MLB Saturday 7* Philadelphia Phillies Money Line -175 to -185 range vs New York Mets @ 4:05 ET - Normally in a spot like this I would recommend the run line and go with a 10* Top and not lay any juice. However, the reason for the big juice here is that if a game is rain-shortened but official (goes at least 5 innings but not the full 9 innings) the money line wagers are PAID but run line plays are UNPAID. Tropical Storm Ophelia is affecting weather on the East Coast and what will first be showers will start to turn toward a heavier rain. Looks like Phillies should be able to get this one in and I like red hot Philly here with Wheeler facing his former team. Wheeler is a rock solid hurler and will outduel Quintana here. The Phillies have that winning feeling right now and just continue to find a way day in and day out and I want to keep riding them here as they have all the edges in this match-up again. More of a line than I normally lay but it is for the reason noted above. Keep in mind a 10* at -126 juice is the same risk amount as a 7* at a -180 price. This is worth a 7* play in my book and I expect another Phillies winner for us here! 7* PHILADELPHIA -175 to -185

CFL Saturday 10* Top Play Calgary Stampeders +1.5 vs Montreal Alouettes @ 4 ET - This is a great spot for a home dog because the Stampeders are not only off a bye week, it was preceded by an ugly loss at Edmonton in which they had a disastrous 4th quarter and gave up 18 points unanswered in the loss. That means the Stamps can't wait to get back on the field make up for that loss to the Elks and they have extra energy - physical and mental - as they have been off for two weeks leading into this. Montreal has lost 4 straight and their win before this losing streak was by just a 1-point margin. Stampeders having a rough season too but this set-up is perfect for payback. 10* CALGARY +1.5

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Washington Huskies vs California Golden Bears @ 10:30 ET - This total has dropped quite a bit from the opener and is in the 57 range as of early gameday morning. I feel we have excellent line value here as too much respect is being given to some defensive stats each team has but take a look at some of the offensive production. Cal is averaging 80 plays per game on offense and that rates as one of the highest rates in the nation. Washington rates as the most efficient team in the nation as their yards per play average is nearly 10 yards! Keep in mind, that is an average of nearly getting a first down with every snap. The Huskies are very dangerous and strong offensively and it looks like only light winds and light rain in the forecast for Husky Stadium Saturday night in Seattle. Keep in mind, the Huskies have scored more than 40 in every game this season and it is not like they faced FCS foes! The Golden Bears faced a tough defense when they faced Auburn but they woke up to score 31 points last week in the 2nd half against an FCS foe. In other words, had they also been awake for the first half one could logically say they would have scored 62 points! They did score 58 points in their first game and that was against an FBS foe as they faced North Texas. The point is that both teams are confident right now yet the Huskies favored by 3 TDS for a reason. Lets say the odds makers are right about this line. If Cal scores just 20 points but the line is correct at 3 TDs then a 41-20 final puts this game into the 60s. I feel we have excellent value here because this Huskies offense is running like a well-oiled machine so far but Cal can move the ball as well. The Golden Bears offense looks better than it has in the past and they have scored at least 20 in each of last 3 meetings with Huskies. This one gets into the 60s the way I see it! 10* OVER the total in Washington

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play Utah Utes (-) vs UCLA Bruins @ 3:30 ET - This line has been all over the place because of the uncertain status of QB Cameron Rising for the Utes. Let me tell you what we do know about this match-up. Kyle Whittingham is a better coach than Chip Kelly. The UCLA young quarterback has played well but makes his first ever PAC-12 road start. The Bruins are playing right into the teeth of revenge as UCLA won a tight one (though double digit final margin of 10) over Utah last season. That was the 1st win in 4 tries for Kelly with the Bruins against Whittingham with the Utes. The first 3 meetings...how did those go? Utah won all 3 by at least 20 each team and with an average margin of victory at 32 points! There is nothing average about that and the Utes defense got embarrassed last season at UCLA. That is where one of the biggest keys lies in this rematch. Everyone is talking about QB Rising and the fact he may miss again but the Utes offense has still been decent and they still have the better defense in this match-up plus they are at home and plus this Utah defense wants to prove that last season was an aberration. A lot of key factors including a solid low number here (3.5 as of early gameday morning) have me all over the Utes in this one! 10* UTAH (-) points

