5 33 Boston College 24OverUnder Total 55

They also have yet to lose at the Big Ballpark in the Bronx during the postseason, not to mention all of the walk-off wins. With this kind of home-field advantage, why should they be worried about going back to the BronxOnce again, this is not 2004, it’s 2009 and the Yankees are a completely different team. They have better pitching, the names have almost completely changed, and they have a new home-field advantage in the new stadium. As I watch the New York Yankees fight the Los Angeles Angels and Mother Nature for the chance to win the American League pennant and advance to the World Series, I realize something, albeit elementary.This Phillies team knows how to win. More succinctly, the find another gear when playing in postseason baseball.During the past two years, the Phillies have gone 18-5 in postseason play.Carlos Ruiz, a .255 regular season eight-hole hitter for the Phillies, is batting .385 in the postseason with one home run and 4 RBI.Jimmy Rollins, who was cold in the opening round against the Rockies, hit .250 during the season Recent hits have brought his postseason average up to .244. But his two-out, two-run walk off double to win Game Four of the NLCS was stuff made up in legends.Pitting big Dodgers flame thrower Jonathan Broxton against the smaller Rollins, was a David slaying Goliath moment for Phillies fans.And to a man, they all believe the job is not done.They held their first post-pennant workout Friday at Citizens Bank Park.

My friend, who is a cameraman for a Philadelphia television station, sent me the picture above, along with several others.I believe it is Shane Victorino taking swings, Jimmy Rollins closest to the cage and Ryan Howard leaning on the bat.While the Phillies avoided the rain drops for their workout, Major League baseball will do its best to get these American League games done this weekend.With the Yankees holding a 3-2 series lead over the Angels, one game could finalize the Phillies' World Series opponent.The Yankees, who came back from a 4-0 first inning lead to take a 6-4 lead in the top of the seventh, could not hold on to the victory. The Angels took the lead back in the bottom of the seventh and held on for a 7-6 victory.The Phillies meanwhile, in their NLCS, split victories in Los Angeles, then won three straight in Philadelphia to close the series out.This Phillies team, under Charlie Manuel, truly has an attitude of focusing on one game at a time. Ironically, they are a big picture team.I was very confident that the Phillies would win Game Five and not have to go back to Los Angeles.While Yankees fans stick out their chest and say they are confident that CC Sabathia will win a Game Seven if it comes to that, the Phillies simply took care of business in five games, not six or seven.Their offense hammered a good Dodgers bullpen, while the Phillies bullpen sharpened up when they had to.This Phillies team is like no other in history.The have a solid lineup top to bottom and a better starting pitching staff than last year's champions. Poor Missouri has faced as tough a schedule as there is so far in Big 12 play.Losing at Stillwater is not something to be ashamed of, and Nebraska is obviously very talented as well.Still, the lack of performance in second halves has to concern Gary Pinkel a lot.Unfortunately for Missouri, things don't get any better this week.Texas has to come to Columbia, but I'm not sure that makes much difference.However, maybe the recent schedule has toughened the Tigers up a bit, because I have a strange feeling that they'll at least play close in this one, losing something like 21-28..

It's difficult to put the Hawks here.Last week their defense played better, they made a valiant comeback, and they still have the best record in the North.However, they still have yet to string together a complete game against a quality opponent and are currently tied in Big 12 play with Colorado, and lost the head-to-head tie-breaker with the Buffaloes.I have a great feeling about the Jayhawks this week, though.They stayed close to OU in Norman last year and are playing the Sooners at the right time this season.I expect Mangino's defensive changes to show through (just enough) in a 38-34 overtime thriller.. Congratulations to Bill Snyder as well.I still have very little faith in this under-manned team, but the Wildcats are playing scrappy football and sneaking up on people, which is probably exactly what Snyder had in mind.The best partThat loss to a very underrated Texas Tech team is starting to look a little less nasty, and may have been the perfect treatment for the Cats.Then again, maybe not.Texas A&M is not nearly as good as I thought they were, and I expect that to become evident when Colorado does, in fact, beat Bill Snyder and Co at home.. Nebraska has done what nearly every team in the Big 12 North has done or will do at some point this season...Badly disappointed everyone.I realize that Tech is underrated, and that match-ups weren't in Bo Pelini's favor.However, great teams find a way to compensate and overcome, and I'm no longer convinced that Nebraska is a great team; at the very least, they are certainly not "back."(Sorry, Josh Klein.)This being said, they are still the best team in the North, and the best thing they can do for themselves right now is take care of business at home, then move on to next week.Ndamukong Suh, Barry Turner, Jared Crick, and Pierre Allen will make sure there are no surprises this weekend.. ) NOTRE DAME (-7.5) 33 Boston College 24Over/Under Total: 55.012:30 PM Pacific Time Saturday, Oct-24The Eagles' solid defense has been susceptible to good quarterbacks, giving up 10.1 yards per pass play to Wake Forest, 7.7 yppp to Florida State and 11.5 yppp to Virginia Tech.Notre Dame certainly qualifies as a good passing team. The Irish won't be able to run against a BC defense allowing just 3.8 yards per rushing play, but Jimmy Clausen should have a good game.My math favors gives Notre Dame a 56 chance of covering at -7 1/2 points but Boston College does apply to a solid 91-35-1 ATS statistical indicator.

