Mets overcome deficit, blown save; beat Pirates in 10

Baseball Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Church collected three hits and drove in two runs, including the deciding one in the 10th inning, as the New York Mets rallied from a five-run deficit to top Pittsburgh, 9-8, in the makeup contest of a postponed June 3 game from PNC Park.

Fernando Tatis finished 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and scored four times, and Daniel Murphy also knocked in a pair for the Mets, who have won two in a row after dropping five straight.

Nick Evans chipped in with a pair of hits and an RBI, while Gary Sheffield and Jeremy Reed drove in a run apiece.

Despite allowing four hits and two runs over two relief innings, Francisco Rodriguez (2-2) got the win. Starter Tim Redding was tagged for six hits and five runs in just 2 1/3 innings.

Garrett Jones went 3-for-5 with a homer, two RBI and three runs scored for the Pirates, losers in four of their last five. Adam LaRoche launched a two-run home run, and Robinzon Diaz knocked in a pair.

Matt Capps (1-4) surrendered the go-ahead run in the 10th for the loss. Paul Maholm didn't make it out of the fifth during his start, touched for 11 hits and six runs over 4 1/3 frames.

Wwwmaxim Baseball Betting News

<< Wigan finally snares Thomas
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan Athletic has finally signed Honduras midfielder Hendry Thomas after a 12-month delay. The 24-year-old international has agreed a three-year contract at the JJB Stadium and will officially joi

<< Report: Rubio to remain in Spain for two years
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Timberwolves first-round draft pick and international sensation Ricky Rubio will reportedly play out his contract with DKV Joventut, choosing to remain with the Euroleague team for the nex

<< Inter's Cruz to decide future soon
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Inter Milan striker Julio Cruz will decide at the beginning of next week where he will play his football next season. The 34-year-old Argentinian is out of contract at the San Siro and is we

<< Ze Roberto set to join Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto is poised to complete his move from Bayern Munich to fellow Bundesliga outfit Hamburg. The versatile 34-year-old rejected the offer of a new one-year from Bayern to move

<< UEFA President Platini embarrassed by fees
Nyon, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UEFA President Michel Platini has again spoken out against the escalation of transfer fees after admitting he is "embarrassed" by Cristiano Ronaldo's $131 million move to Real Madrid. World and

Bruins bring back Recchi with one-year deal >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins re-signed veteran winger Mark Recchi to a one-year contract on Thursday. Per club policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed. Recchi posted 10 goals and six assists in 18 games for

Agent: Vidic to stay at United >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The agent of Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has moved to try and put an end to speculation linking his client with a summer exit from Old Trafford. The 27-year-old Serbia international ha

Dortmund: Zidan to stay put >>
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp insists that his club have no intention of selling Egypt striker Mohamed Zidan in the current transfer window. The 27-year-old struggled to make an impact

Napoli's Donadoni: Lavezzi will return >>
Naples, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Napoli coach Roberto Donadoni is confident that Argentina forward Ezequiel Lavezzi will return to the club for the start of pre-season training. The 24-year-old has been heavily linked with a move

Arsenal's Wenger hails Wilshere deal >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal's teenage midfielder Jack Wilshere has joined Aaron Ramsey in signing a new long-term contract with the Gunners. The 17-year-old broke into the first-team picture at the Emirates Stadium last sea

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.