MONEY LINES aka (betting sides)
If you are new to betting Major League Baseball one of the first things that you should notice is that there are no point spreads involved. Betting Major League Baseball involve odds that are represented as a Money Line. Money Lines are odds expressed in terms of a dollar so if you bet a Favorite you should lay more than 1 dollar in order to win 1 dollar, and if you bet on an underdog, you should wager 1 dollar to win more than 1 dollar. Major League Baseball betting lines are expressed as a dollar with cents and sometimes the decimal is used. Odds of -1.45 and -145 are the same thing. A favorite that is -145 means that you have to bet 145 to win 100. On the opposite side if one were to bet an underdog at +145 you should only have to bet 100 to win 145. So simply put the favorite is always a minus and the underdog should always be a plus. In a game carrying a dime line, a minus -145 favorite should be paired with an underdog of plus +135. If that same game had a 20-cent line, the underdog should get back only +125. Ten cents on the dollar can easily add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars over the course of a Major League Baseball season. Even if you consider yourself a small bettor, you should always use a sportsbook that offers a true “Dime Line”

PITCHERS
Since the pitcher is the single most important position, the line or odds, are based largely by the starting pitchers listed. Taking this into account, you have four options when betting baseball. Listed Pitcher – A Major League Baseball bet is made on a game stating listed pitchers and both of the listed pitchers must start the game. A pitcher is determined to have made a start after he throws the opening pitch for his team. If one, or both, of the listed pitchers do not start the game, the bet has no action and the bettors money is
refunded. Specify team pitcher- A Major League Baseball bet is made placing a bet specifying just the pitcher starting for the team you are betting on. As long as the pitcher starts for the team you have bet, you have action on the game, no matter or not the opposing team’s listed pitcher starts. If the opposing team’s pitcher doesn’t start, this usually means that a new price is determined for the game.

Team Action
If you bet on a team with normal action, then the bet is good regardless of a change in starting pitchers for either team. The odds may be adjusted if there is a change in the listed pitchers.

Team action against listed pitcher
In this situation a bet can be made on a team and the bet is good regardless of whether or not the listed pitcher starts for that team as long as the listed pitcher for the other team does in fact start the game.

Totals
Major League Baseball totals are fairly straight forward, like football or basketball. The total refers to the number of runs both teams score for the entire game. This also includes extra innings if the game goes past 9 innings. Both listed pitchers must start for a total bet to have action. If one, or both, of the listed pitchers do not start, then your bet on the game total has no action, and all bets are refunded.

Run Lines
The run line involves a team getting 1 1/2 runs (the underdog) whilethe favorite must lay 1 1/2 runs. A money line is also with to the 11/2 runs For a favorite to win on the run line, the team must then win by 2 runs. The odds on a favorite should usually be a plus number because the team must win by at least 2 runs. The money line attached to the team getting 1 1/2 runs should usually be a minus number because the team can still lose by one run and still be a winning bet. The same rules that apply for totals apply for run lines: listed pitchers must start, and the game can not be called early.

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Just a season ago the Longhorns were highly ranked and playing for a National Championship. Then came the 2010 season and the bottom fell out.

I don’t think that anyone could have predicted that things would get this bad for Texas less than a year after facing Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game. Sure, they were going to lose some key players coming into this season, but they did have 12 starters from last years team returning.

Texas had a very uncharacteristic season for Texas and Mack Brown, and with his heir apparent and “Head Coach in Waiting” Will Muschamp, by his side, it was assumed that this would be Brown’s final season as the Head Coach. The “less than shining” season gave Mack Brown pause…did he really want to go out this way? Answer: Apparently not.

I have no doubt that Muschamp was disappointed by Brown’s decision to return for another year. But do we really think that was the reason for Muschamp’s departure?

I have to wonder if the prospects for better success for the team in the near future might be in question. Surely it would only be one more year before Brown retired, just wanting to go out a winner. If you are the heir apparent, why not wait? But what if the prospects for the team for next year didn’t look quite so positive from the viewpoint of Muschamp? And if that were the case and Brown didn’t want to go out a loser, could that mean the “Head Coach in Waiting”, could be waiting for several more years?

