Big Hurt's grand slam lifts Toronto over Tampa Bay

Baseball Betting Lines

04/08/2007 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank Thomas belted his ninth grand slam, moving him into a tie with Al Kaline (1,583) for 32nd on the all-time RBI list, as the Toronto Blue Jays downed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 8-5, to continue a three-game series at Tropicana Field.

Reed Johnson went 3-for-5 with an RBI and scored a run for the Blue Jays, who have split their last four games. Royce Clayton finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Thomas finished 2-for-3.

Carl Crawford and Brendan Harris both homered for Tampa Bay, which trailed the Blue Jays by two runs heading into their last at-bat on Friday, but scored three times off Toronto closer B.J. Ryan in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out a 6-5 win. Delmon Young finished 2-for-4 and scored a run.

Tomo Ohka, signed by Toronto during the offseason to add needed depth to the team's starting rotation, allowed five runs on six hits with three walks and a strikeout in 4 1/3 innings in his regular-season debut. Shaun Marcum (1-0) struck out five batters in 2 1/3 perfect innings for the win. Ryan got the final three outs this time for his second save.

Casey Fossum (0-1), who is looking to rebound from a lackluster 2006 season, the final month of which he missed for shoulder surgery, gave up seven runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.

The Jays got two runs in the first. Johnson got hit by a pitch, moved to third on Lyle Overbay's single, and scored on a Vernon Wells sacrifice fly to center field. Thomas then singled Overbay to third and the first baseman scored as Troy Glaus reached on a force attempt courtesy of an error by B.J. Upton.

Tampa Bay responded with a run in the home half of the first when Crawford belted a solo shot to right field on a full count.

Toronto put up four more runs in the second. Jason Phillips lined a lead-off single, moved to second on a Johnson base hit, and to third as Overbay grounded into a force out. Wells then got hit by a pitch to load the bases for Thomas, who smacked a grand slam over the wall in left field on a 3-1 pitch.

Toronto added another run in the fourth, as Clayton doubled and scored on a double by Johnson.

The Rays rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Young singled, Akinori Iwamura walked, and Dioner Navarro grounded out to move both baserunners into scoring position. Harris then homered to right field, and Upton followed with a walk. Crawford's ground-rule double moved him to third, and Upton scored on a wild pitch by Ohka.

The Jays padded their lead with a run in the ninth when Alex Rios tripled and later scored on a Clayton single for the final margin.

Game Notes

Crawford set a club record with the sixth leadoff homer of his career...Glaus left in the fifth with soreness in his left heel...Tampa Bay stopped a four- game losing streak to the Blue Jays with Friday's triumph...Toronto took 12 of the 18 meetings between the AL East rivals in 2006 and is 13-7 over their last 20 games at Tropicana Field.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

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 online football betting 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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