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04/22/2009 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman hit a game-tying homer and Ivan Rodriguez singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, lifting the Houston Astros to a 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hunter Pence hit a two-run homer and Jason Michaels added a two-run double for the Astros, who also won Tuesday in the first contest of this three-game series.
Houston starter Roy Oswalt allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings, but did not factor into the decision. Chris Sampson (1-0) took the win despite allowing a potentially decisive run in two relief innings, while LaTroy Hawkins tossed a perfect ninth to nail down his second save.
Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Casey Blake all homered in the sixth inning for the Dodgers, who have now lost two in a row following an eight-game win streak.
Los Angeles center fielder Matt Kemp, who had gotten at least one hit in each of the season's first 14 games, went 0-for-4.
Ronald Belisario (0-1) took the loss after allowing the two runs in the bottom of the eighth. He followed LA starter Randy Wolf, who gave up four runs on eight hits in seven frames of work.
With the game tied at four runs apiece, Los Angeles edged in front in the top of the eighth. Facing Sampson, Ethier singled and scored on a James Loney double to left, and suddenly the Dodgers had a 5-4 lead.
Sampson, though, worked out of further trouble and the Astros took the lead in the bottom half. Berkman smacked a one-out solo shot to left field to tie the contest, and after Carlos Lee grounded out, Pence hit a ground-rule double to right.
Belisario unfurled a wild pitch that allowed Pence to move to third, and Belisario intentionally walked pinch-hitter Geoff Blum. But Rodriguez avoided the force out by smacking a grounder back up the middle to plate Pence and give Houston a 6-5 edge.
Hawkins took the mound for the Astros in the ninth and set the Dodgers down in order to end the game.
Houston took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. After Lee singled with one away, Pence crushed a fastball at the knees over the fence in left-center field.
But Los Angeles surged ahead with a four-run sixth, which Ramirez and Ethier began with consecutive homers. Russell Martin then walked with one out, and after Kemp struck out, Blake homered to left to give the Dodgers a 4-2 edge.
Michaels had a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 4-4 game.
Game Notes
Michaels finished with two doubles in the game...Oswalt tied the franchise record for starts with 245...The Dodgers hadn't had back-to-back homers since September 3 of last season and hadn't hit three in an inning since May 15 of the same year...Berkman's homer was his 292nd with the Astros, moving him past Craig Biggio into second place in Houston franchise history.
<< Cueto, Reds shut down Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Cueto was stellar on the hill and went
2-for-2 at the plate to help the Cincinnati Reds edge the Chicago Cubs, 3-0,
in the middle tilt of a three-game set from Wrigley Field.
Cueto (1-1) went seven
<< Wade, Heat even series in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade finished with 33 points, seven
assists and five rebounds, as the Miami Heat evened their Eastern Conference
quarterfinal series with a 108-93 Game 2 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
In Game 1 of
<< Red Sox top Twins in nightcap for seventh straight win
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Bailey's first home run of the season, a
three-run shot, led the way as Boston upended Minnesota, 7-3, in the back
half of a day-night doubleheader which completed a two-game set at Fenway
Park.
<< Wizards, Red Bulls renew Eastern rivalry
Kansas City, KA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Wizards are coming off a
dramatic come-from-behind 2-2 draw at Chicago after scoring two goals in the
final 12 minutes last weekend.
The New York Red Bulls are coming off their first w
Andruw Jones exits Texas-Toronto tilt with knee injury >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Andruw Jones
left Wednesday's 8-7 loss in 11 innings to Toronto with an injured right knee.
Jones reached first for his only hit in four at-bats by jumping over first
base
Tennessee's Smith becomes eligible for NBA Draft >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee junior forward Tyler Smith
announced Wednesday he has submitted paperwork to become eligible for this
year's NBA Draft, but has not hired an agent, keeping the door open if he
wants t
Flames squander three-goal lead, recover to even series >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarome Iginla tallied twice and Eric Nystrom
notched the game-winner late in the third period as Calgary wasted a three-
goal lead but recovered to post a 6-4 victory over Chicago in Game 4 of their
Western
Tigers OF Thames to miss more than a month >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers outfielder Marcus Thames is
expected to miss more than a month because of a severe rib cage strain.
Thames strained a rib cage muscle in batting practice Tuesday, and an MRI exam
showed the
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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