Rodriguez's homer lifts Rays over A's
Baseball Betting Lines
08/22/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean Rodriguez hit a go-ahead, game-winning two-run homer with two outs in the eighth, and the Tampa Bay Rays slipped past the Oakland A's, 5-4, in the third of four games at Oakland Coliseum.
Rodriguez's eighth home run of the season lifted the Rays to their sixth win in eight games, although it was just their first victory in this series. Evan Longoria also added a home run in the win.
David Price was pedestrian in his search of win No. 16, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk while fanning five in six innings. Randy Choate (3-3) earned the win for a scoreless inning, and Rafael Soriano picked up his 36th save.
The Rays remained one game behind New York in the AL East after the Yankees beat Seattle earlier Saturday.
Mark Ellis had two hits and two RBI for the A's, who had a four-game win streak snapped. Daric Barton went 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored in defeat.
Brett Anderson was in line for the win, throwing Oakland's record-14th straight quality start. In addition, he lasted seven innings -- marking the 20th consecutive game in which the A's starter has pitched six innings -- and allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out eight.
Craig Breslow (4-4) took the loss for giving up three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
After the Rays tied the game in the top of the sixth, the A's went back in front in the home half.
Barton worked a leadoff walk, and Kurt Suzuki followed with a sharp lineout to third. On the play, Longoria tried to throw Barton out retreating to first, but the throw went awry, allowing Barton to take second.
Two batters later, with two outs, Ellis doubled to center to plate Barton, and Rajai Davis followed with an RBI single for a 4-2 game.
After Anderson pitched a scoreless seventh, Breslow came on for the eighth. Carlos Pena walked with one away, and, two batters later, Willy Aybar sent an RBI double to the gap in right-center. Rodriguez followed with a blast over the wall in center to put the Rays ahead, 5-4.
After Choate gave up a leadoff single in the eighth, Chad Qualls retired three straight batters to maintain the one-run lead. Soriano threw a perfect ninth to polish off the win.
The Athletics got started with two runs in the opening inning.
Price quickly loaded the bases with nobody out after a pair of singles and a hat batsman. Kevin Kouzmanoff opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly, and Ellis followed with an RBI single.
Longoria had an answer right away for Tampa Bay, blasting a leadoff homer in the second to cut the Rays' deficit in half.
The pitchers took control until the sixth, when the visitors tied the game. Carl Crawford led off the inning with a single, went to third on a Pena double and scored on Ben Zobrist's sacrifice fly for a 2-2 game.
Game Notes
The 13-game quality start streak for the A's ran from August 4-17, 1980. The team record for consecutive six-inning starts is 25...The Rays are 28-13 when a lefty starts for the opposing team.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - To be a fan of the New York Jets is to be encoded with the skepticism chip. When you've hitched your wagon to an organization that has, for more than four decades, taken two colossal steps back for every stride forward, de
<< Campbell, Raiders top Bears
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Campbell threw for 170 yards on 10-of-20
passing and ran for a touchdown, as the Oakland Raiders took a 32-17 preseason
victory over the Chicago Bears.
Campbell, who also had one interception, played
<< Brewers edge Padres; Stairs sets HR mark
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Dickerson had two hits and two runs
batted in and Mike McClendon worked three scoreless innings to earn his first
major-league win as Milwaukee downed San Diego, 6-5, in the middle meeting of
a three
<< Rams edge Browns on late FG
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Brown kicked four field goals,
including the game-winning 28-yard boot late in the fourth quarter, as St.
Louis grabbed a 19-17 preseason win over Cleveland.
A.J. Feeley led the Rams on a
<< Folk, Jets edge Panthers
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Folk booted three field goals to lead
New York to a 9-3 win over Carolina at Bank of America Stadium.
Mark Sanchez completed 5-of-10 passes for 12 yards and Joe McKnight carried 11
times for 28 yards
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Stanton's 25-yard rushing touchdown with just under two minutes remaining lifted the Detroit Lions over the Denver Broncos, 25-20, in the second preseason game for each club at Invesco Field. Stanto
Cowboys beat Chargers on late safety >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas' Tony Romo and San Diego's Philip
Rivers were each picked off during their first offensive series and the
Cowboys earned a sloppy 16-14 preseason win over the Chargers thanks to a late
safety.
Henne sharp as Dolphins hold off Jaguars >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Henne completed 11-of-14 passes for
151 yards and two touchdowns, as the Miami Dolphins held on for a 27-26
preseason win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Henne took snaps for the majority o
Rodgers, Jackson help Packers edge Seahawks >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Rodgers threw for 116 yards and two
touchdowns, leading the Green Bay Packers to a 27-24 victory over the Seattle
Seahawks in preseason action.
Rodgers completed 8-of-11 passes before giving way to
Homers help Dodgers get past Reds >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez was a non-factor in his
return to the Los Angeles lineup, but the Dodgers got home runs from four
different players, all on back-to-back occasions, in an 8-5 triumph over the
NL Cent
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.
SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.