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04/06/2007 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Young knocked in a pair of runs and Orlando Hudson homered and scored twice as Arizona held on for a 4-3 win over Washington in the opener of a four-game set.
Edgar Gonzalez (1-0) carried the momentum generated from his strong spring training into the regular season for the Diamondbacks, giving up seven hits and two runs through five innings of work. He also struck out seven while walking just two.
"(Gonzalez) picked up where he left off in spring training," said Arizona manager Bob Melvin. "It was good that he got the win for us tonight."
The win did come at a cost for Arizona, as outfielder Scott Hairston left the game in the first inning when he fouled a ball off his left leg.
Dmitri Young hit his first home run of the season and Brian Schneider went 2- for-4 with an RBI for the Nationals.
Washington starter Jason Bergmann (0-1) had a rough outing, yielding five hits and four runs in 3 2/3 innings, walking six batters while striking out just one.
Trailing 4-0 after three innings, the Nationals gradually chipped away at the lead to pull within a run.
Washington got on the scoreboard in the fourth when Ryan Church led off with a double, moved to third on Ronnie Belliard's groundout and scored on Micah Bowie's groundout to second.
Dmitri Young's two-out, solo shot in the fifth made it 4-2 and Schneider grounded into a fielder's choice in the seventh, scoring Austin Kearns to bring Washington within a run.
However, that was all for the Nationals as Arizona held on for the win. Brandon Lyon worked around a two-out double in the eighth and Jose Valverde set the side down in order in the ninth for his second save of the season.
Bergmann struggled with his command from the start of the game as Arizona struck for three runs in the opening frame.
After Eric Byrnes led off the game with a single and stole second, Bergmann got Alberto Callaspo to pop out but then issued back-to-back walks to Hudson and Chad Tracy to load the bases.
Hairston then got hurt in his at-bat and Robby Hammock took over and popped out to second baseman. Bergmann, though, then walked Conor Jackson to force in a run. Chris Young followed with a single to left field that chased home two more runs and made it 3-0.
Hudson's leadoff homer to start the fourth handed Arizona a four-run advantage as Washington rallied to make it close.
Game Notes
Washington won the five of the six matchups with Arizona last season, including a perfect 3-0 record at home...The Nationals' bullpen combined to toss 5 1/3 innings of one-hit ball.
<< Rice basketball player dies in stabbing
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Bailey, a walk-on member of the Rice
basketball team, was killed Thursday morning.
The Houston Chronicle reports Bailey, who turned 22 on Wednesday, was stabbed
to death after a confrontation at
<< Nash's OT goal lifts Blue Jackets past Stars
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Nash scored just 64 seconds into overtime
to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars at
Nationwide Arena.
Nash fought off a checker along the right wall, grabbed the pu
<< Boston College, Michigan State to meet in final
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nathan Gerbe had two goals and two assists
as the Boston College Eagles reached the championship game by defeating the
North Dakota Fighting Sioux, 6-4, in the Frozen Four.
Boston College will next due bat
<< Legwand lifts Predators over Blues
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Legwand scored a pair of goals as the
Nashville Predators downed the St. Louis Blues, 4-1, at Nashville Arena.
Alexander Radulov and Peter Forsberg each had a goal for the Predators, who
snapped a
Parker, Spurs hold off Suns >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker scored a season-high 35 points,
and San Antonio held off a late charge by Phoenix to beat the Suns, 92-85, as
the Spurs inched closer to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Tim Duncan ha
Roenick, Coyotes crown Kings >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Roenick had a goal and an assist,
leading the Phoenix Coyotes over the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2.
Bill Thomas and Shane Doan also scored, while Curtis Joseph made 19 saves for
the Coyotes, who snapp
Morris, Giants hold off Padres >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Morris threw six strong innings and
Ray Durham had a two-run single during a four-run uprising in the fifth, as
the Giants held off San Diego, 5-3, averting a season-opening three-game
sweep.
Piazza's HR in ninth gives A's win >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Piazza's solo home run in the top of the
ninth inning, his first as a member of the Athletics, lifted Oakland to a 4-3
win over the Angels in the opener of a four-game series.
Piazza, who has now homer
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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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.
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