Braves hope to maintain wild card lead versus Phillies
Baseball Betting Lines
09/26/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves should consider themselves fortunate to still be in postseason contention given how poorly they have played the past few weeks.
Still clinging to a marginal lead atop the National League Wild Card standings, the Braves will begin their final series of the regular season tonight in the opener of a three-game set versus the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field. The Braves are a game ahead of St. Louis for the final playoff berth in the NL and have lost five of seven and 10 of the past 15 games.
In Sunday's 3-0 loss at Washington in the finale of a three-game series from Nationals Park, David Ross had two of his team's four hits and starter Mike Minor was saddled with the loss even though he allowed one run on six hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings.
"All the pressure is on St. Louis, because if they don't win, they can't go anywhere," Minor said postgame. "Even if we do lose, they have to win."
The Cardinals kept the pressure on with Sunday's win over the Cubs and will finish the regular season in Houston.
Atlanta, which once owned an 8 1/2-game lead atop the Wild Card standings, will send rookie right-hander Randall Delgado to the mound this evening and he's coming off his first major league victory. Delgado threw five shutout innings in a 4-0 win at Florida last Tuesday and is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in six starts. He has never faced the Phillies and is 0-1 in four home starts.
Philadelphia has struggled since clinching its fifth straight NL East crown and was able to snap a season-worst eight-game losing streak with Sunday's 9-4 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field.
Hunter Pence fell a double shy for the cycle and went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a pair of runs scored, while Carlos Ruiz tallied four hits and drove in two runs for the Phillies, who pounded out 19 hits and are a major league-best 47-31 on the road this season.
Phils ace Roy Halladay tossed six scoreless innings and gave up only four hits in a winning effort.
"It's nice to go in [to the playoffs] on a strong finish, even though that doesn't always determine how things are going to work out, but to be able to go in and feel good, I'm happy with that," Halladay said.
The Phillies are one win away from recording 100 in a season for only the third time in franchise history. They went 101-61 in both the 1976 and 1977 seasons.
Cliff Lee hopes to get back on track when he toes the rubber for Philly tonight. Lee was dealt the loss in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Nationals last Tuesday and allowed three runs -- two earned -- and 11 hits in seven innings for his first loss since July 25 versus San Diego. Lee had been 7-0 in nine starts before his latest appearance.
The left-hander is 16-8 in 31 starts to go along with a 2.38 ERA, and is 2-3 in seven career starts against the Braves. He posted the sixth shutout of the season and 11th of his career versus Atlanta on Sept. 5 at Citizens Bank Park. Lee is 5-5 with a 3.03 ERA in 13 road starts.
Philadelphia leads the season series with Atlanta by a 9-6 count and has won the last four meetings between the two clubs.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie southpaw Tommy Milone can continue Washington's drive to reach .500 for the season tonight when the Nationals begin a three- game series with Florida at Sun Life Stadium, the Marlins' last before moving into a new ball
<< Schwinden aims for first win as Mets battle Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie right-hander Chris Schwinden takes his fourth try at
a first win of his initial season tonight when his New York Mets kick off a
season-ending series with the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field.
Schwinden, who turned 25
<< Mariners kick off set with A's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mariners put on a power display on Sunday, but it
wasn't enough to avoid a fourth straight setback. Their bats did very little
the last time they squared off against the Athletics' Brandon McCarthy.
McCarthy tr
<< Padres' Latos toes rubber vs. Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off his best start of the season, Mat Latos will try
to pitch the San Diego Padres to a fifth victory in seven games this evening
as the club opens a three-game home series with the Chicago Cubs.
Latos fell one
<< Vogelsong leads Giants into opener with Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The season may have been a disappointing one for the
defending World Series champion Giants, but it is one that starter Ryan
Vogelsong will eventually look back on with pride.
Vogelsong will make the final
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Angels face a must-win situation tonight against the rival Rangers, and even that probably won't be enough to get them into the postseason. After a back-breaking loss on Sunday, the sun is just about to set
Brewers being playoff prep against Pirates >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League Central-champion Milwaukee Brewers will
prep for the playoffs by closing out the regular season with three matchups
with the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park.
The Brewers will get starte
Diamondbacks eye victory in opener with Kemp, Dodgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NL West-champion Arizona Diamondbacks are still alive
for the No. 2 seed in the National League and will begin a three-game series
versus the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight from Chase Field.
Arizona is a game behind the M
Jays, White Sox open series in Windy City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays will likely be without slugger Jose
Bautista this evening when they open their final series of the season against
the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
Bautista, the major league home run
Yankees commence set with Rays at the Trop >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees almost delivered the death knell to
the Boston Red Sox' playoff chances this weekend. This week they hope to do
the same to the Tampa Bay Rays when the American League East rivals close
out th
FOOTBALL TRASH TALK
NFL Football Trash TalkTrash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.