08/27/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In baseball's first half, the Marlins were the biggest fish in the sea when it came to blasting home runs. However, since the break they have become mere minnows in a pond.
Florida led the majors with 135 home runs in 95 games prior to the All-Star break, but have since connected on just 37 over 37 second-half contests. That ranks 11th in the league. And while the club wasn't hitting for average at a torrid pace in the first half -- .256 prior to the break -- its .235 second- half average is tied for the lowest in the National League.
The Marlins trailed the first-place Phillies by 1 1/2 games heading into the All-Star game in the NL East, but are now six games back of Philadelphia heading into play on Wednesday. A 9-14 mark so far in August also has the club 10 games back in the wild card race.
All this from a team that became the first NL squad in the history of baseball of have all four infield players connect on 20-or-more homers in a single season. On the other hand, Florida hasn't won consecutive games since July 30-31.
"We are trying. Those guys in there are busting their butts trying to get that winning streak," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said after a six-run loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday. "The pitching has been there, but we have to keep going. No one is going to feel sorry for us."
All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla has been the poster boy for the Marlins slumping second half. Uggla hit .286 through 81 games before the Midsummer Classic, connecting on 23 homers while driving in 59 runs. However, in 36 games since, he is hitting just .190 with four homers and 13 RBI.
Perhaps Uggla has yet to recover from his All-Star gaming showing, in which he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
OPEN LATE
Closer Kevin Gregg has hard a hard time finishing off games as of late. He was tagged for four runs on five hits, getting a loss and a blown save on Tuesday in a 10-9 decision versus the Braves. It marked his third loss in his last six games.
The right-hander is 6-7 on the season with a 3.26 earned run average, and is just one save shy of becoming the second player in club history to post more than one season of 30-plus saves. He had 32 last year and would join Rob Nen (35 saves in 1996 and 1997) as the only hurlers to accomplish the aforementioned feat for Florida.
Gregg, though, has hardly been lights out as he has blown eight saves this year. He knows that the Marlins are starting to run out of time if they are to get back in the postseason race.
"You're running out of games," he told Florida's official Web site after Tuesday's loss. "We've got to win. We've got to win some games; we can't be letting games like that get away."
ROSTER MOVE
The Marlins placed left-hander Renyel Pinto on the disabled list Tuesday, retroactive to August 24, while activating righty Doug Waechter from the 15- day DL. Pinto is sidelined with a left hamstring strain, while Waechter had been out due to right shoulder inflammation.
Waechter is 3-2 with a 3.51 ERA in 39 games this year, while Pinto is 2-5 with a 4.50 ERA over 65 outings.
WHO'S HOT
Ricky Nolasco improved to 13-7 with a win over Arizona on Sunday and has allowed just three walks while fanning 51 over his last six starts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, since 1961 only six other hurlers have struck out at least 50 batters while issuing no more than three walks in a six-start span.
Those pitchers are Jim Kaat, Ferguson Jenkins (twice), Pedro Martinez, Roy Oswalt, Curt Schilling (twice) and Ben Sheets.
WHO'S NOT
Jeremy Hermida is in the midst of a 4-for-34 (.118) slide, dropping his season average to .252.
ON DECK
The Marlins continue a nine-game road trip on Wednesday with the second part of a three-game series with the Braves. Florida is 3-4 so far on the trek.
Josh Johnson (3-0, 3.51 ERA) goes against Mike Hampton (2-1, 6.47) on Wednesday, while Anibal Sanchez (2-2, 3.99) is slated to toss Thursday's finale versus Charlie Morton (3-8, 6.39).
The Marlins then play six straight at home, starting with three against the Mets on Friday. Chris Volstad (4-3, 3.42) takes on Oliver Perez (9-7, 4.00) in the opener, followed by Nolasco (13-7, 3.62) against Mike Pelfrey (13-8, 3.70) on Saturday and Scott Olsen (6-8, 4.19) versus Pedro Martinez (4-3, 5.22) on Sunday.
<< Merriman to try to play without knee surgery
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linebacker Shawne Merriman told the San Diego
Chargers on Wednesday that he has elected not to undergo surgery on his
injured left knee, and instead will try to play this season despite reportedly
having
<< Kuznetsova, Dementieva reach third round in New York
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion and last year's
runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova and Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva were
a pair of second-round winners Wednesday at the U.S. Open.
The third-seeded Kuznetsova w
<< Rossi to miss start of La Liga season for Villarreal
Villarreal, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi will
miss the start of the new La Liga season after injuring his ankle in training.
Last season's 11-goal marksman is likely to miss the opening two league games
agai
<< Instant Replay: Yay or Nay?
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball joined its other major sport
contemporaries on Tuesday by implementing instant replay on a limited basis
for the rest of the season and the playoffs.
And I, for one, applaud it. It is something that s
Sharks sign D Vlasic to four-year extension >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks signed defenseman Marc-
Edouard Vlasic to a four-year contract extension, the team announced on
Wednesday. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Vlasic,
Bucs trade DE Douglas to Ravens >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded defensive end
Marques Douglas to the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday in exchange for
undisclosed draft picks.
Tampa signed Douglas as a free agent on March 18.
A ni
Jankovic, Kuznetsova, Dementieva reach third round in Flushing >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic,
former champion and last year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Olympic
gold medalist Elena Dementieva were a trio of second-round winners Wednesday
at the U.S. O
Around FCS: New Name, New Teams For Missouri Valley >>
Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is no truth to the rumor that the name
of the Gateway Conference was changed to protect the innocent.
Patty Viverito is still the commissioner of the newly named Missouri Valley
Football Conference, not
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6
The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.
Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com. "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis. It's like Week 1 of the NFL. Pre-season means nada!
We do know the 24 finalists however.
Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24. He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway. He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien.
Brandon Rogers - Who?
Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition. He should go a good distance.
Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was. And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition. He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice! People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way.
"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks. He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes. But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.
A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”
Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes.
"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate. "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past. He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far. Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."
Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts)
And the others:
Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter
The girls
"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis. "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has. The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive. I think she will go far."
Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.
"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams. Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth. "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.
Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.
Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.
Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan
MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with).
Last two contestants will be?
1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)
2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)
2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)
MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook accepts Visa Credit Cards and online sportsbook accepts Mastercard Credit Cards for easy American Idol betting lines.
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