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07/22/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Pavano's remarkable campaign continued against an American League bottom-feeder, as Minnesota blanked Baltimore, 5-0, in the first of four games at Camden Yards.
One season removed from a 5-plus earned run average while toiling in Cleveland, Pavano (12-6) now holds a 3.26 ERA and worked his fourth complete game in his last seven starts. The right-hander scattered five hits and one walk around four strikeouts.
The right-hander has won a career-best seven straight decisions and is unbeaten over a nine-start span dating back to June 9. The Twins have won all but one of those games.
Delmon Young's torrid tear led to three more RBI and Michael Cuddyer hit a solo shot for the Twins, who have won two straight.
Kevin Millwood (2-9) returned from a brief stint on the disabled list to take the loss, giving up five runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and three walks over 6 1/3 frames. He's 0-9 lifetime against the Twins.
Cesar Izturis doubled, one of two Baltimore extra-base hits, in defeat. The Orioles have lost two straight and six of seven overall.
The Twins jumped on Millwood in a three-run first, all started by Joe Mauer's two-out double to left. Jason Kubel then walked and Cuddyer patiently worked a five-pitch free pass before Young cleared the bases with his 28th double of the season.
Cuddyer deposited a ball into the left-field seats in the fourth for a 4-0 edge and a wild -- and argumentative -- top of the seventh opened a five-run edge.
J.J. Hardy, who singled off Miguel Tejada's glove, tried scampering back to first and first baseman Ty Wigginton attempted to apply a tag. Replays showed he clipped Hardy's hand before the runner reached back to first base, but umpire Gary Darling saw otherwise, calling him safe and uncorking an explosive escapade from Wigginton, who appeared to bump Darling when he was ejected.
Hardy moved to second on a groundout and scored on Drew Butera's single to center. The stop in action prompted an argument from Orioles manager Juan Samuel, who left home plate umpire Bill Hahn know his feelings on Darling's call, resulting in another ejection.
Game Notes
Pavano pitched his seventh career shutout and his 12th career complete game...Baltimore dropped to 17-31 at home this season...Orioles pitching coach Rick Kranitz was also ejected in the seventh frame.
<< Hamburg loans striker Berg to PSV
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg loaned 23-year-old striker Marcus
Berg to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on Thursday.
Berg joined PSV on a one-year loan deal. PSV is coached by former Schalke boss
Fred Rutten. Berg scored four goals i
<< Westermann signs five-year deal with Hamburg
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heiko Westermann finalized his move
from Schalke to Hamburg on Thursday, as the German defender signed a five-year
deal with his new club.
Westermann, 26, had 12 goals in 92 matches for Schalke. H
<< Chelsea's Alex to miss start of season
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea defender Alex will miss the start
of the English Premier League season with a thigh injury that will sideline
for one month, the club announced on Thursday.
Alex was injured in training, joini
<< Shelton ousts Spieth, Lister at U.S. Junior
Ada, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robby Shelton scored an upset victory over 2009
champion Jordan Spieth in Thursday's second round, then bettered Andrew Lister
in the third round to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur
Champio
Milwaukee uses long ball, Gallardo's impressive start to down Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yovani Gallardo came off the disabled list
and tossed six scoreless innings, and the Brewers used a pair of home runs to
down the Pirates, 3-2, in the finale of a four-game set.
Prince Fielder and Rickie
Phillies fire hitting coach Thompson >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies, who have
struggled at the plate and are seven games behind NL East-leading Atlanta,
fired hitting coach Milt Thompson Thursday night.
The move came hours after the
Notre Dame-Miami to renew rivalry in 2012 >>
Coral Gables, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Miami and the University
of Notre Dame football programs have agreed to play each other in 2012, 22
years after the schools last met.
The game will be played at Soldier Field in Chica
Chivas defender Bornstein out with knee injury >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA captain Jonathan Bornstein will be
sidelined two weeks with a knee injury suffered Sunday in the SuperLiga match
against the Houston Dynamo, the Major League Soccer club announced Thursday.
Bornst
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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