• Twitter
  • stumbleupon
  • digg
  • youtube
  • facebook

Follow our Network

8-14-10

1

Labels: , , , ,

First two games are looking good. I'll be making one more bet for today.

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Atlanta Braves (-140)
The Dodgers are officially in a free fall. That UGLY loss thursday night in Philadelphia is putting this team of non hustlers into a losing streak. Ted Lilly is a journey man pitcher and the Bravos will look to score tonight.

8-14-10

1

Labels: , , ,

Two plays for the 1pm PST starts in MLB. Depending on how these go, there will be more bets to follow. Looking at 1 WNBA and maybe 2 NFL Preseason games. Stay tuned.

San Diego Padres (-120) @ San Francisco Giants
The Friars own the G-men this season. Latos is San Diego's young gun and will deliver this afternoon in San Francisco. The Giants are fighting for their playoff lives. San Diego shuts the door and drops the Giants to 4.5 back in the NL West race.





Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis Cardinals UNDER 7.5 (EVEN)
Zambrano vs Carpenter.  Two good pitcher in a day game following a night game. Pitchers duel in St. Louis this afternoon.

In Sports, Left-Handers Exploit Edge Every Day

0

Labels: ,

Left-handed closer Billy Wagner has 27 saves and a 1.66 ERA for the Atlanta Braves.
EnlargeKevin C. Cox/Getty Images
In his 15th season, Atlanta Braves left-hander Billy Wagner is one of baseball's top closers, with an ERA under 2.00. A natural right-hander, Wagner taught himself to throw with his left hand after breaking his right arm.

August 11, 2010
For the 90 percent of us who do things the right way, it has probably escaped our attention that, for the past 34 years, Aug. 13 has been designated International Left-Handers Day. As a minority that has been historically put upon, you southpaws certainly deserve your own holiday this Friday.
However, and not to be gauche about it — in sports, every day is left-handers' day.
Trust me, if you are a young parent and you want to give your son every advantage — spending a fortune sending him to all the right schools, and teaching him all sorts of cultural skills — just save your money.
Instead, tie his right arm behind his back as soon as he gets out of the crib and teach him to be a left-handed relief pitcher, and that kid of yours will still be making a good living pitching when you're in assisted living — him paying your way. A left-handed reliever can go on forever.
Well, so can some southpaw starters. I spoke to Billy Beane, the vice president/general manager of the Oakland A's, renowned for his command of statistics, and he told me it was absolutely true: The Athletics' figures showed that left-handed pitchers as a group don't throw as fast as right-handers. But they don't have to be as good; they're needed. Why? Duh. Left-handed pitchers are needed to get left-handed batters out.
Now [Rafael] Nadal is No. 1, like Laver and Connors and McEnroe and Navratilova and Seles — all who beat right-handers with that confounding different spin.
It's those sports like baseball, that feature the mano a mano component, where portsiders have the edge. The left-handers' propaganda — I was going to say propaganda arm, but let's say propaganda lobby — argue that southpaws succeed in sports because they're more influenced by the right side of the brain, which encourages creativity.
Right-handers, being left-brained and allegedly duller, maintain that left-handers do well simply because they're rare. Whether it's boxing or wrestling or fencing or tennis, all of a sudden you're facing a strange creature coming at you differently.
Rafael Nadal, a natural right-hander, was taught to play left-handed — which was why he was just about the only player in the world who could beat Roger Federer, when Federer was the best tennis player in all history. Now Nadal is No. 1, like Laver and Connors and McEnroe and Navratilova and Seles — all who beat right-handers with that confounding different spin.
Bill Russell, the great Celtics center, told me that the main reason he was the greatest shot-blocker in basketball history was simply that his dominant left arm perfectly countered a right-hander's natural shot.
Left-handers aren't so valuable in sports like football, where one-on-one isn't so pronounced. And soccer? Who ever heard of a southhoof?
So why have left-handers managed to survive evolution, in a right-handed world? Well, it's probably because of athletics that left-handed human beings survived. Being different, they won more duels, and passed their genes down to southpaw relief pitchers — who thrive to this day because they're needed against left-handed hitters.

What bettors need to know: Saturday's NFL preseason action By SCOTT COOLEY

0

Labels: , ,

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins (-3, 33.5)

Sharp money has moved the spread for this game to as high as 3.5 after opening at 1.5. There are a lot of factors swinging the line but perhaps none more important than the ultimate preseason element—quarterback rotation.

Chad Henne is entering his first season as a starting quarterback and will be followed by Tyler Thigpen, Chad Pennington and Pat White. White is the only quarterback without an NFL start while the other three combine for 104. Tampa Bay will trot out Josh Freeman (9 starts), Josh Johnson (4 starts) and Rudy Carpenter (0 starts).

Bucs head coach Raheem Morris said that his starters will get “about 12 snaps apiece” or a “series or so.” Morris went 1-3 SU and ATS last preseason while Tony Sparano has a 7-1 career record.

Detroit Lions at Pittsburgh Steelers (-3, 33.5)

Ben Roethlisberger is eligible to play in this game but Mike Tomlin is trying to sell tickets and won’t say if he will.

