07/05/2008 - Denver, CO (Baseball Betting) - Chris Iannetta drove in four runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth, as the Colorado Rockies trailed by as many as nine runs but rallied for a wild, improbable 18-17 win over the Florida Marlins in the second of a four-game set at Coors Field.
With Kevin Gregg on to close with a 17-16 lead, Clint Barmes and Matt Holliday started the ninth with back-to-back singles. Garrett Atkins then ripped a liner to left for a single, and Barmes sprinted home with the tying run. Jeff Baker hit a grounder to second that looked to be a surefire double play, but Hanley Ramirez dropped the flip to second and the bases were loaded. Iannetta then slapped a grounder through the drawn-in infield to give the Rockies one of the most unlikely victories in franchise history.
The teams combined for 43 hits and eight home runs -- six from the Rockies -- in the slugfest. The nine-run deficit is the largest the Rockies have ever overcome and the largest lead the Marlins have ever lost.
Atkins finished 5-for-6 with three runs batted in and three runs scored for the Rockies, who picked up their second straight win in their final at-bat and fourth in a row overall. Holliday homered twice -- including a grand slam -- and drove in five runs, while Spilborghs was 4-for-5 with a pair of long balls, three RBI and four runs scored. Barmes also had four hits and scored three times.
The rally made an unlikely winner out of Taylor Buchholz (3-2) who worked a scoreless ninth. Starter Greg Reynolds lasted just 1 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits, while Cedrick Bowers was rocked for five runs in two frames and Jason Grilli was touched for four runs in an inning-plus.
Cody Ross had five RBI for the Marlins, who have lost three of their last four. Hanley Ramirez homered, knocked in two and scored three runs, while Jorge Cantu and Mike Jacobs had four hits apiece.
Gregg (6-4) blew his sixth save while taking the loss in relief of Scott Olsen, who lasted five innings despite being hammered for nine runs -- eight earned -- on 11 hits.
Florida took the lead right out of the gate, as Ramirez led off the game with a homer to center. Jacobs added an RBI double, and Matt Treanor clubbed a two- out, 3-2 change-up over the wall in left to give the Marlins a 5-0 lead before Olsen ever took the hill.
But, the Rockies immediately struck back, as consecutive doubles by Spilborghs and Barmes cut the deficit to four in the bottom half. However, Josh Willingham answered with a two-run double in the second for a 7-1 Florida lead.
RBI singles from Spilborghs and Barmes brought Colorado back within four in the home second. Baker's groundout plated another run in the third.
But, Bowers couldn't keep the Marlins at bay, as he loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth before Ross cleared them with a double to center. One out later, Alfredo Amezaga upped the lead to 11-4 with an RBI double of his own. Luis Vizcaino came on in relief and struck out Olsen, but Ramirez ripped an RBI double and Jeremy Hermida followed with a run-scoring single to give Florida a nine- run advantage.
Spilborghs launched a mammoth solo homer over the bleachers in left in the bottom of the fourth, and Holliday added a leadoff blast in the fifth as the Rockies closed within 13-6.
Colorado kept up the rally in the fifth, as a single by Atkins and a double from Baker set the table for Iannetta, who crushed a three-run homer off a billboard in left to cut the lead to four.
Spilborghs continued to comeback in the sixth, leading off with his second homer of the night -- a liner just over the wall in left-center. With Barmes on second one out later, Atkins hammered a hanging breaking ball into the seats in left to make it a one-run game.
Ross' two-run single off Jason Grilli in the seventh pushed the Florida lead back to three at 15-12. Luis Gonzalez's pinch-hit single off Manny Corpas later in the frame plated two more to restore a five-run lead. But, the Rockies would close out the night with six unanswered runs.
Justin Miller and Logan Kensing loaded the bases with nobody out in the home half, and Holliday continued the Independence Day fireworks by drilling a 3-2 slider into the stands in left-center for a grand slam.
Renyel Pinto and Doug Waechter combined on a perfect eighth, keeping the Rockies off the board in an inning for the first time all night.
Game Notes
The 35 combined runs were the second-highest total in Coors Field history. The record is 36 runs, set in a 24-12 loss to Cincinnati on May 19, 1999...The teams combined to use 14 pitchers as a total of 104 batters came to the plate in the game...The Marlins went 11-for-21 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 men on base, while Colorado was 8-for-16 and stranded nine runners.
<< Angels rout Blue Jays
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Howie Kendrick finished 2-for-4 and drove in
three runs as Los Angeles drubbed Toronto, 8-2, in the first of a three-game
set.
Garret Anderson went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a pair of runs scored
<< Rapids roll to 4-0 win over Red Bulls
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mehdi Ballouchy, Colin Clark and Tom
McManus each had a goal and an assist as the Colorado Rapids rolled to a 4-0
win over Red Bull New York on Friday to snap a four-game winless streak.
Omar Cum
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Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks have reportedly agreed to a
two-year, full mid-level exception $12 million contract with guard Chris
Duhon.
The Chicago Tribune reported Friday that Duhon will sign with the Knicks wh
<< Zambrano comes back strong as Cubs nip Cardinals
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Zambrano was impressive in his first
game back from the disabled list, and he shut down St. Louis as the Cubs beat
the Cardinals, 2-1, in the opener of a three-game set.
Zambrano (9-3) pitched for
Report: Former Charger Kiel dies in car crash >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Chargers safety Terrence Kiel
reportedly died late Friday in a car crash. He was 27 years old.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the crash on Saturday. According to
police, a witness
A's continue series in Windy City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox and the Oakland Athletics continue a
four-game series tonight at U.S. Cellular Field.
Greg Smith is slated to get the ball for the Athletics tonight, and while his
5-6 record could certainly stand som
Aces Wild: Halladay, Lackey face off in Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League West-leading Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim will play the middle contest of a three-game weekend set against the
Toronto Blue Jays this evening at Angel Stadium.
Although John Lackey has only pitched in
Mets, Phillies resume key weekend set >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Moyer hopes for some run support this evening when
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Moyer lost his third straight start on Sunday against Texas,
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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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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