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09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates appear to be headed towards a fourth straight last-place finish in the National League Central, but you wouldn't know it given how they handled the Chicago Cubs this year.
The Pirates have already won their first four series with the Cubs and will try to make it a perfect five this afternoon, when the two clubs meet for the final time in 2010 with the finale of a three-game set at Wrigley Field.
The Pirates are 44 games under .500 (44-88) and have already clinched their 18th straight losing season, a record among professional sports in North America. They also sit 12 games behind the Cubs for fifth place in the division, but have bested Chicago in 10 of the teams' 14 meetings this year.
After getting routed by 12 runs in Monday's opener, Pittsburgh responded with a 14-7 victory last night, its largest run total since plating 15 on July 21.
Neil Walker had four hits -- one a two-run homer -- and drove in four runs, while Jose Tabata donated three hits, two RBI and three runs scored for the Pirates, who also got a two-run home run out of Garrett Jones to snap a four- game skid and a string of 14 consecutive setbacks on the road.
"Everything works well when you score a lot of runs," said Pirates manager John Russell after his team picked up its first road win since July 28. "We came out and jumped on them early and we kept the pressure on."
Jeff Karstens earned the win, his first since June 19, after he allowed two runs on four hits over six innings.
Koyie Hill connected on a two-run homer as part of a three-hit night for the Cubs, who have lost seven of their last nine at home and five at eight at Wrigley Field to the Pirates in 2010.
"It's always nice to contribute offensively, but first and foremost is the team and we didn't have enough tonight," said Hill.
Ryan Dempster didn't make it past the third inning for Chicago, yielding seven runs on seven hits in the loss.
Tom Gorzelanny will try to prevent his former mates from clinching another series win, and the Chicago left-hander is 1-0 with a 3.52 earned run average in four games (three starts) against a Pirates club that drafted him in the second round in 2005.
Gorzelanny, who was traded to the Cubs midseason last year, was drilled for five runs over five innings in a no-decision versus the Pirates on May 14, but limited them to just four hits over five scoreless innings on June 30 while again not factoring into the decision.
The 28-year-old has lot three of his last four decisions overall and has a 5.73 ERA over his last six starts. Gorzelanny has yielded four runs or more in four of those outings, including a loss to Cincinnati on Friday in which he was tagged for six runs and three homers over five frames of work. He fell to 7-8 on the season with a 3.98 ERA in 26 games, including 20 starts.
The Pirates go with a midseason pickup of their own in James McDonald, who is 2-3 with a 4.97 ERA in five starts since being acquired from the Dodgers. McDonald, though, has lost back-to-back starts and yielded 11 runs over 11 1/3 innings.
The 25-year-old righty is 2-4 with a 5.65 ERA overall in 2010, making nine appearances with six starts. McDonald has never before started against the Cubs, but did give up two hits and a walk over 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief against them.
<< New FCS head coaches ready for debuts
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventeen of the 19 new head coaches at
FCS schools will make their debuts during the first week of games, including
two facing off against each other on the first night of action Thursday.
Dale Carlson wi
<< Iowa C Koeppel to miss opener after crash
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Iowa senior center Josh Koeppel will miss
Saturday's season opener against Eastern Illinois due to injuries sustained
in a crash on his moped.
The Daily Iowan reported that Koeppel was hit head-on by
<< Alabama A&M linebacker to sit two games
Normal, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA ruled that Alabama A&M's top returning
tackler Afu Okosun must sit out the season's first two games because he played
in one game in 2006 before he was redshirted that season.
Alabama A&M coach
<< White Sox shoot for sweep of Indians; Manny expected to start
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The closest White Sox newcomer Manny Ramirez came to the
field last night in Cleveland was the on-deck circle. Ramirez is expected to
be the designated hitter in today's finale of a three-game series against
the Indians at Pr
Padres try to snap season-high skid in finale with D-Backs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mired in a season-high losing streak of six straight games,
the San Diego Padres will try save some face tonight in the finale of a three-
game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
The Padres haven't sco
Howard, Phillies seek to heat up versus Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - September is the time of year for temperatures to drop, but
for Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard it's his month to start heating up.
Howard and the Phillies will shoot for back-to-back winning series Wednesday
afternoon in
Boston hopes Lester can remain perfect against O's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox may not have had the success they've
enjoyed in the past against the Baltimore Orioles this season, but Jon Lester
has certainly been able to maintain his dominance over the course of this
series.
Alouettes play host to slumping Lions >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes find out what life
without one of the top offensive stars in the league is like this week as the
team hosts the British Columbia Lions at McGill Stadium on Friday night.
The Alouettes ha
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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