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09/06/2007 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austin Kearns homered and scored three times to help compensate for the loss of Washington's pitcher, as the Nationals completed a three-game sweep of the Florida Marlins with a 6-4 win at RFK Stadium.
Tim Redding left in the third with an elbow injury but the offense and bullpen picked it up for the Nationals, who have won five in a row.
With a runner on second and one down, Miguel Cabrera hit a sharp grounder up the middle that caromed off Redding's right elbow. Redding then chased down the ball that had ricocheted behind him, and landed hard on the same arm while trying to field it. He was diagnosed with a right lateral elbow contusion, which is expected to keep him out for seven-to-10 days.
Jonathan Albaladejo made his major-league debut in relief of Redding and tossed 1 2/3 hitless frames, while Luis Ayala (1-2) picked up the win after working a flawless seventh. Chad Cordero took care of the ninth for his 31st save of the campaign.
Brian Schneider had two RBI for Washington.
"There are a lot of games left," said Washington manager Manny Acta. "That's what we want to do -- keep winning ballgames."
Miguel Olivo hit a two-run homer for Florida, which has dropped nine of 12. Starter Sergio Mitre was roughed up for three runs on four hits over just two-thirds of an inning, and Matt Lindstrom (2-4) took the loss.
"These guys battled and gave it their all, but we always come up a little bit short," said Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez.
Washington plated a pair in the seventh to move in front, 6-4. All of the offense came with two outs, starting with a Kearns single and a walk to Ryan Church. Wily Mo Pena put his team in front for good with a base hit to center, and Schneider added an RBI base hit of his own off the newly-inserted Taylor Tankersley for a two-run cushion.
Jon Rauch struck out the side in the eighth before Cordero escaped some two- out trouble in the ninth.
The Nationals put up a three-spot in the first inning to claim early command. A Kearns single with one out loaded the bases, and Church came through with a base hit to center that scored Felipe Lopez. After Pena struck out, Mitre walked Schneider and Robert Fick in succession to push two more runs across.
Florida countered with a pair of runs in the third to slice its deficit to one. Jeremy Hermida doubled in Dan Uggla before Redding was forced to leave the game. Albaladejo entered with runners on first and third and got Josh Willingham to hit into a fielder's choice, but it scored Hermida to make it 3-2.
Kearns put the Nats back up by two with a solo homer to left in the fifth.
Olivo tied the contest at 4-4 with a two-run homer in the sixth. Willingham led the frame off with a double, and was driven in two batters later when Olivo lifted one over the wall in left.
Game Notes
Mitre is winless in his last seven trips to the hill...The Nationals lead the 2007 season series with Florida by a 9-6 count...The two teams combined to strand 15 runners.
<< Lee to meet Farlow in Senior Amateur final
Andover, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sam Farlow and Stanford Lee both won a pair of
matches on Wednesday to move into the final at the USGA Senior Amateur
Championship.
Lee, who is from Heber Springs, Arkansas, first beat Logan Jackson on
<< Perez lifts Detroit over White Sox in extras
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Timo Perez's run-scoring single in the 11th
inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox at
Comerica Park.
Heath Phillips started the 11th for Chicago and quickly recorded
<< A-Rod homers twice in one inning as Yankees pound Mariners
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only a few hours after undergoing an MRI on his
sprained right ankle, Alex Rodriguez ripped two home runs in one inning as the
Yankees exploded for eight runs in the seventh to rout the Seattle Mariners,
10-2, i
<< Wells' homer in ninth puts Jays past Red Sox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells belted a two-run home run in the
ninth inning, helping the Toronto Blue Jays avoid a three-game sweep with a
6-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Wells finished with three hit
Bonds homers as Giants hold off Rockies >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Bonds hit the 762nd home run of his
career, lifting the San Francisco Giants over the Colorado Rockies, 5-3, in
the conclusion of a three-game series at Coors Field.
Pedro Feliz had three hits
Cubs top Dodgers to keep pace in NL Central >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark DeRosa finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and
two runs scored, and the Chicago Cubs topped the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-2, in
the third of a four-game set.
Ted Lilly (14-7) held the Dodgers to six hits an
Paulino, Bucs top Cards >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ronny Paulino belted a three-run homer, and
Jack Wilson drove in three runs in Pittsburgh's 8-2 win over St. Louis,
spoiling Mark Mulder's 2007 debut and sending the Cardinals to another tough
defeat
Federer beats Roddick again to gain U.S. Open semifinal berth >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer continued his domination
of Andy Roddick, knocking the American out of the U.S. Open with a tight 7-6
(7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 quarterfinal victory Wednesday night.
The three-time defendi
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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