Giants, Brewers wrap anticipated set in Milwaukee

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers will get one last look at Barry Bonds at home this season when they try to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants this afternoon at Miller Park.

The Brewers came into this series having won seven straight against the Giants, including a three-game sweep at Miller Park from June 18-20. Now it's the Giants' turn however, as they will attempt to sweep the Brew Crew in Milwaukee for the first time since September 14-16, 2004.

Today's game will also mark Bonds' last chance to move closer to Hank Aaron's all-time home run mark in the city where Aaron spent most of his career. Bonds remained two homers shy of matching Aaron's record of 755 after going 0-for-2 in Saturday's 8-0 win.

Aaron, of course, played from 1954-65 with the Braves while they were in Milwaukee and then in 1975-76 with the Brewers.

Pedro Feliz homered for the Giants, who have won three of their last five games, while Ray Durham went 2-for-5 with three RBI in the win.

Tim Lincecum (5-2) extended his stretch of impressive outings by limiting the Brewers to four hits with eight strikeouts and a walk over eight shutout innings.

Craig Counsell went 1-for-3 for the Brewers, who have lost three of four and are now just 5-4 on their current 10-game homestand that concludes today. Dave Bush (8-8) allowed three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts over six innings in the loss.

The Brewers, who once enjoyed a very comfortable lead in the National League Central, have seen their edge for first place shrink to 2 1/2 games over the second-place Chicago Cubs.

Claudio Vargas will try to right the ship and shoot for his second win following the All-Star break for the Brewers. The right-hander improved to an impressive 7-2 on the season with a 4.47 earned run average after a victory over Arizona on Tuesday that saw him limit the Diamondbacks to two runs and five hits over five innings.

Vargas is 4-2 with a 5.67 ERA in 12 career outings (nine starts) versus the Giants. He opposed the Giants' Barry Zito on June 20 of this year and recorded the win, a feat he hopes to mimic today.

Zito will aim to continue his historic second-half success with today's start for the Giants. Zito was last in action on Tuesday against the Cubs, and earned the win after giving up just two runs (one earned) on five hits over seven innings with eight strikeouts. The victory improved his mark to 7-9 on the year while lowering his ERA to 4.67.

In his career, the left-hander is 60-27 in the second half of the season with a 3.26 ERA. His 60 victories are the most by any player following the All-Star break since 2000.

Zito, who was 0-4 with a 7.42 ERA in six starts before Tuesday's win, is 1-1 in two lifetime starts against Milwaukee. That includes the setback at Miller Park on June 20 of this season.

While there is always a chance Bonds could sit out today's game, he is 3-for-7 lifetime against Vargas with no homers, four walks and two strikeouts.

Wwwmsnmusic Baseball Betting News

<< Byrd is the word: Rangers try for split with Indians
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having snapped a three-game slide on Saturday, the Texas Rangers close out a four-game set against the Cleveland Indians tonight at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Marlon Byrd erupted for five RBI, matching a career-high, a

<< Pirates wrap set with Astros at PNC Park
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros conclude a nine-game road trip this afternoon when they play the rubber match of a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. On Saturday, Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche both drove in two run

<< Byrd, Rangers best Indians
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marlon Byrd matched his career high with five RBI as the Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-5, in the third of a four-game set at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Byrd had a two-run double in th

<< Cubs, Diamondbacks play rubber match at Wrigley
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean Marshall will square off against the Arizona Diamondbacks for the first time in his career this afternoon when the Chicago Cubs wrap a three-game set with Arizona at Wrigley Field. Marshall is also winless in his las

<< Mariners, Blue Jays try to get offenses going at Rogers Centre
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shut out for the fourth time this season, the Seattle Mariners try to bounce back this afternoon as they challenge the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of a three-game set at the Rogers Centre. On Saturday the Seattle offen

Unpack your bags: Rockies conclude road swing against Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies will try to end their road trip on a positive note when they play the final contest of a four-game series this afternoon with the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium. The Rockies have lost two of three

Peavy, Padres aim to get back on track against Phillies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Peavy will try for his first win in over a month when his San Diego Padres conclude a four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon at Petco Park. Peavy's last victory came on June 19 against Baltimo

Dodgers go for split with Mets in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers will try for a series split with the New York Mets, and maintain their new lead in the National League West, when the two clubs wrap their four-game series this afternoon at Dodger Stadium. Thanks

Cincinnati ends road trip in Florida >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds will conclude their 11-game road trip this afternoon when they also wrap a four-game set with the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium. Bronson Arroyo appears to be righting the ship to his season and wil

Braves conclude homestand versus Cardinals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves will attempt to wrap their 10-game homestand with a winning record tonight when they conclude a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at Turner Field. Atlanta has taken two of the first three gam

With all the style and sex appeal of Las Vegas, MySportsbook.com is without a doubt the coolest online sportsbook on the Internet.

At MySportsbook.com, players get to enjoy the luxury of a five star sportsbook, a racebook that's second to none, a casino with all the bells and whistles, and a swanky new poker room!

MySportsbook also has a unique games room where players can go head-to-head for cash playing such things as sports trivia and fantasy games, popular arcade games, word and memory games, and more.

Throughout MySportsbook, visitors and members are treated to informative sports news and sports betting stats Sports matchup reports and sports betting trends as well as entertaining columns written by colorful personalities.

The management at MySportsbook has been in the online gaming business since 1997. As a result of this success, management has earned a coveted spot on eGaming Review's "Power 50" list, which recognizes leaders in online gaming.

With MySportsbook.com , management's goal is to provide players with an exciting place to experience the thrill of gaming in a safe and trustworthy environment.

Thus, players at MySportsbook are assured of getting top notch customer service while having a wickedly good time.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.