I haven't watched the Bulls-Heat game tonight, but after checking the stats at the half, I've come to the conclusion that this halftime line is pretty good. The Bulls have a large differential compared to the Heat in four significant statistical categories:

FG%: Bulls: 44%, Heat: 52%

3-pointers: Bulls: 2-for-9, Heat: 5-for-9

Assists: Bulls: 14, Heat: 10

Turnovers: Bulls: 11, Heat: 4

Since field-goal and three-point percentages are usually a matter of luck, which evens out over a period of time, I like the Bulls to have a better percentage in the second half than the Heat. Also, because the Bulls have bettered the Heat in terms of assists, they are moving the ball more effectively than the Heat. Finally, turnovers are a stat caused more by the offense's mistakes than the defense' pressure (although pressure does contribute), so I expect the Bulls' turnovers to decrease in the second half relative to the Heat.

The Bulls are down 52-45 at the half. The halftime line is Bulls +1, meaning that the game line on the Bulls is +8 if you take this bet. I think it would be a wise move because of the above stat differentials.

MLB (76.7 - 67.3)

Rangers (Loe) +140 at Indians (Byrd): Several Rangers have had success against Paul Byrd: Michael Young (5-for-16, 1 3B), Mark Teixeira (5-for-13, 3 2B, 1 HR), and Sammy Sosa (4-for-10, 2 HR). In a total of 109 plate appearances against Byrd, the Rangers' hitters have the following stats: .314 BA, .358 OBP, .549 SLG. Also, Byrd's been hittable so far this year: 12 IP, 4 ER, 15 H, 2 BB, 7 K. Meanwhile, Rangers' starter Kameron Loe is coming off a great first start of the season: 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K. He's got a nasty sinkerball, which will be a key to slowing down the Indians' power-hitting lineup.

Astros (Rodriguez) -130 at Pirates (Armas): Astros' starter Wandy Rodriguez has been decent this season: 19 IP, 10 ER, 18 H, 6 BB, 17 K. Even though he hasn't had much success against the Pirates' hitters, the opposing pitcher, Tony Armas, has been so bad that Rodriguez should be able to win this game. Armas has allowed 14 runs on 15 hits and seven walks in just 6.2 innings this season.

Reds (Lohse) at Cardinals (Keisler) Over 9 runs (-110): Randy Keisler has been okay this year (11 IP, 5 ER, 11 H, 4 BB, 5 K), but he's a minor-league journeyman who doesn't have the stuff to consistently retire big-league hitters. Meanwhile, Kyle Lohse has also been pitching a bit over his head (1.91 ERA, 1.02 WHIP). In 2006, Lohse had a 5.85 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 126.2 IP, so I expect his numbers to gradually worsen as the year goes on. Both offenses feature great hitters, so I'm expecting a high-scoring output against these mediocre starting pitchers.

Devil Rays (Seo) at Angels (Colon) -1.5 runs (-110): Bartolo Colon came back from injury with a very good outing: 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 1 K. The lack of strikeouts might be a bit worrisome, but as long as hitters aren't making good contact against Colon, he's a solid pitcher. Meanwhile, Jae Seo has been awful this season: 22.3 IP, 7.66 ERA, 1.88 WHIP.

Nationals (Hill) at Phillies (Hamels) -1.5 runs (-110): Cole Hamels is having an exceptional season, as he's already supplanted Brett Myers as the Phillies' ace: 28 IP, 2.57 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 33 K. He struck out 15 against the Reds on Saturday in a complete-game victory, and the 115 pitches he threw might be worrisome if he wasn't facing a team as offensively inept as the Nationals. His pitching opponent, Shawn Hill, has been good so far this season: 24.7 IP, 2.92 ERA, 1.18 WHIP. But Hill has a problem with his right forearm; he says that medication makes it a non-issue, but he also hasn't had to face the red-hot Phillies' lineup. Ryan Howard homered last night in a 9-3 win, so he might be getting back on an offensive groove. If so, Hill could get bombed today.