I'll still lean with the Irish.Read more on my website have 5 NCAA Best Bets and 6 NCAA Strong Opinions this week, and 2 NFL Best Bets and 3 NFL Strong Opinion!Read an article about mein the Wall Street JournalFollow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates on Best Bet releases. ) The Toronto Raptors finished the preseason with another loss, 90-98. Bosh played over 36 minutes for the first time this preseason and as importantly, Bosh played over 16 minutes in the second half and was on the floor for the final 7:05. And Bosh played big with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocked shots.Actually they accomplished a couple more things as well.Jose Calderon played starter’s minutes for the first time this preseason with over 38 minutes played. And Jose played well too getting 17 points, six boards, six assists, two steals, with just one turnover.DeRozan started at shooting guard again with Hedo Turkoglu at small forward giving fans another glimpse at the likely starting line-up for Wednesday night at the ACC. DeRozan’s 21 minutes of playing time may also be an indication of something.The Raptor’s starting unit was laying a beating on the T-wolves for the first five minutes of this game rushing out to a 18-4 lead. Bargnani was 3-of-3 for six points; Calderon had five points and two rebounds; Bosh with four points; DeRozan had three points and had already been to the line for two free throws; and, Turkoglu had a pair of assists.But Turkoglu left the game at the 6:50 mark after missing a three-pointer and was replaced by Wright. Soon after things began to slip.Much like Turkoglu’s first preseason game, it would be safe to assume Wright would rather not have played in front of a crowd. At least it wasn’t on television.Wright entered the game and immediately missed a layup. Soon after he turned the ball over on a bad pass. Then turned it over by traveling. Wright finished off his first quarter back with a couple of fouls to have a nice zero points, assists, and rebounds to go with his two turnovers and two fouls.At the end of the first quarter, the T-wolves had closed the gap to 25-28 Raptors.But Wright wasn’t the only sub to struggle coming into the game. Amir Johnson replaced Bargnani at the 4:05 mark and managed two turnovers, a foul, a rebound, and two steals in the first quarter. Not exactly ideal, but at least he was active.The Raptors started the second quarter with Jarrett Jack at the point and within a minute substituted Calderon back in for Wright.With Calderon, Jack, Turkoglu, Bosh, and Bargnani on the floor together the team played well. More importantly, Calderon and Jack didn’t play badly together as had been the case for most of the preseason. By the time Calderon was substituted for, the Raptors had run the lead back up to seven.Wright played the final 3:33 of the second quarter with only another turnover to show for it.Unfortunately for the Raptors, Hedo Turkoglu didn’t return for the second half due to what looks to be a mild ankle sprain. So Wright got additional time to work through his preseason rust.At the start of the third, Wright played for three and a half minutes with a turnover and two missed shots before he and DeRozan were replaced by Belinelli and Weems. The Raptors two point lead half-time had evaporated into a seven point deficit.Not to mislead anyone, the whole blame for the Raptors’ inability to hold a lead cannot be laid solely on Wright. All the Raptors except Bosh had a poor night’s shooting and if someone else could have stepped up, Wright’s break-in period might not have been so apparent.The third quarter was Weems and Belinelli’s opportunity to show what they could contribute and unfortunately neither of them managed a single point in eight and a half minutes. Weems did at least get three rebounds and a steal to avoid Belinelli’s ugly line of zeros.Some good news did come in the fourth quarter. With Calderon and Jack playing together again and Wright, Bargnani, and Nesterovic on the floor, Wright finally got a three rebounds and made a layup. That must of felt good.Then after Bosh replaced Nesterovic, Toronto went on a quick 5-0 run to pull within three as Wright grabbed his fourth rebound and made a jump shot and Bosh made a layup and a free throw. But that was as close as Toronto would get.Wright ended his night on a positive note with eight points, four rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot all in the fourth quarter. Hopefully shaking off enough rust to be effective at the home opener.Andrea