The morning line for the 2011 Final 4, Virginia Commonwealth vs. Butler and Kentucky vs. Connecticut has not seen a lot of movement and are presented below.

OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Sports Handicapper Matt Rivers has a free pick Saturday on the Houston Astros (+225) at Philadelphia.

Reasoning: I never mind teams that are coming off of horrific losses and that is the case with the Houston Astros after blowing the 4-0 lead very late yesterday. Professionals just seem to bounce back a lot more than they don’t no matter the situation and at this quality take back why not back the visitors from Houston?

Of course Cliff Lee has the upside of any pitcher in the game today, save maybe Roy Halladay, and could twirl a gem against any team and that certainly includes the mediocre at the very best Astros. But there is something right now about Charlie Manual’s offense with Chase Utley out that I do not like. Ryan Howard and the boys did not look very good yesterday at all. They did win in the end thanks to a bunch of key singles but I do not believe this team is locked and loaded. We saw a bunch of ice cold hitting from the Phils last season as they struggled immensely at times. How they wound up winning 97 games or whatever truly was a miracle as they just weren’t that good a lot of the time.

Wandy Rodriguez gets the ball for the Astros and the lefty at times can be awesome. He was not that good in the first half of last season but this kid has high quality stuff and certainly can neutralize Howard, Raul Ibanez and whatever lefty is in the Philadelphia lineup.

If Lee is lights out and just too good then I will tip my cap. But Rodriguez can match him with some zeros of his own and after yesterday’s rough beat and at this big-time take back I am fine with Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn and the Astros today.

Top expert pick on this game: Houston Astros

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Here is the morning line for the 2011 Final 4

OffshoreInsiders.com presents The Final 4 2011 predictions info is up from a sports handicapping standpoint. It’s Butler vs. Virginia Commonwealth and Kentucky vs. Connecticut. Here are the betting matchups.

Virginia Commonwealth vs. Butler (-2.5) 133.5

Spread betting trends (all records are against the spread): VCU 9-0 is as an underdog, 9-0 in NCAA Tournament, 6-0 nonconference, 5-0 as an underdog.

Butler is 6-0 off straight up win, 15-2 on neutral courts, 21-4 versus an opponent with a winning percentage of .600 or above, 17-5 in NCAA Tournament, 2-15 to teams with a winning record, and 40-16 outside the conference.

Over/under trends: VCU over 10-3 off win, but under 7-3 as an underdog of 0.5-6.5. Butler has gone under 7-2 in NCAA Tournament, over 14-6 neutral site games as a favorite, under 7-3 off win.

Kentucky (-2.5) 140 vs. Connecticut

Spread betting trends (all records are against the spread): Kentucky 7-1 in nonconference games, 8-2 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite, 16-5 to Big East, but 3-7 off straight up win.

UConn is 6-0  neutral site games as an underdog, 9-1 10 non-conference games, 26-9  following a S.U. win, 23-8 as underdogs.

Over/under trends: Kentucky over 5-0 off straight up win.

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OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Sports Handicapper Matt Rivers has a free pick Friday is on the Seattle Mariners (+103) White Sox.

Trevor Cahill had a breakout season last year and probably is a legitimate and very good pitcher but to get money with Felix Hernandez is just way too good to pass up.

The A’s are probably the superior team when compared to Ichiro and the Mariners but it’s not as if that is courtesy of their offense. Oakland’s lineup is once again extremely mediocre, even with the addition of Hideki Matsui, and without a doubt could get completely shut down and shutout today by Hernandez. There are still a lot of average journeymen type bats in their order that are behind the eight ball up against Hernandez in this thing.

The Seattle hurler is arguably the best pitcher on the planet right now. If his team supported him at all last season he would have had many more wins than he had and would have been a runaway Cy Young award winner. The guy is just filthy and flat out dominant and no matter how great of a season Cahill is coming off of he is just not on the level of his mound combatant and shouldn’t be today.

Oakland is at home and should have more victories when all is said and done but that wouldn’t be the case if Hernandez was able to pitch all 162 games so being the better team overall is very irrelevant regarding today’s one single game. To not have to lay money with King Felix against pretty much anybody is a semi steal and against the good but nothing more A’s is an absolute must play today.

Top expert pick on this game: Seattle

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Two teams battling for the second seed in the Western Conference playoff race meet on Thursday at the Staples Center, as the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers (53-20) host the Dallas Mavericks (53-21) with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.  The Lakers (-6) have dropped two of the last three meetings with the Mavericks, and both teams still have an outside chance of catching San Antonio for the best record in the league.

The Spurs are mired in a season-high four-game losing streak pending the outcome of their matchup with Boston earlier in the evening.  The Lakers are an NBA-best 15-1 since the All-Star break and have continued to narrow the gap with San Antonio in an effort to seize homecourt advantage when they defend their championship.  Despite the hot streak, LA has failed to cover the spread in four of the last five games with the OVER cashing three times after the total went UNDER in seven of the previous eight.

