Here is the official preview for sports gamblers on the Florida State-North Carolina State contest on ESPN. The college football odds have FSU -11 with a total of 47.5.

Florida State is 4-1 straight up and 2-1 to the number, winning their last two against the Las Vegas betting line. They also went over the posted sportsbooks totals in both. NC State is 2-4 straight up, winning 3-of-4 and going over three straight.

FSU rushes for 5.9 yards per rush to teams normally getting 4.8. While the Seminoles have struggled greatly over the last several years, it’s not because of their defense. They allow just 2.1 yards per carry and 5.3 passing yards per attempt.

The Wolfpack have been inept on each side of the ball getting 2.5 yards per rush against teams normally allowing 3.2. On the defensive side, they allow 4.8 yards per rush to teams normally getting 4.0 and 7.5 yards per pass to teams normally getting 6.7. Overall they allow .8 more yards per play than their opponents’ normal average.

For those more into rankings than ratings, note this contest matches the top ranked total defense in rushing defense in the conference against a squad last in the ACC in rushing offense. In case the contextual clues didn’t help you, that benefits the Noles.

Florida State is just 5-4 straight up on Thursday nights all-time. That included snapping a 29-0 all-time mark in the ACC in their first appearance ever. Their last trip to Raleigh was on a Thursday night, losing to NC State 24-20.

The Wolfpack are 5-3 on Thursday night straight up. They have scored 10 or fewer points three times this year and gave up 24 or more every game, even to creampuff William & Mary.

The injury plagued Wolfpack have gotten good news during their bye week. Their best DL tackle Alan-Michael Cash is probable but their best defensive player Nate Irving is very questionable.

Who should you bet on? The power of 620 sports services behind every selection has the biggest service play on both games tonight.

Kal Elner, is one of the best handicappers of all-time and certainly the hottest.  He waived the rating with his “Added Rotation Game of the Year” on Florida Atlantic Tuesday, Sept. 30.  Added Rotation Parlay of the Year on Saturday, October 4 wins with Western Kentucky and Louisiana Lafayette. Saturday, Oct. 11 he crushed the books with his Big 12 Game of the Year Oklahoma State and the Mountain West Game of the Year on New Mexico. In addition, he is 12-3 with all NFL plays. The latest was his Interconference Game of the Year on Oct. 12 on New Orleans. Thursday Night Collegiate Football Parlay of the Year on Florida State/NC State side and total.

Gordon Michaels of Blazer Sports is the top ranked direct mail handicapper. Chances are you got a post card from them advertising their Triple Your Money Back College Game of the Year which they’ve hit 13 of 15 years. It’s on BYU/TCU. (guarantees and Pay After are by sports services to their clients.  We can’t enforce guarantees on re-releases).  They are charging $499 for it. You get it as part of a $16 package. Click now to purchase

The BYU Cougars and the TCU Horned Frogs will both be gunning for a victory on Thursday when they meet at Amon Carter Stadium.
Oddsmakers currently have the Cougars listed as 1-point favorites versus the Horned Frogs, while the game's total is sitting at 45.
Max Hall threw for 258 yards as BYU ran over New Mexico 21-3 in Week 7. BYU could not cover the 23.5-point spread, and the 24 points went well UNDER the posted total of 48.
Hall completed 22-of-34 with three touchdowns in leading BYU. Andrew George caught two TD passes in the win.
Joseph Turner and Aaron Brown each had rushing touchdowns to lead TCU past Colorado State 13-7 in Week 7.
Texas Christian couldn't cover as 13-point road favorites as the game played under the 49.5-point total listed by oddsmakers.
Current streak:
BYU has won 6 straight games.
TCU has won 2 straight games.
Team records:
BYU: 6-0 SU, 2-3 ATS
TCU: 6-1 SU, 4-2 ATS
BYU most recently:
When playing in October are 9-1
When playing on grass are 10-0
After outgaining opponent are 10-0
When playing within the conference are 10-0

TCU most recently:
When playing in October are 7-3
When playing on grass are 8-2
After outgaining opponent are 7-3
When playing within the conference are 7-3
A few trends to consider:
BYU is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
BYU is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
BYU is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing TCU
TCU is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
TCU is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
TCU is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing BYU
Next up:
BYU home to UNLV, Saturday, October 25
TCU home to Wyoming, Saturday, October 25

