|
wildcat76
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Dec 2005
Posts: 6147
|
Horse Racing Spot Picks
For Wednesday
TRACK (RACE) HORSE, MORNING LINE
Aqueduct (2nd) Pontus, 7-2
(7th) Downgoesfrazier, 9-2
Charles Town (1st) Passion for Money, 7-2
(4th) Harrisons Cave, 4-1
Churchill Downs (2nd) Juliet's Promise, 5-1
(8th) She Be Keene, 4-1
Delta Downs (3rd) Southwest Pass, 7-2
(5th) Super Silk, 3-1
Finger Lakes (6th) Elloree Tiger, 4-1
(9th) Point and Go, 3-1
Hawthorne (4th) Tava's Prize, 9-2
(5th) Sweet Teri K, 9-2
Laurel Park (4th) Lulu Had a Baby, 7-2
(5th) Charm City, 4-1
Penn National (3rd) Blondecat, 3-1
(7th) Ruling Power, 4-1
Remington Park (1st) Donald Gene, 4-1
(2nd) Imma Bee Sexy, 5-1
Turf Paradise (3rd) Boot n It, 4-1
(9th) Satumino, 5-1
Woodbine (1st) Lia's Miracle, 7-2
(8th) Moon Over L.A., 9-2
|
11-06-13 09:22 PM |
|
|
| |
|
wildcat76
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Dec 2005
Posts: 6147
|
Central Michigan Chippewas at Ball State Cardinals (-20.5, 55.5)
The Ball State Cardinals face the Northern Illinois Huskies next week in a game that could very well decide who finishes atop the Mid-American Conference's West Division. But the Cardinals can't afford to look past this week's matchup as they bring their unbeaten conference mark into Wednesday night's showdown with the visiting Central Michigan Chippewas. Ball State has reeled off six consecutive wins, while Central Michigan is coming off a 38-17 loss to the Huskies.
Ball State's fortunes rest on the cannon arm of senior quarterback Keith Wenning, who is well on his way to locking up conference Player of the Year honors. Wenning leads the MAC in passing yards (2,865) and touchdowns (28), and is coming off an impressive five-TD performance in a 42-24 victory over the Akron Zips back on Oct. 26. The Chippewas will be in tough against the Cardinals' high-powered offense, having surrendered a whopping 33.4 points per game.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2
LINE: Ball State opened as a 19.5-point favorite and has since been bet up to 20.5. The total has come down from 58 to 55.5 points.
WEATHER: Temperatures will be in the high-50s with showers expected and wind blowing north across the length of the field at 8 mph.
ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (3-5, 2-2 MAC): For Chippewas fans seeking reason for optimism, Cooper Rush has provided plenty over the past two games. The freshman quarterback struggled following an impressive three-touchdown debut Sept. 7 against New Hampshire, but has returned to form with five TD passes against just two interceptions over his previous two games. Starting running back Saylor Lavallii has racked up 388 yards over his last three games.
ABOUT BALL STATE (8-1, 5-0 MAC): A trio of receivers have benefited the most from Wenning's outstanding senior campaign. Willie Snead leads the conference in receptions (65), receiving yards (1,057) and touchdowns (10) while teammate Jordan Williams ranks second in yardage (792) and scores (seven). Senior wideout Jamill Smith has also been solid so far this season, ranking seventh in the conference with 592 receiving yards and adding four TDs.
TRENDS:
* Chippewas are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games following a bye week.
* Cardinals are 15-5 ATS in their last 20 games following an ATS win.
* Under is 6-0-1 in Ball State's last seven games after scoring 40 or more points in their previous contest.
|
11-06-13 09:29 PM |
|
|
| |
|
wildcat76
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Dec 2005
Posts: 6147
|
UFC
UFC Fight Night 31 Fight For The Troops 3
Kennedy vs. Natal
Wednesday, November 6 – 9:00 p.m. ET
Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Tim Kennedy (16-4) vs. Rafael Natal (17-4-1)
Middleweight bout
Line: Kennedy -370, Natal +280
Tim Kennedy looks for his fifth victory in his past six fights as he takes on Rafael Natal at UFC Fight Night 31: Fight For The Troops 3 on Wednesday night.
