1: Cleveland Indians (25-17, +$1,149) (LW: 4): The Tribe beat Justin Verlander on the road back on May 11th, and they have been flying since then. They really stormed through a series with the comparable Mariners this weekend, and they can close things out this afternoon with a four-game sweep on Monday afternoon if they can get the job done. The team has allowed 3.38 runs per game in its last eight.

2: Pittsburgh Pirates (26-18, +$1,053) (LW: 2): It’s only natural for the Pirates to have things work out this way. They swept the Mets and took three out of four from the Brewers, and then they followed that up by nearly losing all three games to the Astros. Of course, they’re still the Astros, and they still managed to lose two of those three games. However, previous editions of the Pirates would have still blown those close calls to bad teams. This one however, really does have a chance to get to 82 wins this season, and games like these are why.

3: Texas Rangers (29-15, +$1,045) (LW: 6): The Rangers have won nine of their last 11 games, and they have stormed to a 6.5 game lead in the AL West. We know that it was only a series in May, and the gun should not be jumped, but taking three out of four against the Tigers at home this weekend was proof that this is a team that has come a long, long way this year in spite of the fact that it was ridiculed for making all of the wrong moves in the offseason.

4: New York Yankees (27-16, +$1,002) (LW: 1): After a brutally bad series at home against the Mariners, Mother Nature kept New York from finishing a three-game sweep against Toronto. Alas, Sunday’s game was halted before it ever started, but the two wins in a row against division rivals was still good news for the Bronx Bombers. The bad news? These next two series are crucially huge in Baltimore and in Tampa Bay.

5: St. Louis Cardinals (28-15, +$909) (LW: 5): The stellar pitching staff for the Redbirds had a not-so-stellar week. The team allowed at least four runs in six out of eight games, and though that isn’t nearly a damning stat, it is horrid for a team that has a 3.18 ERA as a club with a team WHIP of 1.21. Matters will improve, but this West Coast trip that is ahead is going to be awfully tough.

6: Colorado Rockies (24-20, +$563) (LW: 9): There is a seismic gap between the Top 5 money teams in the game and the rest of the field. The Rockies are the best of the rest at the moment, but we have a feeling that they are starting to trend in the wrong direction after being one of the best teams in the majors over the course of the first 25 or so games of the campaign.

7: Boston Red Sox (27-17, +$511) (LW: 14): Scoring three in the ninth inning against Tampa Bay on Thursday really propelled the Red Sox this week, as they are back on strong footing after going to Target Field and sweeping the Twins. With four teams at least three-games above .500 in the AL East, every win you can get is an important one, especially when a maximum of three teams are going to get into the postseason from your own division.

8: Arizona Diamondbacks (25-19, +$509) (LW: 10): Shame on the Diamondbacks for scoring one run in total in the last two games in their series against the lowly Marlins. That snapped a four-game winning streak though, so it’s tough to get on Arizona’s case for what amounts to be a blip in the radar in an otherwise fantastic start to the season.

9: Atlanta Braves (25-18, +$439) (LW: 11): The Braves had a good week this past week, but it was really only made by going to the West Coast and sweeping the Dodgers. OF Jason Heyward is back in the lineup, but he only went 2-of-10 in his first series back in the fold this past week after his appendectomy four weeks ago.

10: Cincinnati Reds (26-18, +$373) (LW: 12): Bronson Arroyo complained late last week that he never felt well while he was pitching during day games. Maybe he needs to feel poorly more often. In two day starts this week, Arroyo threw 14.1 scoreless innings and allowed just five hits and three walks against 11 strikeouts.

11: Baltimore Orioles (23-20, +$243) (LW: 3): The Orioles had one of the best bullpens in baseball until Saturday when they let the Rays bat around and get six runs off of Jim Johnson in the ninth inning. A sweep at the hands of Tampa Bay knocked the O’s back into a tie for third place in the AL East, four games behind the division leading Yankees.

12: Minnesota Twins (18-22, +$143) (LW: 7): It almost seems like the Twins and the Orioles are following each other right now. Minnesota ended up losing five straight games as well, just like Baltimore did this past week, and as a result, both are plummeting through the MLB money rankings quickly. Now, the Twinkies seemingly are back where they belong in the gutter in the AL Central.

