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07/25/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everth Cabrera and Oscar Salazar each drove in two runs and Mat Latos was solid in his return from the disabled list, as the San Diego Padres dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-2, in the second test of a three-game set at PNC Park.
Latos (11-4) lasted six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits to win his sixth straight decision. The right-hander also stuck out seven and walked two. Latos went on the DL on July 16 with a strained left oblique muscle.
"I thought he threw the ball well from the first inning on," Padres manager Bud Black said of Latos in his return. "Hopefully he'll do what he's done all year."
Nick Hundley, Chase Headley, Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Denorfia each knocked in a run for the Padres, who won 5-3 in the opener of this series.
Jose Tabata and Delwyn Young hit solo homers for the Pirates, who have dropped three in a row.
Jeff Karstens (2-6) went six frames in the start, giving up four runs -- two earned -- on seven hits to drop his fourth straight decision. He also struck out five and walked two.
"I feel like I'm close to getting over that hump," Karstens said. "But they gave me a 2-1 lead and I let it slip away."
Trailing 2-1, the Padres plated three runs in the sixth to take the lead. Jerry Hairston Jr. reached on third baseman Pedro Alvarez's fielding error and Denorfia walked to get things going. Gonzalez and Headley followed with back- to-back RBI singles. Will Venable was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out for Hundley, who hit a sacrifice fly for a 4-2 lead.
Pittsburgh stranded a runner in scoring position in the sixth and seventh frames.
San Diego scored five times in the eighth to turn the game into a rout. Sean Gallagher started the inning on the mound for the Pirates and loaded the bases without recording an out. His balk plated Headley. Hundley walked to load the bases again, and a rain delay that lasted 42 minutes followed.
D.J. Carrasco was on the mound when the contest got back underway. Cabrera grounded out to score a run. Salazar then knocked in two runs with a pinch-hit double. Denorfia added an RBI single two batters later to make it 9-2.
Tim Stauffer pitched a perfect two frames of relief to seal the victory.
After stranding runners on second and third in the second, Pittsburgh got a leadoff homer from Tabata in the third to take a 1-0 lead.
San Diego tied the contest in the top of the fifth. Venable singled, stole second, advanced to third on Hundley's groundout, and crossed the plate on Cabrera's base hit. Latos grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Pirates took the lead back in the home fifth on Young's homer to right- center field.
Game Notes
San Diego optioned outfielder Luis Durango to Triple-A Portland...The Padres are 22-9 at Pittsburgh since the start of the 2001 season...The Pirates were without outfielder Andrew McCutchen (right shoulder).
<< Conrad's late slam helps Braves cook Marlins
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two NL
<< Tigers' Ordonez out 6-8 weeks with broken ankle
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers slugger Magglio Ordonez left
Saturday's 3-2 loss against Toronto with a fractured right ankle.
Ordonez was thrown out at home trying to score on a Miguel Cabrera double in
the bottom of the
<< Burris carries Stampeders over Roughriders
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henry Burris threw four touchdown passes as he
led the Calgary Stampeders to a convincing 40-20 win over the Saskatchewan
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Burris, who last week threw four inte
<< Saunders' homer sparks Mariners over Lester, Red Sox
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Saunders homered in the sixth inning
after Eric Patterson's missed catch ruined a perfect game bid for Boston
starter Jon Lester, and the Mariners went on to take a 5-1 victory over the
Red Sox
Golubev wins Hamburg title >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrey Golubev has won his first title in
his second career final, beating third-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 7-5
on Sunday at the German Open.
Golubev, who did not lose a set this week, becam
Tigers place Ordonez, Guillen on disabled list >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have placed outfielder
Magglio Ordonez and second baseman Carlos Guillen on the 15-day disabled list
after both players were injured during Saturday's 3-2 loss.
Ordonez fractured his
Rays try to make it two straight in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After snapping their 18-game slide at Progressive Field,
the Tampa Bay Rays will try for a series win this afternoon in the finale of
their three-game series against the Cleveland Indians.
Ben Zobrist's replay-reviewed thr
A-Rod takes another crack at 600 in finale with Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The finale of the series between the New York Yankees and
the Kansas City Royals could be a historic one, as Alex Rodriguez comes
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home run club.
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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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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