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07/21/2007 - 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 Guillen and Raul Ibanez drove in a run each for the Mariners, who have won eight of their last 11 games. J.J. Putz recorded the final three outs to register his 31st consecutive save (29th of the season) and extend his scoreless innings streak to 22, as Seattle began its seven-game road trip with its fourth straight win away from home.
Seattle's starting pitcher Miguel Batista (10-7) got the win against one of his former teams. The right-hander, who played for the Jays in 2004 and 2005, allowed two runs on five hits, striking out six and walking three, in 5 2/3 innings. He has now won two straight and three of four starts.
Alex Rios went 3-for-4 and Troy Glaus had two hits and drove in a run for Toronto, which opened its six-game homestand by losing for the fourth time in six outings.
Toronto starter Jesse Litsch (2-4) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings. He also walked four and struck out two, losing for the fourth time in five decisions.
Toronto started the scoring in the second inning. Frank Thomas, Lyle Overbay and Aaron Hill all worked walks to begin the inning. Gregg Zaun then hit into a 4-6-3 double play to score Thomas.
Beltre put Seattle ahead 2-1 in the fourth with his homer. Then, in the fifth, Ibanez singled home Yuniesky Betancourt and Guillen's base hit plated Ichiro Suzuki.
The Blue Jays got a run back in the sixth. Rios doubled to start the frame and scored on Glaus' one-out single to make it a 4-2 game.
However, that was it for the Jays. The Seattle bullpen worked the final 3 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits.
Game Notes
Toronto manager John Gibbons was ejected in the sixth inning by first base umpire Tim Timmons after Timmons said Aaron Hill went too far on a check swing. Hill ended up striking out later in the at-bat...Beltre's HR was his 15th of the season...Toronto's John McDonald went 0-for-2 and is now in an 0- for-20 slump...Howie Clark, who pinch-hit for McDonald in the seventh, grounded out in his only plate appearance to see his hitless slump extend to 13 at-bats...Richie Sexson had two of the six hits for the Mariners...Putz has not allowed a run in 16 road games.
<< 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
<< FBI investigating NBA ref who allegedly bet games
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy is
under investigation by the FBI for allegedly betting on and fixing games
that he worked during the past two seasons, in a gambling scam that
reporte
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 "
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.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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