Yanks ready to renew rivalry with ailing Red Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

08/06/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Alex Rodriguez's milestone homer behind them, the New York Yankees can turn their attention back to just playing baseball. That begins tonight, as another chapter in baseball's fiercest rivalry gets underway when the Boston Red Sox pay a visit to the Bronx for the opener of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium.

Rodriguez became the seventh player to reach 600 home runs in New York's 5-1 win over Toronto on Wednesday.

The All-Star third baseman, who hit No. 599 on July 22 against Kansas City, went 51 plate appearances before hitting the milestone homer in the first inning off Shaun Marcum. The hit also snapped an 0-for-17 streak Rodriguez brought into Wednesday's contest.

"It really felt good and it was a relief just to put it past me and start focusing on good baseball," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also became the youngest player to reach the milestone. Hall of Famer Babe Ruth hit his at age 36, while Rodriguez turned 35 last week. He also became the second player to reach 600 home runs in Yankee pinstripes, joining Ruth.

"I'm certainly proud of it and I'll treasure it for a long, long time," Rodriguez said. "Many years from [Wednesday] I'll be able to reflect a lot better. [Wednesday] the focus was we needed a win, and it was good to do it in a winning fashion and to be able to give [pitcher] Phil [Hughes] a little breathing room in the first inning."

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Yankees, and the team moved a half-game in front of Tampa Bay for the American League East lead when the Rays fell to Minnesota on Thursday.

Hoping to keep the Yankees atop the standings tonight will be righty Javier Vazquez, who is 9-7 with a 4.61 earned run average. Vazquez did not get a decision on Saturday against the Rays, as he allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of his team's 5-4 win.

Vazquez picked up a win in a relief effort against the Sox earlier in the year, but is just 3-7 lifetime against them with a 4.21 ERA in 12 regular- season games, 10 of which have been starts.

The Red Sox enter tonight's tilt following a split in their four-game series with the Cleveland Indians that left them a little worse for wear.

Boston will come into tonight's opener a man down, as it was learned on Thursday that first baseman Kevin Youkilis will miss the remainder of the 2010 season with a torn abductor muscle in his right thumb. He will undergo surgery at the Cleveland Clinic on Friday to repair the rare injury. His thumb will be immobilized for the next six weeks.

"It's a major hit," said slugger David Ortiz. "Things just got worse around here, huh? It's crazy. That's a major hit. A major hit."

Youkilis' injury is just the latest for a Red Sox team that is still without the services of Dustin Pedroia, Jason Varitek and Mike Cameron. Add that to the fact that Josh Beckett, Victor Martinez and Jacoby Ellsbury just returned from their injuries, it is hard to believe the Red Sox are just six games back of the Yankees for first place in the American League East.

Tonight the Red Sox will pin their hopes on righty Clay Buchholz, who is 11-5 with a 2.59 ERA on the year. Buchholz carried a shutout in the ninth inning against Detroit on Sunday, but thanks to a Jonathan Papelbon blown save, came away with a no-decision.

Since surrendering a season-high six runs over five innings in a 14-3 loss to the Yankees on May 8, Buchholz has gone 8-2 with a 2.02 ERA in 12 outings. However, he is 0-2 with a 6.53 ERA in four starts against New York.

New York has won five of its eight meetings with the Red Sox this season.

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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

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.

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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.