Bolstered Padres to begin home set with Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A walk-off victory and the acquisition of a six-time All- Star made Thursday one exciting day for the San Diego Padres.

San Diego will hope Friday is just as good, as it is expected to have infielder Miguel Tejada available for tonight's opener of a three-game series against the Florida Marlins, a club that has lost five straight to the Padres.

Owners of a 3 1/2-game lead for first place in the National League West, San Diego began its Thursday by getting Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for cash considerations and minor league right-hander Wynn Pelzer. A former American League MVP, the 36-year-old is hitting .269 with seven homers and 39 RBI in 97 games this year and is expected to play both third base and shortstop for his new club.

"Hopefully, [Tejada] can come over here to this situation and contribute somewhere in our lineup," said Padres manager Bud Black.

It is unknown if Tejada will be in the starting lineup tonight.

The good feelings of the bold move made by the Padres front office did not disappear at game time. Looking to claim victory over the Dodgers in the rubber match of a three-game series, Oscar Salazar scored Scott Hairston with a pinch-hit single up the middle with one out to give San Diego a 3-2 victory and series win over Los Angeles.

Chase Headley and Yorvit Torrealba both knocked in a run for the Padres, who have won five of their last six games.

Wade LeBlanc will try to extend the momentum tonight after snapping his personal four-decision losing streak with a victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Padres left-hander gave up three runs on eight hits over six innings, improving to 5-8 with a 3.35 earned run average on the season.

LeBlanc, 25, has made one career start versus the Marlins prior, earning a no- decision on Aug. 29 after yielding four runs in six innings of work.

He won't have to face Jorge Cantu after the Marlins dealt their third baseman to the Texas Rangers for a pair of pitching prospects. Cantu was hitting .262 on the season with 10 homers and 54 RBI.

He went 2-for-4 and twice in Thursday's 5-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants, then was traded following the contest.

Anibal Sanchez was spectacular versus San Francisco, notching his second career shutout, a one-hitter that also featured a walk and eight strikeouts. Sanchez, who engineered a no-hitter back in 2006, gave up a single in the fifth inning on the way to earning his eighth victory of the season.

"Everything was working for [Sanchez]," said Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez. "He had command of all his pitches, so we knew something good was going to happen today."

Mike Stanton and Ronny Paulino knocked in two runs apiece for the Marlins, who split this four-game series at AT&T Park and have won 11 of their last 17 games overall to get back to .500 at 51-51.

Florida's Chris Volstad will be seeking his first victory since June 13 tonight, having gone 0-2 with a 6.31 ERA in five starts since. The 23-year-old made his first start on Sunday since July 6 after a brief demotion to Triple-A and earned a no-decision versus the Braves, getting charged with three runs on five hits and three walks over six innings of work.

Volstad is 4-8 with a 4.76 ERA on the season and 1-2 with a 6.14 ERA in three career meetings with the Padres. The right-hander lost to them on June 25, allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings while striking out six in the 3-0 setback.

San Diego's five-game win streak over the Marlins includes a three-game sweep in Florida from June 25-27. The Fish did win all three meetings in San Diego a season ago.

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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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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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