Niese returns and pitches Mets over Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

06/05/2010 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Niese returned from the disabled list to toss seven strong innings while Ike Davis went 4-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored as the New York Mets downed the Florida Marlins, 6-1, in the second of a three-game set at Citi Field.

Niese (2-2), who had been on the DL since May 17 with a mild right hamstring strain, gave up just one run on six hits with a walk and six strikeouts for the Mets, who have won three of their last four. David Wright went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, three RBI and two runs scored.

Ronny Paulino had two hits and drove in the lone run for the Marlins, who have dropped three of their past four. Nate Robertson (4-5) was tagged with the loss as he was roughed up for six runs on seven hits with a walk and five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

The Mets jumped on top in the second inning with a pair of runs. Davis led off with a double and Wright walked. After Rod Barajas flied out, Jeff Francoeur singled to left to score Davis and Ruben Tejada followed with a double for a 2-0 lead.

In the third, New York made it a 5-0 game as Davis' single plated Angel Pagan, and Wright followed with a shot over the wall in left, his 10th homer of the season.

Wright's RBI single off Brian Sanches in the fifth plated Davis, whose two-out double chased Robertson, for a 6-0 advantage.

Niese was cruising through his start but faced a bit of adversity in the sixth as Chris Coghlan drilled a double off the wall in left with one out. However, Niese struck out Gaby Sanchez and got Hanley Ramirez to ground out and end the threat.

Florida finally broke through in the seventh. With one out, Dan Uggla doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch. After Cody Ross walked, Paulino punched a single to center to make it a 6-1 game. Niese, though, limited the damage as he struck out Cameron Maybin and got pinch-hitter Wes Helms to hit into a groundout to end the inning.

Jenrry Mejia tossed a perfect eighth while Fernando Nieve worked around a leadoff single by Jorge Cantu in the ninth to close the game.

Game Notes

Florida has taken six of the nine games against the Mets this season...New York has won seven straight at home...Francoeur has a nine-game hitting streak...Hisanori Takahashi takes the mound for New York in Sunday's series finale while Ricky Nolasco will twirl the ball for Florida.

Wwwskybook Baseball Betting News


<< Drosselmeyer storms back to capture Belmont Stakes
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drosselmeyer passed several horses down the stretch to win the 142nd running of the Belmont Stakes in a close finish. Ridden by Mike Smith, who was replacing last year's Belmont-winning jockey Kent Desormeaux, D

<< Struggling Kansas City earns draw at Toronto FC
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmy Nielsen made three saves for his fourth shutout of the year and the Kansas City Wizards earned their first road result of the season with a 0-0 draw Saturday at BMO Field against Toronto FC. Kansas City

<< Price joins Armour in first in Iowa
West Des Moines, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Famer Nick Price fired a six- under 65 on Saturday to join first-round leader Tommy Armour III in first after 36 holes of the Principal Charity Classic. Price and Armour, who had a two-u

<< Allgaier captures Nashville Nationwide pole
Lebanon, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Allgaier will start on the pole for Saturday's Federated Auto Parts 300 Nationwide Series race after posting the fastest lap in qualifying at Nashville Superspeedway. Allgaier, the 2009 rookie o

<< Report: Thibodeau accepts Bulls' three-year head coaching offer
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau has reportedly accepted the Chicago Bulls' offer of a three-year contract to become the team's next head coach. According to the Chicago Tribune, the hire will

Bills sign LB Torbor >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills signed free agent linebacker Reggie Torbor to an undisclosed contract on Saturday. Torbor, 29, appeared in all 16 games for the Dolphins last season -- his second with the club --

Hunter solid in season debut as Texas downs Tampa >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Hunter was sensational in his season debut, hurling a complete game to lead Texas past Tampa Bay, 6-1, in the second of a three-game set at Rangers Ballpark. Hunter (1-0) allowed five hits,

Drosselmeyer storms back to win Belmont Stakes >>
Elmont, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longshot Drosselmeyer, ridden by Mike Smith, drove down the middle the track to win Saturday's 142nd running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park. The victory is the first in the race for bot

Red Sox recall Reddick, option Atchison >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox recalled outfielder Josh Reddick from Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday for some extra depth. To make room on the roster, the Red Sox optioned pitcher Scott Atchison to the same club. Red

Angels roll on with rout of Mariners >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ervin Santana allowed one run in six solid innings and Torii Hunter continued his torrid stretch with three hits and three RBI, as the Angels remained hot with an 11-2 rout of the Seattle Mariner

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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

Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards