The injury is listed as a right hand contusion, and X-rays were negative. The
Red Sox went on to down the Royals in Youkilis' absence, 8-2.
Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar hit Youkilis in the hand in the first inning.
He remained in the game to run the bases, but Sean Casey took Youkilis' spot
in the field in the home half of the inning.
Youkilis is in the midst of a career year, batting .317 with 20 home runs and
76 runs batted in.
<< Rockies reinstate Francis from DL
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis was
activated from the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old lefty had been sidelined for over a month with inflammation in
his left shoulder. He w
<< Rockies/Nationals game postponed
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday's game between the Colorado Rockies
and Washington Nationals was postponed because of rain.
The teams will play a doubleheader on Thursday, with the first game scheduled
for 3:05 p.m. (et). The se
<< Report: Favre traded to Jets
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers reportedly traded
quarterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets late Wednesday night.
The Green Bay Press-Gazette cited an NFL source as confirmation for the trade,
and it said
<< Ponson pitches Yanks to win over Rangers
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney Ponson posted his second straight
solid performance and Mariano Rivera worked a scoreless ninth to notch his
27th save in as many opportunities, as the Yankees edged the Rangers, 5-3, in
the thi
<< Thome powers White Sox to victory over Tigers
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jim Thome hit a three-run home run and John
Danks threw six-plus solid innings, as the Chicago White Sox topped Detroit,
5-1, in the second of three games with the Tigers.
Danks (9-4) gave up just one r
Fish, Safin advance in Los Angeles >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Russian Marat Safin and
sixth-seeded American Mardy Fish advanced, while second-seeded Spaniard
Fernando Verdasco fell in Wednesday's second-round action at the $475,000
Country
Ellsbury, Red Sox blast Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-for-4 with a three-
run homer and scored twice as the Boston Red Sox routed the Kansas City
Royals, 8-2, in the rubber match of a three-game set.
Tim Wakefield (7-8) pitched s
Favre traded to Jets >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers reached an
agreement to trade quarterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets late
Wednesday night.
Though the Packers did not release terms of the trade, the Gree
Celtics to begin title defense against James, Cavaliers >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics will begin their title
defense on Tuesday, October 28 at home against LeBron James and the
Cleveland Cavaliers.
The contest is the first of two featured on the NBA's 2008-09
Self inks 10-year deal with Kansas >>
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas has rewarded men's basketball coach
Bill Self with a new 10-year contract worth $3 million per season.
Self guided the Jayhawks to the national championship this past spring and has
a record of 142-
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.