Steelers, Bengals, Ravens are close
Three of the four teams in the AFC North appear capable of winning the division title and making some noise when the playoffs roll around in January.
Defending champion Baltimore, Pittsburgh, which could be rejuvenated under new Coach Mike Tomlin, and Cincinnati, which was beset by player arrests and injuries a season ago, are all contenders, and oddsmakers agree.
On the website Vegasinsider.com, the best price you can get on any of the three teams to win the North is 12-5 on the Steelers. The Ravens are favored at 5-4, and the Bengals are 3-2.
Bodog.com has the trio equally bunched and established Cincinnati the 3-2 choice. Baltimore is 9-5 and Pittsburgh is 5-2.
Cleveland is the division longshot. The Browns, who had an excellent draft, are 25-1 on Vegasinsider and 7-1 on Bodog.
If its victory over New Orleans in last weekend’s Hall of Fame game is any indication, Pittsburgh will be more wide open offensively under Tomlin, and it helps that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is healthy.
The Bengals need to upgrade two areas if they want to contend -- defense and the offensive line.
Hurt by the loss of linebacker Adalius Thomas to New England via free agency, the Ravens did upgrade their running game with former Buffalo tailback Willis McGahee replacing Jamal Lewis.
Baseball
Thanks primarily to the recent struggles of Detroit and Cleveland, Minnesota has gained some ground in the American League Central.
The Twins, who overcame the Tigers on the final day of the 2006 season to win the division title, are within hailing distance of the two front-runners.
In the opener of a three-game series in Anaheim tonight, Minnesota will pitch Scott Baker, who has made like Johan Santana in his two most recent starts. Baker hasn’t given up a run in 12 innings. In his last start Sunday, he held Cleveland scoreless for eight innings in a Twins victory.
Even so, Baker and the Twins, who have split six games with the Angels this season, are the underdog tonight with Kelvim Escobar the starter for the Angels.
The game is a rematch of a June 5 game in which the Angels defeated Baker, 5-1, with Escobar going the distance, giving up three hits.
Escobar has been very effective at home, winning six of nine decisions with an earned-run average of 2.11.
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