Dodgers, Braves conclude series at Turner Field
Baseball Betting Lines
08/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The absence of a couple of key regulars didn't affect the Atlanta Braves' offense in their last outing. The National League East front- runners will attempt to build off Sunday's scoring barrage when they complete a four-game series with the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers tonight at Turner Field.
After mustering a mere two runs in splitting the first two tests of this set, the Braves' bats broke out in a big way on Sunday. Atlanta matched a season high with 16 hits in a 13-1 rout of the Dodgers, the team's highest scoring output since beating Arizona by an identical 13-1 count on May 16.
The Braves scored four times in the bottom of the third inning, capped by Alex Gonzalez's two-run triple, and four more in the fifth to build a commanding 8-0 lead. Troy Glaus belted a three-run homer in that frame and added an RBI single later in the contest.
Gonzalez knocked in four runs as well on the afternoon, while Omar Infante went 3-for-5 with an RBI single and scored three times for Atlanta.
Jair Jurrjens (5-4) also did his part on Sunday, with the Atlanta starter limiting the Dodgers to one run and striking out seven batters over the first seven innings. He improved to 5-0 at Turner Field this season and lowered his home earned run average to a stellar 1.83.
"It's always good when you have runs. You can go out and just throw strikes," said Jurrjens. "You don't need to make intense pitches all the time. When the game is close, every pitch means something and can be the game. With a big score like that, you go out and throw and try to work with a pitch count."
Infante is filling in at second base for All-Star Martin Prado, sidelined since July 30 with a broken right pinkie finger. The Braves will also be without slugger Chipper Jones for the remainder of the season after the veteran third baseman tore the ACL in his left knee last Tuesday.
It doesn't seem to matter much who's in the lineup for Atlanta when the team plays at Turner Field. The Braves are a major-league best 41-16 at home this season, a prime reason why the team holds a two-game edge on Philadelphia for first place in the East.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, have now lost 13 of their last 16 away tests and are a poor 24-34 as the visitor on the year. The defending NL West champs have gone 2-4 thus far on a road trip that ends tonight and find themselves 6 1/2 games behind the Phillies and San Francisco for the lead in the league's Wild Card standings.
"I think it's very frustrating," said Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier of his team's present situation. "We're all trying to achieve a goal. We're just trying to get back into the race in our division. We didn't come out and perform like a team in the race. It's just embarrassing when you're trying to make a push to the playoffs."
On a positive note, Dodgers outfielder Scott Podsednik extended his hitting streak to 12 games after opening Sunday's test with a double. The trade- deadline pickup is batting .380 (19-for-50) over the course of his tear.
Los Angeles was done in by a shoddy pitching performance from Vicente Padilla (6-4) on Sunday, with the right-hander rocked for eight runs and eight hits before exiting after 4 1/3 innings.
The Dodgers will be counting on a better showing from tonight's starter Chad Billingsley. The steady right-hander in turn hopes for a little bit of support from his offense, as Los Angeles has mustered just one run in a three-start winless streak (two losses, one no-decision) he carries into the series finale.
In his most recent assignment, Billingsley held the Phillies to two runs on five hits over six innings in a shutout defeat in Philadelphia last Wednesday. Two starts earlier, he blanked San Francisco over six frames but was stuck without a decision in an eventual 2-1 Dodgers' loss on July 31.
Unlike his team, Billingsley has usually done well on the road this year, having compiled a 5-3 record with a 2.96 ERA in 12 starts in visiting parks. He's just 1-3 lifetime against Atlanta, however, and lost to the Braves at home back on June 5 after allowing three runs in six innings.
Tommy Hanson, who gets the call for Atlanta this evening, has also endured some tough luck as of late. The young righty yielded just one unearned run and two hits over seven innings this past Wednesday in Houston, but was denied a victory when closer Billy Wagner blew a save opportunity in the night. That effort followed a no-decision against the Giants on August 6 in which Hanson gave up one run and three hits in seven innings.
The 23-year-old did best Billingsley and the Dodgers in that above-mentioned June 5 clash by tossing six innings of two-run ball, and is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two lifetime starts against Los Angeles.
The Dodgers did earn a split of their four-game home series with the Braves in early June, but have lost in seven of their past 10 trips to Turner Field.
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<< Dodgers, Braves open series at Turner Field
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Atlanta Braves' offense in their last outing. The National League East front-
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a four-game
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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies
It's that time of year folks. Betting on American Idol Season 9. And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below. With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.
No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.
Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.
Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.
Odds to Win
There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.
All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.
A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.
Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.
Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol.
Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.
If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.
Elimination Props
Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.
Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.
Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups
The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.
Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.