Hudson, Buehrle square off in Windy City

Baseball Betting Lines

06/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A matchup with one of the National League's top teams has yet to slow down the surging Chicago White Sox, who'll put a seven-game winning streak on the line when they resume a three-game series with the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves tonight at U.S. Cellular Field.

Chicago kept up its recent winning ways and season-long success in interleague play with a 9-6 victory over the Braves in Tuesday's opener of this set. The win, the 11th in the past 12 contests for the White Sox, moved the team above the .500 mark for the first time since it prevailed in its April 5 season opener.

The White Sox also moved within 4 1/2 games of Minnesota for first place in the American League's Central Division after the Twins lost to Milwaukee on Tuesday. Chicago had been 9 1/2 games off the pace back on May 8.

Carlos Quentin belted a three-run homer and Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez also finished 3-for-4 for the White Sox, who pounded out 16 hits in improving to 11-2 in interleague games for the year. Both Pierzynski and Omar Vizquel drove in a pair of runs on the night.

Chicago also received a solid seven innings out of John Danks (7-5), with the left-hander allowing three runs on six hits and walking just one to claim the win.

"You don't want to be the guy to snap the streak," Danks said. "You don't want to be the weak link. We are all feeding off each other, and we're all throwing the ball well and hopefully we'll continue to do that the rest of the year."

Braves starter Tommy Hanson (7-4) was far less effective then his counterpart, as the young standout was rocked for nine runs and 13 hits before exiting after just 3 2/3 innings.

Brooks Conrad went 2-for-4 with three RBI to pace Atlanta offensively, with Martin Prado and Brian McCann each hitting solo homers in the loss. Prado ended 2-for-5 with two runs scored to raise his NL-leading batting average to .340.

The Braves had a string of five straight wins snapped and saw its lead atop the NL East cut down to 1 1/2 games after the second-place New York Mets defeated Detroit on Tuesday.

Atlanta will attempt to bounce back tonight behind Tim Hudson, one of the keys to the team's surge to the top of the NL East pack. The veteran right-hander has amassed a 6-1 record and a tremendous 2.00 ERA over his past 10 starts and hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in each of his 14 outings this season. His 2.34 overall ERA is the sixth-best mark among NL hurlers at the moment.

Hudson put forth another outstanding effort this past Thursday, limiting Tampa Bay to one run and four hits over seven innings to earn his seventh victory of the season. The 34-year-old had suffered a loss in his previous start, even though he yielded just two runs in an eight-inning complete game at Minnesota on June 11.

The two-time All-Star hasn't usually fared well in interleague play in recent years, however. Thursday's win was only Hudson's second in 14 decisions against AL teams since being acquired by the Braves from Oakland following the 2004 season, and he's registered a subpar 6.34 ERA in those games. The Alabama native has also had problems pitching at U.S. Cellular Field in the past, having gone 0-2 and surrendering a whopping 23 runs (20 earned) in 13 2/3 innings over three previous starts there.

Hudson is 3-2 in seven lifetime meetings with Chicago, but hasn't faced the White Sox since 2002 while still with the Athletics.

Mark Buehrle gets the call for Chicago tonight and like his team, the accomplished left-hander has performed well as of late following an undesired beginning to the season.

Buehrle enters tonight's clash having won back-to-back assignments to improve his 2010 record to 5-6 and lower his season ERA to a still-pedestrian 4.71. He halted a three-start winless drought by firing 6 2/3 innings to best the rival Chicago Cubs June 12 at Wrigley Field, then held Pittsburgh to two runs over 7 1/3 strong frames in a victory at PNC Park on Thursday.

Those two wins added to Buehrle's already-strong credentials in interleague action. The 31-year-old is now an excellent 22-6 with a 3.37 ERA in 36 all- time matchups (35 starts) against the National League.

Buehrle's only previous start against the Braves took place in 2004 and was a successful one, as he picked up a win after permitting three runs through eight innings in a contest held at U.S. Cellular Field.

The four-time AL All-Star will be trying to pitch Chicago to its first eight- game winning streak since May 14-22, 2008.

These teams last opposed one another back in 2004, with the White Sox taking two of three games from the Braves in Chicago.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP

With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.

There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.

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