"We're going to make you come to the stadium to check that out," Tomlin said.

Some are speculating that Big Ben won’t appear because Tomlin has said that the starters will only play eight to 12 snaps. Byron Leftwich will be the starter in Week 1 so he could eat up all of that time with the first team. Dennis Dixon, who nearly beat the Ravens in his lone career start last year, is expected to play most of the game. Charlie Batch will see some time in the fourth. 

Safety Louis Delmas will not play for Detroit as well as linebacker DeAndre Levy, defensive end Jared DeVries and kicker Jason Hanson. Matthew Stafford, Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton will be the quarterback rotation.

In his first preseason as a head coach, Jim Schwartz led the Lions to a 3-1 record in 2009. Tomlin is 10-3 in the preseason since he took over in 2007.

Houston Texans at Arizona Cardinals (+1, 33)

As injury prone as Matt Schaub is, don’t expect him to be on the field long in this game. Gary Kubiak has said that backup Dan Orlovsky will see the majority of snaps in the preseason opener.

"He needs to play a bunch," Kubiak told reporters. "For backup quarterbacks, preseason is their season. I want to take a look at J.D. (John David Booty); he will play. But obviously, Dan is going to play a great deal."

Houston’s running back spot is up for grabs so Steve Slaton, Arian Foster and rookie Ben Tate should all see significant reps. The Texans could be more apt to kick lengthy field goals with Kris Brown and Neil Rackers battling for the starting job.
 
After sustaining a rib injury it’s unclear whether or not Beanie Wells will run for Arizona. Ken Whisenhunt said that even if he’s the least bit sore there would be no reason to play him. 

Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson should see more than just a few series each as neither has run away with the quarterback job during training camp. The Cardinals went 0-4 in the preseason last year and Whisenhunt holds a 2-10 career record.

Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis Rams (-1.5, 31.5)

This preseason line has remained steady despite news about Percy Harvin’s recurring migraines. He will likely be on the sidelines for this contest and Sidney Rice is still injured, or holding out, or both. Cedric Griffin and E.J. Henderson are also unlikely to play.

With Brett Favre still wavering about his retirement decision, Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels will see most of the first-half action. The two have 21 career starts between them and know the offensive system well. Rookie Joe Webb will be the third quarterback in the rotation.

Albert Young is listed as the No. 2 back on the official depth chart behind Adrian Peterson but he, Toby Gerhart and Ryan Moats are all vying for that spot so motivation levels should be high throughout the game.

While Rams fans will be eager to see their franchise quarterback, A.J. Feeley will get the starting nod under center before Sam Bradford enters the game, but Steve Spagnuolo said both will work with the first team offense. Keith Null, who posted a 49.9 rating in four starts last year, will be the third quarterback while rookie Thaddeus Lewis will handle mop-up duty.

Cleveland Browns at Green Bay Packers (-2.5, 34)

Browns coach Eric Mangini has stated that all four of his quarterbacks are likely to play one quarter each. Jake Delhomme will start with Seneca Wallace relieving him. The second half will feature Colt McCoy and Brett Ratliff, but which will appear first is still up in the air.

Rookie running back Montario Hardesty will miss the game as well as Cleveland starting linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, who has a strained pectoral muscle.

Mike McCarthy isn’t expected to play his starters more than a few series. The quarterback rotation will be Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn (who many are high on this training camp), Noah Shephard and Graham Harrell. 

Linebacker Clay Matthews will not play in the game as well as cornerback Al Harris, safety Atari Bigby and rookie running back James Starks.

There is a 40 percent chance of rain with morning thunderstorms expected in the area Saturday.

Chicago Bears at San Diego Chargers (-3, 33.5)

The Chargers do not have a left tackle right now. Marcus McNeill is the incumbent starter but he’s holding out, backup Brandon Dombrowski has a groin injury, Tra Thomas is recovering from knee surgery and fourth-stringer Nick Richmond will go under the knife soon.

That leaves second-string right tackle Tyronne Green to man the position until someone returns. San Diego may not be looking to drop back Philip Rivers too often in this contest. Shawne Merriman and Vincent Jackson will also miss the game due to holdouts.

Mike Martz could be looking to do some damage in the opener with his new offense in hopes of getting fans excited. He has said that with his complex system he “would imagine that they may do a little bit more than one series” with the starters.

Martz added that he is anxious to see how his second and third-string quarterbacks, Caleb Hanie and Dan LeFevour, handle the pressure since neither has much experience.

Tennessee Titans at Seattle Seahawks (-3, 33.5)

Possibly bucking his normal preseason routine, a few local media outlets are reporting that Jeff Fisher is toying with the idea of playing his starters (except Chris Johnson) a full quarter because he hasn’t been pleased with training camp performance.

The Titans starting defense is going to take a hit with Cortland Finnegan, Vince Fuller and rookie Derrick Morgan expected to miss the game. The quarterback rotation will be Vince Young, Kerry Collins, Chris Simms and Rusty Smith. Collins will get the least amount of work.

