A-Rod's homer pushes Yankees past M's, to seventh straight win
Baseball Betting Lines
07/01/2009 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez continued his recent power surge, belting the go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning that lifted the New York Yankees to their seventh straight victory, 4-2, over the Seattle Mariners.
Andy Pettitte (8-3) threw seven solid innings to get the victory. The left- hander surrendered six hits and a pair of runs, while walking one and fanning five. Mariano Rivera retired the side in order in the ninth for his 502nd career save and third in as many games. It was his 20th of the season.
Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera also homered for New York, which won at home over Seattle for a 10th straight time.
Ken Griffey Jr. smacked a solo homer for the Mariners, who came into this series winning four of five contests, but are now in danger of being swept in the three-game set.
Jarrod Washburn (4-6) was charged with eight hits and four runs over seven frames. The lefty has dropped six of his last seven decisions and has just one victory since April 21.
Mark Teixeira singled to left to start the bottom of the sixth, and Rodriguez then drilled the 0-1 offering from Washburn over the wall in dead center field. It was his fourth homer in the last six games. He has 13 RBI over his last seven contests.
Pettitte, Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke and Rivera combined to no-hit the Mariners over the final three innings.
Damon homered to right with two outs in the third, but the Mariners tied it in the next inning when Jose Lopez scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Wladimir Balentien.
Cabrera homered over the foul pole in left field with one out in the fifth. Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu came out to argue the call, but it stood even after umpires met for a video replay.
Griffey homered to right field with two outs in the sixth. He has now homered in 44 different ballparks, one less than Sammy Sosa, who holds the all-time record.
Game Notes
Pettitte is 10-11 all-time against the Mariners...Rodriguez has 13 homers this season and 566 for his career...Seattle right fielder Ichiro Suzuki finished 0-for-4 and had his 12-game hit streak snapped.
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Brian Gionta to a five-year contract and defenseman Hal Gill to a two-year deal, the team announced Wednesday. Financial terms of both deals were not release
<< Flames sign Sjostrom
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames signed forward Fredrik
Sjostrom, the club announced on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
Sjostrom, who was an original first round pick (11th overall) of the P
<< Rangers give long-term deal to Gaborik
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers made a big splash on the
first day of free agency, inking free agent forward Marian Gaborik to a five-
year contract.
TSN Canada is reporting the deal is worth $7.5 million yearly.
Ga
<< Coyotes ink G LaBarbera to two-year deal
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have signed goaltender
Jason LaBarbera to a two-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
LaBarbera, 29, split last season between
<< Columbus signs G Garon
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed
goaltender Mathieu Garon to a two-year contract.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but TSN Canada reports the deal is worth a
total of $2.4 million.
"One of
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramon Castro hit a go-ahead three-run homer in a four-run sixth inning, and Jose Contreras pitched eight strong frames as the Chicago White Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians with a
Prado, Braves rough up Hamels, Phillies >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Prado was at it again, scoring three
runs and driving in two more runs after a four-RBI evening on Tuesday, as
Atlanta poured it on Philadelphia, 11-1, at Turner Field.
Gregor Blanco scored tw
Cubs grab early lead, top Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrek Lee belted a two-run home run and
Randy Wells tossed seven innings of one-run ball to lead the Chicago Cubs past
the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1, in the rubber match of a three-game set at PNC
Park.
Butler/Georgetown, Indiana/Pittsburgh comprise Jimmy V Classic >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Butler will face Georgetown, and Indiana will
take on Pittsburgh in the matchups for this year's Jimmy V Classic, to be held
at Madison Square Garden on December 8.
This will be the debut for Georgetown and
Cueto, Reds blank D'Backs >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Cueto tossed six shutout innings and
the Reds bullpen finished the two-hitter from there, as Cincinnati blanked
Arizona, 1-0, in the second of three games with the Diamondbacks.
Cueto (8-4) surr
Super Bowl 2009 Betting
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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