Philadelphia Sports Betting Roundup
Philadelphia sports fans had better get their rest before the weekend, because there could be some late nights in store when the Phillies and Giants meet in the NLCS.
With Philadelphia knocking off Cincinnati and San Francisco getting past Atlanta, the National League Championship Series is a showdown between the two best pitching staffs in baseball. That's apparent by the slim 6-run total oddsmakers have set for Game 1 on Saturday night.
The Phillies will go with ace Roy Halladay while the Giants counter with two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. Both starters were lights-out in the opening round, with Halladay serving up just the second no-hitter in postseason history and Lincecum throwing a complete-game shutout.
San Francisco, despite its ongoing struggles at the plate, was able to hit Halladay earlier this season. The Giants took a 5-1 victory over the Phillies on April 26, scoring all five runs on Halladay behind 10 hits over seven innings.
Later that series, Philadelphia bounced back with a 7-6 win in extra innings. It scored two runs on Lincecum, totaling three hits - one of which was a solo home run from Ryan Howard – before scoring three runs on the Giants bullpen in the ninth inning to put the game to extras.
The teams split their six meetings this season but San Fran is just 5-14 in its last 19 trips to Philadelphia. Books have set the Phillies as -250 favorites to win the NLCS, pricing the Giants at +200.
Never say never
Michael Vick hasn't set foot on a field since playing the role of the meat in a hard-hitting sandwich two weeks ago, but the Eagles aren't ready to rule out their game-breaking QB for Week 6. Vick missed last week's win over the 49ers due to cartilage damage in his chest and hasn't practiced heading into the much anticipated meeting with his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, this week.
All signs point to another start for Kevin Kolb and even books are giving in, finally opening this week's odds with Philadelphia as a 3-point home favorite. Early action is fading the Kolb-led Eagles, dropping the line a half point as of Wednesday night.
Never go home again
First it was Donovan McNabb, now another former Philadelphia sports figure is returning to the City of Brotherly Love. Former Flyers forward Simon Gagne will return to Wells Fargo Arena when the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town Thursday.
Gagne played for Philadelphia for 11 seasons and was a major part of last year's Stanley Cup final run. Oddsmakers have the Flyers priced as -166 favorites with the Lightning coming off an overtime win over Montreal on Wednesday evening.
Backup plan
After dropping a huge MAC showdown with Northern Illinois last weekend, Temple will be out for blood against Bowling Green this Saturday. The Owls, who are favored by 20 points, will try to work in some of the kinks this weekend, namely the passing game.
Quarterback Chester Stewart went just 13 for 27 for 148 yards last week, prompting coach Al Golden to look down his depth chart for answers. With backups Mike Gerardi and freshman Chris Coyer expected to take snaps Saturday, the 20-point spread may be too tough to top for Temple.