A's seeking to get back on track against Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics are coming off a beating in the Bronx and are back in the Bay Area to kick off a nine-game homestand starting with Friday's opener of a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The A's lost all four games at Yankee Stadium and were blanked 5-0 in Thursday's series finale. New York ace CC Sabathia improved to 19-5 with eight shutout innings, while Oakland starter Dallas Braden tossed five innings of one-run ball to suffer the loss.

"He was throwing the ball well, but he started cramping up in his legs and couldn't get rid of it," A's manager Bob Geren said of Braden. It was to a point where he couldn't go on."

Braden, Jerry Blevins and Michael Wuertz all gave up home runs for the Athletics, who went 4-6 on the road trip and fell 10 games behind Texas for the NL West lead. The A's were outscored, 29-11, in the series.

Oakland will also host Seattle and Boston on the residency and is an impressive 38-27 at the Coliseum this season.

Taking the mound in tonight's series opener for the A's will be Gio Gonzalez, who's won two straight and five of his last seven decisions. Gonzalez threw seven shutout innings in a win at Cleveland on August 24 before holding the rival Rangers to two runs in six innings in last Sunday's 8-2 win in Arlington. He was able to push his mark to 12-8 with a 3.23 ERA in 27 starts this season.

Gonzalez defeated the Angels at the Big A in his 2010 debut on April 9, as he lasted six innings and allowed two runs with six K's. The lefty is 2-1 in four career starts in this series.

The Angels won two of three meetings with Seattle and are coming off Wednesday's 4-2 victory in the series finale. Hideki Matsui clubbed a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Alberto Callaspo added a solo shot in the eighth for Anaheim, which is 10 1/2 games off the lead in the AL West and won for just the third time in 10 tries.

Halos starter Trevor Bell allowed two runs and nine hits with six strikeouts over six innings for the win, while Fernando Rodney notched his eighth save with a pair of K's in the ninth.

"They got some hits off Trevor, but that was just a function of him attacking the strike zone with his fastball," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I thought he had good life on his pitches, got the ball into good zones most of the time. They definitely got some opportunities and he made some pitches to get out of some opportunities and showed us a lot out there."

Scioscia hopes Scott Kazmir can snap out of his funk when he toes the rubber for the Angels tonight. Kazmir is 1-7 with an 8.29 ERA in his last nine starts and was beaten by Baltimore his last time out on Saturday. He allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings of a 5-0 score, and hasn't pitched through the sixth inning in three straight and five of six starts.

The left-hander sports an 8-12 mark in 22 starts this season and is aiming for a measure of revenge against Oakland, which pounded Kazmir for 13 runs and 11 hits in five innings of a 15-1 blowout back on July 10. Kazmir, however, is 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 16 career starts against the A's.

Anaheim has won seven of 13 matchups with Oakland this season.

Wwwhat2bet Baseball Betting News

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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.