Fukudome hits deciding blast as Cubs clip Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

08/28/2010 - Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kosuke Fukudome hit the game-winning two- run home run and Randy Wells spun six solid frames as Chicago edged Cincinnati, 3-2, in the middle meeting of a three-game set.

Fukudome finished 2-for-3 and Xavier Nady also went deep for the Cubs, who have won four of their last five.

Wells (6-12) allowed two runs on six hits while walking two and fanning four and Carlos Marmol closed the door in the ninth by retiring the side in order to earn his 24th save.

Bronson Arroyo (14-8) suffered the loss after he yielded three runs on five hits and did not walk a batter while striking out five for the Reds, who saw their lead over St. Louis in the NL Central temporarily reduced to 3 1/2 games.

Cbssportskine Baseball Betting News

<< Henry's first MLS goal helps N.Y. beat San Jose
Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thierry Henry scored his first goal in Major League Soccer and Dane Richards had a goal and an assist, leading Red Bull New York to a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday at Red Bull Arena. Rich

<< Bengals CB Ghee leaves game
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bengals rookie cornerback Brandon Ghee was carted off the field during Saturday's preseason tilt with the Buffalo Bills with an undisclosed injury. Ghee, the team's third-round draft choice this

<< RSL, TFC share points at BMO
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC battled to a scoreless draw in Major League Soccer action at BMO Field on Saturday night. With the draw, RSL (11-4-7) is unbeaten in six league fixtures, while improv

<< Stakhovsky comes back to take New Haven title
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergiy Stakhovsky bested Denis Istomin in the finale of the $750,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event to capture his fourth career ATP Tour title. Stakhovsky, seeded ninth, rebounded from a first-set loss to take a 3-

<< Richard's Kid does it again to capture Pacific Classic
Del Mar, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard's Kid came from the back of the pack Saturday to successfully defend his crown in the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar. The victory puts Richard's Kid automatically into this year's Breeder

Langer leads Price by one at Boeing Classic >>
Snoqualmie, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bernhard Langer fired a nine-under 63 in Saturday's second round to take a one-stroke lead at the Boeing Classic. Langer, who has already won four times on the Champions Tour this season, completed 36 holes

Spiller runs Bills past Bengals >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Spiller debuted in front of the Bills' faithful and rushed for two touchdowns while Trent Edwards firmed his grip on the starting quarterback role, as Buffalo defeated the Cincinnati Bengals

Mapp's stoppage-time goal helps Union sink 10-man Revs >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union scored two goals in the final eight minutes of their Major League Soccer match at the New England Revolution on Saturday night to earn a 2-1 win. Second-half substitute Justin Map

Houston's Myers upends Santana, Mets >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Myers tossed seven strong scoreless innings while Carlos Lee hit a two-run shot and drove in three runs as Houston downed the New York Mets, 4-1, in the middle test of three between the clubs at Citi

Dunn, Nats clobber Cardinals >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer and doubled in two more as Washington thumped the Cardinals, 14-5, in the continuation of a four-game series. Roger Bernadina had a two-run home run and sco

MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds

With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.

Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season.  Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money. 

This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy.  A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:

Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame)
Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma)
Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State)
Michael Bush (RB, Louisville)
Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia)
Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville)
Chris Leak (QB, Florida)
Mike Hart (RB, Michigan)
Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State)
Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame)
Drew Tate (QB, Iowa)
Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)
Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn)
Chad Henne (QB, Michigan)
Kyle Wright (QB, Miami)
Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State)
Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama)
JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU)
Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State)
Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina)
Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech)		 5-2
7-2
7-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
18-1
18-1
20-1
30-1
35-1
35-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1

For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.

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.