Santana returns to face Orioles
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been able to rebound from a rough beginning to the season. The team is hoping one of its most talented pitchers will be able to do the same in tonight's matchup with the Baltimore Orioles at Angel Stadium.
Ervin Santana won a career-high 16 games for the Angels and ranked second in the American League with 214 strikeouts a year ago, earning a spot on the AL All-Star team in the process. The hard-throwing right-hander hasn't been able to achieve the same success so far during an injury-plagued 2009 campaign, however.
Santana has made just six starts for Anaheim this season due to recurring arm issues and has gone 1-3 with a subpar 7.47 earned run average during those games. Opponents are batting a robust .344 off him for the year.
The 26-year-old was placed on the disabled list for the second time this season after being tagged for six runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings of a June 11 loss at Tampa Bay. He appeared quite healthy, however, in a rehab start for the Angels' Rookie League team this past Sunday, when Santana struck out seven over a 3 1/3 scoreless-inning stint.
Santana will be facing the Orioles for the eighth time in his career and owns a 2-2 record with a 4.60 ERA lifetime against Baltimore.
He'll be attempting to pitch the American League West-leading Angels to an eighth victory in 10 games this evening. In Thursday's opener of this four- game set, Bobby Abreu bashed a pair of home runs and John Lackey delivered eight strong innings in Anaheim's 5-2 triumph over Baltimore.
Abreu knocked in four of the Angels' five runs in the game, with Chone Figgins driving home the other with an RBI single en route to a 3-for-4 performance at the plate.
Lackey (3-3) did his part as well, limiting the Orioles to a pair of runs and just four hits while striking out seven. Brian Fuentes closed things out in the ninth to notch his major league-best 23rd save of the year.
"I established the fastball pretty good tonight," said Lackey. "I mixed my pitches well and located my fastball."
Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie (6-8) was saddled with the loss after surrendering five runs on nine hits over seven innings of work.
The Orioles, who have now dropped four of their last five contests, received a solo home run from Luke Scott and an RBI single by Matt Wieters on the evening.
Anaheim has gone 14-5 since June 12 and presently holds a one-game edge on Texas for first place in the AL West standings.
The red-hot Angels will get their first look tonight at Baltimore rookie David Hernandez, with the young right-hander set to make his fourth start and fifth overall appearance in the majors.
Hernandez is 1-2 with a 4.19 ERA over a span of 19 1/3 innings during his brief time at the big-league level. The 24-year-old was recently recalled from the minors to fill in for injured starter Koji Uehara and allowed three runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 frames in a loss to Washington this past Sunday.
The California native had started twice and pitched once in relief with the Orioles before being sent down in early June, and earned his first major- league win on May 28 by holding Detroit to one run through 5 2/3 innings.
The Angels swept a two-game series from the Orioles at Camden Yards back in April and went 6-3 against Baltimore last season. The O's are just 4-13 in Anaheim since the start of the 2006 campaign.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays take their hot streak into the Lone Star State, where the defending American League champions will start up an intriguing three-game series with the Texas Rangers this evening. With wins in 15 of their
<< Cardinals send Pineiro to hill in Cincinnati
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joel Pineiro hopes for some run support tonight when the
St. Louis Cardinals begin a three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds at Great
American Ball Park.
Pineiro lost for the ninth time in his last 11 starts on Sun
<< King Felix goes for Mariners at Fenway
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners enter the final leg of a challenging
road trip with tonight's opener of a three-game series with the American
League East-leading Boston Red Sox from Fenway Park.
The surprising Mariners have acquitte
<< Road-weary Phils return home to host Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies limp back home tied atop the NL
East after a dreadful road trip. Tonight, they try to improve upon their
horrific play in front of their own fans when they open a three-game series
against
<< Serena and Venus reach fourth Wimbledon doubles final
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The incomparable Williams sisters,
Serena and Venus, will appear in their fourth Wimbledon doubles final on
Saturday.
The fourth-seeded sisters drilled a top-seeded tandem of Zimbabwe's Cara
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There haven't been many pitchers who have slowed down the Chicago White Sox as of late, but Zack Greinke has shown in the past to be quite capable of such a task. The Kansas City Royals ace will take the mound in tonight
Twins try to gain ground in Central in opener with Tigers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have an opportunity to gain some
ground on the division-leading Detroit Tigers when the American League Central
rivals begin a key three-game series tonight at the Metrodome.
The Twins presently trail
Reeling Indians try to get back on track vs. A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have been playing poorly since mid-
June and will try to stop a five-game losing streak tonight in the opener of a
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The Indians have
Rockies to open homestand with last-place Diamondbacks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies are back home after a lengthy road
trip and will open a three-game series tonight against the National League
West-rival Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field.
Colorado went 5-4 on a nine-game road swing
Federer reaches record seventh straight Wimbledon final >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer
defeated Tommy Haas in Friday's men's semifinal action at Wimbledon. The
iconic Federer will now appear in a men's record seventh straight Wimbledon
final on Sunday.
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.
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.