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07/22/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies, who have struggled at the plate and are seven games behind NL East-leading Atlanta, fired hitting coach Milt Thompson Thursday night.
The move came hours after the Phillies earned a 2-0, 11-inning win at St. Louis. Nevertheless, the two-time defending National League champions have posted just four runs over their last three contests.
Greg Gross, who has been serving as a coach for triple-A Lehigh Valley the past three seasons (2008-10), will assume hitting coach duties for the Phillies.
The 57-year-old Gross was the Phillies' major league hitting coach from 2002-04 before being reassigned to the player development system in 2005. As a player, he spent 10 years with the Phillies (1979-88) and played in two World Series with the team (1980, 1983).
The Phillies entered Thursday with a .253 batting average, tied for third- worst in the NL. They've been held to one run 23 times this season. In all of 2009, the Phillies were held to one run or none 21 times.
<< Lakers sign Theo Ratliff
El Segundo, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers added depth to their
frontcourt on Thursday by signing veteran center Theo Ratliff.
The Los Angeles Times reports it's a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum
of $1.35 million.
<< Pavano stretches unbeaten streak, blanks Orioles
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Pavano's remarkable campaign continued
against an American League bottom-feeder, as Minnesota blanked Baltimore, 5-0,
in the first of four games at Camden Yards.
One season removed from a 5-plus e
<< Mariners deal minor league INF Hannahan to Red Sox
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners traded minor league
infielder Jack Hannahan to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later
or cash considerations.
Hannahan, a third-round draft pick by the Tigers in 2001
<< Hamburg loans striker Berg to PSV
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg loaned 23-year-old striker Marcus
Berg to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on Thursday.
Berg joined PSV on a one-year loan deal. PSV is coached by former Schalke boss
Fred Rutten. Berg scored four goals i
Chivas defender Bornstein out with knee injury >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA captain Jonathan Bornstein will be
sidelined two weeks with a knee injury suffered Sunday in the SuperLiga match
against the Houston Dynamo, the Major League Soccer club announced Thursday.
Bornst
A-Rod moves one step closer to 600; Yankees down Royals >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez hit home run No. 599 and drove in
four runs total, and the Yankees defeated the Royals, 10-4, in the start to a
four-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Rodriguez hit his 16th homer of the season a
Lee finally wins with Texas; Rangers edge Angels >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Lee pitched 8 1/3 solid frames for his
first win in a Texas uniform, leading the Rangers past the AL West rival
Angels, 3-2, in the first of four games.
In just his third start for Texas since
Lakers add Barnes, Ratliff >>
El Segundo, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers added depth to their
frontcourt by signing veterans Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff.
The Thursday move for Barnes to sign with the Lakers came just three days
after he posted a me
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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.
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