07/23/2008 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Mathis smacked a grand slam and drove in six runs to highlight a rare offensive explosion for the LA Angels of Anaheim in a 14-11 victory over the Cleveland Indians in their three-game series finale.
The Angels rattled off 19 hits and had three players finish with at least four hits for the first time in franchise history. Mathis was 4-for-5 at the plate, while Casey Kotchman had a hit in all five of his at-bats.
Howie Kendrick was also 4-for-5 with three doubles, three runs scored and three RBI to help LA finish off a six-game homestand with a 5-1 record.
The offense made a winner of John Lackey (8-2), who struggled to allow six runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts through five innings.
Ryan Garko homered and drove in three runs during a 3-for-5 effort at the plate for the Indians, who dropped the last two games and split their six-game road trip. Grady Sizemore also hit a long ball, while Jhonny Peralta had three hits, three runs and an RBI.
Cleveland starter Aaron Laffey (5-7) was touched for eight runs on 12 hits in four-plus innings of work.
"I felt great today and I hit my spots," Laffey said. "My stuff just wasn't good enough today."
A single, double and intentional walk loaded the bases for the Angels in the fifth. Tom Mastny relieved Laffey but walked Gary Matthews to tie things at six. Mathis then relocated the first pitch he saw over the left field wall for a grand slam and a 10-6 lead.
"[Laffey] tried to throw a two-seamer in, and he left it over the plate," Mathis said of his game-changing slam. "I've been making adjustments with my swing and it has paid off the last couple of days. I'm just being a little more aggressive"
Mathis wasn't done extending the lead as he recorded a two-run double in the sixth to follow up his first career granny.
Shin-Soo Choo and Kendrick each hit RBI singles in the seventh for their respective clubs.
Cleveland inched back with three in the eighth. Sizemore hit a solo shot -- his 25th of the season -- with one out, and Garko hit a bases loaded single later in the frame to make it a 14-10 game.
When David Dellucci doubled with two outs in the ninth to bring in Jamey Carroll, the Angels went to Francisco Rodriguez, who needed just one pitch to induce a ground out from Ben Francisco to conclude the game and the easiest of his league-leading 42 saves.
The Indians drew blood with their first at-bat when Peralta singled in a run, followed by Lackey throwing away a possible inning-ending double-play ball to force in another.
Kendrick's first double of the game brought home Vladimir Guerrero in the second, and after moving up 90 feet on a groundout, scored on a Laffey wild pitch.
Choo singled to open the fourth, and Garko connected on a hanging breaking ball that found the bullpen beyond the left field wall for his eighth home run of the season.
The Angels took the lead when Matthews, Kotchman and Erick Aybar each recorded RBI singles in the bottom of the inning, only to have Cleveland take it right back on consecutive two-out, run-scoring singles by Andy Marte and Sal Fasano.
Game Notes
Lackey has won seven of his last eight decisions...Los Angeles pushed its lead in the AL West to 10 games over Oakland, which lost to Tampa, 4-3, on Wednesday...The Indians are 18-34 on the road this season...After a day off, the Indians host Minnesota for three-games, while the Angels head to Baltimore for three games starting Friday...Laffey has dropped four of his last five decisions...Before the game, LA recalled pitcher Jason Bulger from Triple-A Salt Lake and optioned infielder Sean Rodriguez to Salt Lake.
<< Celtics re-sign Eddie House and Tony Allen
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics re-signed two pieces of
their championship team Wednesday, agreeing to terms with guards Eddie House
and Tony Allen.
According to the Boston Herald, both contracts are for close to $2
<< Holliday leads Rockies past Dodgers
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday drove in a pair of runs to lead
the Colorado Rockies in a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the finale
of their three-game series.
Holliday finished 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, w
<< Posey signs with Hornets
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets signed free agent
guard/forward James Posey on Wednesday. Per club policy, terms of the deal
were not released.
The 31-year-old Posey played last season for the Boston Celtic
<< Rapids win lottery for SMU star
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids announced on
Wednesday that the club has added former Southern Methodist University
midfielder Bruno Guarda after winning a league lottery for the right
yesterd
Jazz acquire G Knight from Clippers >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz acquired veteran point
guard Brevin Knight from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for guard Jason
Hart, the club announced Wednesday.
Knight appeared in 74 games for the Clippers
Cubs activate Soriano, Eyre; option Hoffpauir, Hart >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs activated outfielder Alfonso
Soriano and left-handed pitcher Scott Eyre from the 15-day disabled list on
Wednesday.
The All-Star outfielder returns to action exactly six weeks to the day
Medalist McCloskey advances at Girls' Junior >>
West Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Medalist Lisa McCloskey easily dispatched
Christine Song on Wednesday to move into Thursday's second round of match play
at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.
There were three weather delays on Wednesda
Braves' Jones leaves with hamstring injury >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones
left Wednesdays game against the Florida Marlins in the fourth inning with an
apparent left hamstring injury.
The All-Star grounded to third base and grabbed the
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
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