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.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.