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Cubs use long ball to down D-BacksBaseball Betting Lines08/02/2006 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Murton went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored to give the Chicago Cubs a 9-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second test of a four-game series at Wrigley Field. Aramis Ramirez and Jacque Jones also had two-run home runs for the Cubs, who have won five of their last six games. "We got some balls up in the air like they (Arizona) did last night," said Cubs manager Dusty Baker. Shortstop Cesar Izturis, who Chicago acquired on Monday from the Dodgers for pitcher Greg Maddux, went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Rich Hill (1-4) picked up his first victory in the majors as he gave up three runs on six hits with a walk and six strikeouts in eight innings of work. Andy Green had a pinch-hit two-run double and Eric Byrnes hit a solo home run for the Diamondbacks, who had a two-game winning streak stopped. Claudio Vargas (8-8) was shelled for seven runs on eight hits in four innings of work. The Cubs scored often and early to take control of the game. In the first, Ramirez hit a two-out, two-run homer to give the Cubs an early 2-0 lead. Murton and Neifi Perez hit back-to-back one-out singles in the second and moved up a base on a sac bunt by Hill. Pierre followed with a double to right to plate both runners for a 4-0 lead. In the third, Michael Barrett led off with a solo home run. After the next two Cubs batters recorded outs, John Mabry kept the inning alive with a double and Murton followed with a homer over the right-center wall to make it a 7-0 game. The Diamondbacks finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning when Green hit a two-out two-run double that scored Chad Tracy and Orlando Hudson to cut their deficit to 7-2. Chicago, though, got the runs right back in the bottom of the fifth when Jones hit a two-run homer to make it a 9-2 game. Byrnes hit a solo homer in the eighth to cut Arizona's deficit to 9-3. Roberto Nova pitched the ninth and issued a lead-off walk to Conor Jackson, but recorded outs on the next three batters to seal the victory. Game Notes Ramirez has 25 home runs and 72 RBI on the season...Arizona left fielder Luis Gonzalez hit a double in the game and leads the majors this season with 38...The Cubs snapped a five-game losing streak against Arizona...Byrnes has 16 home runs this year.
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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. Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Horse Betting(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine). The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late. "You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest. "A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve." When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential: CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped. DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins. PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge. You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike. "You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders." Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of. (By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.) Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout." But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing." Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you." Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front." All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold. In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse. "Now," says Avello, "it's time for action." To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs. |
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