Correia tries to stop Brewers' mastery of Bucs

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05/15/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Correia goes after win No. 6 this afternoon when the Pittsburgh Pirates complete their three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

Correia was an under-the-radar signing by the Pirates this offseason, but the right-hander has exceeded expectations in going 5-3 with a 3.25 earned run average. All five of his wins have come on the road, where has also pitched to a 1.56 earned run average.

The 30-year-old hurler fell to 0-3 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday against the Dodgers, as he allowed five runs (four earned) and 10 hits in 6 1/3 frames.

"I've felt great here," Correia said, speaking to the discrepancy in his home (6.50 ERA) and road (5-0 with 1.56 ERA) results. "If you give me three pitches back, I think I might be undefeated right now. I get to that one spot and I just haven't made the pitch."

One of Correia's other home losses came against the Brewers back on April 13 when he was hit for six runs (four earned) and five hits in six innings. He is 2-4 lifetime versus Milwaukee with a 5.06 ERA in 14 games (seven starts).

Still, though, Correia won just 10 games for the San Diego Padres a year ago, and a win today would bring him half way to his career-high of 12 set in 2009 with the Friars.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, will counter with former American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, who was terrific in his second start of the year on Monday. Greinke held San Diego to two runs and five hits over six innings, while striking out nine without walking a batter, as he improved to 1-1 and lowered his ERA nearly four runs to 5.40.

"With the effort he put into it from the first batter on, we felt like him finishing at 89 pitches was a good outing for him," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said. "I saw him a lot in the other league, and from the first batter on today, that's as hard as I've seen him go."

Greinke, of course, started the year on the disabled list after fracturing a rib shortly after the start of Spring Training.

"Hopefully, next start it will be better," Greinke said. "But it might take a couple of games to get where I can throw 110 pitches every time and be strong the whole time."

Greinke beat the Pirates the only other time he faced them, limiting them to a pair of runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Milwaukee continued its recent mastery of the Bucs on Saturday, as Prince Fielder, Brandon Boggs and Ryan Braun hit solo homers, helping power the Brewers to an 8-2 victory.

Fielder finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Casey McGehee hit a two-run double during a five-run seventh the Brewers used to take control. Milwaukee has now won five of seven overall and has beaten the Pirates eight straight times.

"I don't know why that is. When you keep having success against someone, it just keeps feeding off itself," Fielder said of the Brewers' 32-3 record against the Pirates at home since 2007. "Hopefully, we can win tomorrow to keep it up."

Milwaukee starter Chris Narveson (2-3) held the Pirates to one run on four hits and four walks in six innings to take the victory.

"The other games he cruised along for a while, then he's had a bad inning to set things back," said Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke of his starter. "Three of these losses have been because of one inning. I think he's really pitched well, and I don't think his record shows how well he's done."

Pittsburgh's Jeff Karstens (2-2) took the loss after allowing two runs in five innings, though the Pirates bullpen surrendered most of the Brewers' 12 hits.

Lyle Overbay homered for Pittsburgh, which has dropped four straight overall and eight in a row at Miller Park.

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Problem with Bears?

Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.

"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."

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Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

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.