Muschamp has no worries in that regard now, having accepted Florida’s offer to become their new Head Coach. But that departure coming on the heels of Mack Brown’s firing of two long time assistant’s and his Offensive Coordinator, leaves Mack Brown holding the bag.

Ask yourself this. Why would Muschamp have left for Florida when he was so near getting the Texas job? Sure, the Florida job puts him in the middle of one of best recruiting areas in the country, but so was Texas. At Florida, he has to contend with the rest of the SEC in order to win a conference championship and that is no smal task in what is the toughest football conference in college football. At Texas, and especially with the departure of Nebraska for the Big Ten, all they really had to do most years was beat Oklahoma to make it to a BCS berth.

I have no inside knowledge of what is going on, but it certainly seems to me that the real reasons for Muschamp’s departure for Florida have yet to be known. It really doesn’t add up.

Without a doubt this sets the coaching carosel in even greater motion. Likely candidates to be considered might be Mullen at Miss State, Strong at Louisville and Bob Stoops of Oklahoma. There is instense speculation as to who the Gators will turn to in order to keep their program near the top of the SEC and college football, but rest assured that whomever inherits that Head Coaching position should be very successful as that program is stocked with quality talent.

We will likely see a rapid response from Florida with regard to interviews and a hiring decision and a successor might even be named prior to their bowl game as they will want to retain those recruits who have already made verbal committments to them prior to the early February signing date.

Urban Meyer…gone again and this time, probably for good.

Well the bowl pairings have been announced and none has any more anticipation than the Oregon-Auburn game for the BCS Championship.

Let’s take an early look at these two teams.

Rushing Offense: Oregon #4 at 303.83 YPG Auburn #6 at 287.15 YPG

Passing Offense: Oregon #48 at 233.67 YPG Auburn #69 at 210.54 YPG

Rushing Defense: Oregon #16 at 117.58 YPG Auburn #11 at 111.69 YPG

Pass Defense: Oregon #56 at 214 YPG Auburn # 105 at 250.46 YPG

Red Zone Offense: Oregon #45 at .84 Auburn at #27 at .87

Red Zone Defense: Oregon #5 at .67 Auburn at #95 at .88

Turnover Margin: Oregon #7 at 1.08 Auburn at #33 at .38

Penalties Per Game: Oregon #103 at 63.42 per game. Auburn #68 at 53.69 per game.

Field Goals Per Game: Oregon 1 P/G for 3 points per game. Auburn 1.15 P/G for 3.46 points per game.

Strength of Schedule Year to Date: Oregon #76 at .469% Auburn #4 at .628%

Looking at the early analysis above it would seem that Oregon has the advantage, but in the words of Lee Corso, “not so fast my friend”. Oregon hasn’t played nearly as difficult a schedule as Auburn and though Oregon leads in the stats category, you have to ask yourself who they accumulated those stats against?

I think that Oregon is one heck of a team. I think Auburn is also one heck of a team. This will be a National Championship Game for the ages….but we will have the accurately predicted winner.

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Regardless of what was said at the time of his departure, there is really no excuse for acting like complete asses. But Cleveland fans revealed their level of true character as massive boos erupted as the Heat and James, entered the arena.

LeBron is originally from Cleveland and established himself as a bit of a legend in that city long before his departure. Embraced as a local hero by man, woman and child, he became the heart and soul of Cleveland. His departure and especially the way he left with the exchange of negative remarks surrounding that departure, scarred the special relationship that he had with the people of that city.

OK, I’ve got it, I can feel their pain. But come on folks, grow up. As much as we all love sports and invest so much of ourselves in our favorite teams, this isn’t life and death. It’s just business.

And yes, LeBron didn’t help matters any by running his mouth at the time of his leaving. But does that mean that we all have to conduct ourselves like children?

Green Bay Packer fans welcomed former Packer and now current Vikings Quarterback Brett Favre back to Lambeau Field with a standing ovation. That was a classy move. Was it becase they were happy to see him paying for another team? No. But they were thankful for the excitement and years that Favre gave them during his time with the Packers. Take notes Cleveland, you can learn something from the folks in Green Bay.

