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07/21/2007 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Cook tossed seven scoreless innings, and Todd Helton drove in two runs as the Colorado Rockies beat the Washington Nationals, 3-1, in the second of four games at RFK Stadium.
Cook (6-6) had a strong outing, yielding just four hits, walking three and fanning eight to earn his first win in three starts.
Willy Taveras had two hits and scored a pair of runs for Colorado, which dropped the opener in the series but has won four of its last five games overall. Ryan Spilborghs also added a pair of hits.
Billy Traber (2-1) allowed two runs -- one earned -- on three hits over four innings in his first start of the season in a replacement role for the Nationals.
The left-hander, a former first-round pick of the New York Mets, had made 23 appearances in relief this season, but was filling in for journeyman starter Jason Simontacchi, who was placed on the disabled list before the game with right elbow tendinitis.
Ryan Zimmerman knocked in the lone run for Washington, which had a modest two- game winning streak halted.
The Rockies put up a two-spot in the third to grab the lead. Cook started things with a walk, Taveras bunted for a hit, and a sacrifice bunt by Kaz Matsui moved the runners. Cook scored on a groundout by Matt Holliday, and Taveras crossed the plate on a sac fly by Helton to make it 2-0.
Colorado tacked on another run in the seventh when Taveras bunted again for a hit, Matsui and Holliday both walked and Helton followed with another sac fly.
Saul Rivera then replaced Ray King, and with two outs, retired Garrett Atkins on a ground ball to prevent further damage.
The Nats broke up the shutout bid in the eighth against reliever Jorge Julio. Felipe Lopez led off with a single to right, and Ronnie Belliard followed by poking the ball through the right side. Zimmerman's base hit then scored Lopez, cutting it to 3-1, before pinch-hitter Dmitri Young grounded out to first. Austin Kearns then brought a close to the inning when he popped out to Matsui, who easily doubled off Zimmerman at second.
Manny Corpas tossed a perfect ninth to earn his fourth save.
Game Notes
Young was not in the starting lineup for Washington due to a bruised left heel...Simontacchi's move to the DL is retroactive to July 16...Washington is expected to recall right-hander Chris Booker from Triple-A Columbus on Saturday...Attendance was 27,581.
<< Beltre's blast helps Mariners past Toronto
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Beltre's two-run homer in the fourth
inning gave Seattle the lead for good and the Mariners went on to defeat the
Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2, in the opener of a three-game set at Rogers Centre.
Jose G
<< Marlins rout Reds behind Uggla's offense
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Uggla went 3-for-5 with a home run and three
RBI as the Florida Marlins pounded the Cincinnati Reds, 10-2, in game two of a
four-game series.
Scott Olsen (8-7), who had served a two-game suspension laid do
<< Athletics' Piazza reinstated from DL
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics Friday reinstated
designated hitter Mike Piazza from the 15-day disabled list where he had
been placed with a sprained right shoulder.
Piazza suffered a sprained AC joint i
<< Astros' Oswalt exits early in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt left
Friday's game against Pittsburgh in the seventh inning with a chest injury.
After Oswalt gave up a lead-off double to Ronny Paulino in the seventh, he
complained of che
Oakland's Swisher exits early >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland center fielder Nick Swisher left
Friday's 6-1 loss against Baltimore in the seventh inning with a sprained
right shoulder.
Swisher, who is hitting .256 with 46 RBI this season, got hurt attempting a
Blake survives to reach Countrywide semifinals >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed James Blake edged fellow
published author and countryman Vincent Spadea 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to advance to
the semifinals of the Countrywide Classic on Friday.
Blake, whose autobiography "
Bedard, Orioles fan A's >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major league strikeout leader Erik Bedard
fanned 11 batters over seven one-hit innings, as the Baltimore Orioles routed
the Oakland Athletics, 6-1, in the opener of a three-game series at McAfee
Coliseu
Eaton beats former team as Phils top Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Utley went 2-for-4 with a two-run home
run as the Philadelphia Phillies downed the San Diego Padres, 7-3, in the
second of a four-game series at Petco Park.
Ryan Howard went 2-for-4 with an RBI
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards
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