Buehrle finally gets 100th win as Sox salvage finale with Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

06/10/2007 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Konerko homered and Mark Buehrle finally earned his 100th career victory, as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros, 6-3, to salvage the finale of a three-game set at U.S. Cellular Field.

Konerko finished with three hits, drove in two runs and also scored twice. Luis Terrero and Juan Uribe added solo homers for the White Sox, who snapped a five-game losing streak and won for only the second time in nine games.

Buehrle (3-3) had a solid outing, allowing one run on six hits while striking out four and walking one over eight innings. The left-hander had been 0-3 in seven outings since his 99th win on April 23.

Mark Lamb hit a solo homer for Houston, which had its brief two-game winning streak snapped. The Astros are 5-5 on the heels of a 10-game losing streak.

Wandy Rodriguez (3-6) was ineffective in the loss, giving up five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits. He struck out three and walked one.

The White Sox got the scoring started in the second inning when Konerko led off with a double and came around to score two batters later when Terrero singled to left to make it 1-0.

Konerko's one-out solo homer to left in the fourth increased the lead to 2-0.

Chicago continued on the home run attack in the fifth when Terrero hammered a solo home run to left and two batters later Uribe added a solo shot to put the home team ahead 4-0. The White Sox added another in the frame when Konerko singled in a run.

Lamb's two-out solo homer to right in the seventh inning got the Astros on the board.

The White Sox tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Andy Gonzalez doubled in Tadahito Iguchi, who got things started with a one- out single.

Houston loaded the bases with one out in the ninth and scored a run on a Bobby Jenks wild pitch and another on an RBI ground out by Brad Ausmus to account for the final margin. Jenks recorded his 17th save of the season when he struck out Luke Scott to end the game.

Game Notes

The White Sox were without starting catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who served his one-game suspension for throwing his helmet toward home plate umpire Bob Davidson during the team's loss to the New York Yankees on Thursday...Iguchi now has a 12-game hitting streak, which equals a career high...The Astros will head uptown to Wrigley Field to play the Chicago Cubs in a makeup game on Monday before going home to start a three-game interleague set with Oakland, while the White Sox will head to Philadelphia to begin a three-game set with the Phillies on Monday night...Prior to Sunday's game, the Astros recalled left-handed pitcher Mark McLemore from Triple A Round Rock and sent catcher Humberto Quintero to Round Rock...Attendance was 33,433.

Luckusurf Baseball Betting News

<< Gonzalez's hit in 12th gives Reds win over Tribe
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Gonzalez's run-scoring single with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning lifted Cincinnati over Cleveland, 1-0, in a pitchers' duel at Great American Ball Park. Pinch hitter Chad Moeller rippe

<< Sheffield, Tigers pound Mets
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gary Sheffield fell a double shy of the cycle, ending 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored, as the Detroit Tigers pounded the New York Mets, 15-7, in the finale of a three-game set at Comerica Park.

<< A-Rod goes deep twice as Yanks come back to rout Bucs
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez homered twice and Bobby Abreu finished 4-for-4 with four runs scored and three runs batted in, leading the New York Yankees to a 13-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates and a sweep of the thr

<< Spilborghs, Hirsh lift Rockies past Baltimore
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Spilborghs had a career day, belting a pair of homers and posting six runs batted in to guide the Colorado Rockies past the Baltimore Orioles, 6-1, in the finale of a three-game interleague set at Camd

<< Haas coasts to three-stroke win in Des Moines
West Des Moines, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jay Haas stumbled to bogeys on the final two holes Sunday, but it didn't matter as he still claimed The Principal Charity Classic by three strokes. Haas closed with a two-under 69 to finish at

Royals rout Phillies >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Grudzielanek homered and finished with five RBI, as the Kansas City Royals pounded the Philadelphia Phillies, 17-5, in the rubber match of a three-game interleague set at Kauffman Stadium. Tony Pena

Twins top Nats >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bartlett was 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs as Minnesota doubled up Washington, 6-3, to salvage the finale of a three-game set at the Metrodome. Torii Hunter finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and th

Woody Austin wins St. Jude >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Woody Austin was so good, it didn't matter what anyone else did. The way he played the final round of the Stanford St. Jude Championship, no one was beating him. "That was a true round of golf. It was one of

Thompson claims first Nationwide win >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Thompson shot a one-under 70 on Sunday to win the Rex Hospital Open, holding off a charging Bob Burns to claim his first Nationwide Tour victory in wire-to-wire fashion. Thompson finished at 16-under 268

Bloomquist, Mariners edge Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Bloomquist scored the go-ahead run on a Jose Lopez ground out in the ninth inning, as the Seattle Mariners won 4-3 and completed a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park. Ichiro Suz

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.