I think it is time we all took stock in the things that we consider to be important in life…especially at this time of year. No one in sports should be so important to us that their leaving shatters our lives or causes us to conduct ourselves like children.

You stay classy, Cleveland.

First of all, we at You Beat The Spread hope that all of you had a very happy, safe and blessed Thanksgiving weekend!

We are now at 76-36 ATS and 81-31 in straight up wins! $125 per month for ALL NCAA and NFL football picks for an entire month and that includes the bowl games! THAT is value! Subscribe today!

College Football

This is going to be a bit of a departure today as we near the bowl season and the inevitable debate of why there isn’t a playoff system in the FBS of college football.

We all like to wax philosophical about how much more fair a playoff system would be at the top level of college football. But just as you have put visions of sugar plums and fairies away from your youth, you need to put this notion away as well. It simply isn’t going to happen and for a variety of reasons.

1) It is the time of the year when student athletes have their academic finals and running around all over the country playing different teams in this playoff system would work a hardship on those players and could have negative effect on their GPA’s.

2) It is also the time of the year when the holidays are upon us and most people who are fans don’t own Tyson Foods where they can take off every weekend and afford to travel to multiple locations to watch their team play. Most families are budgeting to buy Christmas for their families and entertain visiting relatives.

How well do you really think that fan bases are going to travel if they have to suffer the expense of going to multiple games, week after week, at least half of which could be out of town? Add to that the fact that you really don’t know if your team is going to win or not, so you have to wait until after the game to make reservations for air travel and room accommodations, which prohibits the discounts we all live for by booking well in advance. Trust me, most teams would not travel their fan base very well and what does that effect? Ticket revenues.

3) Televised games make it much easier for fan bases to gather and watch their teams play, AND, it is much less expensive. I realize that there isn’t anything like actually being at the game, but it is a matter of economics.

4) Administrators will argue that, as mentioned above, it detracts from the focus of the student athletes on their finals. But what they will also say is that these are college kids who are still growing and maturing and that they have no business playing an extended season that could grow to 14-17 games. I don’t buy this, but it will nonetheless be an argument that is made.

5) Then there is the debate over how many games should be involved in a playoff scenario and there is absolutely no consensus here. Should it be the top 32 teams? 16 teams? 8 teams? 4 teams? Personally I think that a 16 team format would be best. 8 games, then 4, then 2, then 1. It could be over in the course of a month and you could use the existing top 8 bowl games for this playoff. The problem is, the bowl committees might not go for this simply because of the potential for diminished travel by fan bases as I mentioned above, which would potentially damage their ticket sales and the additional ancillary room/food and beverage/tax revenues derived by the community in which the bowl games are held.

6) Another potential danger that the existing bowl structure might not find attractive is the chance that television revenues could actually be less than they might otherwise be. You disagree? Well, as a football fan, seeing the same team play in another bowl game four weeks in a row in their quest for the national championship would not dissuade me from watching, but I suspect that many would become bored watching the same team on the television every week. It wouldn’t bother their fan bases, but the majority of viewership for games is not necessarily limited to one or two teams fan bases. People tend to get bored easily and the fear is that this could damage their Nielson ratings and when that happens it leads to advertising time being of less value. Again, the potential for lost revenues. This would hurt networks carrying the games, the bowl revenue and the revenues collected by each school.

There are 6 good reasons why the playoff scenario may never occur. Believe me, if everyone thought that they could make more money from a playoff, it would already be in place. And don’t be deceived, it is ALL about the money.

Coaching Changes:

It is that time of the year and head coaches are dropping like flies and the rumors of this coach or that coach, going here or there are flying around.

Houston Nutt of Ole Miss to Colorado?

Jon Gruden to wherever he wants to go? Miami or back to the NFL?

Gus Malzahn, the Offensive Coordinator at Auburn to Ole Miss?

Dan Mullen, the Head Coach at Mississippi State to Miami?

