Sabathia remains unbeated with Milwaukee, tops Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

08/14/2008 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia threw seven effective innings and Corey Hart went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in to help Milwaukee tie a season high with its eighth consecutive win, a 7-1 victory over San Diego.

The Brewers also won eight in a row from July 13-24, and matched the feat thanks in part to a solid outing from Sabathia (7-0), who gave up nine hits but only one run, and struck out eight. Sabathia remained unbeaten since being traded to the Brewers in early July, and is 10-0 is his last 13 starts.

Prince Fielder homered for the second straight game and walked twice, while Sabathia added an RBI in the win.

Josh Banks (3-5) took the loss after surrendering all seven runs on five hits and six walks in 4 1/3 frames. Banks hadn't lost a start since July 6, but was 1-0 with three no-decisions in the four starts since.

Nick Hundley had the only RBI for San Diego, while Scott Hairston and Brian Giles each collected two hits. The Padres have lost the first two contests of this three-game set.

Milwaukee took an early edge as Fielder hit his 28th homer of the season to lead off the second inning. Hart followed with a single, but was caught stealing, before Craig Counsell and Mike Cameron walked. Jason Kendall then singled in a run, and Sabathia plated another with a ground out to short.

The Padres made it a 3-1 game in the fourth when, with runners on the corners, Hundley grounded the ball to shortstop, allowing Chase Headley to score.

But the Brewers got that run back, and much more, in the next frame. J.J. Hardy walked with one out, and Gabe Kapler reached on an infield single. Both runners advanced on Kevin Kouzmanoff's throwing error.

Fielder was intentionally walked, loading the bases for Hart, who tripled to left field, plating three runs. That ended Banks' day as Justin Hampson came on to pitch. Counsell lofted a fly ball to center that got Hart home, increasing the Brewers' lead to 7-1.

Sabathia almost let the Padres back in the game in the home half. Three straight singles loaded the bases with none out before Kouzmanoff popped out, Adrian Gonzalez fanned and Headley grounded out to end the threat.

David Riske worked a scoreless eighth inning for Milwaukee, despite walking two batters, and Guillermo Mota worked around a one-out walk to finish the game.

Game Notes

The Brewers have outscored opponents 49-12 during their eight-game win streak...Milwaukee placed third baseman Russell Branyan on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 12, on Wednesday. Branyan, who is suffering from a right oblique strain, has appeared in 48 games this season and is batting .252 with 12 home runs and 20 runs driven in. To take his place on the roster, the team recalled outfielder Laynce Nix from Triple-A Nashville...On Wednesday the Padres claimed pitcher Brian Falkenborg off outright waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Wwwcubs Baseball Betting News

<< Izturis leaves after injuring thumb
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortstop Maicer Izturis left Wednesday's contest against the Seattle Mariners in the top of the ninth with an injury to his thumb. Yuniesky Betancourt hit a grounder towards

<< Oklahoma City
Acquired forward Joe Smith from Cleveland and forward Desmond Mason from Milwaukee in exchange for forward Adrian Griffin and guard Luke Ridnour.

<< Blazers' G Roy to undergo surgery
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will have arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday to repair a tear in the meniscus of his left knee, the club announced Wednesday. An MRI taken Tuesday revealed the tear

<< Hawpe, Rox edge D'Backs
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Hawpe clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Colorado Rockies withstood a ninth-inning charge from the Arizona Diamondbacks to hang on for a 6-5 win in the middle install

<< Wells' slam helps Blue Jays hold off Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells clubbed his fifth career grand slam and David Purcey was stellar on the hill, as the Toronto Blue Jays staved off a late rally to edge the Detroit Tigers, 4-3, in the third install

Zobrist, Rays edge A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist hit the go-ahead RBI double in the seventh and the Rays took the second test of their three-game series against the Athletics, 3-2, at McAfee Coliseum. "(Zobrist)'s at bats have gotten better.

Garciaparra's homer lifts Dodgers over Phillies >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nomar Garciaparra smoked a line-drive, solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a dramatic 7-6, come-from-behind victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers

Brewers extend winning streak to eight, crush Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia threw seven effective innings and Corey Hart went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in to help Milwaukee tie a season high with its eighth consecutive win, a 7-1 victory over San Diego. The Bre

Balentien gives M's come-from-behind, 12-inning win over Angels >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wladimir Balentien hit the go-ahead three-run homer in the 12th inning as the Seattle Mariners gutted out a 10-7 victory to earn a two-game split with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Justin Speier (1-5)

Let's settle arguments on the track >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trash talk is not a common feature in horse racing. The humans involved in the Sport of Kings don't usually bad- mouth the other people in the sport. They talk about their horses and find reasons


NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules
MySportsbook.com , leading online sportsbook, offers free NFL football office pool printable sheets! Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.








Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.