The team won 96-91 at Dallas to start a seven-game winning streak on March 12 after losing the previous two meetings by an average of seven points.  The Mavs would lose a potential tiebreaker for the second seed with the Lakers, who have the edge as a division winner.

Regardless of what happens, Dallas should finish no worse than third in the West after winning 50 games for the 11^th season in a row.  The Mavericks are riding a five-game winning streak – going 4-1 against the spread – and the UNDER has cashed in five of their past six.  The last three wins are part of a five-game road trip that ends with stops in Oakland and Portland.

Dallas topped the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday 106-100 at Staples behind 24 points from Dirk Nowitzki while J.J. Barea added 22 off the bench.  The Mavs had scored less than 95 points in each of their previous two games, and scoring at least 100 against the Lakers could be the key to deciding which team emerges with a victory.  The winner between the two has totaled 100 points or more in eight of the past 10 meetings with the OVER cashing six times.

LA is averaging nearly 118 points in its last three games after failing to reach the century mark in four of the team’s previous five games.  Of course one of those recent games was a 139-137 win over Phoenix last week in triple overtime, the closest an opponent has come to beating the Lakers outside of their loss at Miami on March 10.

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Opening Day MLB Thursday winner is on the New York Yankees (-145) to Detroit from OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Sports Handicapper Matt Rivers. It’s a day game on ESPN.

Many more times than not I am an underdog player with baseball as I love getting that take back and subsequent value with a team that has a great chance to win yet is a nice priced dog. There certainly are though times when the favorite seems to be laying less than they should be and that is the case here from Yankee Stadium.

I have said for a while that the prices on the diamond have been plummeting over the past five to 10 years and I see this game as a prime example. To be able to lay south of about 150 with Yankees in the Bronx and a stud ace in CC Sabathia on the hill would never have been the case just a few short years ago. I have all of the respect in the world for Justin Verlander as the guy has lights out stuff at times but it’s still on the road against one of the best teams in the game in the Yankees. Plus Verlander is no Sabathia.

Arod, Tex, Swisher, Jeter, Cano and the Bombers may be getting a little older but they are still much deeper and more potent than the sketchy Tigers, whether Miggy is sober or not. Jim Leyland’s team is truly very average when all is said and done and away from Comerica and up against the big bad Yankees makes me more than fine with fading the boys from Motown and backing the superior Yankees.

Top expert pick on today’s card: New York Yankees

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Proposition odds are up for the Final Four matchups Butler vs. Virginia Commonwealth and Kentucky vs. Connecticut. Bradford Burgess vs. Shelvin Mack, Terrence Jones vs. Jeremy Lamb; how many points will Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker score? These are among the proposition bets available according to world class pick site OffshoreInsiders.com

For winning point spread picks, 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.

If you haven’t had your fantasy baseball draft yet, that means two things: (a) you’re wrapped up in MLB betting or (b) your draft must be in the next 24 hours, as the season starts Thursday. If you fall under (b), you clearly need a quick cheat sheet. Here’s some crucial information to know.

TOP THREE NO-BRAINER PICKS

1.                     Albert Pujols, 1B: He’s only the greatest right-handed hitter of all time AND in a contract year. Take him if you have the first pick.

2.                     Hanley Ramirez, SS: He needs to be a top-two guy given the scarcity of talent at shortstop this year.

3.                     Miguel Cabrera, 1B: Joey Votto has the one big season and Troy Tulowitzki gets hurt every year. Booze or no booze, Miggy Cabrera is money in the bank. Take that to your sportsbook.

TOP THREE OVERRATED PICKS

1.                     Carlos Gonzalez, OF: CarGo is a great ball player and had an amazing 2010 but he’s going as high as first in some drafts. That’s way too crazy for a guy with one good season and sometimes-questionable plate discipline.

2.                     Ian Kinsler, 2B: Still very talented but Kinsler gets hurt every single year.

3.                     Joe Mauer, C: Why take Mauer when you can wait 10 picks and take Buster Posey, who could match Mauer in average but has more power and is less of an injury risk?

TOP THREE UNDERRATED PICKS

1.                     Jon Lester, SP: You’ll probably see at least five pitchers fly off the board before Lester but he’s a reliable 200-plus strikeout guy on a great team. He’s a fine anchor for any fantasy rotation.

2.                     Nelson Cruz, OF: For all the love that a guy like Matt Kemp gets, Cruz’s per-game fantasy production was as good as anyone’s last season. Let’s hope he can avoid injuries in 2011.

3.                     Dan Uggla, 2B: Some people get scared off by his strikeouts and often-poor average – but not this sports betting blog. Uggla is just the second second baseman in MLB history to hit 30 homers in four consecutive seasons. That’s major power from a light-hitting position.

TOP THREE BREAKOUT STARS

1.                     Jason Heyward, OF: To me, he’s the National League’s answer to Josh Hamilton. Unfortunately, that comparison looks like it will include injury concerns. Let’s hope the big fella plays a full year with the Braves.

