05/09/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of playoff hopefuls get together for a three-game series that begins this afternoon at Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first meeting between the teams since last year's National League Division Series.
The 2007 NL West champion Diamondbacks easily handled the Central-winning Cubs during that postseason skirmish, as Arizona swept the best-of-five series and clinched a berth into the NLCS with a 5-1 victory at Wrigley Field in Game 3. The Diamondbacks also won four of their six regular-season matchups with Chicago and are 16-6 against the Cubs (including last year's postseason) since the start of the 2005 campaign.
Arizona has played like a playoff team during the early portion of this season as well. The Diamondbacks own the best record in the majors at 23-12 and own a 3 1/2-game lead on Los Angeles for first place in the NL West at the moment.
The Diamondbacks hit the road after splitting a four-game series with Philadelphia at Chase Field earlier this week. Arizona evened the set behind Brandon Webb on Thursday, as the ace right-hander went the distance on a six- hitter to lead his club to an 8-3 decision over the Phillies.
Webb (8-0) surrendered three runs -- two earned -- and struck out four to win his eighth straight start to begin the season. The sinker specialist also won his first eight decisions in 2006, the year he captured the NL's Cy Young Award.
Chris Snyder went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in for the Diamondbacks, who also received home runs from both Justin Upton and Chris Young on the afternoon. Mark Reynolds ended 3-for-4 with an RBI in the win.
Chicago begins a 10-game homestand this afternoon and currently sits two games behind rival St. Louis for the top spot in the NL Central. The Cubs have dropped five of their last seven contests and were routed by the Cincinnati Reds in their most recent trip to the diamond.
In Wednesday's finale of a three-game series, the Reds belted seven home runs to back seven shutout innings from Edinson Volquez to hand Chicago a 9-0 setback at Great American Ball Park.
Joey Votto went deep three times for Cincinnati, while Volquez struck out 10 Cubs and yielded just four hits before turning the game over to his bullpen.
Jon Lieber (2-2) lasted just two innings in his first start of 2008. The veteran righty was shelled for five runs on seven hits, including four home runs, during his short stint.
The slumping Cubs face another tough challenge today in Arizona's Dan Haren, who has amassed an impressive 4-1 record and a 3.12 earned run average over his first seven starts as a D-Back.
Haren, acquired from Oakland in a blockbuster offseason trade, received a no- decision in his most recent outing despite pitching well enough to earn another win. The All-Star righty limited the New York Mets to two runs and three hits and matched a season-best with seven strikeouts over six innings this past Sunday.
The 27-year-old will be facing the Cubs for the first time since 2004, when Haren was a member of the Cardinals. In two lifetime starts against Chicago, one a loss and the other a no decision, he has been tagged for 12 runs and 16 hits over just 8 2/3 innings.
Chicago counters with Ted Lilly, who appears to have gotten himself back on track after a rough beginning to the season. The left-hander is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA over his last three starts, compared to an 0-3 mark and a woeful 9.16 ERA during his first four mound trips of the year.
Lilly worked a season-high seven innings to defeat St. Louis on Saturday, holding the Cardinals to three runs on six hits and issuing just one walk.
The two-time 15-game winner is 0-2 in four career regular-season appearances against Arizona, including a pair of starts, despite having pitched to a respectable 3.38 ERA in those games. However, Lilly was shelled for six runs in just 3 1/3 innings by the Diamondbacks to suffer the loss in Game 2 of last year's NLDS.
<< A pair of aces to highlight Padres-Rockies opener
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A solid pitching matchup is on tap tonight at Petco Park,
where Jake Peavy will lead the San Diego Padres against Aaron Cook and the NL
West-rival Colorado Rockies.
Peavy is 4-1 with a 2.22 earned run average in seven
<< Reeling Brewers return home to face Central-leading Cards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers are back at home after a lengthy road
trip, and they will try to stop a six-game slide tonight in the first of four
straight games versus the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park.
Milwaukee went 2-7 o
<< Marlins try to keep up season success against Nats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NL East-leading Florida Marlins will try to extend
their current winning streak to a season-high five games tonight, when they
begin a seven-game road trip with the first of three straight meetings with
Washing
<< Braves take hot streak into Pittsburgh
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves will try to stay unbeaten this month as
they open a seven-game road trip with tonight's first of four straight games
against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Atlanta is coming off a perfect six
O's try to continue dominance of KC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles will attempt to maintain their
recent dominance of the Kansas City Royals when the two teams continue a four-
game series tonight at Kauffman Stadium.
Baltimore has now won 10 straight encounters wit
Red Sox make trip to Metrodome >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending world champion Boston Red Sox make their lone
regular-season visit to the Metrodome this weekend, when the American League
powerhouses start up a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins that begins
this evenin
Maggert's brother killed in CO plane crash >>
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Professional golfer Jeff Maggert's
brother was killed Thursday when a single-engine plane he was piloting crashed
in a mountainous area in Colorado.
The plane went down in a rugged, wooded area a
Golf Tidbits: Inkster's major streak to end >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There have been significant winning
streaks in golf over the years, and there have also been plenty of players who
have stressed family over golf. Occasionally the two intersect.
Consider the case of Juli
MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines
New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.
"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."
Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.
"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."
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MySportsbook.com is the foremost online sportsbook offering Internet wagering to its worldwide customers. Fully licensed and regulated in St. John’s, Antigua since 1997, MySportsbook.com offers a complete range of online casino games, sports betting lines, poker tournaments and horse racing offtrack betting daily through its portfolio of companies and managed services. With over 7 years of experience, MySportsbook.com has become one of the most respected companies in the gaming industry by providing unparalleled 24/7 customer support and timely payouts. MySportsbook.com is part of the SportingBet PLC group of companies that is publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE ) under the symbol SBT.L. MySportsbook.com provides a secure environment for sports and casino wagering and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MAXIM Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and CNN’s Paula Zahn Now among others.
MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
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