Sports Betting – A Look At Thursday’s Wagering Ticket

[Freddy Wills]

Close your for a minute and take a look at your sports betting book on Thursday night, which is highlighted by the beginning of the NFL regular season, while Major League Baseball prepares to head into the weekend.

NFL Betting

Saints Packers Odds (8:30 PM ET): In this meeting of the past two Super Bowl winners, Green Bay is a 4-point favorite at home against New Orleans, who were upset last season in Seattle, which opened the door for the Packers to replace them as the NFC and Super Bowl champions. Those who are will tell you that defense is going to decide this game, because everyone knows that both teams can put points on the board, led by two of the top quarterbacks in the league in Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans counterpart Drew Brees. This is a fantastic matchup to kick off the season with, but it’s definitely a difficult to make.

MLB Betting

Red Sox Blue Jays Odds (7:07 PM ET): Boston wraps up their four-game set in Toronto on Thursday, but they’ll have their hands full as the Blue Jays’ Rick Romero goes for his 14th win of the year, while the Red Sox counter with Andrew Miller, who was roughed up in his last outing and has been the recipient of great run support in 2011.

Phillies Brewers Odds (8:10 PM ET): Philadelphia will give the ball to Cole Hamels, who has a pair of no-decisions since coming off the disabled list, and the Phillies will likely be very careful with their talented southpaw down the stretch. However, a win in Milwaukee would be huge as the Brewers have been unreal at home this season and the potential of these two meeting in the postseason is very high (both have excellent odds), so a victory would go a long way in building confidence. Milwaukee will go with Chris Narveson, who is 5-1 in his last 10 starts.

Padres Diamondbacks Odds (9:40 PM ET): Finally, Ian Kennedy has emerged as a sports betting darkhorse to win the Cy Young in the National League and he is 9-1 in his last 10 starts. The Padres will counter with Cory Luebke, who has lost his last two starts and that’s not a good sign going up against Kennedy, who outduelled fellow ace Tim Lincecum in a 7-2 romp in San Francisco. Kennedy is a massive reason why Arizona is starting to run away with the West, and the light-hitting Padres don’t look like much of a challenge, so look for the Diamondbacks to be favored at most .