13: San Diego Padres (20-23, +$120) (LW: 16): The Padres have seemingly been inching closer to the .500 mark all season long after a really bad start to the campaign, and they took another step in the right direction this past week when they two four out of six from AL East foes. Exploding for 13 runs on Washington on Sunday was a reminder that this team really does have some talent in the lineup.

14: San Francisco Giants (24-20, +$101) (LW: 8): It was a bad week for the G-Men and their bettors, as they were beaten to the tune of over four units of losses. Not only did the team lose the last three games against the Rockies, but it lost those three games by allowing 25 total runs. That’s now a whopping 8.67 runs per game allowed for the Giants in their last six games, and their team ERA is now ballooning up to 4.21.

15: Oakland Athletics (23-22, +$12) (LW: 17): Oakland is back above the .500 mark again, and it is ahead of the breakeven line for bettors as well. Sweeping the Royals was nice, but the A’s now have a wild road trip ahead of them that starts with three games in Arlington this week. Lose all three of those, and all of a sudden, the AL West race might legitimately be over before Memorial Day.

16: Kansas City Royals (20-20, +$6) (LW: 15): The Royals have been falling through the cracks in a hurry, and now, they are just a .500 team. Do they have the gumption over the course of the last 122 games of the season to get back in the thick of the fight, or were they just a nice story out of the blocks that is destined to end up getting worse?

17: Tampa Bay Rays (23-23, -$142) (LW: 20): Now THESE are the Rays that we remember. Tampa Bay is one of the best teams in terms of grit in baseball, and it showed it on Saturday when it plated six runs in the ninth off of closer Jim Johnson to steal what should have been a lost game. That might be the ‘W’ that really gets this team going in the right direction again this year.

18: Washington Nationals (23-21, -$221) (LW: 15): We still really don’t understand what in the heck is going on with the Nats right now. They have Bryce Harper on their team, yet they are averaging just 3.52 runs per game, are batting .230 as a club, and rank 28th or worse in virtually every major offensive category. And yet they’re still 23-21 and just 2 ½ games back in the NL East race through a quarter of the season. Everyone else should be very afraid of this team as we head into the summer.

19: Seattle Mariners (20-24, -$304) (LW: 18): The M’s have proven to be a suitable home team this season, and in spite of the fact that they really don’t have the talent to stick around with the best and the brightest from the AL West, they are 11-9 and +$202 this season at Safeco Field. The issues have come on the road, where an ugly 9-15 record is holding Seattle down.

20: Chicago White Sox (19-23, -$389) (LW: 22): Well, at least it’s a step in the right direction… The White Sox are now officially at least ahead of the Twins in the AL Central race. Unfortunately for them, that doesn’t mean that they are playing anything more than average baseball, because that’s all that it has ultimately been when push comes to shove.

21: Chicago Cubs (18-25, -$516) (LW: 21): At least they scored two runs off of Matt Harvey… That’s about the only good thing that the Cubs can say about what happened last week. The team alternated wins and losses over the course of its six games against the Rockies and the Mets, and there were some games where they looked really good and some games where they looked like the Cubs.

22: Detroit Tigers (23-19, -$589) (LW: 19): And that’s why playing against the Astros isn’t always a good idea… Detroit was a -350 favorite earlier this week, the biggest of its kind this season against Houston, and it lost the game 7-5 to drop a whopping $350 worth of profits. Losing three out of four in Arlington didn’t help matters any either.

23: Philadelphia Phillies (21-23, -$617) (LW: 24): 1B Ryan Howard is undergoing an MRI on his knee, and that’s really bad news for a man that has had all sorts of injury problems over the course of the last few years. For a team that is already playing without C Carlos Ruiz and RHP Roy Halladay, the last thing that it needs is a few more injuries to key players. This fragile of a team could be shook to the core by that.

24: New York Mets (17-24, -$786) (LW: 25): In Matt Harvey we trust. The New York ace has five wins and a 1.55 ERA on the season, and his 0.72 WHIP is better than most can put up in your average video game. He got another win to start this series off against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and that was a part of a stretch of three out of four wins for the team dating back to Thursday.

25: Milwaukee Brewers (17-25, -$886) (LW: 23): Milwaukee just continues to slide. The team hasn’t won back to back games all month long, and it is now just 3-14 over the course of its 17 games played in the month of May. There’s a point that we are going to have to see some changes in Beer Country, and they are probably going to have to be pretty drastic.