The Florida State Seminoles and the North Carolina State Wolfpack will both be gunning for a victory on Thursday when they meet at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Oddsmakers currently have the Seminoles listed as 11-point favorites versus the Wolfpack, while the game's total is sitting at 48.
Antone Smith rushed for 91 yards on 28 carries with four touchdowns to lead Florida State past Miami-FL 41-39 in Week 6.
Florida State cashed as 2.5-point road underdogs as the teams played over the 44.5-point total posted by oddsmakers.
Russell Wilson threw for 209 yards and one touchdown for North Carolina State in a 38-31 loss to Boston College in Week 6.
The Wolfpack covered the 7.5-point spread, while the combined score played OVER the day's posted total of 42.5.
Current streak:
Florida State has won 2 straight games.
North Carolina State has lost 2 straight games.
Team records:
Florida State: 4-1 SU, 2-1 ATS
North Carolina State: 2-4 SU, 3-2 ATS
Florida State most recently:
When playing in October are 5-5
When playing on grass are 6-4
After outgaining opponent are 6-4
When playing within the conference are 5-5

North Carolina State most recently:
When playing in October are 4-6
When playing on grass are 5-5
After being outgained are 4-6
When playing within the conference are 3-7
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Florida State's last 6 games on the road
Florida State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Florida State's last 6 games when playing North Carolina State
Florida State is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
North Carolina State is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Florida State
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of North Carolina State's last 6 games when playing Florida State
North Carolina State is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
Next up:
Florida State home to Virginia Tech, Saturday, October 25
North Carolina State at Maryland, Saturday, October 25

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox will meet on the field at Fenway Park on Thursday in a battle of division rivals.
The Rays will give the ball to ace starter Scott Kazmir in this one. Lefthander Kazmir is 13-8 this season with a 3.67 ERA.
Kazmir's opponent in this one will be Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Red Sox righthander has a 2.86 ERA to go along with a 19-3 record this season.
Oddsmakers currently have the Red Sox listed as 153-moneyline favorites versus the Rays, while the game's total is sitting at 9.
Willy Aybar homered and drove in five runs on Tuesday to lead the Rays to an easy 13-4 win over the Red Sox in Game 4 of this series.
The Rays got the win as +127 road underdogs in that contest, while the combined score went well OVER the night's posted total (9).
Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria also homered in that win for Tampa Bay. Andy Sonnanstine gave up three earned runs over 7 1-3 innings.
Tim Wakefield was knocked around for five earned runs in 2 2-3 innings for the Red Sox. Kevin Cash homered off Sonnanstine in the third.
Team records:
Tampa Bay: 97-65 SU
Boston: 95-67 SU
Tampa Bay most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
After playing Boston are 9-1
After a win are 7-3

Boston most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 3-7
After playing Tampa Bay are 3-7
After a loss are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Tampa Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing Boston
Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
Boston is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Boston is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
Boston is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home

Should we watch the Phillies and Dodgers (MLB odds) or McCain versus Obama (political betting odds)? Luckily at the international headquarters of OffshoreInsiders.com we have a sports bar like television set-up, but the NLCS game 5 is the only must-watch TV. We will skip the Nick Wallenda stunt on the Today Show but we will read about it on TheDailyBeast.com.  

Here is the official sports betting preview of Game 5 from Chavez Ravine. The NLCS odds have Cole Hamels as a 117 favorite over Chad Billingsley with a total of 7.5 under -125.

Hamels has a .274 OBP against on the road and .268 overall. Chad Billingsley is much better at home than on the road. In LA, he has a 10-4 personal mark with a 2.95 ERA and .304 OBP against.

Philadelphia is 8-1 their last nine to the NL West, 12-3 with a day off. They are 22-7 the last 29 to starting pitchers with a WHIP of 1.30 or higher. They’ve lost four straight with Hamels on the road against teams with a winning record.

