Yankees, Blue Jays open key series with weekday matinee
Baseball Betting Lines
07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees will try to start a new winning streak this afternoon, when they play the first of four straight games versus the American League East-rival Toronto Blue Jays in the Bronx.
New York had a seven-game winning streak come to an end with Thursday's 8-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners in the finale of a three-game series at the new Yankee Stadium. Prized free agent acquisition CC Sabathia was pounded for six runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings of work to absorb the loss. He also walked three and struck out eight batters.
"It was frustrating because we scored four runs," said Sabathia. "It should be enough to get the win, but I just wasn't on today. My delivery was just one of those days where I couldn't get the ball down. It was off the plate and put me in some tough counts."
Hideki Matsui belted a two-run homer and drove in three runs, while Robinson Cano had three hits and scored twice for the Yankees, who are now three games off Boston's lead in the AL East. Nick Swisher drove in the other run in defeat, which put the Yankees two games ahead of Tampa Bay for the AL Wild Card lead. Texas is third at 2 1/2 games behind New York.
Former Blue Jay A.J. Burnett gets the call for the Yankees Friday and will try for a measure of revenge against his one-time employer. Burnett faced Toronto for the first time since joining the Yankees on May 12 at Rogers Centre, where he allowed five runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings of a 5-1 setback.
Burnett, who pitched for Toronto from 2006-2008, is 1-1 with a 3.24 earned run average in two lifetime starts against the Jays. He has won four of his last six outings overall, including a 5-0 win over the Mets his last time out on Saturday. The righty tossed seven shutout innings and allowed three walks with 10 strikeouts to improve to 6-4 in 15 starts this season, while lowering his ERA from 4.24 to 3.93.
The Jays will open a 10-game road trip against the Yankees, Rays and Orioles today and ended a four-game losing streak with a 5-0 victory versus Tampa Bay Wednesday at Rogers Centre. Starting pitcher Ricky Romero won his sixth game of the season with eight shutout innings of four-hit ball, striking out eight batters and walking only one.
"It helps a lot when everyone is on your side and everyone on your team is backing you up," Romero said. "It's not a one-man show out there. It's nine guys trying to grind it out and trying to get a win."
Adam Lind, Scott Rolen and Rod Barajas all helped Romero out with solo homers and Marco Scutaro doubled in a run for Toronto, which won for the second time in its last seven tries and sits seven games off the pace in the AL East. The Jays are also four games behind the Yankees in the Wild Card race.
Toronto will send Brian Tallet to the hill on Friday, and he is 5-5 with a 4.47 earned run average in 19 games (15 starts) this season. He fell to 1-2 over his last four trips to the hill and most recently dropped a 5-4 decision to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. Tallet surrendered five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits in six innings of work versus the Phils.
The left-hander out of LSU took on the Yankees in a 3-2 loss on May 14, but did not factor in the outcome after yielding a pair of runs and four hits in six innings. In 21 career games (1 start) against New York, spanning 34 1/3 innings, Tallet is 1-0 with a 2.88 ERA.
The Yankees won two of three matchups in Toronto from May 12-14 and have won four of the six most recent meetings between the teams.
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Super Bowl XLIV Odds
Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.
Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.
That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.
Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.
After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.
The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).
To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.
NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV
New England Patriots 8/1
Dallas Cowboys 9/1
New York Giants 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1
Indianapolis Colts 12/1
San Diego Chargers 12/1
Baltimore Ravens 14/1
Tennessee Titans 16/1
Carolina Panthers 18/1
Philadelphia Eagles 18/1
New Orleans Saints 20/1
Atlanta Falcons 25/1
Denver Broncos 25/1
Green Bay Packers 25/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1
Minnesota Vikings 25/1
New York Jets 25/1
Arizona Cardinals 30/1
Chicago BearS 30/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1
Buffalo Bills 35/1
Houston TexaNS 35/1
Miami Dolphins 35/1
Washington Redskins 35/1
Seattle SeahawkS 50/1
Cleveland Browns 55/1
Cincinnati Bengals 60/1
San Francisco 49ers 60/1
Oakland Raiders 75/1
St. Louis Rams 75/1
Detroit Lions 100/1
Kansas City Chiefs 100/1
Odds as of: 2/2/09
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.