The Bum's Sports Page For Wednesday September 30th Best Bets-Trends-News !

[StarDust Bum]

BC-AP Sports Preview ******

September 30, 2015

Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Wednesday. A full Sports ****** will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:

- KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - Tony Stewart is expected to announce 2016 will be his final season as a NASCAR driver.

- CHICAGO - Derrick Rose finds himself headed for surgery again, although this time the Chicago Bulls star is having an operation on his eye and not his knee after getting injured Tuesday in practice. The team says it will have a better handle on his recovery timetable after the surgery.

- PITTSBURGH - One of the NFL's best rivalries will be missing some familiar faces when Pittsburgh and Baltimore meet Thursday. The Steelers are without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, while the struggling Ravens are missing linebacker Terrell Suggs and any whiff of the defense that for years was among the NFL's best.

- SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court upholds a ruling against the NCAA saying its use of college athletes' names, images and likenesses violated antitrust laws but strikes down a plan allowing schools to pay athletes up to $5,000.

- BALTIMORE - The champagne is on ice and ready to be sprayed as the Toronto Blue Jays face the Baltimore Orioles in a doubleheader, needing only one win to clinch their first AL East title in 22 years. First game starts 4 p.m.

- PITTSBURGH - The St. Louis Cardinals can wrap up a third straight NL Central title by winning either half of a day-night doubleheader with Pittsburgh. Michael Wacha faces Gerrit Cole in the opener, with Trevor Lyons taking on Charlie Morton in the second game. First game starts 1:35 p.m. Second game starts 7:05 p.m.

- BEREA, Ohio - As usual, there's heated debate over who should start at quarterback for the Browns, and this time some of the discussion could be dividing Cleveland's locker room as players choose between Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel.

- Watch some of the big games this weekend in college football and you will see UAB football. The program is taking a year off, but the Blazers are everywhere this season.

- MINNEAPOLIS - As the No. 1 pick in the draft, Karl-Anthony Towns enters the season with the Minnesota Timberwolves with loads of expectations. He has Andrew Wiggins, last year's No. 1 overall pick, by his side to help him deal with the pressures of that status, and Kevin Garnett in his ear to prepare him for the rigors of the NBA.

- MADRID - Manchester City and Manchester United try to rebound from poor starts in the group stage of the Champions League, while Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus try to stay ahead in their groups.

[StarDust Bum]

Top rookies could impact postseason

September 30, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) Most of Kyle Schwarber's major league firsts are long past, tucked away for safe keeping, or displayed on a shelf somewhere. His No. 12 Cubs jersey hangs in stores all over Chicago.

The rookie slugger, who plays with a calm that belies his experience, takes it all in stride. But even Schwarber is looking forward to his postseason debut.

''I got an idea of kind of what it will be like,'' he said, ''but then it's probably going to be nothing close about what it's going to be like.''

Schwarber gets to find out next week when the Cubs make their first playoff appearance since he was a teenager growing up in Middletown in southwestern Ohio. Schwarber and teammates Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler and Javier Baez are among a stellar group of big league rookies who could determine which teams play deep into October.

''I'm going to really count on kind of the veterans who've all been there and kind of give us the low down on what it's going to be like and how to prepare,'' said Schwarber, who had two hits and walked twice in a 4-1 victory at Cincinnati on Tuesday night. ''They say it's a different feeling every time, so I'm looking forward to it personally. I want to get that feeling.''

Schwarber had 16 of the 653 homers for rookies heading into Tuesday's games, the highest such total for a single season in major league history, according to STATS. The 5,727 hits and 9,164 total bases for rookies in 2015 also rank among baseball's best classes, same for the 409 wins and 6,692 strikeouts.

Bryant, the front-runner for NL Rookie of the Year, powered Chicago to a spot in the Oct. 7 wild-card game, but several other rookies also had prominent roles on contending clubs.

Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz likely will be a part of the Mets' postseason rotation. Michael Conforto is batting .280 with eight homers and 24 RBIs in 52 games since he made his major league debut on July 24.

New York's young arms played a key role in the Mets' overtaking Washington for the NL East title in the second half of the year.

''I think once you've made enough starts up here where you realize you can compete, I think you throw the rookie stuff away,'' manager Terry Collins said. ''There's no reason to think you can't win big games just because you don't have the years in, when you've gone out and competed against good teams and good lineups and gotten them out. I think that stuff is pretty much along the wayside.''

Across town in the Bronx, Greg Bird has 10 homers and 29 RBIs in just 41 games for the Yankees, helping make up for the loss of first baseman Mark Teixeira to a right leg injury. Right-hander Luis Severino might be New York's most reliable starter as it tries to secure a playoff spot, going 5-3 with a 2.77 ERA in his first 10 major league starts.

Bird, who turns 23 in November, showed off his young age when he pointed to a - gasp - wild-card team when asked for his favorite playoff memory growing up.

''The Rockies in 2007, that was intense, because we were in Denver then, I was in high school,'' he said. ''That was a cool postseason run. I just watched on TV.''

Eight years after then-rookie Troy Tulowitzki helped Colorado to its only World Series appearance, another generation of shortstops are hoping to have a similar effect this year.

Russell and Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers are already into the postseason. Houston star Carlos Correa and Cleveland's Francisco Lindor, the top contenders for AL Rookie of the Year, are trying to grab a spot in the final days.

Seager was promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sept. 3 and is batting .333 in 23 games with the NL West champions.

''We've got some guys handling it pretty well, and there's some other teams, you talk about like a Correa or somebody like that have been huge,'' Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. ''Obviously, there's some young guys having good years.''