CFB Saturday 10* Top Play Iowa Hawkeyes (+) @ Penn State Nittany Lions @ 7:30 ET - It is impossible to forecast the exact timing of the rain but showers followed by heavy rain and some wind - not too windy but possible gusts - are moving into the area because of Tropical Storm Opheila. State College, PA is over 200 miles away the ocean but the fact is those bands of rain are coming deep inland and I love having big points with an underdog when conditions are a little bit sloppy. This is particularly true when it is a defensive-minded dog that likes to run the football. I know that the Nittany Lions have a great record so far and have looked good but they benefited firstly from rather easy opponents then first two weeks - dysfunctional West Virginia team and an FCS team (Delaware) - and then secondly from Illinois turning the ball over 5 times against them last week! Penn State is a rock solid team and I really like their QB too. They have the definite aerial attack edge in this match-up but you can tell by the low total posted on this game, this one is expected to be a low-scoring defensive-minded rush-oriented match-up. This Hawkeyes team has a very tough defense and they are well-coached. Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured coach in the nation and has been here for a quarter-century now! The Hawkeyes have won the the last two meetings outright and, while I am not anticipating that here, I am expecting this one to be decided by a one-score margin. That means excellent line value with Iowa available at +14.5 and no less than +14 as of early gameday morning. We'll take it! 10* IOWA + points

Rotation #200053: English Premier League: Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 2.5 -115 in Brentford vs Everton @ 12:30 ET - Both teams off 1-0 losses last week you know what is coming this week...an emphasis on attacking and scoring some goals! Brentford normally attacks well and scores well. Everton has only 2 goals this season but those came in their 2 road matches. Brentford was averaging 2 goals scored per match before being shutout last week. Also, the Bees are winless at home with 3 draws so they will push hard for the full 3 points in the table here and I am anticipating a 2-1 type final as a result. Keep in mind Brentford has allowed at least 1 goal in 4 straight games. The loss last week for Brentford was their first league loss since May so they will be ready to bounce back strong here! They have scored at least 1 goal in 16 straight home matches in league action as well! I like Brentford to score well at home here but I also like Everton to take advantage of some injury concerns for the Bees at the backline. That said, look for more scoring than most are expecting here after last week's 1-0 matches! 10* OVER 2.5 in Brentford

Rotation #200049: English Premier League: Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 3 -130 in Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest @ 10 AM ET - Looks like Jack Grealish could be available for this one for City but, either way, I am expecting plenty of scoring. Manchester City has won 12 straight Premier League home matches in 2023 and have scored an average of 3 goals per match in these victories. City has conceded at least 1 goal in 4 straight matches so I do expect Nottingham Forest to make the net ripple at least once. Note that Forest has faced a tough slate of matches early this season yet they are averaging 1.4 goals scored per match. City is a powerhouse though, in particular at home, and they get the big win here and I am looking for a 3-1 type match here. 10* OVER 3 -130 in Manchester City

Rotation #206909: Romania Liga 1: Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 2.5 -110 in Universitatea Cluj vs Universitatea Craiova @ 2:30 ET - Each club is scoring an average of 1.5 goals per match and I am expecting 3 goals here. Universitatea Cluj is off a 1-0 road win but lost their most recent home match in shutout fashion. This was highly unusual for them as their two matches prior to that had combined for 11 goals. The high-scoring ways resume here as you know the hosts will respond after an embarrassing home shutout loss their last time here. They will have their hands full stopping this Universitatea Craiova outfit however. They are near the top of the table in the league and they will take advantage of a Universitatea Cluj club that is allowing 2 goals per match.  Universitatea Craiova has been shutout in their last two road matches so you know what their focus will be here. Attack, attack, attack...and then attack some more! These visitors have allowed an average of 2 goals per match their last 3 matches so don't be surprised if, given all the variables here, we see a 2-2 match. Either way, I see this one getting to 3 or more goals. 10* OVER 2.5 -110 in Universitatea Cluj

Rotation #206905: Romania Liga 1: Saturday 10* Top Play OVER 2 -130 in FC Botosani vs UTA @ 11:45 AM ET - Yesterday, Galati got their first win of the season and this looks like a great spot for the only other club (Botosani) that is still without a victory to get their first of the new campaign. That said, Botosani will be more aggressive on the attack knowing this UTA club is just above them in the standings and this is a winnable match for the hosts. However, the visitors certainly viewing this one the same way as they face the last-place club in the league. The result here will be an aggressive approach from each club in terms of attacking. Note that the last 3 meetings between these clubs have averaged 3 goals apiece and all of them had multiple goals and there is a lot of value here with this total set at a 2. As for Botosani, 2 of their last 3 matches have totaled 4 goals and all of them have totaled at least 2 goals. UTA is much better club than their record shows and they will take advantage of facing a lesser foe to get their goal-scoring going again. 10* OVER 2 -130 in FC Botosani