Wakefield sets age record as Sox outslug Rays

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Wakefield became the oldest pitcher in Red Sox history to record a win and Boston belted five home runs to top Tampa Bay, 11-5, in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Marco Scutaro went 4-for-5 with a pair of homers and three RBI, while Victor Martinez, David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre also went deep for the Red Sox, who despite the win are 6 1/2 games behind the wild card-leading Rays.

Wakefield (4-10), who had lost his previous four decisions, won for the first time since July 2 against Baltimore. The knuckleball specialist, making his first start since August 25, moved to 21-6 all-time against the Rays. He allowed six hits and five runs -- four earned -- over five innings.

Wakefield, at 44 years and 37 days old, passed Dennis Eckersley as the oldest pitcher in club history to record a victory. Eckersley got his last Sox win on September 17, 1998 at Baltimore at 43 years, 349 days old.

B.J. Upton homered for a second straight night, this time a three-run blast in the second inning, but the Rays fell 2 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. New York rallied for a 3-2 win over Baltimore Wednesday afternoon.

Matt Garza (14-8), who had won his last three decisions, was tagged for nine hits and six runs in 4 1/3 frames.

Evan Longoria lofted a sacrifice fly in the opening inning and Upton's homer to left in the second moved the lead to 4-0.

In the bottom half, Ortiz walked ahead of Beltre's 27th homer of the year, his 1,001st career RBI.

Scutaro led off the third with a homer, and two outs later Ortiz went deep for the 29th time this season. The blast over the Green Monster tied the score at 4-4.

Brad Hawpe scored on Jason Bartlett's double in the fourth, but Boston went ahead for good with a three-spot in the fifth. Martinez started the frame with a homer to center. Chad Qualls came into the game with one out, but Ryan Kalish doubled home Ortiz, who walked earlier in the inning. Longoria's throwing error brought in Kalish for a 7-5 Red Sox edge.

Martinez singled in Scutaro in the sixth and the Sox tacked on three more runs in the seventh, two coming on Scutaro's 10th homer of the season. The hit came just after Lars Anderson's RBI single.

Game Notes

Wakefield went over the 130-inning mark this season, meaning he'll automatically receive a $500,000 raise to $2 million for 2011, the final season of his contract...Tampa Bay won the season series, 11-7, winning six of nine at Fenway.

Wwgoto Baseball Betting News

<< Phillies build big lead, top Marlins to keep hold of first place
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Howard finished 3-for-5 with a three- run homer and tied a season-high with six RBI as Philadelphia built a double- digit lead but held on to top Florida, 10-6, in the finale of a four-game set. Chas

<< Myers, Astros shut down Cubs
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Myers struck out eight in seven shutout innings to continue his dominance of the Cubs and lead the Astros to a 4-0 win over Chicago in the rubber match of a three-game series. Myers (11-7) allowed just

<< RSL eyes top spot in league against Seattle
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake entered this season as defending Major League Soccer champions, and according to midfielder Andy Williams, they also had a few goals in mind. "At the beginning of the year, we had our goals wher

<< Braves avoid sweep in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Prado, Derrek Lee, and Alex Gonzalez each drove in two runs to back Derek Lowe's solid performance on the mound, as the Atlanta Braves handled the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-3, to avoid a three-game sweep a

<< Braun, Brewers down reeling Cards
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Braun homered and drove in a total of four runs to back Chris Capuano's solid performance on the mound, as the Milwaukee Brewers dominated the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-1, in the rubber match of a th

Tulowitzki homers twice as Rockies stay hot with win over Reds >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Troy Tulowitzki hit two homers and drove in four runs, leading the surging Colorado Rockies in a 9-2 rout of the struggling Cincinnati Reds in the third of four games at Coors Field. Tulowitzki notched his s

Federer gains seventh straight U.S. Open semifinal >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer advanced to his seventh straight U.S. Open semifinal by avenging a loss earlier this year to Swede Robin Soderling with a three-set triumph Wednesday night. The second-seeded Federe

Mathis' sacrifice fly lifts Angels over Indians in 16 >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Mathis' sacrifice fly in the 16th inning won it, as the Los Angeles Angels outlasted the Cleveland Indians, 4-3, in one of the longest games in the majors this season. Torii Hunter went 2-for-5 with tw

Hudson, Drew help Diamondbacks avoid sweep >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Hudson pitched seven solid innings and Stephen Drew fueled Arizona's offense, as the Diamondbacks took a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants to avoid being swept in the three-game series. Hudson (5-

Crisp leads A's past Mariners >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coco Crisp belted a two-run homer and singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Oakland Athletics overcame an early deficit to beat Seattle, 4-3, in the rubber match of a th

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.

Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

Betting Line

To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.

For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.