We already know that former Iowa State Head Coach Dan McCartney is headed to North Texas.

Will Notre Dame, in the wake of all the bad press they have had, fire their Head Coach again?

Indiana has already fired their Head Coach, but who wants that job?

Is Rich Rodriguez out at Michigan and if so, is Jim Harbaugh of Stanford the heir apparent, or do they go back after Les Miles again?

And if either of those two vacate their current spots, who gets their programs?

It is an interesting time of the year, isn’t it?

The BCS:

Auburn reinforced their argument as to why they may be the best team in the country by coming back from a 24 point deficit to beat Alabama at Alabama. Apparently the pollsters agree since Auburn jumped Oregon to take over the #1 spot.

Boise State had their bubble burst courtesy of Nevada. Justice, in my opinion, has been done.

#5 LSU lost to Arkansas.

#7 Oklahoma State lost to Oklahoma in Stillwater. The Cowboys know who their big brother is and they played like it.

With all the buzz about the Heat, it’s almost like people have forgotten about a certain purple and gold team out West with a superstar of its own and a Zen master as coach. Of course that’s the Los Angeles Lakers, who are only the reigning two-time NBA champions. Phil Jackson goes for the fourth threepeat in his Hall of Fame coaching career, while Kobe Bryant looks for NBA championship No. 6, which would just so happen to tie him with Michael Jordan.

And don’t forget the Celtics, who pushed the Lakers to game seven in last year’s NBA Finals and brought pretty much the entire cast back for one more run while also adding Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Co. are seen as the top competition for the Heat in the East.

Finally, can young Kevin Durant, the league’s youngest scoring champion ever, lead the up-and-coming Thunder past the mighty Lakers out West after also sparking the USA to a gold medal at this summer’s world championships? Durant, not LeBron or Kobe, is the 9/4 favourite to win the 2011 MVP award.

Those are just a few big storylines heading into what should be a memorable season. For all your NBA betting odds and props, choose the Bodog Courtside 2010/2011 NBA Betting Guide.�it pays to be close to the action! For updated odds all season long check out Bodog daily.

Before my rant, an update on our results from yesterday.

Yesterday: ATS: 7-3 O/U: 6-3 S/U Wins: 8-1

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The Non-AQ Teams

Utah found out yesterday how difficult life can be when you play too many BCS level schools as Notre Dame upset the Utes in South Bend 28-3. This is the second loss in a row for Utah who, up until a week from yesterday, was potentially in the thick of the BCS conversation as a non-automatic qualifier. All they had to do was win-out, but TCU embarrassed them with a 47-7 loss and then they couldn’t bounce back and got their butts kicked in South Bend.

Boise State continued to roll with a 52-14 win over that major WAC power Idaho (4-5 coming into yesterday’s game). You realize of course that my statement is laced with cynicism, right? I am so sick of the whole Boise State “love parade”.

I’m not saying that Boise State doesn’t have a fine program, they do, and you have to admire how far that program has come in 30+ years. But a program that deserves to be in the BCS bowl conversation every year? No.

Now I realize that you are going to say to me, “but look what they have done when they have played BCS schools in the regular season and in bowl games”. Good point, but what BCS level school wouldn’t love to have a schedule where they only have to get their team up for basically three games a season(including a BCS Bowl game) out of a 12-14 game schedule?

Boise State being able to waltz into an “at-large” BCS Bowl invitation as a Non-AQ team is an insult to teams in the major power conferences who have to traverse far more difficult schedules.

Even TCU, which I have a great deal more respect for as a Non-AQ team than BSU, would have a difficult time surviving a BCS Conference schedule if they played anywhere but in the Big East Conference.

I almost feel that Non-AQ schools should have to be Independents that are forced to populate their schedules with a minimum of 8-9 games versus BCS level conferences. If they traverse that schedule with 10 to 12 wins each year, then they certainly deserve to be in the BCS conversation. But guess what? If TCU, Boise State and Utah all had to play that difficult of a schedule, they wouldn’t even be in the conversation.

I want the Non-AQ’s out until they earn the right to be there.

