Red Sox, Yanks ready for round two

Baseball Betting Lines

04/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox got the better of the New York Yankees when the hated foes renewed their bitter rivalry last night. Now the Bronx Bombers aim to even the score and rebound from a surprising late-inning loss when the American League East contenders square off again this afternoon at Fenway Park.

The Yankees appeared to have the upper hand on Boston in Friday's opener of this highly-anticipated three-game series, as the visitors carried a four-run lead into the bottom of the eighth inning. However, the Red Sox responded with five runs against the New York bullpen to pull out an exciting 7-6 victory.

Coco Crisp tied the contest with a two-RBI triple off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, then scored the go-ahead on an Alex Cora base hit. Jason Varitek added an RBI single during Boston's big eighth inning and finished 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.

J.D. Drew also collected three hits for the Red Sox, who won for the third straight night and the eighth time in their last 10 games.

Rivera (1-2) came on with two on and one out in the eighth and New York owning a 6-3 advantage, but the normally-reliable reliever couldn't hold the lead. He surrendered three consecutive hits and was charged with two runs before recording the final two outs of the frame.

Kyle Snyder (1-0) earned the victory by getting two outs in the top of the eighth and Hideki Okajima threw a scoreless ninth to pick up his first major league save. The Japanese lefty was subbing for regular closer Jonathan Papelbon, who was unavailable after pitching in Boston's last two games.

Boston's big inning overshadowed another spectacular day by Alex Rodriguez. The Yankee third baseman finished 3-for-5 with a solo homer and a three-run shot, and has now hit 12 home runs in the first 15 games of the season. The two-time AL MVP tied Mike Schmidt's major-league record of becoming the fastest to reach 12 homers in a season, initially set in 1976.

Rodriguez has also hit in all 15 contests of the 2007 campaign and is riding a 20-game hit streak dating back to last season.

The Red Sox rally also denied Andy Pettitte a victory in his return to the New York-Boston feud. The veteran lefty allowed just two runs on eight hits over the first 6 1/3 innings.

Both of Rodriguez's homers came off Sox starter Curt Schilling, who battled through seven innings and gave up five runs on eight hits.

New York will go up against another tough right-hander this afternoon in Josh Beckett. The hard-throwing Texan, who's best known for his dominating performance against the Yankees in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series as a member of the Florida Marlins, has been sensational thus far in 2007. Beckett has surrendered one run in each of his first three starts, recording the victory in all three outings, and allowed just 10 hits while racking up 18 strikeouts over 18 innings of work.

The 26-year-old scattered six hits and a walk in six innings to defeat the Angels in Monday's annual Patriot's Day game, and was even better during his previous trip to the Fenway Park mound. Against Seattle on April 10, Beckett yielded only two hits and struck out eight Mariners without a walk over seven frames in the Red Sox'14-3 win.

Beckett hasn't had as much success when facing the Yankees in a Boston uniform. He faced New York four times in 2006 and went 2-2 in those games, but also allowed 22 runs (21 earned) and five homers over 20 total innings.

Jeff Karstens gets his opportunity to make an impression in the Yankees' injury-riddled rotation today. The young right-hander has spent the season's first three weeks sidelined with tendinitis in his elbow, but did throw four scoreless innings in a minor-league rehab assignment on Monday.

New York could use a boost from the 24-year-old, who went 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA in eight games (six starts) as a rookie last season. Three of the team's top four starters -- Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano -- are currently on the disabled list.

This will be Karstens' first-ever appearance against the Red Sox.

The Yankees took 11 of the 19 meetings with the Red Sox in 2006. In their last visit to Fenway Park, the Bronx Bombers produced a memorable five-game sweep of Boston last August that propelled New York to the American League East title.

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2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds

The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.

Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”

“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”

MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:

Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:

Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1

Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17

Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1

Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1

Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1

Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1

Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5

Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1

Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1

Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1

Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50

Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1

Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1

Best Animated Feature Film:

"Cars": 1/3

"Happy Feet": 2/1

"Monster House": 20/1

Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:

"Water" – Canada: 22/1

"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2

"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1

"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1

"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10

Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:

"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5

"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2

"Helmer & Son": 5/2

"The Saviour": 6/1

"West Bank Story": 7/2

Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:

"Babel": 7/4

"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1

"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20

"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4

"The Queen": 5/4

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

"Babel": 11/4

"The Departed": 1/2

"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2

"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10

"The Queen": 20/1

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10

Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1

Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1

Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5

Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1

Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1

Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1

Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8

Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1

Film To Win Most Oscars:

Dreamgirls: 2/3

Pans Labyrinth: 6/5

The Departed: 6/1

The Queen: 11/1

Babel: 15/1

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1

Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1


Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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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.