Bargnani finished a poor shooting night going 6 for 16 with 12 points, five boards, and three blocks. Fouling out for the second game in a row.Fouls and turnover may be more indicative of the refereeing than the players. Bosh had five fouls and six turnovers and two of the turnovers were traveling calls. The good news being the full-time NBA referees have reportedly agreed to a new contract in time for opening night.This was a game the Raptors should have won handily but another poor shooting performance from the three-point line let an early lead slip away. The Raptors were 2-of-20 from three. Apparently even an intervention from a shooting consultant wasn’t enough to get these Raptors back on track.There is still lots to do but little time to do it before the home opener in Toronto. However,It looks like Calderon and Bosh are ready to go.Calderon and Jack may be finding some chemistry.Hopefully Turkoglu’s ankle sprain is mild.And maybe Antoine Wright will be ready by Wednesday after all.But the team had better find their shooting stroke fast. It’s not going to be easy to go inside against Shaq and Big Z if no one is hitting their jumpers.. ) Randy Edsall, who is in his 11th season as head football coach at the University of Connecticut, has dealt with the tragic death of Jasper Howard as best he could. The amount of courage he has had over the last week is why being a head coach has to do with so much more then just the game of football.Edsall, who lost his father back in February, now has had to deal with the death of a player, Jazz, who he was close with. There has been widespread media attention on this event, and Edsall has remained calm, cool, and collective throughout.Win or lose today down in West Virginia, Randy Edsall has shown time and time again why he remains committed to the football program at UConn. The death of Jasper Howard touched a wide diversity of people across the Connecticut community.One of the most touching experiences I can recall was on Wednesday night when Kijuan Dabney called up Coach Edsall to deliver him a letter jacket personally made for him. It was signed by every player, coach, and various faculty at UConn.On the back was a picture of Coach Edsall and Jazz together. This emotional moment brought tears to the eyes of many in the crowd and everybody on stage. This connection showed the bond that Edsall has created with all of his players.Randy Edsall is much more then a football coach. He is a mentor, teacher, friend, and most importantly a father figure. These kids come to Connecticut mainly in part because they know what Coach Edsall brings to the table.He put it best when he said, "One of my sons have been taken away from me," which is exactly how he feels in wake of Jazz's death. Jasper Howard was arguably the best cover corner on this UConn team, and nothing can replace his spirit and playing ability on the field.The entire UConn football team has had to mourn and grieve the death of Jazz this past week. When the Huskies take the field in Morgantown they will be playing with heavy hearts. Jazz always wanted to beat West Virginia and his team wants to win this game for him.Coach Edsall has been there for his players every time they need him. He has dealt with these events the best he possibly could, and has remained strong. His ability to remain strong and still prepare for West Virginia is a testament to who Randy Edsall is not only as a coach, but as a person.Now it is time for him to lead his team on the sideline. To do what he does best, and go out there and win football games. The death of Jasper Howard has put a new prospective on life for me. Every day is a blessing and you have to live each day to the fullest. No matter what happens keep your head high and move forward.Randy Edsall can be viewed as an inspiration for many. His actions and words over the past week is the exact reason why he is such a great man. When you push football to the side, Coach Edsall has done it all with much adversity during these tough times.. The season is finally upon us, the NBA season tipoff is just a mere days away as it tips off on Tuesday and it looks like it will be an exciting season as many teams have gotten better. The Eastern Conference has gotten better as Shaq has joined LeBron and Cleveland, Florida native Vince Carter is in Orlando joining the Eastern Conference defending champs, and Rasheed Wallace has joined the Boston Celtics who are looking to rebound from a disappointing series against Orlando So let’s preview the East for the upcoming season.