26: Toronto Blue Jays (17-26, -$1,004) (LW: 26): The Blue Jays had a chance to cut into their deficit in the AL East, but instead of accomplishing that, they only made their situation worse when they were beaten in back to back games by the Yankees this weekend. The season isn’t over yet, but considering the fact that everyone in the division is so far ahead of Toronto, it’s going to be a long and arduous road back in the right direction.

27: Houston Astros (12-32, -$1,224) (LW: 29): Now here’s some funny stuff. The Astros only won two games this week, and they were one of the more profitable American League teams on the week as a result. Of course, going on the road and winning as a +320 underdog helps out a lot, though that’s not something that we expect to see all summer long in the Lone Star State.

28: Miami Marlins (12-32, -$1,431) (LW: 27): Is it a coincidence that if you look at what the Marlins and the Astros have done this year, the marks are incredibly similar? Miami is 6-16 at home. Houston is 6-16 at home. Miami is 6-16 on the road. Houston is 6-16 on the road. Both teams have at least $1,200 of losses for the season. Now, the question… if you take the total number of wins this year for both of these teams, are you going to have more or less than the total number of wins that the best team in baseball puts up?

29: Los Angeles Dodgers (17-25, -$1,447) (LW: 28): Oh, to be a private bookie in Los Angeles right now! Save for the Kings, the rest of the teams in Tinseltown have stunk it up of late, and the Dodgers are living proof of that (though the Angels are even worse!). The one bright spot of the week is that RHP Zack Greinke is back in the fold after his broken collarbone that he suffered in that brawl against the Padres at the start of the year, and he looked really good on the mound.

30: Los Angeles Angels (17-27, -$1,584) (LW: 30): Meanwhile, there are no bright spots for the Angels. Yes, they’re five games ahead of the Astros in the AL West, so at least they’re not the worst team in the game, but they’re pushing it, and they aren’t taking many steps in the right direction to make us think that matters are going to get better at any point in the near future.

Here are the basics of the matchup:

Memphis Grizzlies at San Antonio Spurs
West Finals – Game 1
Sunday, May 19 – 3:30 PM ET
AT&T Arena – San Antonio

Memphis was impressive in beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games to get here, while the Spurs had problems with the young Golden State Warriors before closing things out in six.

In the NBA playoff odds that have been posted at BetAnySports, the Spurs are laying some points

San Antonio Spurs  -4.5
Memphis Grizzlies  +4.5

Over 182.5 Points  -110
under 182.5 Points  -110

Spurs win game  -190
Grizzlies win game  +165

Perhaps it is a bit of good fortune for the Spurs that Russell Westbrook went down with a season-ending injury which helped prevent the Thunder from being more combative against the Grizzlies in the previous post-season round. But that’s not to say they wouldn’t have been a rough team to deal with regardless. Again, coach Gregg Popovich’s approach has been to rest starters, particularly the “Big Three” of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, at strategic times, to give them a little more “juice” when it came to the playoffs.

After a four-game sweep over the Lakers, there was no panicking when Golden State got a split at the AT&T Arena , and amazingly, the Spurs (who are -145 series favorites in the NBA playoff odds at BetAnySports) held the Warriors below 40% shooting in each of the three games that were played in Oakland. Even though they are the second seed in the West, the elimination of Oklahoma City gives San Antonio its home court advantage.

There is very little mystery when it comes to what the Grizzlies want to do. They emphasize defense, and in fact have three members of the NBA’s All-Defensive team: Marc Gasol, who was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year; Tony Allen, who was the leading vote-getter on the team, and Mike Conley, a second team designee. Those three, at times, will be guarding each of the members of the Big Three, and that is what can make the underdog Grizzlies a difficult proposition from the matchup standpoint.

Memphis has been a very strong playoff squad thus far, covering its last ten games after a disappointing effort in Game 1 of the series against the Los Angeles Clippers.  But you know, BetAnySports customers are well aware that this team has been outperforming the spread all season; the Grizzlies are now 57-33 ATS. On the road they haven’t suffered much, with a 29-17 ATS record. so the message is pretty clear; this is a mentally tough club that defends and believes in pounding the ball inside to get high-percentage shots.

