07/04/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fireworks are sure to fly in South Philadelphia tonight, as the Phillies and New York Mets renew their National League East rivalry with the opener of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies and Mets battled down the stretch last year for the NL East crown, with Philadelphia beating New York in each of the final eight meetings between the clubs. Those setbacks helped spark an epic collapse by the Mets, who blew a seven-game advantage with 17 games to play and lost 12 of their final 17 games. That allowed Philadelphia to capture the division title on the season's final day.
New York has gotten some payback this year, beating Philadelphia in four of the six meetings so far, but it is the Phillies who lead the NL East by 2 1/2 games over Florida. The Mets are third, 4 1/2 games off the pace.
New York sends its big offseason pickup to the hill tonight, as Johan Santana faces the Phillies for the second time this season. He defeated them on April 18 after allowing three runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts over seven innings.
Santana has a 3.09 earned run average in two career starts versus Philadelphia.
The left-hander has lost three straight starts and four consecutive decisions, however, going 1-4 in June despite a 2.27 ERA. New York scored fewer than three runs in four of Santana's six June starts, including Saturday's matchup against the Yankees.
Santana gave up three runs on four hits and four walks over six innings versus the Yanks, while striking out eight in a 3-2 loss. On the season, the 29-year- old is 7-7 with a 3.01 ERA.
New York has managed to score 25 runs over its last three games, while also allowing just 13. The club had little problem in its series finale with St. Louis on Thursday, rolling to an 11-1 rout.
Carlos Delgado hit a two-run homer and had three total RBI, while Jose Reyes smacked a bases-loaded triple as part of a six-run third inning. Endy Chavez, Damion Easley and Marlon Anderson each collected a pair of hits and an RBI for the Mets, who earned the split of the four-game series and have won three of five overall.
Easley is filling in at second base after starter Luis Castillo landed on the 15-day disabled list due to a quadriceps injury.
Philadelphia's once-struggling offense has also gotten back on track. The club has scored 35 runs over its last six tests -- going 4-2 in that span -- after plating only 15 runs in its previous eight games.
The Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the Braves on Thursday with a 4-1 victory. Starter Cole Hamels tossed 8 2/3 excellent innings, narrowly missing his second straight shutout over Atlanta, while Pedro Feliz, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard all homered in the win.
Utley smacked his major league-leading 24th homer of the season, while Howard went deep for the second straight game and is tops in the NL with 72 RBI. Also, Pat Burrell went 2-for-4 with a double for Philadelphia and is hitting .429 (6-for-14) over his last four games.
Burrell has clubbed Mets pitching throughout his career, blasting 41 homers while driving in 102 runs in 140 career games against them. However, he is hitting just .211 (4-for-19) without a homer in six games this year against New York.
Hamels was to pitch tonight, but was moved up a day to replace Brett Myers after the struggling hurler was sent down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday to work out of his slump. In need of a starter tonight, the Phils have turned to J.A. Happ.
Happ has made just one start in his career, and that actually came last year versus the Mets on June 30. It wasn't a day to remember for the 25-year-old, who allowed five runs on seven hits -- including three homers -- in four innings to take the loss.
The left-hander is 5-6 with a 3.54 ERA in 17 starts at Lehigh Valley this season.
<< Mariners try again to tame surging Tigers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers try to continue their recent dominance
of the Seattle Mariners when the two teams continue their four-game series
this afternoon at Safeco Field.
Detroit has won six of seven from the Mariners th
<< Dodgers should get reinforcements for latest battle with Giants
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers have had problems scoring runs for
Derek Lowe this season. However, with two big-name players set to return from
the disabled list today, that may not be a problem.
Los Angeles is expected to get
<< Diamondbacks welcome Padres to Chase Field
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks are finally back
at the .500 mark and will try to maintain their division lead tonight, when
they open a three-game series versus the San Diego Padres at Chase Field.
Arizona sits j
<< Hudson goes for Braves against Astros
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta right-hander Tim Hudson makes his fourth career
start against Houston today when the host Braves open a three-game series
against the Astros at Turner Field.
The Georgia native, who'll turn 33 in 10 days, is 1-0 i
Report: Boyle waives no-trade clause, headed to San Jose >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning have reportedly agreed
to trade veteran defenseman Dan Boyle to the San Jose Sharks.
According to TSN of Canada, Boyle waived his no-trade clause and agreed to the
deal, which is pendin
Indians designate Borowski for assignment >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians designated closer
Joe Borowski for assignment Friday, days after he blew a save against the
Chicago White Sox.
Borowski went 1-3 on the season with a 7.56 earned run averag
Federer, Nadal to meet in third straight Wimbledon final >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer, seeking a
sixth straight title here, and two-time runner-up Rafael Nadal were Friday's
semifinal winners at The Championships, Wimbledon. The two superstars will
meet in
Martin signs with HMS for 2009 >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Martin will replace Casey Mears in
the No.5 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports starting with the 2009 Sprint Cup
Series season.
After two years of semi-retirement, Martin declared he is ready
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
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