Brewers hope to get closer to NL Central crown in Cincinnati

Baseball Betting Lines

09/18/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The power surge of Ryan Braun is pushing Milwaukee closer to its first division championship since 1982.

Braun finished 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and four RBI, while Mark Kotsay ripped a three-run double as the Milwaukee Brewers thumped the Cincinnati Reds, 10-1, last night. The victory, combined with St. Louis' loss at Philadelphia, reduced Milwaukee's magic number to five for winning the NL Central.

The last time Milwaukee celebrated a baseball division championship, the Brewers were playing in the American League. They captured the AL East in 1982 before losing in seven games in the World Series to the Cardinals.

Braun is a big reason why the Brewers are atop the standings. He has homered four times in his last four games and has eight RBI in his last five contests.

Yuniesky Betancourt also cracked a solo home run for the Brewers, winners in four of their last five games.

Yovani Gallardo (17-10) worked six spectacular innings, giving up one run on two hits, while fanning a career-high 13 batters.

"He got after it," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "He had a good fastball, good location and a really nice curveball. He really threw the ball well."

Yonder Alonso homered for the Reds, losers of two straight and six of 10.

Edinson Volquez (5-6) was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked three.

Zack Greinke has allowed two earned runs or less in 12 of his last 13 starts and hopes to keep the pressure on the Reds this afternoon. The righty is 0-1 over his last two starts thanks to poor offensive support, as the Brewers have posted two runs in that span. He's 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three career games vs. Cincinnati.

Dontrelle Willis will try to avoid a dubious feat today for Cincinnati. The left-hander is already the first Reds pitcher to begin a season 0-6 since Homer Bailey finished the 2008 season winless in six decisions and the first southpaw to do it since Jim Merritt began 0-11 in 1971 before ending 1-11. No Reds pitcher has started a season 0-7 since righty Brian Reith in 2001, when at 0-7 he established the club record for the most losses to begin a Reds career.

On the positive side for Willis, lefties are hitting just .137 against him, and he has given up just two extra-base hits to lefty batters, both on July 24 against Atlanta. He's 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA in six games vs. Milwaukee.

Dusty Baker's next win will be the 1,480th of his managerial career, tying him with Hall of Famer Earl Weaver for 21st on the all-time list.

Cincinnati has won eight of its 15 meetings with the Brewers this season.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.