Football Betting

Wainwright goes for win No. 18 in Steel City

Baseball Betting Lines

08/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Getting a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates hasn't been too difficult to achieve these days. With the St. Louis Cardinals sending out arguably the National League's best pitcher of this season tonight, another loss could be in the works for the team with baseball's worst record.

Wainwright will attempt to become the first 18-game winner of the 2010 campaign when the Cy Young Award candidate takes the mound against the downtrodden Pirates in the second of three straight meetings between the NL Central foes from PNC Park.

Pittsburgh lost for the 13th time in its last 15 games with a 10-2 setback to the Cardinals in Monday's opener of this series. The perennial basement dwellers were also held to two runs or less for the 11th time in the club's past 12 contests.

That statistic doesn't bode well for a matchup against Wainwright, the major league leader in earned run average this season (2.06) who also sports an excellent 17-7 record for the year. The All-Star right-hander has given up one run or fewer in eight of his last 10 starts and came away with a victory in seven of those tests.

Wainwright does enter tonight's clash off a rare loss, however, after he was reached for three runs over seven innings in a 3-2 defeat to Milwaukee last Wednesday. The standout hurler had won three consecutive starts prior to that result, a stretch which began when he limited the Pirates to one run through seven frames on August 1.

The 28-year-old followed up that gem with back-to-back road triumphs over Florida and the Chicago Cubs in which he did not allow a run and yielded a mere four hits over a combined 16 innings.

Wainwright also bested the Pirates at PNC Park back in May and sports a 7-2 record with a 4.73 ERA in 16 career appearances (12 starts) against the Bucs.

St. Louis notched its third straight win and closed within 2 1/2 games of Cincinnati for first place in the NL Central with Monday's verdict. Albert Pujols quickly put the Cards on top with a three-run homer in the top of the first inning, with Yadier Molina tacking on an RBI single later in the frame to help starter Kyle Lohse win for the first time in over three months.

Both Pujols and Molina finished 3-for-5 to pace a 14-hit attack for St. Louis, with Molina adding a run-scoring double in the fifth inning.

Lohse (2-5), making only his second start since May 22 due to a forearm strain that required surgery, held the Pirates to two runs and struck out four over 5 1/3 effective innings. The righty took a shutout into the bottom of the sixth before serving up a two-run homer to Garrett Jones.

Pittsburgh's Ross Ohlendorf wasn't as fortunate. The tough-luck pitcher faced only two batters before exiting with an apparent shoulder injury, but still managed to receive his 11th loss in 12 decisions.

"We will know more [Tuesday]," said Pirates manager John Russell about Ohlendorf's status. "He had some tightness and soreness in the back of his shoulder."

Ohlendorf walked Skip Schumaker to begin the game and then surrendered a single to Jon Jay, with both men scoring when Pujols greeted substitute Sean Gallagher with the 399th homer of his illustrious career.

"You want to make sure you get on the board right away," said Pujols. "I put my best swing of the night [on the pitch]."

With the Pirates' bullpen taxed due to yesterday's circumstances, Russell will be counting on a long effort from scheduled starter Paul Maholm tonight. The left-hander will be trying to break out of a three-start losing streak that has left him with a 7-12 overall mark for the season.

Maholm's latest defeat took place at home against Florida on Thursday, when he permitted four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. The former first-round pick is now 5-8 with an unimpressive 5.69 ERA in 13 PNC Park starts this year.

Since tossing a three-hit shutout against Houston on July 18, Maholm is 1-5 with a brutal 8.07 ERA in six subsequent outings and has allowed four or more in runs in five of those assignments.

The 28-year-old was also tagged for six runs (four earned) in just 3 1/3 innings during a loss to Wainwright and the Cardinals back on May 9, which dropped him to 3-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 11 career starts against St. Louis.

The Cardinals are now 9-4 at PNC Park since the start of the 2009 season and have won three of four bouts between the teams held in the Steel City this year. They've also taken 12 of the last 14 overall games in the series, including six of seven bouts so far this season.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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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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