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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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

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Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA
4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich
9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson
5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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