Brignac belts two homers as Rays top Yankees

Baseball Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reid Brignac notched his first career multi-homer game, blasting two and driving in a career-high five in the Rays' 10-5 win over the Yankees in the second of three games.

Brignac had just three career home runs in 101 contests before Saturday's outburst. Carlos Pena added a homer among a season-high four hits and drove in three, while Evan Longoria went 2-for-4 and scored three times, as Tampa Bay spoiled the 64th annual Old-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium.

Jeff Niemann (8-2) was the beneficiary of the run support after allowing four runs, six hits and four walks while fanning six in 6 1/3 frames. He moved to 5-0 in nine road starts this season, as the Rays won for the ninth time in 11 games.

Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada both homered, while Brett Gardner hit a two-run single for the Yankees, who had won nine of their previous 10.

A.J. Burnett (7-8) lasted just two-plus innings before leaving with lacerations on his throwing hand, and gave up four runs and four hits in defeat.

The Rays got to Burnett in the opening inning, as Longoria singled with two away and scored on Pena's double to right.

Tampa Bay mimicked that method of scoring in the second. After the first two batters were retired, Jason Bartlett kept the inning alive when he was hit by a pitch. Brignac subsequently launched a 1-0 pitch into the right-field seats for a 3-0 lead.

The Yankees answered with two runs in the home half. Robinson Cano led off with a double, and one-out walks to Curtis Granderson and Francisco Cervelli preceded Gardner's two-run single, which made it a one-run contest.

Burnett, though, didn't escape the third, when he hit Longoria with a pitch before uncorking a wild pitch and allowing Pena to smack an RBI single. The Yankees' starter was pulled with an injury, and Dustin Moseley was able to escape without further damage.

Moseley was not able to get through the fifth unscathed, however, as Tampa Bay tacked on four more runs.

Matt Joyce drew a leadoff walk, and John Jaso followed with a single, placing runners on the corners. B.J. Upton's sacrifice fly extended the lead to 5-2, and Bartlett singled Jaso to second. Brignac, again with a 1-0 count, launched another offering into the right-field seats for a six-run margin.

Teixeira's solo blast in the fifth pulled New York to within 8-3, but Jaso restored the six-run lead for Tampa Bay with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Posada added a homer for the Yanks in the home sixth, and Pena's leadoff blast in the eighth gave the visitors a 10-4 advantage.

Alex Rodriguez's RBI double in the ninth accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

The Rays improved their MLB-best road record to 29-15...Tampa Bay leads the season series, 4-3...Moseley finished with three innings pitched, giving up four runs on five hits and three walks...Burnett fell to 12-6 lifetime against the Rays...Pena notched at least four hits for the fifth time in his career. He accomplished the feat for the first time since May 8, 2007...Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter went just 1-for-5 and is batting 7-for-41 (.171) since July 3.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

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.