In the last nine games, only once did Memphis allow a team to shoot better than 44% from the field. And amazingly, only once in the last dozen games has this team committed more than a dozen turnovers. In the last 16 games they have averaged slightly less than ten TO’s, and that constitutes phenomenal ball control.

When you throw some of these factors into the mix, there is a lot of reason to believe Memphis can compete on even terms, which is why we will look for them to extend their ATS winning streak and make a play on them in the $1 Million Charles Jay / BetAnySports Spring-Summer Showdown. And it wouldn’t shock us to see San Antonio get off to a slow start.

Get the best NBA playoff odds available at BetAnySports!

Date/Time: May 19th, 3:30 pm ET

Television: ABC

Basketball Odds from BetDSI

Point Spread: Spurs -4.5

Total: 182.5

The Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs are set to start the Western Conference Finals on Sunday afternoon, and they are going to get it on for the first time in NBA betting action on Sunday at the AT&T Center.

The Grizzlies are the surprise team at this juncture of the postseason, as they are one of the highest seeds that we have seen in the Western Conference Finals in quite some time. They were the No. 5 seed in the West, and they found a way to take down both the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder after falling behind in both series. Here in the playoffs, Memphis has been doing a lot on the defensive side of the court, and it is going to continue in this series. The combination of F Zach Randolph, C Marc Gasol, and G Mike Conley Jr. have been leading this team all postseason long, and that is going to have to continue if this team is going to have any chance in this series. Randolph has been the grinder of the bunch, scoring all of the dirty points, and he managed 19.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game so far in the second season. Gasol has averaged 18.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game.

The Spurs had their hands full for a couple games against the Golden State Warriors, but they ultimately figured out how to get the job done, winning two games in Oakland to ultimately win this series without too many hassles. It was a complete team effort once again, as night in and night out, there were at least nine players, and sometimes as many as 11 that played at least half a quarter’s worth of action. You wouldn’t think of him as an “MVP” type of player, but G Tony Parker has played the role thus far in these playoffs. He has averaged 22.4 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game, and he has perhaps been the most important player going in the second season to date. F Tim Duncan is averaging 18.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, while the man that is really coming on strong is F Kawhi Leonard, who has averaged 13.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in what is amounting to be his coming out party here in the playoffs.

Prediction:

The Grizzlies are going to have a shot in this series, but we don’t think they are going to have a chance in Game 1. The Spurs have had a few days to put in the work to figure out this Memphis defense, and when Head Coach Gregg Popovich has the time to game plan, good things generally happen. San Antonio 93 – Memphis 86

Date/Time: May 19, 8:05 p.m. EST

Television: ESPN

Starting Pitchers: Detroit (Fister) Texas (Holland)

MLB Gambling Odds from JustBet

Moneyline: Tigers (-110) Rangers (-110)

Total: 9

The highly anticipated four-game series between the Tigers and the Rangers will end with a battle on Sunday Night Baseball this weekend. These are arguably the top two teams in the American League right now, and this could certainly be a postseason preview. Two underrated pitchers who have been great this year will square off in what should be a great game. Let’s take a closer look at this one.

Game Overview:

Detroit’s offense was one of the best in baseball last year, and it is quite a bit better now that they have a healthy Victor Martinez as well as Torii Hunter in the lineup. Hunter is hitting .309 so far this year, and him getting on base has really helped this team produce since Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder hit right behind him. Jhonny Peralta was a bit disappointing last year, but he is hitting .319 so far this year. Austin Jackson’s injury slows this offense down a bit, but they are very good. Detroit leads the majors in runs scored this year.

The Tigers have become a much more complete team now that they have a strong pitching rotation. Justin Verlander has been a great Ace for several years, but guys like Doug Fister and Anibal Sanchez make this team really dangerous because they provide very good depth in the rotation. You could make a good argument that the Tigers may well have the deepest rotation in the American League right now. Fister is 5-1 with a 3.06 ERA so far this year.

The Texas Rangers are always thought of as a team that will outscore you, because that is the style of baseball they played for many years. That isn’t the way this year’s team is winning baseball games. Texas is fourth in the majors in team ERA despite playing in a hitter-friendly ballpark. The Rangers are loaded with good starting pitching, and they have a very good bullpen as well. Derek Holland was an inconsistent pitcher a couple years ago. He seemed to have great games and then terrible ones. That has changed over the last year or so. Holland is 3-2 with a stellar 2.93 ERA this year. He has an amazing 1.57 ERA at home this season.

