Cubs shoot for sweep in DC

Baseball Betting Lines

08/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs may have been shocked at first by Lou Piniella's sudden retirement, but the team appears to be handling the changing of the guard at the managerial position quite well.

Chicago goes for a sweep of its initial series under interim skipper Mike Quade when the club completes a three-game road set with the struggling Washington Nationals this evening.

Piniella had planned to retire at the conclusion of this season, but the 66- year-old switched gears and stepped down following the Cubs' 16-5 loss to Atlanta on Sunday. The three-time Manager of the Year pushed up the timetable in order to spend more time with his ill mother in Florida.

Chicago had lost six of its final seven games with Piniella at the helm, but has won the first two tests since Quade was promoted from third base coach. After cruising to a 9-1 victory over the Nationals in Quade's debut on Monday, the Cubs built a comfortable early lead and held on for a 5-4 triumph in last night's middle test of this series.

Former Nat Alfonso Soriano staked Chicago to a quick advantage by belting a three-run homer in the top of the second inning, with Tyler Colvin connecting on a two-run shot in the fourth to put the Cubs ahead by a 5-0 count. The two long balls enabled Carlos Zambrano (5-6) to notch his fifth win of 2010 after the veteran starter yielded just one run and five hits while fanning eight batters over a season-high 7 1/3 innings.

Both homers came against Washington lefty John Lannan (5-6), who surrendered five runs (four earned) in five innings to suffer the loss, the sixth in eight games for the Nationals.

"Soriano has hurt us in this ballpark a number of times," said Washington manager Jim Riggleman. "John battled him tough and threw some good pitches, but Soriano won that battle."

Zambrano retired 13 men over a 14-hitter stretch before being chased by Nyjer Morgan's one-out single in the eighth. Reliever Sean Marshall got the Cubs out of the inning unscathed, but closer Carlos Marmol ran into a heap of trouble in Washington's half of the ninth.

The Nationals loaded the bases on two walks and a base hit before Adam Kennedy laced a two-out double into the right-field corner to clear the sacks and pull his team within 5-4. Marmol would retire Ryan Zimmerman on a fly ball that was caught near the warning track in right, however, to end the threat and the game.

"You do this sometimes and he's lights out," said Quade about Marmol. "Other times he's not, but I'll tell you that more times not you leave here winning. Just get it done, and he did."

Chicago now tries to remain unbeaten under Quade and win three straight contests for the first time since July 5-7 when it takes the field tonight behind the streaking Ryan Dempster. The right-hander has amassed a 3-0 record along with a stellar 1.65 earned run average in four August starts and sports a 4-1 ledger over eight outings since the All-Star break.

Dempster did have a three-start win streak come to an end in Friday's matchup with the Braves, although he certainly pitched well enough to prevail. The native Canadian worked eight innings that day and held Atlanta to two runs on four hits, but wound up without a decision after Marmol blew a save chance in the ninth.

The 33-year-old has been Chicago's most consistent hurler this season, having generated an 11-8 record with a solid 3.56 ERA over 26 starts, and he's 7-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 21 lifetime appearances (13 starts) against the Washington/Montreal franchise. That lone defeat did take place on April 28 of this year, however, after Dempster was reached for three runs in eight innings of a 3-2 verdict.

Dempster will be opposed tonight by a former teammate in ex-Cub Jason Marquis, who's endured a miserable first season in the nation's capital. The free-agent pickup has lost all six of his starts thus far in 2010 and managed a horrid 11.39 ERA over those games, in addition to missing nearly four months after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips in his pitching elbow.

Marquis did have an encouraging performance in Philadelphia this past Friday, however, as he held the Phillies to one run on four hits in five innings of work. The right-hander still received a loss, however, when his team was shut out by a 1-0 count.

The 32-year-old went 25-18 for the Cubs during the 2007 and 2008 seasons before matching a career high with 15 wins with Colorado last year. He's 4-6 lifetime versus Chicago with a 4.42 ERA over 13 games (12 starts).

Chicago has now won six straight times over the Nationals in Washington, but dropped two of three tests between the teams in the Windy City back in April.

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American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6  

The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.

Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com.  "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.

It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis.  It's like Week 1 of the NFL.  Pre-season means nada!

We do know the 24 finalists however.

Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24.  He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway.  He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien. 

Brandon Rogers - Who?

Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition.  He should go a good distance.

Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was.  And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition.  He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice!  People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way. 

"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks.  He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes.  But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.

A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”

Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes. 

"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate.  "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past.  He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far.  Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."

Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts) 

And the others:

Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter

The girls

"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis.  "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has.  The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive.  I think she will go far."

Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.

"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams.  Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth.  "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.

Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.

Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.

Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan

MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with). 

Last two contestants will be?

1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)

2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)

2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)

MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook accepts Visa Credit Cards and online sportsbook accepts Mastercard Credit Cards for easy American Idol betting lines. 

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

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