07/06/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to rebound from last night's loss when they resume a four-game set Sunday with the NL East-rival New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies had their four-game winning streak halted after Saturday's 9-4 loss to the Mets in the second installment of this series. Ryan Howard belted a three-run homer for the Phillies, who were outhit 14-4 for the game and remained 3 1/2 games ahead of Florida in the NL East. New York is now 4 1/2 games behind the Phillies in the standings.
J.C. Romero suffered the loss in relief, yielding two runs in one-third of an inning. Starter Jamie Moyer held the Mets to three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 frames in the no-decision.
Kyle Kendrick will try to pitch life back into the Phillies when he takes the mound on Sunday afternoon, Kendrick has been a pleasant surprise in Philly's rotation, having won two straight starts and seven of the last eight decisions.
Kendrick won his previous outing on Tuesday at Atlanta after allowing three runs and seven hits through six innings of an 8-3 win. Kendrick is 8-3 with a 4.58 ERA in 17 starts this season for the Phillies, who are 12-2 in Kendrick's previous 14 outings.
The righty is 1-1 with a 3.00 earned run average in two career starts against the Mets.
In team news for the Phillies, the club signed closer Brad Lidge to a three- year contract extension. The deal, which is worth $37.5 million, includes a 2012 club option and performance incentives. Lidge is sporting an 0.77 ERA and 19 saves in 35 games this season, his first as a Phillie.
New York has alternated wins and losses over its last eight games. In Saturday's five-run victory in South Philly, Damion Easley went 3-for-5 and knocked in a run, while Brian Schneider's two-run, pinch-hit double in the eighth inning proved to be the difference.
Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado each went 2-for-5 for the Mets. Pedro Feliciano earned the win despite recording just one out in relief of starter John Maine, who allowed three runs on just one hit in 5 2/3 innings before exiting early with an apparent forearm injury.
Left-hander Oliver Perez will take the hill for the Mets on Sunday, and he is 6-5 with a 4.98 ERA in 17 starts this season. Perez is 2-1 in his last three decisions, recording the win over the New York Yankees on June 29 in a 3-1 victory at Shea Stadium.
Perez held the Yankees to one run and three hits in seven innings, and posted eight strikeouts with no walks. He is 2-3 with a 3.83 earned run average in 10 career starts against the Phillies.
The Mets are 5-3 against the Phillies this season.
<< Volquez leads Reds vs. Nationals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals will wrap up a
four-game series this afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds have won the first three tests of this series, including Saturday's
3-2 victory. Jerry Ha
<< Dodgers take on Giants in finale by the bay
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to stay within striking
distance of the top spot in the NL West division today, when they conclude a
three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Los Angeles h
<< Nadal takes opening set of Wimbledon final
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal has captured the opening set
of the men's final at Wimbledon, 6-4, over Roger Federer.
Nadal gained a quick break of serve in the third game when Federer managed to
put only one first serve
<< Wimbledon men's final under way
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Play has begun in the men's final at
Wimbledon after a rain delay of nearly 30 minutes.
Roger Federer will try for his sixth straight title at the All England Club
and will do so against Rafael
Phillies sign closer Lidge to three-year extension >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies announced on
Sunday they have agreed to terms with closer Brad Lidge on a contract
extension through 2011.
Lidge will get $37.5 million over the next three years wit
Angels, Jays wrap up set in Anaheim >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League West-leading LA Angels of Anaheim are
set to play the rubber match of a three-game weekend set against the Toronto
Blue Jays.
On Saturday, Alex Rios went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs, and Vernon
Lee leads Tribe in finale at Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have lost seven consecutive games,
and they will attempt to avoid a weekend sweep at the hands of the red-hot
Minnesota Twins today at the Metrodome.
At this point, it would be surprising i
A's wrap up set with White Sox in Windy City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics conclude a
four-game series this afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.
In Saturday's game, Nick Swisher, Brian Anderson and Alexi Ramirez each
homered to back a terrific
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
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.
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