On to other subject matter.

BCS Level Teams

Is this the last year we see Mack Brown as the Head Coach at Texas? Doubtful. Mack is too prideful to end his tenure at Texas on a sour note. He’ll be back unless the Administration forces him out. Texas will also be back. This was a wake up call for a team that is extremely talented overall.

Oklahoma State rolled Texas in Stillwater to the tune of 33-16. Are they for real? I’m not sure. Why? Oklahoma State scored 30 points in the first two quarters to Texas’ 3 points, but come the second half Oklahoma State had to hold on as they scored only 7 points while Texas scored 13. Did Mike Gundy, the OSU Head Coach, try to coast to a win? Maybe. The jury is still out on this team. While they play at Kansas next weekend, their final test and potential stumbling block will be versus “Bedlam” foe, Oklahoma on the 27th.

Arkansas throttled UTEP 58-21, as they should have. UTEP should never have even scored in this game, but it was evident that the Hogs had their focus on Mississippi State next week. Arkansas may very well be the best and most dangerous BCS team that is not in a conference championship game with their sole losses being to defending national champion Alabama and the current SEC West Champion and #2 ranked and undefeated Auburn. Whether they get a Sugar Bowl berth or not will be determined the next two weeks when they face Mississippi State and then #5 LSU on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

South Carolina beat Florida 36-14 to win the SEC East Division title and a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. Steve Spurrier is ecstatic about this but the Gamecocks are going to get their arses handed to them when they get their re-match versus Auburn.

Auburn won back in September when the two met at Auburn, 35-27. But that wasn’t the same Auburn team that you see playing now. They are much better, much more confident and much more dominating. Just as when South Carolina played Arkansas a week ago, their game vs. Auburn isn’t even going to be close. Of course Auburn may eventually have to vacate all of their wins due to the allegations of “play for pay” involving Cam Newton, but time will tell how that plays out.

Was Oregon exposed this weekend in their very close 15-13 win over California? Had California’s field goal kicker been a bit better, Oregon would have lost this game 16-13.

One thing is for certain, California set the template for success vs. Oregon in place for more talented teams that will have to play the Ducks in the future. But who has Oregon left remaining on their schedule? A slumping Arizona team that has lost two in a row and an Oregon State team that lost to a 1-9 Washington State team yesterday to the tune of 31-14?

Oregon is most likely going to win out and find themselves in the BCS Championship game facing Auburn. If that scenario does pan out and you like a LOT of offense, you’ll love this match up. Defense? Not so much.

NFL

Here’s an update on our results in the NFL through yesterday.

You Beat The Spread went 5-1 ATS yesterday. For the year to date, we are 45-13 (77.6%) ATS, 41-20 (67.21%) in the O/U and 42-19 (68.85%) in S/U wins.

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Perhaps the biggest news of the weekend was the Cowboys dominating 33-20 win over the Giants. Even the power outage in the middle of the game was not able to upstage how huge this game was for Dallas and new Interim Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator, Jason Garrett.

A week ago the Cowboys looked hapless under Wade Phillips. Exit Phillips, enter Garrett and the light appeared to come on for Dallas. Jerry Jones stated that he expected to see progress in making this change. How’s that Jerry?

As for Garrett, what are you going to do for an encore?

Apparently this was weekend for teams to wake up as New England finally looked like the Patriots of old as they pummeled the Steelers to the tune of 39-26. Maybe Pittsburgh needs to put those “throw-back” uniforms in moth balls.

It isn’t that New England hasn’t been winning, because they have. But they have been a mere shadow of what we have come to expect in consistent performances from the Pats in general and Tom Brady in particular.

If the Rams and their Quarterback Sam Bradford could win on the road, this might be the story of the year. Bradford has proven himself to be perhaps the best new QB in the league this year but he lacks supporting cast, especially on defense. The Rams and 49ers produced an exciting game yesterday that went to overtime and had the Rams had any defense they wouldn’t have found themselves on the short end of a 23-20 score.