Plenty of preseason bettors like to back head coaches in their first year with a team because they have something to prove. Pete Carroll has announced that Matt Hasselbeck is the starter and will be quickly relieved by Charlie Whitehurst, then J.P. Losman and Mike Reilly.

The running back job is wide open at Camp Carroll (like many other positions) so Justin Forsett, Julius Jones and Quinton Ganther will be going all out. Leon Washington is also in the mix but is not expected to play as he continues to recover from a leg injury.

Mets season goes from bad to worse after K-Rod arrest

0

Labels: , , ,

Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, who was suspended for two days by the team, is led into Queens Criminal Court Thursday in New York a day after he was charged with assaulting his father-in-law at Citi Field.
By Jason DeCrow, AP
Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, who was suspended for two days by the team, is led into Queens Criminal Court Thursday in New York a day after he was charged with assaulting his father-in-law at Citi Field.


Their closer, Francisco Rodriguez, was released without bail and told to stay away from his father-in-law after being arrested Wednesday night on charges he assaulted the man. Their ace, Johan Santana, had a lawsuit filed against him by a woman accusing him of wrongful imprisonment and rape in southwest Florida in October. And their playoff hopes are barely alive in the wake of a horrid second half, having lost 17 of 26 games since the All-Star break. The Mets beat Colorado on Thursday 4-0 but are 57-57, 9 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
"It's been a tough year," Minaya said at the owners' meetings. "It's been disappointing. We thought we were better than a .500 team. We certainly feel we are better than this."
Minaya declined comment on the charges against Rodriguez, saying he didn't have enough information. Yet the Mets suspended Rodriguez for two days and placed him on their restricted list, costing him about $125,000 in salary.
"Ownership and the organization are very disappointed in Francisco's inappropriate behavior," Mets chief operating officerJeff Wilpon announced, "and we take this matter very seriously."
Rodriguez was charged with assaulting his father-in-law,Carlos Pena, outside the family lounge at Citi Field after Wednesday's game. Rodriguez, 28, repeatedly hit Pena, 53, in the face and banged his head against the wall, according to New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne. Pena was hospitalized with the facial injuries.
The Mets, who have won only two of their past 12 series, are also contending with the lawsuit against Santana, who has said he had consensual sex with the woman on a golf course in Fort Myers, Fla.. No charges were filed because of lack of evidence, Lee County authorities said.
"That hasn't been a distraction," Minaya said. "We just haven't played well, particularly offensively. The pitching has been great. The young guys have stepped up. But the hitting has been very disappointing."
The Mets have batted just .225 since July 1, with a .288 on-base percentage, ranking 29th in the major leagues. They are averaging three runs a game since the All-Star break.
"There's still a lot of baseball left," Minaya said, "so we still have hope. We just need to turn this around."
Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur told the Associated Press: "Maybe it's a distraction we need. Not to say it's a good thing. But maybe at the end of the day we can turn it into a positive. I know for him, it's between him and his family."

    8-13-10

    1

    Labels: , , , ,

    I'm going with 2 bets for this evenings MLB action.

    Los Angeles Dodgers @ Atlanta Braves UNDER 7 (EVEN)
    The Blue Crew coming off a horrible loss last night against the Phillies. Now they come to Atlanta and face Hudson. A very tough game for the beat up Dodgers. Atlanta just placed Chipper Jones on the DL and is also struggling to score runs themselves. A very low number at 7. I'm looking for a 3-2 game here.

    Milwaukee Brewers @ Colorado Rockies OVER 9 (EVEN)
    Two very high scoring teams in a hitters friendly park. Starting pitchers are nothing to drool over. This could easily get to 12 runs tonight in Denver.

    Holdout ends, Shawne Merriman signs with Chargers

    0

    ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AUGUST 13, 2010 AT 9:10 A.M., UPDATED AUGUST 13, 2010 AT 9:35 A.M.
    As Shawne Merriman weighs his future, he says, "What people think doesn't really affect me. They never had to walk in my shoes. But on the flip side, don't label me. Be open-minded."
    K.C. ALFRED / UNION-TRIBUNE
    As Shawne Merriman weighs his future, he says, "What people think doesn't really affect me. They never had to walk in my shoes. But on the flip side, don't label me. Be open-minded."
    Linebacker Shawne Merriman signed his one-year, $3.269 million tender this morning and is back with the Chargers.
    Having held out most of the offseason and the first two weeks of training camp dissatisfied with his status on the team, Merriman had nonetheless acknowledged he needs to be on the field to prove he is still a dominant player and to do what is best for the team.
    "I have a lot to prove," Merriman said as he headed to the Chargers weight room after watching a walk through and then addressing the media. "I'm willing to do the work."
    Merriman led the NFL with 39.5 sacks from 2005-07 but missed the final 15 games of 2008 following reconstructive knee surgery. He had just four sacks in 2009 while battling a foot injury and other ailments and playing about one-third of his normal snaps.
    Merriman's message yesterday was one of moving forward.
    He had said he wanted the team to tell him he wouldn't be traded, which did not happen.
    "I know I was wanted here," he said. "... I'm happy to be back here for another year. Everything I wanted to express has been said. I'm happy to put that in the past and get ready to play football.