Astros southpaw Happ takes hill vs. LA

Baseball Betting Lines

09/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.A. Happ can add to Los Angeles' misery this evening when the Astros continue their four-game set against the free-falling Dodgers at Minute Maid Park.

Happ, who was 12-4 as a rookie for Philadelphia last season, won his third straight start on Sunday in Arizona, as he held the Diamondbacks to a pair of runs and six hits in seven innings, upping his mark on the year to 6-2, while lowering his earned run average to 2.86.

"When I am pounding the strike zone and not walking guys things usually go a lot better for me," said Happ, who was acquired by the Astros as part of the Roy Oswalt deal. "It keeps my pitch count down and lets me have a lot bit more in the tank for when a tough situation comes up. It's definitely nice to get through seven innings."

This will be Happ's first-ever start against the Dodgers, whose struggles continued in the opener of this set on Thursday when Chris Johnson's three-run homer in the sixth inning carried Houston to a 3-2 win.

The Dodgers had jumped out in front on a two-run home run from Andre Ethier in the first inning, but eventually fell for the sixth straight time.

Bud Norris (7-8), who had been winless in his previous three starts, gave up two runs -- one earned -- on three hits over six innings to pick up the win for the Astros, who have won three in a row and five of six.

"The rest of my game was awful," said Johnson, who went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. "I put Bud [Norris] in a hole in the first inning by making an error, and then [Andre] Ethier hit a homer. Bud pitched well except for that one pitch. I was glad I could do something to help us out after that."

Ted Lilly (8-10) went six frames in the start, giving up three runs on seven hits.

"I didn't get the job done when the game was on the line," Lilly said. "Pitching out of jams is part of what you do. You're not going to win too many games if you can't pitch out of jams."

Heading to the hill for the Dodgers tonight will be righty Hiroki Kuroda, who is 10-12 on the year with a 3.39 ERA. Kuroda absorbed the loss on Sunday against San Francisco, as he allowed three runs and six hits in eight innings.

He beat the Astros the last time he faced them and is 2-0 in four starts versus in this series with a 2.55 ERA.

The Dodgers swept a two-game series from the Astros back in May.

Sprotsillustrated Baseball Betting News

<< Rays continue road trip in Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Although the Tampa Bay Rays still stand a good chance of reaching the postseason, they haven't played like a playoff participant over most of the team's current road trip. The American League Wild Card leaders will attempt to

<< AL Central-leading Twins visit Indians
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins take a growing lead atop the American League Central's Division into a six-game road trip that begins with tonight's matchup with the Cleveland Indians from Progressive Field. The red-hot Twins just con

<< Reds hope to get on track at home versus Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If a return home isn't enough to fix the Cincinnati Reds, then perhaps a visit from the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates will do the trick. Tonight, the Reds will try to stop a five-game losing streak when they begin a three-game se

<< CFL Eastern Division: Tiger-Cats on a roll
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamilton began the year meekly, but has now won four straight to finally get over .500 on the season. Two of those wins came against the Toronto Argonauts, who have slipped in the standings and are now playing

<< Yankees visit Rangers in possible playoff preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a possible playoff preview, the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers will start up an intriguing three-game series between division leaders this evening at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. If the current American League sta

Weaver aims for a win over Mariners at the Big A >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been over a month since Angels starter Jered Weaver recorded a victory, but a meeting with the Mariners could change that in a hurry. Weaver guns for his fifth straight winning decision over Seattle, which begi

White Sox return home to open set with Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a great start to their most recent road trip, the White Sox return home licking their wounds a little bit. After falling further behind the top spot in the American League Central, Chicago hopes to get its

Boston's Buchholz squares off with Oakland's Cahill >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though a sweep would have been better, a series victory in Boston's most recent set has kept its slim playoff hopes alive. Hoping to make up more ground in the American League Wild Card race, the Red Sox will send the

Phils seek offensive breakout in latest visit to Mets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back on top in the NL East for the first time in more than three months, the Philadelphia Phillies return to the venue where runs have been scarce this evening in the opener of a three-game set against the rival New York Mets

Carpenter aims to pitch Cards past slumping Braves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals co-ace Chris Carpenter has recorded 16 wins in a season only twice in his career, He'll be looking to reach that mark again tonight in the second installment of a four-game series against the Atlanta Brave

NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.

March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets

With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship.  Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92.  After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points.  Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1.  Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years.  With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed.  UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern.  Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier.  OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak.  Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four.  It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta.  But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.

Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props.  Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000.  Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.

MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:

EAST National Championship Region
Arkansas 300-1 50-1
Belmont 1000-1
Boston College 100-1 40-1
Eastern KY 1000-1
George Washington 75-1
Georgetown 10-1 3-2
Marquette 100-1 40-1
Michigan State 100-1 25-1
New Mexico St. 500-1 200-1
UNC 6-1 6-5
Oral Roberts  500-1
Texas 15-1 5-1
Texas Tech 200-1 5-1
USC 75-1 20-1
Vanderbilt 100-1 30-1
Washington State 40-1 15-1
WEST
Duke 50-1 10-1
Florida A&M 1000-1
Gonzaga 200-1  40-1
Holy Cross 300-1
Illinois 300-1 60-1
Indiana 75-1 40-1
Kansas 5-1 13-10
Kentucky 100-1 40-1
Niagara 1000-1
Pittsburgh 40-1 8-1
Southern Ill. 50-1 12-1
UCLA 10-1 3-2
VCU 500-1 100-1
Villanova 100-1 40-1
VA Tech 50-1 15-1
Weber St 1000-1
Wright St 1000-1 300-1
MIDWEST
Arizona 50-1 30-1
Butler 40-1 30-1
Davidson 300-1
Florida 4-1 4-5
Georgia Tech 75-1 25-1
Jackson State 1000-1
Maryland 30-1 6-1
Miami-OH 300-1
Notre Dame 100-1 20-1
ODU 500-1 100-1
Oregon 40-1 6-1
Purdue 300-1 60-1
Texas A&M CC 1000-1
UNLV 100-1 30-1
Winthrop 500-1 100-1
Wisconsin 15-1 7-2
SOUTH
Albany 200-1
BYU 200-1 40-1
Central CT St. 1000-1
Creighton 100-1 35-1
Long Beach St. 500-1 200-1
Louisville 40-1 10-1
Memphis 30-1 4-1
Nevada 75-1 35-1
North Texas 500-1
Ohio State 7-1 6-5
Penn 500-1
Stanford 200-1 50-1
Tennessee 100-1 20-1
Texas A&M 12-1 11-5
Virginia 75-1 18-1
Xavier 100-1 40-1

Field                                              100-1

About MySportsbook.com MySportsbook.com  is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.