Don’t think just because they are winning a lot of games because of their pitching that the Texas Rangers can’t hit anymore. Despite losing Josh Hamilton in the offseason, the Rangers are fourth in the majors in team batting average at .266. Ian Kinsler leads the team with a .302 average, and he really sets the table for this lineup. Lance Berkman has done a great job stepping in and producing in the middle of the order. Mitch Moreland, Adrian Beltre, and Nelson Cruz all have at least nine homers on the year.

Free MLB Pick: Under 9

Both of these pitchers are really pitching well right now. These are two good lineups, but at this total I’ll take the under with two very good pitchers.

Date/Time: May 19th, 3:00 PM ET

Television: NBC

NHL Betting Odds from BetOnline Sportsbook

Moneyline: Bruins -125

Total: 5

The Boston Bruins hold a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals over the New York Rangers, but it wasn’t easy. The win in overtime was a big one for the Bruins, and now, they are trying to get a 2-0 series lead in NHL playoff betting action on Sunday afternoon in the game of the day on NBC.

The Rangers have to be heartbroken about losing Game 1, but they had to see this coming with the amount of pressure that they had on them for the mass majority of this game. Not only did they allow the Bruins to rip off 48 shots on goal, but G Henrik Lundqvist was saved by the post three times on the night, including twice in overtime before conceding the game-winner. Don’t get us wrong. The Swede played a great game, as he stopped 45-of-48 shots. His defense though, has to do a better job of clearing the defensive zone, and it would really help if the team could get into the offensive zone with some confidence. Over the course of the entire overtime period on Thursday night, we could count on one hand how many times a Ranger carried the puck into the zone. Generally, it was just dump and chase, something that the Bruins rarely did. That’s why they ended up winning the first game of this series, and why New York is already in chase mode.

It was just another day at the office for Boston. The team poured all sorts of pressure on in the attacking zone, and the argument could be made that if not for the post, four or five goals should have been scored, and if not for the remarkable play of Lundqvist, perhaps another two or three would have gotten through. LW Brad Marchand was the hero on the stat sheet, as he assisted on the game-tying goal and scored the game-winner in overtime. He was the flashy man with the stats, but there were others that played remarkable hockey in spite of their suspect numbers. D Dougie Hamilton had an assist and put a ton of pressure on with his slappers from the point, and he finished with five shots on goal for the game. It wasn’t the goal and the assist that made the night for D Zdeno Chara. It was his nine shots and the fact that he poked the puck away to start what turned out to be the game winning goal. It was C Patrice Bergeron, who didn’t log a shot on net the entire night, who had the beautiful pass to Marchand that ultimately won the game. Oh by the way, we haven’t even mentioned any of the front line players that played so well for the Bruins in the opening round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

We don’t think it is a shock that the Rangers were able to hang around in Game 1, but they weren’t the better team on the ice. Boston has the better side, and it is a bit insulting to think that it is only barely a -125 favorite, insinuating that the oddsmakers believe that the Rangers are actually the better of the two teams.

New York Rangers @ Boston Bruins Pick: Boston Bruins -125

Date/Time: May 18, 4:05 p.m. EST

Television: FOX

Starting Pitchers: Cincinnati (Arroyo) Philadelphia (Kendrick)

MLB Gambling Odds from Bookmaker

Moneyline: Phillies (-110) Reds (-110)

Total: 8

The Philadelphia Phillies won the opener in this series last night to snap the Cincinnati Reds six-game winning streak. Philadelphia got a nice pitching effort from Cliff Lee in last night’s game, and Domonic Brown came up with some timely hits to lead to the 5-3 Phillies win. The oddsmakers can’t decide who to install as the favorite in Saturday’s showdown on FOX.

Game Overview:

The Cincinnati Reds were ice cold on the road earlier this year, but they are now up to a slightly more respectable 9-11 record on the road. To be fair, the Reds have been beating up on the Cubs and Marlins on the road lately, so that might be artificially pumping up their road winning percentage. Still, it’s obvious that the Reds are one of the best teams in the National League because of their balance. Cincinnati hasn’t been able to find a way to win in Philadelphia over the last few years. The Reds are 7-20 in their last 27 games in Philadelphia.

