I’m going to avoid talking about the All-Star game before it happens because, well, it bores the hell out of me. I love baseball as much as the next guy, but I don’t think it lends itself particularly well to an exhibition format – especially one that none of the players really care about. If pitchers were all supposed to only pitch an inning a game then they’d all be called closers, and each team would have 18 of them. If I had to I would bet on the American League, but I would rather bet on cricket.
Sports Betting Section
MADDUX'S WINNING PICKS
MADDUX'S LIVE ODDS
SITE FEATURES
Month: July 2008
I was passing some time tonight by browsing around the odds at Pinnacle looking for anything interesting (it was a slow night, obviously). As I did that a few lines of interest popped out that are worth a comment:
Men’s Olympic soccer – Anything can happen in a short tournament, but it would be a major upset of the winner of this tournament wasn’t either Argentina or Brazil. They are just that much better than anyone else. Interestingly, they are priced in such a way that you could bet both if you wanted and still make money if you were right. Argentina is +188 and Brazil is at +238 to win them all. That’s not bad for heavy favorites at this point.
Elton Brand is taking, to me, a surprising amount of abuse from pockets of the media regarding his decision to jump to the Sixers after opting out from his contract with the Clippers. Sure, he initially said he was intending to re-sign, but I don’t think he can be blamed in the slightest for what he has done. Here are five good reasons:
That sound you hear is, I fear, the sound of floodgates opening. For a couple of glorious years now college basketball has been, in my mind, significantly better off for the presence of a few spectacularly talented young players – even if they only stayed for a year. The NBA’s change in minimum draft age meant that we got to see guys like Kevin Durant, Greg Oden, Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley make the college game their personal playgrounds. That has made the world a better place. Now that might all be threatened thanks to a guy named Brandon Jennings.
Continue reading “Brandon Jennings Is Trying To Ruin My LIfe”
This can be a tough time of year for sports bettors. If you aren’t into baseball then there isn’t much to hold your attention. Golf is in an inter-Major lull. So is tennis. Basketball and football are technically on, but in versions that are far from captivating. Horse racing is in a lull until Saratoga and Del Mar get fired up. There is a bit of soccer, but not the thrilling international action of the spring and early summer. The Olympics are still a month away, and real football action is almost two months away. If you don’t like betting on baseball then you could be in some real trouble.
I’ve got a summer cold – the worst punishment for past sins imaginable. It’s a doozy, too. Given that, I’d love to be catty and dismissive to a few teams or players to make myself feel better. Sadly, though, there are a couple of big stories tonight that I really like and am quite enthusiastic about. That’s no fun.
Interesting social experiment coming out of Atlanta this week. Jeff Francoeur has boatloads of talent, but he has been truly terrible at the plate this year. He is in a slump that has been underway since late May. The team needs to snap him out of it, and they figured out a bold way to do so – they sent him down to Double-A without discussing it with him first. They said they may keep him down there for a couple of weeks to let him get his mind right and find his stroke again. In the end, though, he was only down for three games. There’s no doubt it worked in one regard – he went 7 for 13 in the three games, and had four hits on Sunday. Where it gets interesting, though, is that Francoeur is pissed. He says that he feels betrayed, and he is openly questioning management. The Braves’ management deserves some credit for making a bold move, but it is one that could backfire dramatically. It will be interesting t watch how it plays out.
Saturday was a very interesting day at Wimbledon. Venus Williams beat her sister, won her fifth Wimbledon title and second straight, and proved conclusively that she is without a doubt the best female grass player in the world despite her frustrating inconsistency. The sisters put their competitive differences aside a couple of hours later to cruise to an incredibly easy win in the doubles final. Finally, Canadian Daniel Nestor and new partner Nenad Zimonjic made their second straight grand slam final, but performed better this time around by winning in four sets.
I don’t know much about the Fourth of July, but the sense I get from watching from afar is that it is all about eating too much, drinking way too much, and trying not to blow yourself up with fireworks. Sounds like fun. It only makes sense, then, that the occasion is annually marked by the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. The thought of watching people cram that much processed mystery meat down their throats is disgusting to me, but it’s on ESPN, and more importantly you can bet on it, so it is worthy of a look.
Happy Canada Day. I’m sure most of you don’t know or don’t care that it is Canada’s 141st birthday. I’m a Canadian, though, and I am sure that there are a few others out there who read this, or at least a few of you who wish you were Canadians (my healthcare is free). In honor of our big day, I thought I would do a quick refresher on all that my country brings to your sports. We don’t overwhelm with quantity, but there is a surprising amount of quality:
Betting News
Online Sportsbooks