Red Sox (Beckett) -1.5 runs (Even) at Orioles (Loewen)

Tigers (Robertson) Even at White Sox (Contreras)

Padres (Young) -120 at Diamondbacks (Hernandez)

Giants (Ortiz) at Dodgers (Penny) -1.5 runs (+120)

NBA (119 - 100)

Pistons (-2) at Magic

Rockets (+4.5) at Jazz

Suns (-4) at Lakers

MLB (74.7 - 62.8)

Rockies (Fogg) at Mets (Pelfrey) -1.5 runs (+110): Josh Fogg has pitched poorly this year (6.61 ERA, 1.84 WHIP), and the following Mets have pounded him in the past: Shawn Green (10-for-31, 5 2B), Moises Alou (10-for-27, 1 HR), Paul Lo Duca (10-for-21, 2 2B), Carlos Beltran (8-for-19, 1 3B), Carlos Delgado (6-for-12), and Jose Valentin (3-for-7, 1 HR). Opposing starter Mike Pelfrey hasn't pitched consistently well this year (10.2 IP, 6 ER, 12 H, 6 BB, 5 K). However, he has immense potential, and he should be serviceable against a Rockies' offense that hasn't been able to hit much this season. The Rockies rank last in the National League in slugging percentage and 12th in runs scored. Meanwhile, the Mets are first in slugging percentage and second in runs scored.

Brewers (Sheets) +110 at Cubs (Lilly): After a good opening-day start, Ben Sheets gave up 12 earned runs over his next two starts. But he rebounded with a solid outing against the Astros last week, and his 1.15 WHIP for the season shows that it's tough for opposing hitters to reach base against him. Among Cubs' hitters, only Derrek Lee has had consistent success (17-for-46, 2 2Bs, 7 HR). Aramis Ramirez (12-for-55), Jacque Jones (2-for-13), and Cesar Izturis (2-for-24) have all struggled against the Brewers' ace. Although Cubs' starter Ted Lilly has been one of their lone bright spots this year (26 IP, 2.42 ERA, 0.77 WHIP), he's due for a bad outing. Last year, Lilly had a 4.32 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 181.2 IP, and I expect his numbers to be closer to that by the end of this season, with a moderate improvement due to the switch to the pitcher-friendly NL. Also, the Brewers have won four straight games, so it'll be hard for the Cubs, who are losers of three straight, to break through today.

Red Sox (Schilling) -130 at Orioles (Cabrera): Against Curt Schilling, the only Orioles with success are Aubrey Huff (11-for-43, 5 2B, 1 HR), Chris Gomez (10-for-33, 1 HR), and Miguel Tejada (7-for-20, 3 2B). Everyone else in their lineup has struggled to hit him. Schilling should put an end to the Red Sox' modest two-game losing streak today, as he's been good this year: 26 IP, 11 ER, 24 H, 5 BB, 20 K. Meanwhile, opposing starter Daniel Cabrera has shown improvement with his control: 26.3 IP, 12 ER, 28 H, 7 BB, 26 K. Last year, he walked 104 batters in 148 innings, so this season's decline in walks indicates that he's finally learning to pitch. But the fact is that Cabrera is still learning, and he's getting hit more than in the past as a result of his desire to avoid walks. The Red Sox boast dangerous hitters who make great contact on pitches that get too much of the strike zone, so I expect Cabrera to have a tough time tonight. And Schilling should hold the Orioles to few enough runs for the Red Sox to grind out a victory.

Braves (Hudson) -150 at Marlins (Olsen): Tim Hudson has been terrific this season: 29 IP, 2 ER, 16 H, 11 BB, 19 K. He beat the Marlins on April 15, allowing six hits and a run in seven innings. This is actually a rematch of that game, as Scott Olsen got banged up for five runs on six hits in just 2.2 innings. Olsen's been struglging with his control this year: 18 IP, 15 ER, 22 H, 15 BB, 10 K. Since he hasn't shown any signs of coming out of his funk, the Braves are a good play today.

Blue Jays (Burnett) at Yankees (Pettitte) -1.5 runs (-110): Andy Pettitte has been a warrior this year, as he's started four games and pitched in relief twice in order to save an overworked Yankees' bullpen. Pettitte's put up solid numbers in his outings (25.3 IP, 5 ER, 24 H, 9 BB, 13 K), and he'll be looking to break the Yankees' five-game losing streak today. Meanwhile, A.J. Burnett has been inconsistent this year (21 IP, 13 ER, 18 H, 13 BB, 14 K), which doesn't bode well against the Yankees' powerful lineup. Both teams have hit the opposing starter in the past, but I expect Pettitte to get the better of this matchup today in the pressure-filled environs of Yankee Stadium.

Devil Rays (Jackson) at Angels (Lackey) -1.5 runs (-120): The Los Angeles Angels (10-10) open up a two-game set tonight at home against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (9-10). Although their records are almost identical, the Angels are superb at home (9-3). The Halos will give the ball to their ace, John Lackey (2-2, 2.55 ERA), who revels in chewing up the Devil Rays and spitting them out. The tall Texan is 6'1" with a 2.61 ERA against Tampa Bay. Tonight's starter for the D-Rays is the unpredictable Edwin Jackson (0-2, 6.75 ERA). Although Jackson was once considered a top pitching prospect, he's fallen victim to a lack of command. Tonight, he faces a lineup that will make you pay dearly for any mistakes. The Angels' Vladimir Guerrero has been knocking the cover off the ball this past week to the tune of nine hits in his last 18 AB.

