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
07/11/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Cahill threw seven innings and Jack Cust hit a two-run homer as the Oakland Athletics took a 5-2 win over the LA Angels of Anaheim in the finale of a three-game set.
Cahill (9-3) gave up just one unearned run on five hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. Kurt Suzuki went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored for the Athletics, who won the final two games of this set.
Bobby Abreu hit a solo homer while Erick Aybar went 3-for-5 for the Angels, who have dropped six of their last seven. Jered Weaver (8-5) was tagged for five runs on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts over six innings.
The Angels sit in second place in the AL West with a mark of 47-44, 4 1/2 games back of first place Texas, while Oakland is third in the division with a 43-46 record.
Oakland took the lead in the first when Ryan Sweeney hit a two-out double and Suzuki followed with a two-bagger for a 1-0 lead.
The Athletics made it a 3-0 game in the fourth as Suzuki led off with a walk and Cust followed with a blast over the wall in left-center.
The Angels got a run back in the fifth as Kevin Frandsen reached second base thanks to a Cliff Pennington error and came home when Jeff Mathis followed with a single to center to make it a 3-1 game.
Anaheim loaded the bases in the sixth with no outs, but Mike Napoli hit into a 5-2-3 double play and Cory Aldridge struck out to end the threat.
The A's padded their lead in the bottom of the sixth as Adam Rosales' two-run single made it a 5-1 contest.
Abreu made it a three-run game in the eighth as he led off the frame with his 10th home run of the season.
Andrew Bailey worked around a one-out single in the ninth to pick up his 18th save of the season.
Game Notes
Oakland starts a three-game set in Kansas City on Friday...The Angels host Seattle for four games starting on Thursday...The Angels have taken seven of the 13 games with Oakland this season.
<< Marlins earn split with Diamondbacks
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla knocked in runs and
six Marlins pitchers combined for a shutout in a 2-0 triumph over the
Diamondbacks to earn a split of this four-game series.
Alex Sanabia made his firs
<< Uruguay's Forlan wins Golden Ball as best player
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Uruguay forward Diego Forlan won
the Golden Ball on Sunday as the best player at the FIFA World Cup.
Forlan, 31, edged the Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder and Spain's David Villa for
the award. Forl
<< Padres rally to beat Rockies, avoid sweep
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Belisle's two-run throwing error in the
eighth put San Diego ahead for good and Everth Cabrera added a two-run homer
in the ninth for insurance in a 9-7 Padres win to close a three-game series
against
<< Spain's Casillas wins Golden Glove as top goalie
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain goalie Iker Casillas, who
helped his team beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the FIFA World Cup final, won the
Golden Glove on Sunday as the tournament's best goalkeeper.
Casillas posted five
Manuel hopes to see bit more of this All-Star game >>
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -To Charlie Manuel, the whole All-Star experience whizzed by last summer. He's hoping to change one thing this time - the result.The Philadelphia manager is set to guide the National League for the second straight All-Star game.
Spain triumph caps tournament of firsts >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the 2010 FIFA World Cup was awarded
to South Africa on May 15, 2004, the tournament promised to be a history-
making event.
The 19th edition of the competition would be the first to be play
World Cup all-tournament team has a few surprises >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2010 FIFA World Cup featured the four
most recent World Player of the Year winners, but none of them performed well
enough in South Africa to earn a spot on our all-tournament team.
Perhaps Italy defen
Bandages and all, Creamer a major champion >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paula Creamer squeezed one final par out of prickly Oakmont
and threw her hands over her face. The left hand was bandaged thumb-to-wrist,
something else to absorb the tears.
She cried, yes, but this time the source of her
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.
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts 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