ChiSox win ninth straight, edge Twins

Baseball Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gordon Beckham hit a solo home run and drove in two as the Chicago White Sox took an 8-7 win over the Minnesota Twins to begin the second half of the season.

Juan Pierre went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored while Alex Rios added a pair of sacrifice flies for the White Sox, who are on a nine-game winning streak.

John Danks (9-7) went six innings in the win as he was charged with six runs on nine hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts.

Since June 8, Chicago has won 26 of its last 31 games to surge into first place in the AL Central, one game ahead of Detroit.

Joe Mauer hit a three-run double and went 3-for-5 with a run scored while Denard Span, J.J. Hardy and Nick Punto each had an RBI and a run scored for the Twins, who have dropped five of their last six.

Kevin Slowey was tagged for five runs on nine hits in just three-plus innings. Alex Burnett (1-2) was tagged the loss for giving up three runs in an inning of work.

Chicago plated two runs in the first inning on sacrifice flies from Rios and Carlos Quentin. The White Sox then doubled their lead in the second as Beckham homered and another sac fly from Rios brought home Juan Pierre for a 4-0 lead.

Minnesota, though, surged ahead in the bottom of the second with a six-run frame. With two outs and two on, Hardy, Punto and Span each hit RBI singles. After Orlando Hudson walked to load the bases, Mauer cleared them with a double to left for a 6-4 lead.

Chicago got one back in the fourth when Alexei Ramirez led off with a double and came home when Beckham followed with a single to make it a 6-5 game.

The White Sox then went back on top in the fifth. With men on first and third, Burnett was called for a balk and Quentin came home. A.J. Pierzynski followed with a double to score Mark Kotsay and later scored on a Pierre groundout for an 8-6 lead.

Minnesota got a leadoff double from Orlando Hudson to start the seventh, but the team was unable to bring him home as the next three batters recorded outs.

The Twins then loaded the bases in the eighth with three consecutive two-out singles, but Bobby Jenks was summoned from the bullpen and struck out Hudson to end the inning.

Mauer doubled off of Jenks to start the ninth and Delmon Young brought him home with a two-out single to make it a one-run game, but Jenks got Jim Thome looking at strike three to pick up his 20th save of the season.

Game Notes

Each team has won three games in the season series thus far...Gavin Floyd takes the mound for Chicago on Friday and will be opposed by Francisco Liriano...Danks improved to 5-6 against the Twins.

Hallnark Baseball Betting News

<< Ramirez, Cubs clobber Phils
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aramis Ramirez wiped the slate clean from a dreadful first half, driving in four to set the tone of Chicago's 12-6 victory over Philadelphia in the first of four games at Wrigley Field. The second half st

<< Carpenter masters Dodgers again
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Carpenter pitched eight strong innings and remained unbeaten against the Dodgers, and the St. Louis Cardinals started the post All-Star break with a 7-1 win in the opener of a four-game series. Carpent

<< Nuggets sign Harrington
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets have signed free agent forward Al Harrington. Terms of the deal weren't released, but it's believed to be a five-year, $34 million contract. Harrington averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1

<< Goldberg leads Canadian Tour's Players Cup
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Goldberg shot a six-under 65 to take the first-round lead Thursday at The Players Cup. Goldberg had six birdies in a flawless round on the Pine Ridge course to build a one-stroke lead over Brady Stockto

<< Rangers use big first inning to beat Red Sox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bengie Molina's two-run home run capped a six- run first inning as the Texas Rangers downed the Boston Red Sox, 7-2, to start the second half of the season. Nelson Cruz went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a r

Lincecum blows out candles, blows away Mets >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum shut out the Mets, becoming the second-fastest Giants pitcher to win 50 games, as San Francisco posted a 2-0 victory in the opener of a four-game set at AT&T Park. It took the hard-th

Pineiro beats former team, Angels down Mariners >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joel Pineiro threw seven solid innings to win his seventh straight decision and the Angels got three RBI apiece from Erick Aybar and Bobby Abreu in a 8-3 win over the Seattle Mariners to start the post All-Sta

Twins put Morneau on DL >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau was put on the 15-day disabled list following Thursday's 8-7 loss to the White Sox due to a concussion. The move is retroactive to July 8. Morneau suffered the i

Lincecum blanks Mets >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum shut out the Mets, becoming the second-fastest Giants pitcher to win 50 games, as San Francisco posted a 2-0 victory in the opener of a four-game set at AT&T Park. It took the hard-th

Oosthuizen moves in front at St. Andrews >>
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - South African Louis Oosthuizen carded a five-under 67 Friday to move to the top of the leaderboard in the early stages of the second round at the British Open. His two-round total of 12-under-pa

Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.