Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
07/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez's quest for his 600th career home run resumes on the road this evening, when the superstar third baseman and his New York Yankee teammates start up a seven-game trek with the first of four consecutive meetings with the Cleveland Indians from Progressive Field.
Rodriguez, vying to become the seventh player in major league history to reach the 600-homer milestone, has failed to go deep in three straight contests since belting No. 599 in a 10-4 home victory over Kansas City on Thursday. The three-time American League MVP has still been productive at the plate, however, and had a hand in yesterday's 10-4 win over the Royals by collecting a pair of hits and knocking in three runs.
The perennial All-Star had an RBI double and a run-scoring single in the win, and got his final RBI of the day when he was in struck in the left hand and wrist by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning. Rodriguez did leave the game afterward, but is expected to be okay for tonight's matchup.
Rodriguez went 8-for-17 and drove in seven runs during the four-game series with the Royals, in which New York won three times, and is batting .400 (12- for-30) with 10 RBI over his last seven outings.
Curtis Granderson provided the power for the Yankees in Sunday's triumph, belting a pair of solo homers and scoring three times. Robinson Cano added two hits and a pair of RBI and Derek Jeter went 3-for-4 with a run-scoring double to help starter Phil Hughes register his 12th victory of the season.
Hughes (12-3) allowed three runs via a pair of Kansas City homers over the first 5 1/3 innings, exiting after the game was held up for over 2 1/2 hours by heavy rain in the top of the sixth.
"I can do a lot better. I felt like I was starting to get into a groove a little bit when the rains came," Hughes said afterward. "I was kind of disappointed, but it was a step in the right direction and I'll just look to improve."
Rodriguez owns a .375 (9-for-24) average with one career homer against Jake Westbrook, who'll be taking the mound tonight for perhaps the final time in a Cleveland uniform. The veteran right-hander has been the subject of trade rumors as Saturday's non-waiver deadline approaches.
Westbrook has drawn some interest from contending clubs with a decent bounce- back season after missing all of the 2009 campaign and most of 2008 recovering from elbow surgery. The 32-year-old has posted a respectable 6-6 record with a 4.74 ERA in 20 starts for the AL Central cellar-dwelling Tribe and has tossed at least six innings in six of his past eight trips to the mound.
He wasn't overly sharp his last time out, however, issuing a season-high five walks and surrendering four runs over six frames in a loss at Minnesota this past Wednesday. Westbrook had won his initial start following the All-Star break after holding Detroit to two runs in 5 2/3 innings back on July 16.
The one-time Yankee will be taking on his former club for the first time since the 2007 AL Division Series and has a 2-4 record with a 5.29 ERA in 10 regular-season appearances (seven starts) versus New York.
The Yankees, who enter this series with a three-game lead on Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East, will hand the ball to Javier Vazquez in the opener. The offseason acquisition has pitched well for the Bronx Bombers after a rough beginning to the season, as he's compiled a 5-2 record with a 3.10 ERA in nine starts since June 1.
Vazquez wasn't real good in his most recent assignment, though, despite picking up his eighth win of the season. The right-hander allowed five runs and a pair of homers in a five-inning stint against the Angels on Wednesday, but received a wealth of offensive support in a 10-6 verdict.
The 34-year-old has yet to face the Indians this season but has plenty of experience against them, having spent three years with fellow AL Central member Chicago from 2006-08. Vazquez is 7-5 with a 4.40 ERA over 16 lifetime starts against Cleveland and is 4-3 with a 3.98 ERA in nine Progressive Field appearances.
The Indians will be continuing a seven-game homestand that began with Friday's 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay. The playoff-hopeful Rays rebounded to win the next two bouts, however, and claimed a 4-2 decision in Sunday's rubber match.
Tribe starter Justin Masterson (3-9) gave up all four Tampa runs (three earned), three of which came on a Reid Brignac homer in the top of the second inning. He lasted 6 1/3 frames and permitted just five hits while striking out five.
"I look at it as a slider that forgot to slide," Masterson said about the pitch to Brignac. "It turned out to be a terrible cutter like 85 (miles per hour)."
Travis Hafner went 4-for-4 at the plate for Cleveland, with Carlos Santana and Andy Marte driving in the team's only runs.
New York took three of four games from the Indians at Yankee Stadium back in May and has prevailed in seven of the last nine clashes between the teams. In their only visit to Cleveland last season, the Yankees won three of four tests from the Tribe.
<< Appalachian State, Villanova stars headline All-America team
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appalachian State may have lost two-time
Walter Payton Award winner Armanti Edwards, but it boasts a national-best
seven players on The Sportsbook Betting Lines/Fathead.com Football Championship
Subdivision Preseason A
<< Phillies go for four-game sweep of Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to complete a four-game
sweep of the Colorado Rockies this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia won its fourth straight game on Sunday, as Jimmy Rollins tied the
contest and then
<< Angels get Dan Haren and a tree falls in the forest
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yawn.
That is exactly the first thought that went through my head when my I-Phone
beeped on Sunday night with the news that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim had
acquired Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Joe Sau
<< Former free agent pitching bust having a big season
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia, Carl Pavano, Justin Verlander,
David Price, John Lester. Tell me which name doesn't belong on this list.
If you said Carl Pavano, you normally wouldn't get much of an argument, at
least until this
Wounded Tigers kick off road trip versus Rays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers begin what could be a make-or-break
week-long road trip for the American League Central contenders tonight at
Tropicana Field, where the struggling and injury-plagued club takes on the
Tampa Bay Rays in a c
Reds head to Milwaukee to battle surging Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds try to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers for
the seventh straight time when the National League Central rivals open a
three-game set this evening at Miller Park.
The Reds, who swept a two-game set from the B
Twins, Liriano aim to keep rolling in Kansas City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins had everything working on Sunday as
they pulled even closer to the top spot in the American League Central.
They'll try to continue that tonight behind Francisco Liriano, who seeks a
third straight winn
ChiSox seeking to get back on track at Mariners' expense >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A subpar road trip has tightened things atop the American
League Central for the first-place Chicago White Sox. A return home against a
favorable opponent could help the club get back on track.
Chicago seeks a fifth consec
Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.
Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.
Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.
Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.
Arizona 20-1
Butler 20-1
Duke 30-1
Florida 7-2
Georgetown 30-1
Indiana 35-1
Kansas 15-1
Marquette 25-1
Maryland 40-1
Memphis 50-1
Nevada 50-1
UNC 9-2
OSU 8-1
Oregon 30-1
Pittsburgh 15-1
Texas 30-1
Texas A&M 18-1
UCLA 6-1
Wisconsin 10-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting