Votto helps Reds down Jays
Baseball Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joey Votto went 4-for-5 with a double, homer and three runs batted in as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-5, in the finale of a three-game interleague series at Rogers Centre.
Jay Bruce chipped in with a two-run double and Willy Taveras had three hits with an RBI and run scored for the Reds, who salvaged one win in the series and snapped a four-game slide.
Johnny Cueto (7-4) picked up the win after allowing five runs on as many hits. He struck out four and walked three. Francisco Cordero earned his 18th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Vernon Wells and Scott Rolen each had a pair of RBI, while Aaron Hill hit a solo homer for Toronto, which had a three-game winning streak halted.
Brett Cecil, who was making only his sixth big league start, lasted only three innings. The lefy was raked for nine hits and five runs while walking three, but did not figure in the decision. Shawn Camp (0-3) was tagged with the loss despite giving up a run on three hits in four innings of relief.
With the game deadlocked at 5-5, Votto, born and raised in the Toronto area, belted a first-pitch slider over the right-field wall to lead off the seventh. The Reds then tacked on another in the eighth. Paul Janish doubled to start the inning, took third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Taveras' squeeze bunt single.
Cordero took the hill for the bottom of the ninth and issued a one-out walk to Lyle Overbay, but the hard-throwing closer set down Rod Barajas and Russ Adams to end the game.
Cincinnati jumped on Cecil for a four spot in the top of the first. Taveras got things started with a double and after the next two batters were retired, back-to-back RBI doubles by Votto and Jonny Gomes made it 2-0. Ramon Hernandez then drew a walk and Bruce chased in two more with another two-bagger.
Hill's solo homer in the bottom half got the Blue Jays on the board.
Votto's run-scoring single in the second put the Reds in front 5-1. However, Toronto pushed across four runs to even things in the fifth. With the bases loaded and two away, Wells roped a two-run base hit to left, then after a brief mound visit, Rolen's two RBI single up the middle tied it.
Game Notes
Cincinnati opens a three-game interleague set at Cleveland on Friday, while Toronto welcomes Philadelphia to the Rogers Centre...The Reds finished 5- for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine, while the Blue Jays went 2-for-4 with RISP and left four men on base.
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SPORTS BETTING
NFL Football Betting OnlineIn terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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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.
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