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04/10/2009 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Mora went 2-for-4 with three RBI as the Baltimore Orioles took a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
Adam Jones had two hits and two runs scored while Nick Markakis added an RBI and a run scored for the Orioles, who have won three of their four games on the young season.
Mark Hendrickson (1-0) was solid in the start as he gave up just one run on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings of work.
The win snapped a 12-game losing streak by the O's against the Rays.
Evan Longoria had a solo home run and a two-run shot while Dioner Navarro added a solo homer for the Rays, who had won their previous two games. Andy Sonnanstine (0-1) was charged with five runs on eight hits with four walks in just 4 2/3 innings of action.
Tampa Bay got on the board in the first inning thanks to a solo home run from Longoria that just cleared the wall in center field.
However, Baltimore answered in the bottom of the frame as Mora's two-run single to center brought home Brian Roberts and Jones for a 2-1 lead.
The Rays loaded the bases in the second, but it was with two outs and Jason Bartlett hit a weak grounder back to the mound to end the frame.
In the fourth, the Rays had a man at second with two outs and Ben Zobrist was able to beat out an infield single, but Gabe Kapler was caught taking a big turn around third and was tagged out in a rundown.
The Orioles extended their lead in the fifth inning. With two outs, Jones kept the inning alive with a double to left and Markakis followed with an RBI single. After an Aubrey Huff base-hit, Mora roped a single to right to bring home Markakis. A wild pitch from Sonnanstine then scored Huff for a 5-1 lead.
The Rays made it a 5-3 game as Longoria launched a pitch into the left field seats for a two-run home run in the eighth but George Sherrill came on in the ninth to close things out.
After Kapler struck out to start the frame, Navarro belted a pitch into the left field stands to make it a one-run game. Sherrill, though, struck out Zobrist and Akinori Iwamura to pick up his second save of the season.
Game Notes
The Rays won 15 of 18 matchups last season against the Orioles, including seven of nine in Baltimore...Hendrickson is 3-4 in eight games against Tampa Bay in his career...Sonnanstine fell to 2-3 in six games against Baltimore...Longoria has four home runs on the season.
<< Cavs wrap up East's top seed in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 27, dished out 10
assists and Cleveland hit 12-of-23 shots from beyond the arc to help clinch
homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 102-92
triumph
<< Petrova sneaks into MPS semis, Wozniacki breezes in
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova
barely won her quarterfinal match Friday at the inaugural MPS Group
Championships.
The world No. 10 Petrova had to come from behind to best seve
<< Dodgers' Kuroda placed on DL
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Hiroki
Kuroda on the 15-day disabled list Friday due to a strained left oblique
muscle.
Kuroda pitched on Opening Day for the Dodgers, earning the win after allow
<< Chase Field to host 2011 MLB All-Star Game
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks,
will host the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
MLB has called a news conference for Saturday afternoon when an official
announcement is expected from
The Butler did it: Wizards beat Raptors at buzzer >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caron Butler hit a jumper at the buzzer as the
Washington Wizards took a 100-98 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Butler had 21 points and seven assists while Antawn Jamison added 24 points
and 12 rebounds for
Hawks beat Pacers, secure home-court for first round of playoffs >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Smith scored a team-high 30 points and
grabbed 10 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks secured the fourth seed in
the Eastern Conference after claiming a 122-118 victory over the Indiana
Pacers
Memphis tops Phoenix, snaps long losing string to Suns >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo scored 20 points apiece,
and the Memphis Grizzlies downed Phoenix, 106-89, to snap a 10-game losing
streak to the Suns.
Mayo added six assists as did Mike Conley, who posted 17 points
Pistons beat Nets to secure playoff spot >>
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will Bynum poured in 20 points off the
bench and five other Pistons scored in double-figures as Detroit clinched a
playoff spot after defeating the New Jersey Nets, 100-93, at The Palace of
Auburn
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.
"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."
Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.
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