Philadelphia Sports Betting Roundup

Roy Halladay had been waiting a long time to pitch in the postseason, but even his wildest dreams couldn't have lived up to his performance in Game 1 of the NLDS Wednesday night.

The Phillies ace pitched nine hitless innings against the Cincinnati Reds, posting just the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history.

Halladay held the Reds lineup to goose eggs across the board, walking one batter and striking out eight in a 4-0 victory for Philadelphia. His incredible accomplishment even came with the prepackaged nickname, “Doc-tober”, which would get long in the tooth if it weren't just so perfect.

Halladay's dominant game sets the tone for the rest of the NLDS and sucks all of the air out of a Cincinnati club looking to continue a breakout season. [ Odds on all the MLB playoff games, click here ]

The Phillies send Roy Oswalt to the bump for Friday's Game 2, which is kind of like following the Beatles on stage. But if anyone can continue the momentum of Game 1's win, it's Oswalt. Oddsmakers at 5Dimes.com have faith in the righthander and have set the Phillies as -189 home favorites for Game 2.

Oswalt hasn't tasted defeat since the end of July and finished his regular season tenure in Philly with a 1.74 ERA. By the end of Friday's game, the Phillies' playoff run could be known as “Os-tober”.

Take these broken wings

If losing to Donovan McNabb and the Redskins wasn't bad enough, the Eagles came out of Week 4's 21-17 loss with some serious injuries – namely quarterback Michael Vick. Vick is expected to miss this Sunday night's game with the 49ers due to cartilage damage in his ribs.

On top of that, running back LeSean McCoy could also miss the game with broken ribs of his own. With the team's top two offensive threats on the sideline, books are giving against the winless Niners.

Week 5 is chalk full of compelling NFL betting trends as well, check out a list of them here.

Time for me to fly

The Flyers may not have their No. 1 goaltender for Thursday's season opener against Pittsburgh, but at least they'll have their best blueliner back in action. Veteran defenseman Chris Pronger returned to practice this week after recovering from offseason knee surgery and is expected to play.

Sportsbooks such as bodog have to win the Stanley Cup this season. That’s 20/1 odds, which is a significant longshot price for the defending East champs.

If I'm Lion, I'm dyin'

Penn State will be trying to take some frustration out on Illinois this Saturday after being handed a 24-3 beatdown by Iowa in Week 5 of the college football season. The Nittany Lions offense has been the biggest thorn in Joe Paterno's side. The legendary coach blasted his team's red-zone scoring this past week.

Penn State has only come away with points in 12 of its 18 trips inside the 20-yard line – and only six of those 12 scores were touchdowns. Makes you think twice about to the feisty Illini.

Get college football odds and trends on every game here at Americasline.