Seager got an opportunity to be an everyday player when Jimmy Rollins was hampered by a finger injury. Schwarber made the most of a similar opening when veteran catcher Miguel Montero sprained his left thumb in July.

Schwarber batted .348 with five homers and 15 RBIs in his first 21 games after the All-Star break, including a memorable night near his hometown when he connected twice and drove in four runs in a 5-4 victory against the Reds.

He played in some big games down the stretch as Chicago secured its first playoff berth since 2008, and he is hoping that experience will pay off in the postseason.

''You got to know that it's the major leagues, every possible situation is probably going to happen,'' he said, ''and you've just got to stay level and keep your head in the same spot through it all.''

[StarDust Bum]

Team Pitcher Open Line Movements Current Runline Scores

1:35 PM EDT

981 ST LOUIS CARDINALS (R) Wacha, M 6.5o25 6.5o25 / 6.5o20 6.5o15 +1.5(-175)
982 PITTSBURGH PIRATES (R) Cole, G -140 -151 / -149 / -150 -148 -1.5(+155)

DH Gm 1 | TV: FS-Midwest, ROOT-Pittsburgh, DTV: 659, 671 | CLOUDY, 60% CHANCE SHOWERS. WIND OUT TO RIGHT 9-14, GUSTY. GAME TEMP 62, RH 87%

4:05 PM EDT

983 TORONTO BLUE JAYS (R) Stroman, M -172 -165 / -164 / -165 -164 -1.5(-105)
984 BALTIMORE ORIOLES (R) Gonzalez, M 8.5u15 8.5u15 +1.5(-115)

DH Gm 1 | TOR-2B-Troy Tulowitzki-OUT | TV: MASN2, DTV: 641 | CLOUDY, 40% CHANCE SHOWERS. WIND IN FROM LEFT CENTER 10-15, GUSTY. GAME TEMP 75, RH 68% HEAT INDEX 78

4:05 PM EDT

985 MINNESOTA TWINS (R) Gibson, K 7.5 7.5u25 / 7o20 / 7o15 7 +1.5(-140)
986 CLEVELAND INDIANS (R) Carrasco, C -180 -172 / -174 / -175 -174 -1.5(+120)

DH Gm 1 | CLE-LF-Michael Brantley-OUT | TV: FS-North, SportsTime Ohio, DTV: 662, 668 | CLOUDY, 20% CHANCE LIGHT SHOWERS EARLY. WIND IN FROM RIGHT CENTER 10-20, GUSTY. GAME TEMP 63, RH 62%

[StarDust Bum]

MLB Consensus Picks


SIDES (ATS)

1:35 PM St. Louis +138 37 32.74% Pittsburgh -150 76 67.26% View View

4:10 PM Minnesota +160 36 35.29% Cleveland -174 66 64.71% View View

4:05 PM Toronto -162 148 67.58% Baltimore +149 71 32.42% View View

TOTALS (OVER/UNDER)

1:35 PM St. Louis 6.5 40 52.63% Pittsburgh 6.5 36 47.37% View View

4:05 PM Toronto 8.5 71 55.91% Baltimore 8.5 56 44.09% View View

4:10 PM Minnesota 7 38 56.72% Cleveland 7 29 43.28% View View

[StarDust Bum]

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

Game Score Status Pick Amount

St. Louis - 1:35 PM ET Pittsburgh -150 500 DOUBLE PLAY

Pittsburgh - Under 6.5 500 DOUBLE PLAY


Toronto - 4:05 PM ET Toronto -162 500 *****

Baltimore - Over 8.5 500 *****


Minnesota - 4:10 PM ET Cleveland -174 500 DOUBLE PLAY

Cleveland - Under 7 500 DOUBLE PLAY

[StarDust Bum]

EVENING GAMES:


WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
Game Score Status Pick Amount

Toronto - 7:05 PM ET Baltimore -102 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Baltimore - Under 8.5 500

Boston - 7:05 PM ET Boston +150 500
NY Yankees - Under 7.5 500

Oakland - 7:05 PM ET LA Angels -225 500 GRAND SLAM
LA Angels - Over 9 500

NY Mets - 7:05 PM ET Philadelphia +161 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Philadelphia - Under 9 500

St. Louis - 7:05 PM ET St. Louis +132 500 TRIPLE PLAY
Pittsburgh - Over 7.5 500

Minnesota - 7:10 PM ET Cleveland -131 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Cleveland - Under 8 500

Miami - 7:10 PM ET Miami +147 500 *****
Tampa Bay - Over 7.5 500

Washington - 7:10 PM ET Washington -165 500
Atlanta - Over 7.5 500

Chi. Cubs - 7:10 PM ET Chi. Cubs -157 500 DOUBLE GRAND SLAM
Cincinnati - Over 7.5 500

Detroit - 8:05 PM ET Texas -185 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Texas - Under 9.5 500

Kansas City - 8:10 PM ET Chi. White Sox +109 500 *****
Chi. White Sox - Over 7.5 500

Colorado - 9:40 PM ET Arizona -164 500
Arizona - Under 8.5 500

Houston - 10:10 PM ET Houston -183 500 DOUBLE PLAY
Seattle - Under 8 500

Milwaukee - 10:10 PM ET Milwaukee +138 500 DOUBLE PLAY
San Diego - Under 7 500

LA Dodgers - 10:15 PM ET LA Dodgers +121 500 DOUBLE GRAND SLAM
San Francisco - Over 7 500