It should come as no surprise that Joey Votto leads the Reds with a .329 batting average. Votto is hitting machine. Brandon Phillips is leading the NL in RBI’s, and that has to be considered a bit of surprise for a guy who isn’t really a power hitter. Shin Soo-Choo has been excellent in the leadoff spot for the Reds, and he gives the offense a lot of extra punch. Jay Bruce has heated up over the last week, but Todd Frazier is still struggling to get going. Cincinnati’s pitching staff has been great of late. The Reds are sixth in the majors in team ERA.

Philadelphia is 4-1 in their last 5 games. The Phillies now sit two games under .500. It’s clear that the Phillies aren’t the National League East favorites anymore, but they certainly hoped for a better start than what they have gotten in 2013. The Phillies are averaging just 3.64 runs per game, which is 26^th best in the majors. At the same time, their once dominating pitching staff is now no better than mediocre. Kyle Kendrick, who starts on Saturday, has actually been the team’s best starter so far this year. Jonathan Papelbon has been lights out when the Phillies give him a lead going into the ninth inning.

Chase Utley looked really good at the start of the season, but his average has slipped quite a bit over the last few weeks. Michael Young leads the team with a .301 batting average on the season. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins are two guys that the team really needs to get a lot more out of. Neither of them are going to be the players they were a few years ago, but this team can’t win with these guys struggling all year. Carlos Ruiz and Delmon Young should help the offense, but they just got back in the lineup and need to find a rhythm.

Free Pick: Reds ML

This is a tough call, and I don’t have a strong feeling at all on this game. The Reds are the better team, and I think they’ll snap out of this Phillies funk soon.

Date/Time: May 18th, 4:05 PM ET

Television: FOX

MLB Betting Odds from WagerWeb Sportsbook

Probable Starters: Hernandez (Tampa Bay) vs. Jurrjens (Baltimore)

Moneyline: Orioles -110

Total: 9

A day after these two teams combined to score 22 runs, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles are set to go to battle once again in a 4:05 p.m. ET start time, one of the three MLB betting battles to be broadcast on FOX.

The Rays were very fortunate to hold on and avoid a second straight ridiculous bullpen collapse. This bullpen has absolutely zero confidence right now, as everyone from Kyle Farnsworth to Fernando Rodney to Jamie Wright have no idea where they are throwing the ball. That’s going to put a slew of pressure on RHP Roberto Hernandez, who will get the ball on Saturday afternoon. We haven’t seen a ton out of Hernandez that we like this year, but we haven’t seen a ton that we don’t like either. This is your fairly average pitcher on a fairly average team. Hernandez is 2-4 with a 4.43 ERA. His walk total is right where it should be with 13, while his strikeout total is solid with 41 in 42.2 innings of work. Hernandez has pitched exactly six innings in four straight starts, but he has allowed five homers in those outings as well. Now, he knows he has a fragile bullpen behind him that has pitched a ton of late, which might force him into more duty than he was expecting on this night.

The Orioles have now opened up this home stand with three straight losses, and all of a sudden, the O’s could be in fourth place in the AL East by the end of the weekend. The team proved again on Friday night just how explosive it can be. Six runs were scored in the eighth inning of a game that appeared to be all but over with. Baltimore wasn’t able to win it, but it was able to at least make things interesting. The offense, which is averaging 5.02 runs per game on the season, hasn’t had enough help from its pitching staff. Now, with Wei-Yin Chen on the DL, RHP Jair Jurrjens has been called up to make his first major league start in just about a year. Jurrjens has been okay, but nothing much more in AAA this year, as his 3.70 ERA is nothing to brag about at that level. He had an ERA of nearly seven with the Atlanta Braves last season, and he has to figure out how to pitch against the big boys right away if he is going to help out his new team.

With the way that the bats were humming yesterday and the way that both of these starting pitchers have pitched, we have a hard time believing that there won’t be at least 10 runs put on the board in this one. Go with the ‘over’ and don’t be shocked if this one is another one of these games with a really odd look final score.

