Cahill shuts down Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Cahill tossed six scoreless innings to help the Oakland Athletics defeat the Angels, 3-1, in the second test of this three-game series.

Cahill (15-6) allowed four hits to go with a career-high six walks and four strikeouts for the Athletics, who have won the first two games of this set following a four-game skid.

Mark Ellis, Cliff Pennington, and Jack Cust each had an RBI for Oakland.

Torii Hunter hit a solo homer for Los Angeles, which has lost nine of its last 12 games. Jered Weaver (11-11) gave up three runs on six hits over seven innings. He also struck out five and walked three in his fourth straight loss.

The A's got on the board in the first. Daric Barton singled, moved to second on a Kurt Suzuki groundout, and scored on Cust's base hit to right.

Oakland added another run in the second to build a 2-0 lead. Rajai Davis hit a two-out double and crossed the plate on Pennington's single. Pennington was thrown out trying to go to second on the play.

The Angels loaded the bases with two outs in the third, but Hideki Matsui flied out to end the threat.

The Athletics scored a run in the sixth to make it a 3-0 game. With a man on second and two outs, Ellis hit an RBI base hit up the middle.

Hunter's homer to center off Craig Breslow in the eighth cut the gap to 3-1.

Andrew Bailey tossed a perfect ninth for Oakland to record his 21st save of the year.

Game Notes

The A's lead the season series with the Angels, 8-7...Weaver fell to 3-6 lifetime against Oakland...Cahill improved to 4-1 in his career versus the Angels, who went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight.

Myjackblack Baseball Betting News

<< Siavii, Octavien among Cowboys' 20 cuts
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive lineman Junior Siavii and linebacker Steve Octavien were among the most recognizable names released by the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, as the team pared its roster to the 53-player maximum. Siavii, a f

<< Eagles send Andrews to Seattle
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles reportedly sent offensive lineman Stacy Andrews to Seattle on Saturday for an undisclosed draft pick in 2011. The move was reported on the team's website, although there

<< Wood, Reds handle Cardinals
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Travis Wood turned in seven solid innings and hit his first career home run to lead Cincinnati in a 6-1 victory over rival St. Louis in the middle test of a crucial three-game set at Busch Stadium. Jonny Go

<< Longhorns begin post-McCoy era with win over Rice
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sophomore running back Tre' Newton rushed for a career-high three touchdowns, as the fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns bounced back from a slow start to defeat the Rice Owls, 34-17, in the season opener for both sc

<< Vikings Release WR Walker, 19 others
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran wide receiver Javon Walker was among the players released by the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, as the team reduced its roster to the 53-player NFL maximum. Walker, who was signed in August after a

Trade-happy Eagles also list Demps, Harris among cuts >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive backs Quintin Demps and Macho Harris, both of whom were contributing members of the Philadelphia Eagles last season, were among the players released as the team pared its roster to the 53- player ma

England's Dawson ruled out of Swiss match >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England defender Michael Dawson was injured against Bulgaria on Friday in Euro 2012 qualifying and will be sidelined six to eight weeks. Dawson sprained the medial ligament in his left knee and one of his

Notre Dame tops Purdue in Kelly's debut with Irish >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dayne Crist passed for 205 yards and a touchdown, as Notre Dame topped the Purdue Boilermakers, 23-12, in Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish debut. Kelly, a proven winner that resurrected both th

Titans include Simms, Gado, Rolle in roster cuts >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans narrowed their roster to the NFL maximum of 53 players on Saturday, releasing 20 as part of their "cut- down day" maneuvers. Released were defensive end Eric Bakhtiari, defensive end Rahe

Dolphins release QB White, TE Martin on cut day >>
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterback Pat White and tight end David Martin were among the prominent players released by the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, as the team pared its roster to the 53-player minimum. White was selected in the secon

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

NFL Football Office Pools : NFL Football Contests

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Schedules

Welcome to our free football office pool page. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury -- Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

Football Pickem Pools: Your basic office pool format, where you pick the winner of each game, either against the spread or straight up. Spice up your pool by using confidence ranks, key picks, and other options. Pick 5 pools available. You can print NFL Football Office Pools here. Custom ranks available. Custom point spreads. Use Pro and/or College games, even D1AA games can be included. Many many other options.

Football Survivor Pools: Also known as Knockout, Suicide, Eliminator, Survival and Loser pools. Pick one team each week. If they win you advance to the next round. If they lose, you're out. The catch: You can only pick a team once. Many options like Pick a Team Only [Once,Twice,Unlimited], [1,2,3,4,5] Strikes and You're Out, Double Picks, Bye Weeks, Alias Entries and more. Very easy to set up and manage.

Football Share Pools: Pick college and/or pro football game winners using Vegas odds in our own unique Share Pool format. Accumulate points by picking pointspread and over/under winners. Risk as many points as you want on any game. The person with the most points (shares) at the end wins. Perfect for the Playoffs and Bowl Seasons.

Fantasy Football Pools: Fantasy football pool managers love our easy to use interface and custom settings. Points and head to head leagues, custom points, offline drafts, live scoring, waiver wire, trades and more. Live customer service by email or phone. $50 flat fee.

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