5)

It was unfair of the Windy City’s South Siders to expect so much from Jake Peavy when he was just coming off injury, but now that he looks like he might be coming around a bit, the White Sox are only going to be looking for more from him.

Peavy threw seven solid innings in dropping a 3-2 pitching duel with New York’s CC Sabathia the last time he toed the rubber. The veteran fired 115 pitches and looked a lot like the Jake Peavy we’re used to seeing on the hill.

"I tried to pace myself and felt a little bit better going deeper in the ballgame," Peavy told reporters. "That's a great sign for me. I'm excited."

Now, if only Ozzie Guillen would start treating him like a guy who’s still trying to get over shoulder surgery. Guillen said the other day that he doesn’t even consider taking Peavy out before he hits 100 pitches and still considers the vet his ace.

He may not be what he was, but we like what we saw from him against the Yanks.

PICK: White Sox


Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs (+125, 9)

In typical Cubs fashion, the club has put together its longest winning streak of the year long after the season is lost – again.

Chicago won its sixth straight game Friday, downing the Reds 4-3 to improve to just 26-31 at Wrigley Field. The Cubs had dropped three at Milwaukee and two at St. Louis before sweeping the Pirates before welcoming in the Reds for this weekend series against Cincinnati.

“It was a good finish (against the Pirates),” manager Mike Quade told reporters. “This game will drive you nuts. You roll into Milwaukee and struggle to score runs. Then the craziness in St. Louis and then we put it together.”

It’ll be tough to keep it going Saturday though. Carlos Zambrano has been pretty solid lately, but you get the feeling he’s on the brink of another meltdown start any day now. Plus, Johnny Cueto’s on the hill for the Reds and he’s been just about unhittable lately.

Cueto is coming off a complete-game shutout of the Giants and he blanked the Mets over five innings in taking a hard-luck loss before that.

PICK: Reds

[Mr. IWS]

WNBA NEWS AND NOTES
WNBA: Liberty - Mystics Preview
By Associated Press


New York Liberty at Washington Mystics (4, 147)

At the end of June, it looked like the New York Liberty were going to struggle to return to the playoffs. The way they're playing now, finishing atop the Eastern Conference is a legitimate goal - especially after acquiring Kara Braxton.

Braxton is expected to make her debut as New York looks to win for the ninth time in 12 games Saturday night when it visits the conference-worst Washington Mystics.

The Liberty reached the East finals last season and had their sights set on advancing to the WNBA finals this year, but a 4-5 record in June put a damper on those expectations.

New York, though, has turned things around by winning eight of 11 and is in a three-way race with Indiana and Connecticut for the No. 1 seed in the conference.

The Liberty (12-8) made a move Thursday to try to separate themselves from the Fever and Sun, obtaining Braxton from Phoenix in exchange for forward Sidney Spencer.

The 6-foot-6 Braxton, who was on Detroit's championship teams in 2006 and 2008, averaged 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 18 games for the Mercury this season. She is among the league leaders in field-goal shooting at 55.9 percent.

"Kara is an All-Star player with championship experience that has been successful in the league for a number of years and will make an immediate impact on the court," Liberty coach and general manager John Whisenant said in a statement.

"We feel this move increases our depth in the post and sets us up for further success as we look to build a championship caliber team."

The Liberty won their second in a row Thursday, holding Chicago to a WNBA-record one point in the fourth quarter in a 59-49 victory at home.

"I don't know if we played that well defensively in any single game this season," said guard Cappie Pondexter, who had a game-high 15 points. "To see that just shows you how we're staying with our game plan, how hard we're working, and how much we're believing in Coach Whis' defense."

New York didn't play well defensively at home against Washington (3-14) on July 28, but it came away with a 75-71 win despite the Mystics shooting a season-best 50.9 percent.

Pondexter led the way for the Liberty with 19 points, while Crystal Langhorne had 18 for the Mystics. That was the third of four straight losses for Washington, which has dropped nine of 10.

The Mystics have had some time to think about their last defeat. They haven't played since July 29, when Indiana's Shannon Bobbitt made a floating layup at the buzzer to win 61-59 in the nation's capital.

Washington has lost its last three by a combined 12 points.