The Dodgers are 6-1 following an off day and 9-2 their last 11 following a day off. They are 13-3 their last 16 at home both to left-handed starting pitching and at home to teams with a winning record. They are 34-13 this year after two straight games of committing no errors.

The Phillies have won 7-of-8 overall in the series. However, the home team has won 12-of-13 meetings in the series this year.   

The power of 620 sports services behind every selection has the side and total winner for tonight for a total of $16. Leo Getz hits Tampa last night as the AL Playoffs Game of the Year, now the NL version, the National League Playoff Game of the Year Phillies/Dodgers. 

Kal Elner, a handicapper out of Reading, PA hits a consistent 65 percent when “waiving his normal star rating system”.  He is also the all-time top NBA totals capper. Postseason Total of the Year Philadelphia/LA Dodgers. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and free sports pick.

It’s National Grouch Day and the Phillies will be looking to close out the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night when they play in Los Angeles. Here’s your Daily Sports Roundup.

The Gridiron Spotlight

The vaunted NFC East took a hit last week, with the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys all going down to defeat (and Dallas losing QB Tony Romo to boot). Philadelphia was the only NFC East club to win, as they picked up a road victory in San Francisco. The Eagles are off in Week 7, but their rivals all opened as favorites; it’s currently Dallas (-7) at St. Louis, San Francisco at the Giants (-12), and finally Cleveland at Washington (-7).

Other Notable Events

Philadelphia took a 3-1 lead in the NLCS on Monday night with a 7-5 road win over the Dodgers in Game 4 of the series. Shane Victorino and Matt Stairs both homered for Philly in their key eighth-inning rally, while Chase Utley stroked three hits in the game.

Wednesday’s Game 5 will feature a pitching matchup of the Phillies’ Cole Hamels and the Dodgers’ Chad Billingsley. Hamels is 2-0 so far during the playoffs, beating the Brewers in the NLDS and holding the Dodgers to two earned runs over seven innings earlier in this series. Billingsley also picked up an NLDS win, but he was rocked for seven earned runs over just 2 1-3 innings of work against the Phillies in his last start.

The oddsmakers opened the Phillies as -125 road favorites for Game 5, with the total pegged at 7.5 runs. As well, Philadelphia is listed as the -130 favorite to win the NLCS.

Who has the winner? From the power of 620 sports services behind every selection, the MasterLockLine, Leo Getz hits Tampa last night as the AL Playoffs Game of the Year, now the NL version, the National League Playoff Game of the Year Phillies/Dodgers. 

Kal Elner, a handicapper out of Reading, PA hits a consistent 65 percent when “waiving his normal star rating system”.  He is also the all-time top NBA totals capper. Postseason Total of the Year Philadelphia/LA Dodgers. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and a free sports pick

The Rest of the Schedule

The New York Rangers ran their record to a perfect 5-0-0 last time out, and they’ll be gunning for their sixth straight win on Wednesday night when they play host to the Buffalo Sabres. As well, the 2-0-1 Montreal Canadiens will get a visit from the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Rounding out the National Hockey League’s schedule for the night: Phoenix at Chicago, Nashville at Dallas, and Edmonton at Anaheim in late action.

News from the Wire

Cowboys QB Tony Romo could miss as many as four games with his broken finger . . . Browns TE Kellen Winslow missed the team’s big upset win over the Giants with his illness . . . Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck won’t play in Week 7 because of a back injury . . . The Ravens are expected to stick with rookie QB Joe Flacco in spite of his recent struggles . . . the Arena League’s New Orleans VooDoo have decided to fold.

A Peek at the Future

If the Dodgers manage to beat the Phillies on Wednesday night the two teams will head back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Friday; if Game 7 is necessary, it will be played on Saturday . . . the American League Championship Series resumes on Thursday night at Fenway Park, with the Rays holding a 2-1 series lead on the BoSox. Boston‘s James Shields will go up against Tampa Bay‘s Daisuke Matsuzaka in that pivotal matchup.

Final Presidential Debate

According to the political betting odds Republican Presidential candidate John McCain needs a miracle to upset Democrat Barack Obama. McCain’s last stand can begin tonight at Hofstra University. Waterboarding is expected to be a hot topic if one were to believe the Internet blogs

Should I go with, against or ignore the public consensus?   What do I do with line moves?  Are they one and the same?  You ask some good questions.