Kennedy has been impressive as of late, and is coming off a victory over Roger Gracie at UFC 162 on July 6. That was his first career match in the UFC, after much success in Strikeforce. The Iraqi War veteran is a tough fighter, and has never been submitted in a match. In fact, of his four career losses, three have come by way of a judge’s decision. He will be going up against Rafael Natal, who has also been fighting very well as of late, going 5-1 in his past six bouts, including three in a row. Natal is in terrific shape and has won his last two matches by way of unanimous decision, with his win over Tor Troeng coming just two months ago on Sept. 4. While he is rapidly improving his fighting, this will be a tough match for Natal.
KENNEDY is going to have the crowd behind him, and should win this match in dominating fashion.
While Kennedy has never lost a fight by way of submission, this is his most effective way to win a fight. Of his 16 career victories, six have come by submitting an opponent. He has shown a complete fighting arsenal though, winning seven matches by knockout and three by way of decision. Against Trevor Smith on Jan. 12, Kennedy pulled off an impressive guillotine choke in the third round to get the victory. The 34-year-old is very effective with his punches, landing 2.83 strikes per minute. He will not likely attempt as many strikes as Natal, but he is more accurate, connecting on 51% of his attempts compared to 49% for Natal. Kennedy also defends strikes at a 66% clip, which is slightly better than his opponent's 64% striking defense. This match is very close on nearly every key statistic, and will come down to which fighter is able to execute his game plan. For Natal, he will be looking to keep Kennedy at bay, and try to wear him out.
Like Kennedy, Natal also has eight wins on his resume by submission, while winning six by decision and three by way of knockout. Any time you put the fight in the hands of judges, it can make it be very difficult. However, Natal has had a lot of success with winning matches by decision, and it is because of his great cardio and solid takedown game. "Sapo" (which means "frog") Natal has shown off his takedown ability, defeating Sean Spencer with an arm-triangle choke on Jan. 26, the first of what will be four fights this calendar year. He has a takedown accuracy of 41%, compared to just 36% for Kennedy, and also defends takedowns at a 78% clip, which is also slightly better than his opponent's 77% mark. Natal is considered to be a major underdog in this fight, in large part because he has not fought in a match as highly publicized as this. At just 30 years old, he still has a lot of potential in his career, and this fight could go a long way in propelling him into contention.
|
11-06-13 09:30 PM |
|
|
| |
|
wildcat76
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Dec 2005
Posts: 6147
|
Ball State hosts Central Michigan Wednesday night
Kickoff: Wednesday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Ball State -20.5, Total: 58
Ball State attempts to stay undefeated in the Mid-American Conference on Wednesday night as it hosts Central Michigan, winners of two of its past three games.
The Cardinals have been on top of their game this season, with their only loss coming in the second week of the season against North Texas in a 34-27 game. They have really dominated in their five conference games this season, winning all five SU and going 4-1 ATS. Central Michigan has split its four conference games this season, both SU and ATS. The Chippewas were beat up by Northern Illinois at home, giving up 437 rushing yards in a 38-17 loss. Since 1992, Ball State has a 14-7 SU record against CMU but is only 7-8 ATS. The Cardinals have won the past two matchups in this series (both SU and ATS), but are 2-6 ATS in their past eight games against Central Michigan at home. Last season, Ball State won 41-30 on the road as a 3-point favorite, but the offensive numbers were similar with a 464 to 446 total yards advantage going to the Cardinals. The Chippewas have really struggled recently away from home and are 6-13 ATS in their last 19 road games.
Central Michigan has had a lackluster season up to this point, but has seemed to settle into the middle of the MAC nicely, beating the teams that are weak, but losing decisively to the teams on top. Redshirt freshman QB Cooper Rush (1,575 pass yards, 11 TD, 10 INT) has been given the starting job and has been slowly making progress throughout the season. In CMU wins, Rush has gone a combined 50-for-81 (62%) for 660 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. But in team losses, he has combined to go 69-for-139 (49.6%) for 915 yards, five touchdowns and eight interceptions. While Central Michigan is near the bottom of the nation in rushing yards per game (125 YPG, 102nd in the nation), they have a solid HB in Saylor Lavallii, who has rushed for 758 yards on 154 attempts (4.9 YPC) and five touchdowns. In the team's two conference wins this year, he has averaged 167.5 rushing YPG and has two touchdowns. WR Titus Davis has seen most of the action in the passing game and has 34 catches for 627 yards (18.4 avg.) and five touchdowns. The Chippewas defense has surrendered 33.4 PPG, including 31+ points in each of their losses.
