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07/26/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia, Carl Pavano, Justin Verlander, David Price, John Lester. Tell me which name doesn't belong on this list.
If you said Carl Pavano, you normally wouldn't get much of an argument, at least until this season. The Twins right-hander, however, ranks among the top five in wins in the American League this year along with the four previously mentioned pitchers.
Pavano may be best known for the very disappointing four years he spent with the New York Yankees after signing as a free agent for $39.95 million dollars in December of 2004. His career in New York was highlighted by injuries and controversy. He started just 26 games, compiling a 9-8 record with a 4.99 ERA.
After his contract expired with the Yankees, Pavano signed a one-year deal with the Indians for 2009 in hopes of resurrecting his career. He ended up spending only part of the season with Cleveland, as he was dealt to the Twins in August. He combined to go 14-12 with both teams, and actually started the third game of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees. Following the season, Pavano filed for free agency, but later accepted the Twins' offer of salary arbitration, which resulted in a $7 million dollar deal for 2010.
Some observers might have thought that was too high a price for a pitcher who was two games over .500 last season with a history of arm problems, but right now it's turning out to be a steal for the Twins.
Minnesota might not be in the playoff hunt if not for the season Pavano has had so far. His 12 wins (versus only 6 losses) ranks him third in the American League, and he's number two in complete games (5) and WHIP (1.01), and at the moment he's one of the hottest pitchers in baseball, having won seven straight decisions.
Impeccable control has been a big part of his success, and even more so during his current winning streak. He's walked just 19 batters in 143 2/3 innings and issued only five walks during his run.
It's been a long road back since having Tommy John surgery in 2007, but he was always confident he could get to this point.
"I felt like I could do it, but putting that movement into action is a totally different thing," said Pavano. "It's been a while since I've seen the action that I'm seeing right now on my pitches, and to be able to locate the ball in and out, down in the zone with angle, and a little sharper than they've been in the past."
The Twins will need Pavano to stay sharp for the rest of the season if they hope to be playing in October for a second straight year.
QUICK HITS
Ubaldo Jimenez and the Colorado Rockies are fading fast. He gave up six runs and six walks in his last outing Saturday, marking the third time in his last six starts he's given up at least six runs. His ERA over that span is a whopping 7.63. The Rockies now find themselves 7 1/2 games back of the first place Padres in the West.
Two talented young arms in that very same division continue to give a big boost to their respective teams. Mat Latos won his first start off the DL Saturday to improve his record to 11-4. San Diego's 22-year old righty has allowed more than two earned runs only once over his last fourteen starts. Meanwhile, Madison Bumgarner, the Giants' 20-year old southpaw picked up his fourth straight win with a seven inning, two-run performance in Arizona. The rookie's ERA during the winning streak is a minuscule 1.33.
Joba Chamberlain may soon force Yankees' manager Joe Girardi to remove him from his setup role for Mariano Rivera. The struggling Chamberlain gave up a two-run homer to Scott Podsednik Sunday and saw his ERA for July to balloon to 8.10.
<< Zakuani's double leads Sounders past Rapids
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Zakuani scored a pair of goals in the
opening 20 minutes as Seattle Sounders FC handed the Colorado Rapids a 2-1
defeat at Qwest Field on Sunday.
Sounders designated player Blaise Nkufo was mak
<< Lopez's homer helps Cardinals salvage series in Chicago
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Felipe Lopez hit a two-out solo home run in the
11th inning to give the Cardinals a 4-3 win, avoiding a three-game sweep at
the hands of the rival Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Albert Pujols also deposited a solo h
<< Texas takes series from Angels to extend division lead
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Hamilton went 3-for-4 with a triple and
three RBI and Tommy Hunter stayed undefeated on the year, as Texas pulled out
a 6-4 victory over the American League West rival Angels.
The Angels made big new
<< Ferdinand still six weeks away from return
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United defender Rio
Ferdinand is still six weeks away from returning to action.
Ferdinand looks set to miss the start of the new season despite previous
suggestions of a full
Phillies go for four-game sweep of Rockies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies will try to complete a four-game
sweep of the Colorado Rockies this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia won its fourth straight game on Sunday, as Jimmy Rollins tied the
contest and then
Appalachian State, Villanova stars headline All-America team >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appalachian State may have lost two-time
Walter Payton Award winner Armanti Edwards, but it boasts a national-best
seven players on The Sportsbook Betting Lines/Fathead.com Football Championship
Subdivision Preseason A
Cubs hope Silva can bounce back versus Astros >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Silva tries to bounce back from two miserable
outings this evening when the Chicago Cubs begin a three-game series against
the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Silva, who won his first eight decisions of the seas
A-Rod tries again for milestone homer in Yanks' opener vs. Indians >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez's quest for his 600th career home run
resumes on the road this evening, when the superstar third baseman and his New
York Yankee teammates start up a seven-game trek with the first of four
consecutive meetings
MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines
New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.
"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."
Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.
"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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