Cuba edges U.S. in thrilling quarterfinal

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - Thunder Bay, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a dramatic quarterfinal matchup, one can only imagine what else is in store for the final weekend of the World Junior Baseball Championship.

Omar Luis threw nine solid innings in a gutsy 144-pitch effort to shutdown a dangerous United States lineup as Cuba held on for the 3-2 victory in a thrilling game featuring two of baseball's biggest powerhouse nations.

"This was fun to watch, the fans brought some excitement here," said U.S. hitting coach Brian McRae. "Anytime Cuba and United States play it's going to be a good ballgame and today was no different."

"I was glad to be a part of it."

Luis (2-0) battled through a shaky ninth to hold on for the victory, earning Cuba a date in the semifinals versus Australia.

The Cuban lefty, who threw 137 pitches against Canada earlier in the tournament, turned in another captivating performance in front of a sell-out crowd at Port Arthur Stadium.

"He's got a rubber arm and he just battles," said U.S. outfielder Michael Lorenzen. "Good for him, I'm proud of him."

Lazaro Hernandez' ninth-inning triple off lefthanded reliever Philip Pfeifer (0-1) to score pinch runner Lazaro Ramirez gave the Cubans a 3-2 lead that proved to be the difference.

"We worked hard for this game; this game was very important," said Luis. "We are happy and we are ready to go straight ahead to the championship."

Lorenzen's two-out double in the bottom of the ninth gave the U.S. new life and kept fans riveted on the edge of their seat.

After hitting second baseman Tony Wolters in the back of the head to put the winning run on first, Luis gave up a single to shortstop Francisco Lindor to load the bases and set the stage for a dramatic ending.

But in a game with several twists and turns, the ending proved anti-climatic.

Marcus Littlewood grounded into a game-ending fielder's choice to hand the Cubans the win and send the Americans, who went 5-0 during group play, home earlier than anticipated.

"It's disappointing because you don't want to spend five weeks getting ready for this and all the work you put into it and not reach your goal," said McRae. "Our goal was to get to the gold medal game and hopefully win a gold medal.

"That didn't happen and it's frustrating but this was an awesome ballgame."

In control for long stretches of the game, Luis used a deceptive delivery and a breaking ball with late movement to keep a strong U.S. attack off balance. At one point retiring 11 straight U.S. batters, Luis gave the Cubans the marquee performance they needed to knock off a star-studded American roster.

And yet despite allowing 10 hits while walking a pair with five strikeouts, Luis' warrior-type performance will be remembered for years to come.

"We had them on the ropes and we couldn't take advantage," said McRae. "He was able to wiggle himself out of some jams and when we started to mount a little bit, he seemed like he could make a pitch and do something to keep us from inflicting some damage on him. He did a good job."

As did his counterpart, U.S. starter A.J. Vanegas.

The 6'3" righthander was lights out against a menacing Cuban lineup, locating a live fastball with a dipping curveball on his way to 13 strikeouts while allowing just five hits and two runs over eight innings.

"A.J. was outstanding," said McRae. "We had the right guy on the mound and we just weren't able to get the big hits."

That ended up being the difference, as Guillermo Aviles' first-inning, home run and back-to-back Cuban doubles in the fourth were the only blemishes in an otherwise terrific outing by one of the Americans' top young arms.

"It's bittersweet but it's just a blessing to be out here," said Vanegas following the devastating loss. "Our team just came short today and it happens in baseball. We gave it our all. We were down to our last strike and I'm just so proud of my teammates that they battled their hearts out."

"It's just a blessing to play the game."

With Cuba leading for most of the game, the U.S. tied it up at two in the eighth, after second baseman Yamil Rivalta was unable to corral a hard hit ball from Bubba Starling that scored Wolters.

But after steamrolling through group play and drawing a tough opening round opponent, all the U.S. can do now is think what could have been.

Lorenzen brought his top game today as he has all week, going 3-for-4 with a run batted in to bring his tournament total to 12-for-17 with eight RBI before consolation play.

"We've learned a lot on this trip and we've learned a lot about ourselves," said Lorenzen. "Nobody likes to lose, especially in a game like this. I don't think anyone fell short...they just came out on top."

GAME NOTES

Lindor went 1-for-5 today, giving him 12 hits on the tournament, which is tied for tops among the Americans with Lorenzen...Aviles' home run was his second of the tournament and the hit increased his team-leading total to nine.

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Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards

Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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