"We're continuing to play hard; we just need to figure out how to close out games," Langhorne told the Mystics' official website. "We're playing close games every time out, so now we need to figure out how to win at the end."

[Mr. IWS]

LADY LUCK

Saturday's Best WNBA Bets

New York Liberty at Washington Mystics (4, 147)

The last time these two teams hooked up, the Liberty needed a come-from-behind effort to get the better of the bottom-feeding Mystics. They outscored Washington 22-15 in the fourth quarter and clamped down defensively to come away with the victory, but couldn’t cover as 9-point home favorites.

“I was so proud of my team,” Liberty coach John Whisenant said after the game. “All the effort, all the screw-ups you may have had before then comes down to if you can play defense in those last two minutes.”

The Liberty have played three times since that game, going 2-1 both straight up and against the spread. Washington, meanwhile, dropped another close one in its only game since their last meeting – a 61-59 defeat .

The Mystics have been better protecting their own bucket lately and have played under the total in three straight games. That goes along nicely with the fact that New York has checked under its totals in four consecutive contests and seven of the last eight.

PICK: Under


Tulsa Shock at San Antonio Silver Stars (-13.5, 151.5)

Cover your eyes, kids – this one could get ugly.

The Shock head into Saturday’s tilt having lost their last 12 games and they’ve covered only three times over that span.

The talent just isn’t there and no matter what the team tries to do with its game plans, it still seems to be battling just to avoid blowouts on a nightly basis.

Same story in the Shock’s latest loss – a 89-72 loss to the Seattle Storm as 7-point underdogs.

"If we get down and keep fighting, that takes all of our energy by the time we get to the fourth quarter," point guard Ivory Latta told reporters. "That's sometimes why we don't have a good fourth quarter. We fight so hard in the third just to cut it within 10 or something and we're all pretty much laid out."

Seattle pumped them 27-17 in the final frame and we may see a replay of that Saturday considering San Antonio’s depth.

PICK: San Antonio

[Mr. IWS]

CFL NEWS AND NOTES
Hamilton Tiger-Cats To Upset Calgary Stampeders
By North Shore Sports


Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Calgary Stampeders (-3.5, 50.5)

This season, CFL wagering picks are awfully difficult to making due to the fact that the teams are just so darn evenly matched. The 3-2 Stampeders have definitely underachieved this season, while the 3-2 Tabbies come into this one on a bit of a roll.

You have to go back to 2004 to find the last time that Calgary lost a game at home to the Tabbies, which is definitely going to make it quite hard to make CFL football picks any other way than this.

However, there are definitely a lot of signs that suggest this game could come right down to the wire.

The Stampeders just haven’t put forth a dominating effort at any point this season. They really haven’t played a difficult schedule yet, as the only game against a team that finished above .500 last year was last week’s road test at the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Calgary was lucky to escape that one with a 22-18 triumph, just as it was awfully fortunate to survive tests at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions. This too, is a game that, on paper, should be won and won handily by the men in red, but we just don’t know if that’s going to be the case.

Henry Burris has thrown for 1,146 yards and six TDs this year, and he is completing just 59.6 percent of his passes. This isn’t nearly the same “Smilin’ Hank” that we’ve become accustomed to, nor is it the same offense featuring RB Joffrey Reynolds, who has yet to have a memorable game either.

As we mentioned at the top, the Ti-Cats are on fire right now, winners of three in a row to get back within a game of the lead in the East.

QB Kevin Glenn has held onto his job for the time being, something that many figured wouldn’t be the case after his first two dud starts of the season, and his holistic numbers now aren’t all that bad. He has thrown for 1,238 yards and nine scores against just four picks, and he is completing a rather respectable 61.6 percent of his attempts.

CFL Betting Picks – The curse is all over with for the Tabbies. We just don’t like the way that Calgary is playing right now, and this is chance for the boys from Steeltown to make a statement that they are legitimate Grey Cup contenders for the first time in well over a decade.

[Mr. IWS]

CANADIAN BACON

Saturday's Best CFL Bets

Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Calgary Stampeders (-3.5, 50.5)

The Tiger-Cats are on a three-game winning streak after beating the Alouettes, but they struggled to win in Calgary recently, like so many teams. The Stampeders have won eight of their last 10 games at home against Hamilton.

