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05/15/2010 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willy Aybar's leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth capped Tampa Bay's comeback, lifting the Rays to a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners in the middle contest of a three-game series.
The Rays scored twice in the eighth to tie the game before Aybar hit the seventh pitch from Jesus Colome (0-1) over the right-center field wall, giving the hosts the win.
Rafael Soriano (2-0) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to get the victory for Tampa Bay, which had dropped Friday's series-opener, 4-3.
Rays starter James Shields struck out 10 over eight innings, in which he allowed two runs on six hits and didn't walk a batter. He did not receive a decision, but that was still a better result than his last outing. Shields took the loss last Sunday after Oakland's Dallas Braden threw the 19th perfect game in major league history.
The same seemed to be happening Saturday, when Seattle's Jason Vargas had a perfect game going through four innings. Evan Longoria broke that up with a fifth-inning leadoff single, though Vargas kept Tampa Bay scoreless until the eighth, when he didn't record an out and allowed the tying runs to reach base. Vargas allowed a total of four hits and walked two.
Mike Sweeney went 2-for-4 and homered for the third consecutive game for the Mariners, who have lost three of four.
Tampa Bay entered Saturday's contest with an MLB-best 24-11 record, though it was just 9-7 at home. The Rays appeared headed to another loss at Tropicana Field, trailing two entering the eighth.
B.J. Upton started the rally with a single, stole second and took third on Dioner Navarro's base hit. Vargas was then removed for Brandon League, who gave up a pinch-hit single to Reid Brignac, bringing in Upton.
Jason Bartlett's sacrifice bunt left runners on second and third, and League intentionally walked Carl Crawford before being taken out in favor of Sean White. Ben Zobrist's sacrifice fly to left got pinch-runner Sean Rodriguez home, making it a 2-2 game, before White retired Longoria to end the inning.
The Mariners had a chance to move back in front in the ninth, after Franklin Gutierrez led off with a walk and stole second. However, Soriano retired the next three batters to keep the game tied heading to the decisive home half.
In the first inning, Chone Figgins doubled and scored during Gutierrez's at- bat. An errant pickoff throw from Shields allowed Figgins to advance to third, and Figgins scored when Shields threw a wild pitch.
Sweeney began the fourth by hitting Shields' first-pitch fastball over the left field wall.
Game Notes
The Rays have won four of five against the Mariners this season, including a three-game sweep in Seattle earlier this month...On Saturday, the Rays designated Pat Burrell for assignment and promoted Hank Blalock from Triple-A Durham. Burrell hit .202 with a .292 on-base percentage and 28 strikeouts in 24 games this season. Blalock was batting .349 with a .405 OBP and four home runs in 26 games for Durham...Seattle went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position...Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-4, recording his seventh consecutive multi-hit game and major league-leading 20th of 2010...Prior to his current run, Sweeney had not homered in his first 12 games (34 at-bats).
<< Rodri clinches fourth for Sevilla
Almeria, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Substitute Rodri scored a stoppage-time goal
to lift Sevilla to a 3-2 win over Almeria, helping Sevilla secure the fourth
and final Champions League spot in La Liga.
Mallorca was on course to jump into f
<< Undefeated Sparta Prague wins Czech title
Prague, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Repka scored and Sparta Prague
edged Teplice 1-0 on Saturday to complete an unbeaten season and win the Czech
Republic Gambrinus Liga title.
Sparta Prague finished with 16 wins and 14 ties, and
<< Clampett leads in 2nd Champions Tour start
Hoover, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Making just his second Champions Tour start,
Bobby Clampett took sole possession of the lead Saturday with an eight-under
64 at the Regions Charity Classic.
Clampett, who was one of four co-leaders after
<< Lincecum remains unbeaten as Giants edge Astros
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum allowed only one run in
eight strong innings, and Juan Uribe hit a two-run homer, helping the San
Francisco Giants continue their recent dominance of the Houston Astros with a
2-1 win
Phillies place Lidge on DL, recall Bastardo >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies placed closer Brad
Lidge on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with elbow inflammation.
The move comes after Lidge underwent tests earlier this week on his surgically
repaired elbow
'Quakes, Revs battle to scoreless draw >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes and New England
Revolution battled to a 0-0 draw in Major League Soccer action at Gillette
Stadium on Saturday night.
The draw is the third straight clean sheet for San Jose
Four share lead at weather-delayed Texas Open >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brett Wetterich, Jimmy Walker, James
Nitties and Matt Jones shared a one-shot lead Saturday when the second round
of the weather-delayed Texas Open was finally completed.
Walker and Nitties both fired round
Athletics' Duchscherer scratched prior to start >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics pitcher Justin Duchscherer
was scratched moments before his scheduled start against the Angels on
Saturday night.
Duchscherer was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game. I
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
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The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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