Tampa Bay Rays @ Baltimore Orioles Pick: Over 9

Date/Time: May 18th, 1:00 PM ET

Television: NBC

NHL Betting Odds from WagerWeb Sportsbook

Moneyline: Blackhawks -200

Total: 5

The Chicago Blackhawks had everything go their way in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, and they took a 1-0 series lead over the Detroit Red Wings as a result. Now, the two meet in NHL betting festivities once again in Game 2 at the United Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Red Wings have been beaten and beaten badly before in these playoffs, and they haven’t let it deter them. They were outplayed just as badly by the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, and they were outplayed even worse in Game 3 back at Joe Louis Arena when those same two teams met. That said, Detroit is still here, and it still has a real chance to win the Stanley Cup if it can just focus and play more like it did in the first two periods and less like it did in the third of Game 1 of this series. The Blackhawks are the better of these two teams, no doubt, but the Ducks were better than Detroit as well. The boys from Motown need to simply spend more time on the positive side of the ice. Getting outshot 42-21 isn’t going to cut it, and though there were moments of brilliance and flashes of great play, there just needs to be more of it going forward. LW Henrik Zetterberg and C Pavel Datsyuk need to become important parts of the game once again as well, as both were rather MIA in Game 1.

The Blackhawks are just rolling right along, and they still only have one loss in the playoffs, and that came in overtime against the Minnesota Wild in Game 3. Amazingly, this team has only been beaten in regulation seven times in 54 games this year. G Corey Crawford’s numbers here in the playoffs look even better than they did in the regular season. He has a 1.27 GAA and has allowed just a total of eight goals in six games, posting a tremendous .950 save percentage. The team has a full set of skaters on its side now that it has C David Bolland back in the fold. However, the men of the hour are clearly going to be LW Patrick Sharp and his line mates on the power play. This top line with the man advantage features Sharp, RW Marian Hossa, RW Patrick Kane, and C Jonathan Toews, and it is as good of a power play line as there is in hockey. These guys only have three power play goals between them, but as individuals for the postseason, they have combined for 25 points.

The Red Wings could really get even in this series in a hurry. Don’t be shocked if this is a game that comes right down to the wire. We want Detroit and those plus odds on our side once again, knowing that things couldn’t possibly be as bad as they were in Game 1.

Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks Pick: Detroit Red Wings +180

Just about every major sportsbook out there has already posted its futures odds to win this year’s BCS title in college football, but 5Dimes has taken things one step further to really test your metal by allowing you to wager on a select group of teams against the field in a special prop bet. This type of wager can be extremely lucrative if you guess right on a particular team and ridiculously expensive if you guess wrong on the field.

It would be hard to find a book that has not opened Alabama as its odds-on-favorite to three-peat as national champions this upcoming season which would actually be the Crimson Tide’s fourth BCS title in the past five seasons. They have been opened by 5Dimes as +325 favorites but if you want wager on the field that they will not win it all, it would cost you $400 to make $100 if you are wrong.

Alabama is returning 16 starters from last year’s championship team and while running back Eddie Lacey and cornerback Dee Milliner may be off to play the NFL there is no program in the country better at filling holes than the Tide. Lacey followed in Trent Richardson’s footsteps and TJ Yeldon is ready to follow in his. Quarterback AJ McCarron is back and already on a short list of Heisman Trophy hopefuls and you know that the defense will be as strong as ever. The $100 wager to take Alabama in this prop is well worth the risk for a $325 return.

The next team on 5Dimes list is Ohio State at +650 to win a national title. The Buckeyes would have probably been in last year’s BCS title game with a perfect 12-0 record in the regular season if they were not serving a one-year postseason ban as part of some imposed NCAA sanctions. If you want to bet on the field that Ohio State will not win a national title this season now that it has served-out its ban it will cost you $1000 on a $100 bet if you are wrong.

This is another team that will return quite a bit of talent from last year’s squad and you better believe that every one of those players along with Buckeyes’ head coach Urban Meyer will be coming into this season with a huge chip on their shoulder and something to prove. Ohio State does have some holes to fill on defense in its front seven, but it will be competing in a watered-down Big Ten conference which should at the very least pave the way to an appearance in national title game. I am not convinced that this team is good enough to get past Alabama, but I would think long and hard about risking $1000 that they won’t.

