Big Papi wins Home Run Derby

Baseball Betting Lines

07/12/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz won the 2010 Home Run Derby, beating Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, 11-5, in the final round Monday at Angel Stadium.

Ortiz, who was in the derby from 2004-06, became the first Red Sox player to win the competition. Ortiz hit eight homers in the first round and 13 more in round two before tying the record for most homers in a last round. Bobby Abreu had that many in 2005 when he won with a record total of 41 long balls hit at Detroit's Comerica Park.

It was a slow start to the regular season for Ortiz, who had one home run in April, but he has 18 at the All-Star break. His 32 homers at the derby are third-most all-time, behind Abreu and Josh Hamilton, who hit 35 in 2008.

Ramirez was also on target with nine in round one and 12 more the ensuing round, but he belted just five in the final round.

After his sixth out, Ortiz arrived at home plate and gave Ramirez a drink, wiped his forehead and encouraged the 26-year-old, but he hit just one more homer.

Each batter was given 10 outs in every round of the competition, which is held in advance of Tuesday's All-Star Game.

Milwaukee right fielder Corey Hart hit the most home runs in the first round with 13, but then had to wait nearly 1 1/2 hours for his turn in the second round and was shut out. Because the homers from the first and second rounds were totaled to determine the final two participants, Hart was eliminated.

Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who has 22 homers at the All-Star break, barely made it out of the first round with seven homers and added just five to that total in round two.

St. Louis' Matt Holliday (5), the Yankees' Nick Swisher (4), Toronto's Vernon Wells (2) and Arizona's Chris Young (1) didn't make it out of the first round. Holliday, though, had the distinction of hitting the longest homer of the night at 497 feet.

Cbaaportsline Baseball Betting News

<< David Ortiz wins HR Derby with 11-homer final
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Boston slugger David Ortiz has won his first Home Run Derby title, hitting 11 homers in the final round to beat Florida's Hanley Ramirez at Angel Stadium.Big Papi added another highlight to his resurgent season with a relentles

<< Lions extend QB Hill
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions extended the contract of quarterback Shaun Hill through the 2011 season. Hill was acquired in a March trade with San Francisco. He spent his first four NFL seasons with Minnesota, then

<< T'Wolves finalize deal with Milicic; ink two first-round picks
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves signed center Darko Milicic on Monday. Reports indicated it's a four-year contract worth close to $20 million. The team also inked 2010 first-round draft picks Wesley

<< Gilbert disagrees with Jackson's views, fined $100,000 by NBA
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert released a statement on Monday in regards to Jesse Jackson's reaction to his open letter to LeBron James last Thursday. Hours after James announced his decisio

<< Ernst leads Publinx after first stroke-play round
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Ernst fired a six-under 65 Monday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of stroke play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links. Ernst's round included nine birdies, six of which came in a

Wall has 18 points, 10 assists in win over Clips >>
LAS VEGAS (AP) -John Wall, playing his second NBA Summer League game with the Wizards, had 18 points, 10 assists and five steals in Washington's 89-64 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's

Report: Raptors, Bobcats close to deal >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors appear ready to deliver the first big deal to try and replace Chris Bosh as they close in on a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats. Bosh left last week for Miami via sign-and-trade, causing a b

Jazz appear ready to acquire Al Jefferson >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz are close to acquiring forward Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to multiple reports. "I just approved a Jazz roster move that I'm very excited about. Planning to

Chargers' Jackson suspended three games >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson has been suspended three games by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy. The Chargers sent out a press release posting saying Ja

All-Star young guns making it Year of the Pitcher >>
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Tim Hudson remembers when throwing fastballs registering in the upper 80s and low 90s was considered impressive. Now, in baseball's Year of the Pitcher, that kind of speed is almost laughable.Youngsters like Ubaldo Jimenez and

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.