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By Dan Behringer, LVSportsBiz.com Sports Betting Writer
For baseball fans and bettors of the October — oops, make that November — Classic, there will at least be a Game 6.
With the Houston Astros up 3-2 in the Series after a taut 3-2 win on Thursday, the Series shifts to Minute Maid Park in Houston for the final game or games on Saturday and Sunday.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity and thankful to come through,” Astros starter Justin Verlander, who was 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight previous Series starts, but notched the win on Thursday.
At BetMGM, the Astros are now -650 to win the title. The Phillies are +450.
“These guys will show up, I guarantee it,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “They’re going to fight to the end, for sure.”
Elsewhere:
— On to Jacksonville: The Las Vegas Raiders, after their Debacle at the Dome last weekend, a 24-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Saints at the Caesars Superdome, are, naturally, favored vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. But not by much. The line is actually Raiders -1.5 with the total at 47.5. Consider too, the Jaguars are 2-6 and have lost five games in a row.
Coach Josh McDaniels, who spent an inordinate amount of time earlier in the week apologizing to fans, the media and Raider Nation over the Debacle at the Dome, had this to say to reporters on Wednesday: “If you need a big pep talk, or a big speech, or anything like that to get yourself excited to compete at this level, that’s always a potential issue. …. And we’re going to work very hard to make sure that we don’t allow that to happen again going forward.”
Kickoff in warm, humid Jacksonville, Florida, is at 10 a.m.
— Golden Knights on the road: The Vegas Golden Knights, now 10-2, continue their road trip through Canada and upstate New York with a game on Saturday at the Montreal Canadiens (5-5-1).
A very early line at OddsShark has the VGK at -192, the Canadiens at +155 and the total at 6.5.
The puck drop is at 4 p.m.
On Thursday, favored in the -146 range, they defeated the Ottawa Senators, 5-4.
“Two points, we move on,” coach Bruce Cassidy said after the VGK nearly blew a four-goal lead. “They’re not all going to be perfect.”
— Rankings and betting lines: We’re seeing a wacky disconnect between the first CFP rankings and betting lines. No. 1 Tennessee finds itself an 8- to 8.5-point underdog vs. No. 3 Georgia. Thirteenth-ranked Kansas State is at home, but getting 2.5 points vs. No. 24 Texas. There’s only a four spots difference in the rankings between No. 6 Alabama and 10th-ranked LSU. But the Crimson Tide are -13.5 favorites on the road at LSU.
If there’s one thing you can take from this: Respect the oddsmakers, not the fledgling CFP rankings.
— UNLV Rebel Football: At 4-4, the UNLV Rebel football team begins a stretch of their final four games of the regular season that will see them either qualify for a minor bowl or spend the off-season wondering what went awry after a 4-1 start.
The next game finds them as 6.5-point underdogs vs. San Diego State on Saturday. The total is 47.5.
“The guys in the building have been excited, refueled and re-energized just for the opportunities that lay in front of us,” Rebels coach Marcus Arroyo told reporters during his weekly press conference.
Rebels quarterback Doug Brumfield is expected to return after being out for three weeks because of a concussion. In fact, the line at opened as Aztecs -9 but moved to -6.5 on news of Brumfield’s anticipated return.
Kickoff is at 4 p.m.
— Close cover: If you were on Florida State -23.5 vs. Georgia Tech last week, you were pleased with the 41-16 final score. The Seminoles covered by 1.5 points.
— Play of the Week (6-3): We were fortunate to be on Illinois at -7.5 in their 26-9 win over Nebraska last week to move our record to 6-3 for the season. This week, we’ll be on Alabama vs. LSU over 56.5.