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09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their postseason fate hanging by a thread, the LA Angels of Anaheim look to stop a four-game home losing streak tonight in the second portion of a three-game series versus the Cleveland Indians.
The Angels are 9 1/2 games behind Texas for the American League West lead, but 14 losses over the last 20 games have put a damper on their playoff hopes. In Monday's 3-2 loss in the series opener, Dan Haren allowed two runs in seven innings for the no-decision, while Fernando Rodney was dealt the loss for surrendering Shin-Soo Choo's RBI single in the top of the ninth.
"Other than the three uncharacteristic walks in the sixth, [Haren] pitched well," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We just didn't support him."
Haren had control issues in the sixth, walking three straight after Jayson Nix's two-out double. Torii Hunter homered and Alberto Callaspo drove in a run for Anaheim, which got two hits from Hunter and Mike Napoli in defeat.
Anaheim will hand the ball to Trevor Bell this evening and he's 2-4 with a 4.85 earned run average in 24 games (6 starts) this season. Bell is coming off last Wednesday's win at Seattle and limited the hosts to two runs on nine hits through six innings.
Bell also struck out six Mariners and will face Cleveland for the second time in his career Tuesday. The right-hander defeated the Indians back on August 18 of last season, allowing three runs over 5 1/3 frames of a 5-4 win.
Meanwhile, Cleveland has alternated wins and losses over its previous six games and got back into the victory column thanks to Choo's run-scoring single in the ninth inning. Choo is batting .429 in his career at the Big A.
Shelley Duncan and Luis Valbuena were each credited with an RBI for the Indians, who got six strong innings out of young starter Carlos Carrasco. The righty held the Angels to two runs in six innings.
"I felt I had command of my fastball. I was throwing strikes," Carrasco said. "I wanted to stay in the game, but I threw too many pitches."
Jensen Lewis earned the win by getting the final out in the eighth inning and Chris Perez recorded his 19th save in the ninth.
Justin Masterson will handle pitching duties for the Tribe Tuesday, and he's only 5-12 with a 5.04 earned run average in 27 starts this season. Masterson did not record a decision the last time out in a 4-3 loss to the White Sox on August 31, despite getting reached for only one run in 7 2/3 innings.
The righty, who is just 2-7 in 14 road starts this season, will make his seventh career appearance against the Halos. In six lifetime matchups, three of which have been starts, Masterson is 1-0 with a 3.13 ERA.
The Angels took two of three at home over the Indians back in April and have won six of the last nine overall meetings.
<< Tiger gets Ryder Cup nod
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods received one of Corey Pavin's four
captain's picks on Tuesday and will play for the U.S. in this year's Ryder
Cup.
Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink and Rickie Fowler were Pavin's three other picks to
<< Report: Bush to be stripped of Heisman
Sunnyvale, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Southern California star Reggie Bush
will reportedly be stripped of the Heisman Trophy he won in 2005.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the Heisman Trophy Trust is close to completing
its investigatio
<< Iowa State looks to snap TD drought against Iowa
AMES, Iowa (AP) -Former Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer's second-quarter touchdown run gave the Cyclones a 14-3 lead over Iowa back in 2006, and it looked as though Iowa State was set to stun its rival yet again.Little did anyone know, that would
<< Boise State shows it's a grown up team now
They didn't need to dust off the ol' Statue of Liberty play, never thought of pulling off a fake punt.Save those for, say, Jan. 10 in Arizona. That may be the only time this season that Boise State has to dig into its bag of tricks.OK, so the hugely
Sabathia goes for 20th win vs. O's in the Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia tries to win 20 games for the first time in his
career this evening when the New York Yankees continue their three-game series
with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.
Sabathia won his sixth straight sta
White Sox send Garcia to mound in Detroit >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freddy Garcia tries to win his ninth straight decision as
an opposing pitcher at Comerica Park this evening when the Chicago White Sox
and Detroit Tigers continue their four-game series.
In his last nine starts as a vi
Rays try again to snap slide against Red Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to avoid their fourth straight loss
this evening when they continue a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox
at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox kept their fleeting postseason hopes alive in the ope
Skidding Rangers resume set at Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers try to avoid a fifth straight loss this
evening when they continue their four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays
at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays drew first blood in this series on Monday, as Verno
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
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The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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