Beckett wins No. 13, Crisp slams BoSox over ChiSox
Baseball Betting Lines
07/21/2007 -
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Beckett struck out 10 over six innings and
Boston drilled the Chicago White Sox, 10-3 in a game that saw a home run call
blown, leading to the ejection of Red Sox manager Terry Francona in the first
inning.
Coco Crisp stroked the go-ahead three-run triple in the fifth inning and Julio
Lugo had three hits, including a grand slam in the eighth, for the Red Sox,
who snapped a three-game skid.
Beckett (13-3) rebounded from a loss against Toronto and joined the Cubs'
Carlos Zambrano atop the majors' victory list this year.
Jim Thome blasted a three-run homer for the White Sox, who had a two-game
winning streak broken. Chicago won the opener of the four-game series, 4-2, on
Thursday, but Jose Contreras (5-12) surrendered 10 hits and 10 runs over 7 1/3
innings a night later. Contreras, who leads the American League in defeats,
dropped his fifth consecutive start and has lost eight of his last nine
decisions.
David Ortiz walked with two outs and Manny Ramirez was hit by a pitch in the
Boston first. J.D. Drew followed with a deep drive to the wall in left-center
field. The ball bounced over the top of the wall and hit a protective panel in
front of where fans sit atop the Green Monster before bounding back to the
field, but instead of a double should have been ruled a homer. Ortiz scored,
but Ramirez was thrown out at the plate.
Francona vehemently argued, as replays showed the ball went over the wall,
but Boston's manager was ejected by third base umpire Tim McClelland. Francona
then tried arguing with second base umpire Paul Schrieber, but the call
remained.
Juan Uribe and Jerry Owens singled to start the top of the third, and one out
later, Thome belted his 16th homer of the season, a blast to center field for
a 3-1 White Sox lead.
However, the Red Sox went ahead for good with a four-run fifth. Jason Varitek
walked and Eric Hinske bunted for a hit toward a vacated left side of the
infield. Lugo then bunted back to Contreras, who threw high to first, loading
the bases. Crisp then tripled down the right field line, and scored one out
later on an Ortiz single to right. Ortiz was thrown out trying for extra
bases, leaving the Red Sox with a 5-3 lead.
Boston poured it on with five runs in the eighth. Ramirez singled, Drew
doubled and Mike Lowell walked to fill the bases. Varitek then lofted a
sacrifice fly to right. Kevin Youkilis was hit by a pitch before Lugo blasted
an offering from Contreras well over the high wall in left.
Game Notes
Lugo has a 10-game hitting streak...Boston's Mike Timlin threw a scoreless
seventh inning and hasn't allowed a run in his last 14 2/3 frames.
<< Beltre's blast helps Mariners past Toronto
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Beltre's two-run homer in the fourth
inning gave Seattle the lead for good and the Mariners went on to defeat the
Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2, in the opener of a three-game set at Rogers Centre.
Jose G
<< Marlins rout Reds behind Uggla's offense
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla went 3-for-5 with a home run and three
RBI as the Florida Marlins pounded the Cincinnati Reds, 10-2, in game two of a
four-game series.
Scott Olsen (8-7), who had served a two-game suspension laid do
<< Athletics' Piazza reinstated from DL
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics Friday reinstated
designated hitter Mike Piazza from the 15-day disabled list where he had
been placed with a sprained right shoulder.
Piazza suffered a sprained AC joint i
<< Astros' Oswalt exits early in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt left
Friday's game against Pittsburgh in the seventh inning with a chest injury.
After Oswalt gave up a lead-off double to Ronny Paulino in the seventh, he
complained of che
<< Chakvetadze into Cincinnati semifinals
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze gained a
spot in the semifinals at the Western & Southern Financial Open after her
opponent, sixth seed Elena Vesnina, retired in the third set due to a strained
right s
Cook pitches Rockies past Nats >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Cook tossed seven scoreless innings,
and Todd Helton drove in two runs as the Colorado Rockies beat the Washington
Nationals, 3-1, in the second of four games at RFK Stadium.
Cook (6-6) had a stro
Beckett wins No. 13, Lugo slams BoSox over ChiSox >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Beckett struck out 10 over six innings and
Boston drilled the Chicago White Sox, 10-3 in a game that saw a home run call
blown, leading to the ejection of Red Sox manager Terry Francona in the first
inning.
Oakland's Swisher exits early >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland center fielder Nick Swisher left
Friday's 6-1 loss against Baltimore in the seventh inning with a sprained
right shoulder.
Swisher, who is hitting .256 with 46 RBI this season, got hurt attempting a
Blake survives to reach Countrywide semifinals >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed James Blake edged fellow
published author and countryman Vincent Spadea 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to advance to
the semifinals of the Countrywide Classic on Friday.
Blake, whose autobiography "
Bedard, Orioles fan A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major league strikeout leader Erik Bedard
fanned 11 batters over seven one-hit innings, as the Baltimore Orioles routed
the Oakland Athletics, 6-1, in the opener of a three-game series at McAfee
Coliseu
NFL Football Trash Talk
Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject
would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms.
Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends,
their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the
sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies
your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming
the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like
your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in
defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your
hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say,
will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt
focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea
is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to
make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?
Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite. Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight. With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites. As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).
Midwest
#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler
The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April. Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT. After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games. Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season. As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers. Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS). Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field. With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.
#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV
As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year. If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season. As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well. This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons. Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late. There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games. It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.
East
#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown
“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season. Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU. They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games. With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field. Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense. Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc. The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range. Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.
#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC
The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country. Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times. Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter. UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen. UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS. An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games. This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS. USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types. An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough. USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS. They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12. When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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