Ball State has had a tremendous season on offense and currently ranks in the top-20 in both passing yards (326 YPG, 16th in FBS) and scoring (39.4 PPG, 18th in nation). The biggest reason that this team is so high in the rankings is QB Keith Wenning, who has thrown for 2,865 yards, 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions on the year. Wenning has thrown for 300+ yards in eight out of nine games this season and has multiple touchdowns in all but one game. In the team's last game against Akron (42-24 Ball State victory), Wenning had a season-low 240 yards passing, but added a season-high five touchdowns. While the rushing attack adds only 142 YPG on the ground, they have scored 23 touchdowns running the ball. HB Jahwan Edwards has lead the way with 127 carries for 659 yards (5.2 YPC) and 12 touchdowns. Edwards is coming off of a 120-yard performance (4.8 YPC) with one touchdown against Akron. WR Willie Snead (65 catches, 1,057 yards, 10 TD, 16.3 avg.) and WR Jordan Williams (56 catches, 792 yards, 7 TD, 14.1 avg.) have accounted for just over 63% of the passing game. CB Jeffery Garrett (36 tackles, 4 interceptions) and the rest of the Cardinals defense has allowed 27 or fewer PPG during the team’s six-game win streak and will be sure to notch another win if they can limit their opponent again.
|
11-06-13 10:01 PM |
|
|
| |
|
wildcat76
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Dec 2005
Posts: 6147
|
Central Michigan at Ball State
Central Michigan Chippewas at Ball State Cardinals (-20.5, 55.5)
The Ball State Cardinals face the Northern Illinois Huskies next week in a game that could very well decide who finishes atop the Mid-American Conference's West Division. But the Cardinals can't afford to look past this week's matchup as they bring their unbeaten conference mark into Wednesday night's showdown with the visiting Central Michigan Chippewas. Ball State has reeled off six consecutive wins, while Central Michigan is coming off a 38-17 loss to the Huskies.
Ball State's fortunes rest on the cannon arm of senior quarterback Keith Wenning, who is well on his way to locking up conference Player of the Year honors. Wenning leads the MAC in passing yards (2,865) and touchdowns (28), and is coming off an impressive five-TD performance in a 42-24 victory over the Akron Zips back on Oct. 26. The Chippewas will be in tough against the Cardinals' high-powered offense, having surrendered a whopping 33.4 points per game.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2
LINE: Ball State opened as a 19.5-point favorite and has since been bet up to 20.5. The total has come down from 58 to 55.5 points.
WEATHER: Temperatures will be in the high-50s with showers expected and wind blowing north across the length of the field at 8 mph.
ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (3-5, 2-2 MAC): For Chippewas fans seeking reason for optimism, Cooper Rush has provided plenty over the past two games. The freshman quarterback struggled following an impressive three-touchdown debut Sept. 7 against New Hampshire, but has returned to form with five TD passes against just two interceptions over his previous two games. Starting running back Saylor Lavallii has racked up 388 yards over his last three games.
ABOUT BALL STATE (8-1, 5-0 MAC): A trio of receivers have benefited the most from Wenning's outstanding senior campaign. Willie Snead leads the conference in receptions (65), receiving yards (1,057) and touchdowns (10) while teammate Jordan Williams ranks second in yardage (792) and scores (seven). Senior wideout Jamill Smith has also been solid so far this season, ranking seventh in the conference with 592 receiving yards and adding four TDs.
TRENDS:
* Chippewas are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games following a bye week.
* Cardinals are 15-5 ATS in their last 20 games following an ATS win.
* Under is 6-0-1 in Ball State's last seven games after scoring 40 or more points in their previous contest.
|
11-06-13 10:04 PM |
|
|
| |
|