Bonds continues HR chase in LA as Giants battle Dodgers
Baseball Betting Lines
04/24/2007 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Bonds and the red-hot San Francisco Giants open a
six-game road trip this evening with a stop at Los Angeles for a showdown with
the NL West-rival Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
The Giants have won five straight and seven of their last eight games,
including Sunday's 2-1 victory over division foe Arizona at AT&T Park. Bonds
homered in his second straight game and is 15 shy of tying Hank Aaron for the
all-time lead.
Bonds' 740th career home run was his sixth of the season and third in four
games. Pedro Feliz also homered for the Giants and starting pitcher Matt Cain
tossed a three-hitter. Cain (1-1) yielded one hit and was charged with one run
with four strikeouts and four walks.
San Francisco will send Matt Morris to the mound tonight and the righty is 2-0
with a 2.00 ERA in three starts this season. He did not factor into the
decision his last time out on April 18 against St. Louis, surrendering five
runs -- one earned -- and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.
In 13 career games (11 starts) against the Dodgers, Morris is 3-5 with a 5.40
earned run average.
Los Angeles will continue its six-game homestand this evening and had a three-
game winning streak halted with Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Olmedo Saenz finished 2-for-4, including his first homer of the season, with
one RBI and three runs scored for the Dodgers, who committed three errors in
the contest.
Dodgers starter Brett Tomko (0-1) was hammered for five runs -- three earned
-- on eight hits in six innings. Tomko also struck out seven and walked a pair
of batters in the losing effort.
Taking the ball for LA tonight will be Derek Lowe, who is 2-2 with a 4.56 ERA
in four starts this season. Lowe had a personal two-game winning streak
stopped his last time out on April 18 against Colorado after he allowed five
runs -- four earned -- through 4 2/3 innings.
Lowe owns a 3-4 record with a 3.57 earned run average in eight career starts
against the Giants.
Los Angeles swept a three-game series from San Francisco during the first week
of the season and is 16-6 over the last 22 matchups.
<< Astros continue road trip in Steel City against Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling Houston Astros will resume their nine-game
road trip this evening against the NL Central-rival Pittsburgh Pirates in the
opener of a three-game series at PNC Park.
Houston is 3-3 so far on the trip and has l
<< Arizona's Big Unit ready for debut against San Diego
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Johnson makes his much-anticipated debut tonight when
the Arizona Diamondbacks open a three-game series against the NL West-rival
San Diego Padres at Chase Field.
Johnson was re-acquired by the Diamondbacks in an off
<< Braden set for debut as A's battle Orioles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie southpaw Dallas Braden will make his major-league
debut today when the Oakland Athletics travel to Camden Yards to finish out a
two-game series with the Baltimore Orioles.
The 23-year-old native of Phoenix was a 24t
<< Rangers, Mariners wrap up short set with matinee
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of veteran pitchers will again be seeking a first
win of the 2007 season when the Seattle Mariners visit Rangers Ballpark today
for the finale of a two-game series with Texas.
Seattle will start 32-year-old
<< Scott Mellanby hangs up the skates
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Mellanby's National Hockey League career
came to an end Tuesday, as the veteran forward officially retired.
During his 21-year career, Mellanby tallied 364 goals and 476 assists for 840
points. The grit
Mitchell named Coach of the Year >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sam Mitchell, who guided the Toronto Raptors
to an NBA-best 20-game improvement this season, was named Coach of the Year on
Tuesday.
Mitchell garnered 49 first-place votes and 389 points from a panel of
Lakers try to even first-round series with Suns >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-seeded Phoenix Suns and the No. 7 Los Angeles
Lakers continue their first-round playoff series tonight at the US Airways
Center.
In the series opener, Leandro Barbosa came off the bench and erupted for 26
poin
Bulls attempt to jump out to 2-0 lead over Heat >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending world champion Miami Heat try to avoid
dropping the first two games in round one of the postseason, as they visit the
Chicago Bulls tonight at the United Center.
On Saturday, Luol Deng poured in 33 points
Raptors need a win at home vs. Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-seeded New Jersey Nets attempt to take a 2-0 lead
over the third-seeded Toronto Raptors tonight at Air Canada Centre in their
first-round matchup.
This is a best-of-seven series. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at
Braves continue series with resurgent Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins hope to become the proud parents of a
four-game winning streak when they continue their three-game series with the
Atlanta Braves tonight at Dolphin Stadium.
Monday was a night to remember for Ma
NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25
NEW 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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Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Bet on NFL Football
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
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