2.                     Francisco Liriano, SP: As we’ve seen with Josh Johnson, many pitchers really start to dominate once they’re more than a full season removed from Tommy John surgery. I think Liriano will put it all together and contend for a Cy Young this season.

3.                     Carlos Santana, C: Mauer, Posey, Victor Martinez and Brian McCann get all the love, but you can wait another round or two after those guys are gone and snag a catcher who could be just as valuable this season. I’m betting the Indians’ Santana bounces back from his knee injury to hit .285 with 20-plus homers and 80-plus RBI.

TOP THREE SLEEPER PICKS

1.                     Starlin Castro, SS: Castro still isn’t quite a household name yet, so you may be able to snag the Cubs’ starting shortstop on the cheap for one more season. Castro hit .300 as a rookie and is tearing the cover off the ball this spring. Go get him.

2.                     Aroldis Chapman, RP: He isn’t closing right now but the man who owns baseball’s fastest-ever pitch won’t be denied the job for long. His strikeouts make him valuable immediately, especially in leagues that count holds.

3.                     Mike Morse, OF: The Washington Nationals’ new starting left fielder is a very deep sleeper and will only be drafted in the biggest of leagues. But he jacked 15 homers in half a season’s worth of at-bats last year and will finally get a crack at full-time duty this year.

TOP THREE BUST PICKS

1.                     Trevor Cahill, SP: He doesn’t strike anyone out and was very lucky last season with his defense and ballpark. Time for the 18-game winner to crash back to Earth.

2.                     Jose Bautista, 3B/OF: Bautista may still have a decent season but there’s just no way he hits 54 homers again. Something around 34 seems more appropriate.

3.                     Clay Buchholz, SP: Buchholz is a good pitcher for sure but the advanced numbers indicate that luck on his batting average on balls in play helped his ERA drop a run lower than it should’ve been last season.

OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Sports Handicapper Matt Rivers has an NBA pick Wednesday is on Golden State (+10.5) to Memphis.

Reasoning: I might as well but and paste the last few comp plays on the Warriors that I have written because this is going to be a similar write-up. I have been backing Golden State a lot in this spot of late even though they have nothing at all to play for. It’s tough to trust a team that has struggled and is well below. 500 like Golden State is and that’s why I can’t back them in any premium play sort of a way. But to fully disregard today’s talented visitors even on a back-to-back is something that I cannot do.

Memphis is certainly competent and fighting for their playoff lives. But the Grizzlies aren’t exactly a great team and without Rudy Gay can’t exactly be trusted either. No doubt Zach Randolph has stepped up this season in a big-time way and at times looks like a superstar but former All-Star David Lee should hold his own in the post and the other three talented leaders on the Warriors in Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry and Dorell Wright are very good as well.

It is a tough spot for Golden State after just playing in Oklahoma City last night and traveling here to Elvis land but the Warriors don’t have any pressure on them and have the upside and ability to come out and keep this game very tight.

There is always a chance that a good Memphis team could blast the tired Warriors but the Grizz aren’t anything more than good and at this gaudy number I’ll take my chances.

Top expert pick on this game: Golden State

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Two teams that will likely square off in the first round of the NBA playoffs meet on Wednesday when the Orlando Magic (47-27) visit the Atlanta Hawks (42-32).  Orlando holds the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, sitting four games behind Miami and five games ahead of Atlanta.  The Hawks are also four games ahead of Philadelphia and will be looking to win their third straight game and second without leading scorer Joe Johnson, who is expected to sit out again with a sprained thumb.

Atlanta went 5-4 without Johnson in December when he missed time with an elbow injury and can win the season series against the Magic with one another victory here.  The Hawks have covered all three meetings this season as underdogs, winning the last two straight-up by an average of eight points.  The UNDER has cashed in nine of the past 10 games between the teams.

Johnson was not missed in a 99-83 rout of Cleveland on the road Sunday since Marvin Williams picked up the slack by scoring a season-high 31 points.  Al Horford also had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta while Josh Smith added 13 and 18.  The Hawks have covered their last three games with the UNDER cashing in the past two.

“It was something we had to learn to do,” Williams said. “(Johnson) doesn’t miss many games. We knew what we had to do. Everyone had to chip in a little more.”

Orlando is also dealing with injuries, as guards Jameer Nelson (knee), Quentin Richardson (back) and Chris Duhon (thumb) are day-to-day and J.J. Redick (abdomen) will miss his 10^th game in a row.  Gilbert Arenas filled in for Nelson at the point on Monday and contributed nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a 113-106 overtime loss at New York.

The Magic saw All-Star center Dwight Howard foul out in the extra session after scoring a team-high 29 points and grabbing a game-high 18 rebounds against the Knicks, and he then proceeded to pick up his NBA-leading 17^th technical.  One more tech will lead to a one-game suspension for Howard, who is averaging 26.3 points and 16.7 rebound in the last six games.

“It was a wild, wild game, but we still had a chance to win it if a few things had gone the other way,” Howard said. “It’s an intense game out there and I’m emotional sometimes. My teammates know what is going on, but we’ll just move on.”

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