The numbers start to escalate rather rapidly from there with Oregon third on the list at +750 to win it all verse a field bet it will not at -1165. There is no doubt that the Ducks will once again be the class of the Pac-12 with Stanford the only real obstacle in the way, but the big intangible for this prop bet is what kind of impact will the loss of Chip Kelly as head coach have on the overall program. It is probably best to walk away from this one altogether as I anticipate the impact will be greater than most people expect for at least the first season.

The prop bet odds for another high profile program as Texas A&M at +1400 to win the BCS title against a -2500 bet on the field. The bar has been raised extremely high on the Aggies with the emergence of Johnny ‘Mr. Football’ Manziel. In all honesty, after winning the Heisman Trophy as a freshman, he really has nowhere to go but down. Given the brutal nature of this game both on and off the field the fall could be fast and steep especially playing in the highly competitive SEC. The $2500 risk to win $100 is awful high, but if I had to bet the field against one of the top five teams on this list it would against Texas A&M.

The numbers for a few other top contenders have LSU at +1600 verse a field bet of -3200, Louisville at +2200 verse a field bet of -4400 and Florida State at +3000 verse a field bet of -7000. Last season’s national title runner-up Notre Dame has been opened at +3300 to win it this season verse a field bet of -7700.

Following the 2013 NFL draft Bookmaker recently released futures odds for 13 players and the field as far winning next season’s AP Rookie of the Year award by making the biggest impact for their new team. Last season it was a three-way race between rookie quarterbacks with Robert Griffin III edging-out Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson to take top honors. There are a couple of quarterbacks on this year’s list but 2013 could be the year of the receiver with number of wide-outs and tight ends considered among the favorites.

Heading that list is former West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin, who was drafted eighth overall by St. Louis after offensive and defensive lineman filled out the first seven selections in the draft. He has been opened as the odds-on-favorite to win Rookie of the Year at +300. The Rams actually traded-up with Buffalo to get Austin so you know right off the bat he is going to be an instrumental part of an offense that finished the regular season ranked 18th in the NFL in passing yards per game.

The team’s leading receiver in 2012, Danny Amendola is now with New England so Austin should open the regular season in the No.1 wide receiver position. The Rams also drafted his teammate at West Virginia, Stedman Bailey in the third round. These two receivers formed quite the duo for the Mountaineers last season with each hauling-in 114 receptions for a combined 2,911 yards and 37 touchdowns.

The next two favorites to win this award at +800 are tight end Tyler Eifert, who went 21st overall to Cincinnati and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was selected by Houston with the 27th overall pick. Eifert played his college ball at Notre Dame and at 6-foot-5, 250 lbs. adds some tremendous size to go along with an incredible pair of hands. He will join former 2010 first-round pick tight end Jermaine Gresham to take a page out of Bill Belichick’s playbook with the use of a double tight-end set in New England. More and more teams are starting to realize the value of having bookend tight-ends that can run-block, stay in to protect the quarterback on certain downs as well as control the middle of the field because of their size and sure hands.

Hopkins is a dynamic playmaker that can make a potent Houston offensive attack led by Arian Foster on the ground and Andre Johnson through the air, all that much better. Quarterback Matt Schaub may have a tough time keeping everyone happy with just one football, but the former Clemson Tiger is a threat to take it all the way to house any time he gets his hands on it so head coach Gary Kubiak will be sure get him as many touches as possible.

Along with New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith, there are three other players at +1000 to win the AP Rookie of the Year award including running backs Eddie Lacy and Giovani Bernard and tight end Zach Ertz. There is some tremendous value in all four of these players considering that they were passed over in the first round to fall into the second round. Ertz, who played for Stanford, went to Philadelphia with the third pick in the round followed by Cincinnati taking Bernard fifth (37th overall). Next to go at seventh was Smith and Lacy lasted all the way to the 29th pick of the second round when he went to Green Bay.

Of the four, the best value has to be with Lacy, who followed in Trent Richardson’s footsteps at Alabama. The Packers are in desperate need of adding a major boost to a running game that was ranked 20th in the NFL last season. He should get every chance in the world to try and bring back some balance to a pass-happy attack led by Aaron Rodgers.

Some other names of note include Buffalo quarterback EJ Manual at +1200, Minnesota wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson at +1500 and Philadelphia quarterback Matt Barkley as a +2500 longshot. The field bet for this futures prop is +250.