Probably at one time or another you have joked, or maybe were quite serious when you said something to the effect, “Bet against my buddy, JoeBagOfDonuts.  Every game he picks, he loses.”

I knew a old hand sportsbook clerk who maintained fervently that every time some loudmouth came into his sportsbook and bragged that the oddsmakers were giving away money on a particular game or that a line was so far off, then plopped down $25 on such a “sure thing”, the clerk would immediately go to another casino and bet the other side.  He vowed that about 70 percent of the time, the big bragging, small-playing egomaniac would lose.

In actuality, the basic philosophy behind that is very compelling.  Fading public consensus plays can be actually be a very genuine and priceless starting point of handicapping.  A little known fact is that the oddsmakers very much study public betting trends when making the line. That is, in many circumstances, the linesmaker before he even posts a line, knows that recent data shows that the public is going to lean towards betting Team A against Team B, regardless of what the line is.  Hence a team that should be a 14 point favorite is posted as a 16-point chalk. Just an extra half-point here and an extra point there can prove huge over the long run.

The great equalizer would of course to have the exact information of which teams are overpriced because of public perception.  As we like to say, you can use the oddsmakers knowledge against them.

I have heard both first hand and second hand stories about guys who ran parlay card operations (for amusement only of course) who every week would compile a consensus from among their hundreds of participants.

They would then bet against all of biggest consensus plays and do very, very well.  We have found that the public consensus plays as found at contest sites such as Bigguy and Wagerline have been very accurate in measuring public perception.  Generally the top consensus plays at those sites and from outlaw information that we get fairly parallel.

I only consider something above 70-percent to be significant enough for “fading” purposes.  Consensus plays that overwhelming are often few and far between, but just like in everything else that we do, we set the bar very high.

However, so often the public confuses line moves and “public plays”.  Line moves are much more affected by the sharp player than the majority, thus merely tracking line moves does have some value, but is not a foolproof indicator of fade plays.

That’s why I compare the information that I get from my outlaw book acquaintances, offshore contacts and compare them to the Internet contest sites.  When all such information coincides, we have the chance to fade sucker plays.

Schleps can be of great value to smart players.  The more you fade them, the brighter they begin to look.

The author, Joe Duffy has his picks part of GodsTips, anchor of OffshoreInsiders.com A long-time veteran of the sports betting industry, Duffy got his start at Dial Sports 976 Dial It service and eventually became the most decorated scorephone handicapper in history.

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox will both be trying to pick up a win on Tuesday when they battle at Fenway Park in Game 4 of the ALCS.
The Rays will pin their hopes on the pitching of righthander Andy Sonnanstine in this game. Sonnanstine has a 14-9 record and a 4.34 ERA this season.
The Red Sox will counter Sonnanstine with Tim Wakefield. Righthander Wakefield has a 4.13 ERA to go along with a 10-11 record this season.
Odds aren't yet posted for this game, so check back later for the opening line and total.
B.J. Upton went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer as the Rays walked past the Red Sox 9-1 to take a 2-1 lead in the ALCS on Monday.
Tampa Bay cashed as +170 road underdogs as the game played over the 8.5-run total listed by oddsmakers.
Rocco Baldelli also had a three-run jack for the Rays, while winning pitcher Matt Garza allowed one run over six innings for Tampa Bay.
Jacoby Ellsbury drove in the lone run for Boston, as Jon Lester gave up four earned runs over 5 2-3 innings to take the loss for the Red Sox.
Team records:
Tampa Bay: 97-65 SU
Boston: 95-67 SU
Tampa Bay most recently:
When playing on Tuesday are 2-8
Before playing Boston are 5-5
After playing Boston are 9-1
After a win are 6-4

Boston most recently:
When playing on Tuesday are 7-3
Before playing Tampa Bay are 6-4
After playing Tampa Bay are 3-7
After a loss are 7-3
A few trends to consider:
Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Boston
Tampa Bay is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 9 games on the road
Boston is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay
Boston is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home
Next up:
Boston home to Tampa Bay, Thursday, October 16