Athletics lose Sweeney for season
Baseball Betting Lines
07/19/2010 -
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics will be without their
leading hitter, Ryan Sweeney, for the rest of the season after he elected to
have surgery on at least one of his ailing knees.
It was announced earlier Monday that Sweeney was placed on the 15-day disabled
list with right patella tendinitis. The A's official website indicated he had
a cortisone shot for the knee last Monday and received platelet-rich
injections during the All-Star break to no avail.
Sweeney was quoted on the site as saying, "it wasn't a matter of if I needed
the surgery. It was a matter of when I was going to get it. So we just had to
make that decision."
The surgery is not yet scheduled, but is to be performed by Dr. Richard
Steadman in Vail, Colorado. The recovery time is expected to take 4-to-6
months. Sweeney will also have his left knee examined, and a second surgery is
not out of the question.
The 25-year-old batted .294 with one home run and 36 runs batted in over 82
games this season. In 364 career games with the Chicago White Sox and Oakland,
Sweeney is a .286 hitter with 13 home runs and 144 RBI.
<< Seven-run third inning propels Rays to win over O's
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backed by a seven-run third inning, as the Tampa Bay Rays crushed the
Baltimore Orioles, 8-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Camden Yards.
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<< Donnie Murphy homers in ninth to lift Marlins over Rockies
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Donnie Murphy hit a two-run homer
off Huston Street in the bottom of the ninth, as the Florida Marlins edged the
Colorado Rockies, 9-8, in the opener of a four-game series at Sun Life
Stadium
<< Pujols, Cardinals charge past Phillies
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pujols crushed a two-run homer as part
of a five-run fifth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals overcame an early
deficit to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-4, in the opener of a four-game
series
<< Tigers lose 3B Inge for 4-6 weeks with hand fracture
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit's Brandon Inge was hit on the left hand
by a pitch in Monday's game versus Texas and suffered a non-displaced fracture
of the fifth metacarpal bone. He's expected to miss the next 4-to-6 weeks.
Rangers
<< Rangers' Nippert takes line drive off head
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers reliever Dustin Nippert was
drilled on the side of the head by a line drive off the bat of Austin Jackson
during Monday's game versus the Tigers at Comerica Park.
The right-hander tried in
Cueto pitches, hits Reds past Nats >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Cueto pitched six innings to win his
third consecutive decision and singled in two runs to lead Cincinnati over
Washington, 7-2, to start a four-game series at Great American Ball Park.
Cueto (9
Barnes apparently to play for Raptors >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Free agent forward Matt Barnes has apparently
agreed to play for the Toronto Raptors.
Barnes posted on his Twitter account Monday that he will be playing for the
Raptors next season. He thanked the Orla
Astros use 17-hit attack to defeat Cubs >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Lee slapped a two-run double to
highlight a five-run first inning, as Houston capitalized early on mistakes
from Carlos Silva and beat the Chicago Cubs, 11-5, to begin a three-game set
at Wrig
Capuano picks up win as Brewers down Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rickie Weeks hit a two-run homer and Chris
Capuano picked up his first win in over three years, as the Milwaukee Brewers
earned a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a four-game
series
Callaspo's hit lifts Royals over Blue Jays in 10 >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Kendall lofted a game-tying sacrifice
fly in the bottom of the 10th inning and Alberto Callaspo singled home the
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Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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