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07/21/2007 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kemp crushed a three-run home run in a five-run fourth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers recovered from a shaky outing by Brad Penny to beat the New York Mets, 8-6, at Dodger Stadium.
Penny (12-1) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs -- three earned -- on six hits, with a pair of walks and five strikeouts. With the win, he became the first starting pitcher to open a season 12-1 for the Dodgers since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1958.
The right-hander, who is now 7-0 over his last 11 starts, is trying to avoid the second-half letdown that ruined his season last year. He went 10-2 before the All- Star break in 2006, but went just 6-7 in the second half with a 6.25 ERA.
Kemp finished with a pair of hits, three RBI and two runs scored for the Dodgers, who had dropped the first two games of this four-game series. Juan Pierre also had two hits and knocked in a pair of runs, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Jorge Sosa (7-5) gave up six runs and eight hits over four innings for New York, which had won three of four coming in. Carlos Beltran and David Wright both contributed two-run home runs.
The Mets jumped on Penny for two runs in the second. Wright drew a leadoff walk, and Carlos Delgado singled before a throwing error by Andre Ethier put runners at second and third with no outs. Ramon Castro's sacrifice fly scored Wright, and after a Marlon Anderson groundout, a base hit by Lastings Milledge plated Delgado for a 2-0 edge.
Wright doubled the lead with a two-run homer in the third, but the Dodgers cut it to 4-1 in the home half when Penny doubled and came home on Pierre's two-out single.
Los Angeles then rallied to take the lead in the fourth. James Loney and Wilson Betemit ripped consecutive one-out singles, and Ethier's base hit cut it to 4-2. Kemp then deposited a hanging breaking ball into the left field stands for a three-run homer, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.
Rafael Furcal kept the inning alive with a two-out, ground-rule double, and Pierre followed with a two-bagger just inside the line at third to make it 6-4.
Russell Martin's fielder's choice grounder in the sixth resulted in a pair of unearned runs for an 8-4 margin. With the bases loaded and one out, Martin hit a grounder to third, and, without a play at the plate, Wright fired to second. The out was recorded, but Ruben Gotay was then charged with a throwing error trying to cut down Furcal at the plate.
Beltran's two-run homer in the eighth cut it to 8-6, but the Mets were shut down the rest of the way by Jonathan Broxton, who struck out Wright and Delgado to end the inning.
Broxton also pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.
Game Notes
Penny is the first Dodgers starter to win seven consecutive decisions since Kevin Brown won nine straight from April 29 to June 17, 2003...The Mets placed second baseman Jose Valentin on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right tibia and recalled infielder Anderson Hernandez from Triple-A New Orleans...Wright's home run was his first career long-ball against the Dodgers.
<< Bacsik, Nats shutout Rockies
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Bacsik combined with three
Washington relievers on a three-hitter as the Nationals blanked the Colorado
Rockies, 3-0, in the third of a four-game series at RFK Stadium.
Bacsik (3-6) went
<< Photo-finish decides Virginia Derby
New Kent, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-shot Red Giant caught Strike the Deal at
the wire to capture Saturday's 10th edition of the $1 million Virginia Derby
at Colonial Downs. The time for the 1 1/4 miles on the turf was 1:59.62, a new
track r
<< Wimmer a pole winner at Gateway
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Wimmer captured the pole for Saturday
night's Gateway 250 Busch Series race at the Gateway International Raceway.
The No.29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver circled the 1.25-mile oval
in a
<< Yanks sting Devil Rays in first game of doubleheader
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hideki Matsui and Shelley Duncan each hit two-
run homers as the New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7-3, in
the first game of a doubleheader.
Robinson Cano went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run
Bonds goes 0-for-2; Lincecum leads Giants past Brewers >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Bonds went 0-for-2, failing to move any
closer to Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, but his teammates provided
enough offense to power San Francisco past the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-0, in the
second
Red Sox rout Chicago for second straight day >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kason Gabbard tossed a three-hitter over seven
innings, as the Boston Red Sox pounded the Chicago White Sox, 11-2, in the
third game of a four-game set from Fenway Park.
Gabbard (4-0) struck out one batter
Herron takes lead at U.S. Bank Championship >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While Tim Herron plays for his fifth PGA Tour
win on Sunday, he'll be chased by two players looking to finally claim their
first.
Herron took a one-shot lead over Tim Clark and Joe Ogilvie after shooting
Cards agree with top pick Kozma >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals agreed to terms with
their top draft pick, shortstop Pete Kozma, on Saturday.
Kozma, who was the 18th pick overall in the first-year player draft on June 7,
will report to the club'
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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.
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