Tigers (Durbin) at White Sox (Danks) Over 10.5 runs: To say the Tigers' Chad Durbin (0-1, 10.54 ERA) has been bad this year would be a gross understatement. Durbin has yet to make it out of the 5th inning in each of his 3 starts and has allowed a whopping 20 hits in just under 14 innings. Even more frightening than Durbin's numbers this year are his career numbers against the White Sox (1-6, 10.26 ERA). The White Sox' John Danks (0-2, 5.06 ERA) has been marginally better than Durbin this year, but couldn't find his way out of the fourth inning last Friday when he faced Detroit. In that contest, Danks allowed six hits and four runs in 4.2 innings. Both the Tigers and the White Sox have some huge bats (Paul Konerko, Magglio Ordonez, et al.) that will likely knock these two struggling pitchers out before the 5th inning. Expect a slugfest tonight at US Cellular Field.

NBA (118 - 98)

Wizards at Cavs -11.5: Without their top scorer (Gilbert Arenas) and most productive player (Caron Butler), the Wizards are pretty much dead on arrival in this series. 11.5 points is a lot, but the Wizards' 36.5 FG% in Game 1 wasn't a fluke, as they just don't have anyone who can consistently put the ball in the hoop against a quality team.

Nuggets (+8.5) at Spurs: The Nuggets are too good to be getting this many points. Although the Spurs should bounceback in Game 2 to even the series, this game's going to be relatively close, unless the Nuggets just have an awful shooting night. Nene and Marcus Camby appear capable of causing problems for the Spurs' interior game, as the Spurs were forced into too many jumpshots in Game 1, and they only got to the free-throw line ten times. Meanwhile, the Nuggets took the ball to the rim, and they were rewarded with 25 free-throw attempts.

Warriors at Mavs (-9): In Game 1, the Mavs shot only 35%, compared to the Warriors 42%. The Warriors aren't known for their defense, so the Mavs' poor-shooting night appears to be a bit of a fluke. For the season, the Mavs shot 46.2%, and they should come close to that tonight. Also, the Mavs will be deadset on avenging the embarrassing Game 1 loss, so this one should be a blowout.

MLB (71.4 - 59.2)

Astros (Williams) Even at Pirates (Maholm): Woody Williams has pitched well against the three Pirates who he's faced enough times to develop significant trends: Jack Wilson (2-for-27), Adam LaRoche (2-for-10), and Jason Bay (1-for-9), with all the hits being singles.  Williams hasn't pitched well this year (6.55 ERA, 1.73 WHIP), but opposing starter Paul Maholm has been bad, too (6.19 ERA, 1.75 WHIP).  Also, three Astros have had some success against Maholm: Chris Burke (5-for-12, 1 2B, 1 HR), Craig Biggio (3-for-7, 2 HR), and Morgan Ensberg (2-for-5, 1 HR).  In a total of 85 plate appearances against Maholm, the Astros have posted the following stats: .310 BA, .419 OBP, .521 SLG.

Nationals (Bergmann) at Phillies (Moyer) -1.5 runs (-110): Veteran pitcher Jamie Moyer has pitched well this year: 20.2 IP, 3.05 ERA, 1.26 WHIP.  Also, he's had success against the Nationals' hitters in their 137 plate appearances: .213 BA, .284 OBP, .362 SLG.  Although Jason Bergmann's shown decent stuff in his outings, his overall stats indicate that he has some control problems: 16 IP, 7 ER, 11 H , 11 BB, 15 K.  The Phillies got in an offensive groove last night, and it'll be tough for a young pitcher to stop them.

Brewers (Suppan) at Cubs (Hill) (-150): Rich Hill has been terrific this season: 22 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 7 BB, 18 K.  Against the Brewers' hitters, he's been simply dominant, as they have three hits in 50 at-bats, with 5 walks and 19 strikeouts.  Meanwhile, although Jeff Suppan's having a decent year (3.91 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), several Cubs have hit him hard in their careers: Derrek Lee (18-for-38, 6 2B, 4 HR, 11 BB), Jacque Jones (12-for-37, 4 HR, 11 BB), and Aramis Ramirez (9-for-29, 4 2B, 1 HR). 

Indians (Carmona) at Twins (Santana) -1.5 runs (-110): Johan Santana is the most dominant pitcher in the majors, and he's been performing well so far this year: 27 IP, 9 ER, 18 H, 7 BB, 32 K.  On the other hand, Fausto Carmona is probably the Indians' worst starter: 10.1 IP, 8 ER, 13 H.  Also, the Indians' bullpen isn't a strong point, so if Carmona gets knocked out early, the Twins shouldn't have a problem winning by more than a run.