Watch out for the Cleveland Browns. They are going to be an emerging team if they can keep this roster together and add a few more weapons. The Jets had to go to OT to beat the Browns yesterday 26-20 and though the Jets held the ball about 20 minutes longer than the Browns over the course of the game, the Browns would not go away. This is not a team to be overlooked.

NFL

We are doing great in the NFL and through this weekend we are a combined 114-46 (71.25%) with our picks for the season. Remember, we offer you two to three picks per game(ATS, O/U, S/U).

The Dallas Cowboys are, in a word, done. Same can be said of Wade Phillips. Jerry Jones is absolutely fuming and is so far up Phillips arse this week, that I bet he feels that he is getting an unanticipated proctology exam.

While many don’t care for Jerry Jones or the way he runs his organization, if you had millions invested in a “brand” and you expected it to continue to give you a return on investment, only to see it drive into that proverbial ditch that Obama likes to refer to, what would you do?

The Cowboys are the embarrassment of the NFL. Plenty of talent, the best facilities in the NFL, a budget beyond that of other NFL teams, plenty of opportunity to achieve…this is a problem of leadership and philosophy at the Head Coaching level.

I’d love to see Bill Parcels or Jimmy Johnson back in Dallas, but that isn’t happening unless Jerry can set his pride aside and allow someone else to run the operations of that football organization.

Look out for two teams to improve their standing in the NFL pecking order. The Cleveland Browns upset New England yesterday ( we called that by the way) and though Detroit lost (we picked and won this game as well), they continue to impress.

Dark horses for their divisions? Maybe. We’ll see.

NBA

Having fun with the NBA so far as we are sitting at a 40-16 (71.43%) record.

Still to early to tell, but the Heat is the early season favorite. Expect the Celtics to be in the mix as well.

I think that the Thunder will make some noise as well and Portland seems to be playing well at this point.

More as the season develops.

NCAA Football

Just an update, we were a combined 8-4(66.6%) ATS and in the O/U in our picks this past weekend in the NCAA.

Are you tired of the BCS yet? I am and I really don’t want to hear, “but they get it right in the end”. Do they? Really?

I have no problem with Auburn being #2 especially with the schedule that they have to play. Being in the SEC Western Division, which even as a single division may very well be the toughest conference in college football. And given the fact that they have traversed that schedule unscathed to this point, I would say that they deserve their ranking, if not the #1 ranking.

Oregon at #1? Are you kidding me? Yes, they look awesome, but take into consideration who they have played. Would they be undefeated if they played in the SEC? It is speculation, but doubtful. Why you say?

Take this into consideration. Oregon’s cumulative strength of schedule (SOS) ranks #80 in the nation. Not exactly a schedule that throws a lot of fear into you. Who are the toughest teams they have played? Stanford and USC who have a cumulative SOS respectively of #62 and #64 in the nation?

The Auburn SOS on the other hand, ranks #2 in the nation. Arkansas’(#15 in the BCS) cumulative schedule to date ranks #3 in the nation. Not only that, but #5 LSU has the fifth most difficult schedule so far, and #12 Alabama has the 8th most difficult schedule to date.

TCU, at #3, has a fine football team and is very well coached, but their cumulative SOS to date ranks #61 in the nation.

And don’t even get me started on #4 Boise State whose SOS ranks #58 in the country as of this past weekend.

Yes, TCU and Boise State are giant killers, but what Pac 10, Big Ten, Big 12 or SEC team wouldn’t absolutely kill to have a schedule that only provided a couple of challenges during the course of the season and one big bowl game to get a team up for?

Bottom line, it is my belief that teams like Oregon and TCU/Boise State could not stand up to the physical challenges of week-in and week-out punishment that is required to play successfully in the SEC, and this is something that must be done if a team has hopes of getting to a BCS level game.

The national media/sports writers intervention in this process drives me absolutely crazy. So much of it is driven by the future interests of the broadcasting channels that they work for that will carry the BCS games. After all, everyone loves a “David vs. Goliath” match-up and that makes for great t.v. ratings. It is all about the money instead of being about who really deserves to be there by virtue of their schedule and results.

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