Although the Stampeders offense hasn’t been as devastating as it was in the first five games of 2010 (117 points compared to 140), this is a team that has dominated the fourth quarter this season.

All five games played by Calgary so far were decided by five points or less. The last time the Stampeders played that many close games was in 2001, when they went on a run of seven games decided by seven points or less.

On Hamilton’s side, Kevin Glenn has been playing better after two tough games to start the season, connecting on just over 61 percent of his pass attempts, and hasn’t been intercepted once in his last three games. But keep in mind that the Tiger-Cats have not won at McMahon Stadium since 2005.

PICK: Calgary

[Mr. IWS]

Saturday's Betting Tips: Weather Changes Bridgestone Sked

Weather To Watch

Tournament organizers at the Bridgestone Invitational are shifting Saturday’s schedule in an effort to avoid some messy weather. Meteorologists are predicting muggy conditions and thunderstoms Saturday, so players will tee off in threesomes at the first and 10th tees from 7-9 a.m., instead of at only the first tee in twosomes at 8 a.m.

Who’s Hot

MLB: Texas is 11-3 in its last 14 home games.

MLB: Oakland has won seven of its last 10 meetings with Tampa Bay.

CFL: The under is 8-3 in Hamilton’s last 11 games overall.

WNBA: The under is 10-1-1 in San Antonio’s last 12 games.

Who’s Not

MLB: Washington is 4-12 in its last 16 games as an underdog.

MLB: The under is 1-11 in the Angels’ last 12 games.

CFL: The over is 3-7 in the last 10 meetings between Hamilton and Calgary.

WNBA: Washington is 2-8 against the spread in its last 10 home games.

Key Stat

69.1 – The Tulsa Shock are easily the worst team in the WNBA and it isn’t tough to see where the problem lies. The Shock are averaging just 69.1 points per game and are the only team in the league to sit below the 70-point per game average.

Injury That Shouldn’t Be Overlooked

Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves – Many thought Jones (quad) would be back in the lineup Friday night after taking fielding drills earlier in the day, but he remained on the bench, so his status for the weekend is still up in the air. The veteran third baseman is hitting .258 with nine homers and 47 RBIs this season.

Game Of The Day

Philadelphia Phillies at San Francisco Giants (+115, 6.5)

Notable Quotable

”I know my stats don’t show it, but just the way I’m driving the golf ball, the start lines are so much tighter, and the shape of the shots are so much tighter. I’m so close to putting the ball on a string, so it’s coming.” – Tiger Woods after shooting a 1-over 71 in the second round at the Bridgestone International. Woods, who also said he’s playing completely pain free, heads into Saturday’s action well off the pace. Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, and Ryan Moore are tied for the lead at 8-under.

Tips And Notes

Home field hasn’t been friendly to the Calgary Stampeders so far this season. The Stamps are 0-2 both straight up and against the spread at McMahon Stadium heading into Saturday’s home date with Hamilton, but have won all three of their road games (2-1 ATS). "I thought it was no place like home," Calgary quarterback Henry Burris told reporters, "For us, it's been there's no place like the road. We need to turn that around.”

The Los Angeles Angels have pulled struggling veteran Joel Pineiro from the starting rotation. He’s working on a 5.31 ERA over 18 starts and will likely serve as a long reliever in the bullpen at least for the time being. The club doesn’t expect to name a replacement in the No. 5 spot in the rotation until early next week.

[Mr. IWS]

Free Selection from Arthur Ralph Sports

691- 517 57 % Run over 3 YEARS

Free one Sat Pirates -130

[Mr. IWS]

Mighty Quinn

Mighty hit with the Tigers last night.

Today it's the Tigers. The deficit is 2674 sirignanos.

[Mr. IWS]

Hondo

Hondo knocked a hefty chunk off the deficit last night, racking up winners with the Padres and Yan kees to lower the NRN (nasty red number) to 1,925 treshes.

Today, Mr. Aitch will put The American Idle to work for him -- 20 units on the Twinks. Also, he will give the Yanks the menial task of beating Lackey -- 20 units.

[Mr. IWS]

Gamblers Data

Free Play SATURDAY

Blue Jays/Orioles over 9