Reds (Harang) +130 at Cardinals (Wells): After two subpar starts, Aaron Harang bounced back against the Astros last Wednesday with a strong outing: 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K.  Meanwhile, Kip Wells has been on a downslide after starting off the season well.  In his first two starts, he posted the following stats: 13 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 14 K.  But in the last two starts he wasn't as good: 13 IP, 7 ER, 11 H, 4 BB, 8 K.  Both Wells and Harang have taken their lumps against the opposition, but I like the value in a Harang play, as he's the superior starting pitcher in this matchup.

White Sox (Vazquez) -150 at Royals (Bannister):  The Chicago White Sox (10-8) will play the second of a two-game series against the Kansas City Royals (6-13) tonight at Kauffman Stadium.  The White Sox must like playing after getting a good night's sleep, as they're 6-2 in night games.  Chicago starter Javier Vasquez (2-0, 2.50) has done a good job of handling the Royals throughout his career, evidenced by his 4-1 record and sparkling 1.88 ERA against them.  The Royals' starter for tonight, converted reliever Brian Bannister (no record), will be making only his seventh professional start and his first for the Royals.  Bannister will have his hands full containing the White Sox' Jim Thome, who has seven hits in his last 16 AB's along with three long balls and five RBI.  Chicago has won every time Vazquez has taken the mound this year and tonight should be no exception.

NBA (116 - 97)

Nets at Raptors (-5): The Raptors lost the first game due to a lack of playoff experience, as T.J. Ford and Chris Bosh seemed a bit tentative.  But compared to the Nets' roster, they are such superior athletes that they should be able to bounceback in a critical Game 2 at home.  This is a must-win for the Raptors, while the Nets have already done their job in Toronto by stealing the first game.  In situations like this, the psychological factors play a major role, and I'm expecting the Raptors to win big.  The series will tighten up again when they travel to New Jersey for Game 3.

Heat (+3.5) at Bulls: The Bulls won Game 1 because they killed the Heat on the offensive boards (13 to 4), and that was partly a result of Shaq being limited to 26 minutes due to foul trouble.  After hearing nothing but complaints for the last two days, the officials will be more wary of calling fouls on Shaq, and he should reassert his dominance in the paint.  The Heat have the NBA's best player in Dwayne Wade, and that makes them too good to go down 2-0 against an inconsistent team like the Bulls.

Lakers at Suns (-9): Game 1 was close until the 4th quarter because the Suns had trouble hitting their open jumpshots, and they were just 6-for-23 (26.1%) on three-point attempts.  For the season, the Suns shot 39.8% from beyond the arc, so they're due to start draining three's.  The Lakers don't have enough components to effectively run with the Suns, as Kobe Bryant seems to be the extent of their offense.  The Suns should dominate tonight, and don't be surprised if this turns out to be a four-game sweep. 

MLB (68.0 - 54.7)

Blue Jays (Okha) at Red Sox (Wakefield) -1.5 runs (Even): The Boston Red Sox (12-5) have won five straight games and will take on a team that has lost five straight tonight as they play the struggling Toronto Blue Jays (8-10) at Fenway Park.  Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield (2-1, 1.35) is in the midst of a career renaissance, as he's given up only 12 hits in 20 innings of work so far.  The knuckleballer slammed the door on the Blue Jays last Wednesday, limiting them to four hits and one run through seven innings.  Meanwhile, the Toronto offense is struggling mightily without starting third baseman Troy Glaus, who is sidelined on the DL with a heel injury.  The Blue Jays starter for tonight, Tomo Okha (0-2, 7.02) is far-and-away the worst pitcher in the Toronto rotation.  He's served up 18 hits, including 6 HR, in a mere 16.2 innings of work.  Tonight, he has an epic challenge on his hands as he faces a Boston offense that hit four homers in a row last night against Chase Wright of the New York Yankees.  One of those hitters last night was Mike Lowell, who has 3 career HR against Ohka.

Rockies (Buchholtz) at Mets (Maine) -1.5 runs (-110)

Yankees (Igawa) -1.5 runs (-110) at Devil Rays (Fossum)

Brewers (Vargas) +140 at Cubs (Zambrano)

Mariners (Baek) at Rangers (Millwood) -140

White Sox (Buehrle) -130 at Royals (Meche)

Tigers (Maroth) at Angels (Weaver) -1.5 runs (+150)

NBA (116 - 97)

Magic at Pistons (-8)