07/04/2008 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.J. Hardy hit a two-run homer as part of a five-run outburst in the fifth inning en route to a 9-1 Brewers victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game set.
Hardy hit the home run with one out to give the Brewers a 5-1 lead early in the inning. Two batters later after Ryan Braun was picked off, Prince Fielder blooped a double down the left field line, keeping the frame alive. Corey Hart followed with a two-out RBI single to account for the sixth run.
Milwaukee continued the barrage with two outs, scoring two more runs on Bill Hall's RBI single and Jason Bay's throwing error. Pittsburgh starter Tom Gorzelanny was finally pulled after walking the next batter, Jason Kendall, on four pitches after the score had ballooned to 8-1.
Fielder added an RBI double in the sixth to make it 9-1 for the Brewers, who have won three of four.
Hardy finished the game batting 4-for-5 while Hall contributed three hits and three RBIs, including his 11th home run of the year.
"J.J. has been doing a nice job" Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "They get guys hot at different times. Last homestand Braun was hot, Prince was hot so we scored a bunch of runs. Now J.J. is starting to get hot, Cameron is getting hot, and (Bill Hall) is getting hot. You kind of want to stay away from everyone getting hot at the same time. You'd like to spread it out."
Ben Sheets (10-2) threw 120 pitches, which kept his outing relatively short, but in his 5 2/3 innings he only allowed a run on eight hits with six strikeouts and three walks. The win was Sheets' fourth in his last five starts.
"It was not a bad outing, but I wasn't making real good pitches," Sheets said. "If today was a bad one, I'll take them as they come. We're winning games on this homestand because our team is better. If your team is going to win a lot of games, you're going to win a lot of games."
Gorzelanny (6-7), on the other hand, was shelled in 4 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs - seven earned - on 11 hits while striking out four and walking four. His ERA now stands at 6.57, the worst in the National League among qualifying pitchers.
Bay, Xavier Nady and Jack Wilson each contributed two hits for the Pirates, losers of three of their last five.
Hall snapped an 0-13 streak in a big way in the second inning, putting the Brewers ahead with a two-run shot to center field.
Pittsburgh answered right back in the third, starting the inning by getting the first two batters on base. Sheets then got Bay to fly out and Ryan Doumit to strike out, but couldn't stay out of trouble as the red-hot Nady hit a ground-rule double to cut the lead to 2-1.
The Brewers added their third run in the fourth when Hall doubled and Kendall hit an RBI single - all with two outs - to push the lead to 3-1.
Once again, the Pirates responded quickly, putting runners on second and third with only one out after Doumit doubled down the left field line. Sheets got out of the jam, however, getting Nady to pop up and Adam LaRoche to strike out looking.
Game Notes
The Brewers lead the season series 3-1...Milwaukee is 27-15 since May 20, which is the best record in the National League...Hardy's first-inning single extended his hitting streak to 16 games, the longest by a Brewers player this year...The Pirates designated pitcher and former first overall pick Bryan Bullington for assignment on Friday and activated Chris Duffy from the 60-day disabled list.
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While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
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LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.
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