Carmona quickly shuts down Twins
Baseball Betting Lines
09/10/2010 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fausto Carmona ended Minnesota's six-game winning streak by tossing his first shutout in over two years, as the Indians dealt the Twins a 2-0 loss in the opener of a three-game series.
Carmona (12-14) snapped a six-start losing streak with his most impressive showing of the year, scattering three hits and a walk while fanning seven en route to his third career shutout and first since May 12, 2008 vs. Toronto.
The 2010 All-Star hurler ended the brisk one-hour, 57-minute affair by retiring the final 16 hitters.
Matt LaPorta homered for Cleveland, which has won three of the four overall.
Carl Pavano (16-11) went a full eight innings in the loss, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk for the American League Central-leading Twins, who now hold a 5 1/2-game lead over the White Sox.
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Fire have reached the point of no return. Heading into Major League Soccer's Week 24, the Fire are in 11th in the overall league table, six points out of the eighth and final playoff spot w
<< Avs, Mueller agree to 2-year deal
DENVER (AP) - Restricted free-agent center Peter Mueller re-signed with the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, agreeing to a two-year contract.Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.The 22-year-old Minnesotan, acquired from Phoenix in March, had n
<< Reds bring Edmonds, Leake off DL; move Harang to bullpen
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds activated outfielder Jim
Edmonds and pitcher Mike Leake from the disabled list Friday.
Edmonds, who was sidelined with a right oblique strain, has batted 3-for-22
(.136) in nine game
<< Edwards captures Richmond pole, Bowyer qualifies fourth
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Edwards topped Juan Pablo Montoya in
Friday's qualifying at Richmond International Raceway to take the pole for the
Air Guard 400.
Edwards, who has been winless in the last 61 Sprint Cup Series races
<< Clijsters outlasts Venus, will face Zvonareva in Open final
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters
rallied from a set down against Venus Williams to advance to the final of the
U.S. Open with a 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory.
In Friday's opener at Ashe Stadium,
Rogers, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's hard to believe, but Morgan Pressel has gone nearly two years without a victory on the LPGA Tour. Trying to end that drought, Pressel opened with a five-under 66 Friday to take the first-round lead at t
Surging 'Quakes hope to cool hot Hoops >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas will be aiming to extend it
unbeaten run in Major League Soccer play to 14 games when it travels to take
on the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday night.
The Hoops' las
Harvick holds off Keselowski for Richmond Nationwide win >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Harvick put on a dominating performance,
but had to hold off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski in the final laps to win
Friday's Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Nationwide Series race at Richmond
Internation
Wieters, Jones help O's down Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Wieters and Adam Jones each drove in a run
in the top of the eighth inning, lifting the Baltimore Orioles over the
Detroit Tigers, 6-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Comerica Park.
Jake F
Sanabia, Marlins shut down Nationals >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Sanabia went 6 2/3 scoreless frames to
help the Florida Marlins take a 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals in the
opener of a three-game set.
Sanabia (4-2) gave up just three hits and three walk
SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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