Pirates extend Rockies' slide in series opener

Baseball Betting Lines

07/27/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neil Walker finished 3-for-4 with a solo home run as Pittsburgh continued Colorado's second-half slide with a 4-2 victory at Coors Field.

Zach Duke (5-9) started the three-game set with six solid innings, allowing two runs on just three hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks. Octavio Dotel pitched the ninth frame for his 21st save of the season. The Pirates snapped a four-game skid with the victory.

Jorge De La Rosa (3-3) took the loss, surrendering three runs -- two earned -- on six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks over seven frames. Brad Hawpe and Clint Barmes hit back-to-back home runs for the Rockies, who have lost seven straight.

The Rockies activated their star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the 15-day disabled list before the game after he missed 33 games with a fractured left wrist. He went 0-for-4 and committed his sixth error of the season.

The Pirates jumped out for two runs in the top of the first as Andrew McCutchen shot a ball down the left-field line for a double and scored on Jose Tabata's single to center. Walker followed with a bunt single, and after a double play grounder from Garrett Jones, a wild pitch plated Tabata.

Colorado didn't score a run until the fifth frame when Hawpe measured up a first-pitch fastball, driving it into the left field seats. Barmes followed with a homer of his own, tying the game at 2-2.

The Pirates didn't waver, striking right back in the sixth with the aide of a Tulowitzki fielding error. He misplayed Tabata's grounder then Walker reached on an infield single. Jones doubled home Tabata, putting runners on second and third with nobody out, but the Pirates failed to score again. Pedro Alvarez struck out, Lastings Milledge was walked to load the bases and Ronny Cedeno bounced into an inning-ending double play.

The Rockies threatened in the home half of the seventh with Miguel Olivo's leadoff double. Hawpe moved him to third with a groundout, but the Pirates brought the infield in so the catcher couldn't score on Barmes' grounder to third. Pinch-hitter Seth Smith walked, but Evan Meek retired Dexter Fowler on a grounder to the mound to thwart the threat.

"We need to come up with a hit there," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy. "That's basically what's been going on."

Walker hit a solo home run in the eighth to build a two-run cushion at 4-2.

The Rockies brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth after Hawpe's two- out double to left. However, Dotel got Jason Giambi to loft a fly ball to left to end the game.

Game Notes

Colorado closer Huston Street was taken to the hospital after being hit in the lower abdomen by a line drive off the bat of Ian Stewart during batting practice. He suffered a right abdominal contusion...With Tulowitzki's return, the club designated infielder Brad Eldred for assignment to clear a roster spot...Hawpe hit his sixth home run of the season, while Barmes clubbed his eighth.

Wwwmapau Baseball Betting News

<< Haren likely to make next start after X-rays come back clean
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren is expected to start on Saturday when the Angels take on the American League West-leading Rangers after X-rays of his right forearm came back clean on Tuesday. Haren, acquired by Los Angeles

<< Memphis rookie Vasquez has ankle surgery
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Memphis Grizzlies rookie guard Greivis Vasquez underwent surgery on his right ankle Tuesday to remove a bone spur. Vasquez, who starred at the University of Maryland, had the procedure performed in B

<< Lee fans 13, Cruz hits game-winning HR in 10th as Rangers down A's
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Lee set a career high with 13 strikeouts over nine brilliant innings and Nelson Cruz belted a two-run, game- winning home run in the bottom of the 10th, as the Texas Rangers edged the Oakland

<< Myers' CG, six-run seventh gets Astros past Cubs
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Myers went the distance and Lance Berkman's grand slam capped a six-run seventh inning as Houston downed Chicago, 6-1, in the second of three between the clubs at Minute Maid Park. Hunter

<< ECU assistant resigns over possible NCAA violations
Greenville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - East Carolina assistant football coach Mark Nelson announced his resignation Tuesday after possible NCAA violations were uncovered regarding the illegal observation of voluntary summer workouts. Nelson s

Phillies' Victorino leaves game >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino left Tuesday's 9-5 victory over Arizona with a strained left oblique muscle. Victorino stated after the game that he suffered the injury while sliding i

Valencia, Twins stay hot in rout of Royals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Valencia knocked in three and collected four more hits while Carl Pavano turned in his eighth consecutive winning decision in an 11-2 Twins victory over Kansas City. Valencia was coming of

Reds subdue Brewers with 19-hit barrage >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Rolen was one of three Cincinnati players with four hits and drove in three runs as the Reds walloped the Brewers, 12-4, snapping Milwaukee's five-game winning streak. Brandon Phillips we

Bay out of Mets lineup >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay is experiencing concussion-like symptoms several days after crashing into the outfield wall while making a catch against the Dodgers and was not in the Mets' lineup against St. Louis on Tuesday

Billingsley, Ethier lead Dodgers over Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Billingsley pitched six shutout frames, and his pinch-hitter, Andre Ethier, came through with a big hit in the top of the seventh, as the Dodgers kicked off an important NL West three-game set with a

With all the style and sex appeal of Las Vegas, MySportsbook.com is without a doubt the coolest online sportsbook on the Internet.

At MySportsbook.com, players get to enjoy the luxury of a five star sportsbook, a racebook that's second to none, a casino with all the bells and whistles, and a swanky new poker room!

MySportsbook also has a unique games room where players can go head-to-head for cash playing such things as sports trivia and fantasy games, popular arcade games, word and memory games, and more.

Throughout MySportsbook, visitors and members are treated to informative sports news and sports betting stats Sports matchup reports and sports betting trends as well as entertaining columns written by colorful personalities.

The management at MySportsbook has been in the online gaming business since 1997. As a result of this success, management has earned a coveted spot on eGaming Review's "Power 50" list, which recognizes leaders in online gaming.

With MySportsbook.com , management's goal is to provide players with an exciting place to experience the thrill of gaming in a safe and trustworthy environment.

Thus, players at MySportsbook are assured of getting top notch customer service while having a wickedly good time.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

2007 online football betting Preview

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.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

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.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

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.

To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.