Braun hits game-winner as Brewers edge Nationals

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07/24/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun drove in Rickie Weeks with the game-winning run in the ninth inning, as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the Washington Nationals, 4-3, in the middle test of a three-game series.

Braun and Jim Edmonds each recorded a solo home run in Milwaukee's third straight win, which was credited to John Axford (6-1) despite his suffering his first blown save of the season.

After Adam Dunn's sacrifice fly tied it in the top of the ninth, Weeks reached on a one-out single off Drew Storen (2-2) in the bottom half. Joe Inglett took a payoff pitch off the plate to draw a walk, then Braun roped a line drive off the base of the left-field wall to bring in Weeks without a play at the plate.

Axford was perfect in 14 save chances coming in, but quickly loaded the bases on back-to-back singles and a perfectly-placed bunt down the third base line by pinch-hitter Nyjer Morgan.

Dunn came in to hit for Ivan Rodriguez and lofted a fly to short right-center that was caught by Carlos Gomez, whose throw home was not in time to nab Ryan Zimmerman.

Axford, appearing in his third game in as many nights, got out of the inning with the score tied by inducing a short flyout to right by pinch-hitter Wil Nieves and a harmless groundout by Alberto Gonzalez.

Manny Parra allowed two runs on four hits and three walks over a six-inning start for Milwaukee, while J.D. Martin lasted just 2 1/3 innings and gave up a run on three hits and three walks for Washington, which dropped the opener of this set, 7-5.

Braun's blast to right-center gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the first.

Despite failing to score with the bases loaded in the second and squandering a leadoff triple in the third, the hosts went up 2-0 in the fourth when Collin Balester served up a homer to Edmonds, who made a nice grab in the away half.

Parra faced the minimum through four frames, but walked Josh Willingham to open the fifth and yielded a single to Mike Morse. A flyout moved the lead runner up, and Ian Desmond hit a line drive that appeared to find the gap in right.

Edmonds, whose last of his eight Gold Gloves came in 2005, ranged over from center and made a diving catch. Morse was nearly at third when the catch was made, but Willingham scored before Morse was doubled off first.

Weeks was hit on the left ear flap of his helmet with a Balester pitch in the bottom half, but stayed in the game and was stranded on third.

Gonzalez singled leading off the sixth, and Roger Bernadina later brought him in with a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game. Parra left the bases full by striking out Morse.

Edmonds led off the bottom half with a single, moved to third on an Alcides Escobar base hit and scored when Jonathan Lucroy doubled off the center field wall. Edmonds then left the game with a tight right hamstring.

Game Notes

Balester had made 22 starts with Washington during the 2008-09 seasons but had spent the entire 2010 campaign in Triple-A Syracuse. The right-hander was recalled Saturday but is expected to be sent right back down, as Ross Detwiler is scheduled to be brought up from the minors to make Sunday's start opposite Dave Bush...Brewers outfielder Corey Hart sat out due to a right wrist injury he sustained during Friday's game...The Brewers have homered in 13 straight games...The Nationals have lost 12 straight one-run contests on the road and 11 of their last 13 overall at Miller Park.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

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After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
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Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."

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

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.