A's, White Sox close set at Coliseum

Baseball Betting Lines

07/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Ben Sheets hitting the disabled list Dallas Braden will head to the hill for Oakland, as the Athletics battle the Chicago White Sox this afternoon in the finale of a three-game set at the Coliseum.

Sheets, who was suppose to start for the A's this afternoon and who is 2-2 in his last four outings, will head to the DL with an injury to the same elbow that kept him away from baseball all of last season. Sheets is no stranger to the disabled list, as this will be the hard-throwing right-hander's seventh trip.

As for Braden, he is making his second start since returning from the disabled list. On Tuesday against Boston the southpaw did not last long in his return to the rotation, surrendering four runs -- one earned -- on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings. Braden did strike out six batters, but remained winless for Oakland since tossing his perfect game on Mother's Day.

The California native has made 10 starts at the Coliseum this season and despite having a 3-4 ledger, the lefty possesses a solid 3.06 ERA.

This will be the second career outing for Braden against Chicago. In his only other meeting with the Pale hoes, Braden surrendered three runs in seven innings and struck out four batters in a no decision.

The White Sox will rely on Daniel Hudson, who will be making his third start since being called up from Charlotte. After a rough outing in his debut against Seattle, the Virginia native was much more effective against Seattle, as he held the Mariners to just one run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings. The young hurler collected six strike outs and overcame four walks for the win.

Hudson made one relief appearance against Oakland in his brief career and in 2 1/3 innings of work, the right-hander surrendered two runs on five hits.

On Saturday, Kurt Suzuki had three hits, including a home run, to lead the Athletics in a 10-2 rout of the White Sox.

Suzuki, who signed a contract extension on Friday, scored twice and knocked in two runs for the Athletics, who have won eight of 10 and improved to 23-10 in day games this season. Jack Cust homered twice and walked three times, while Daric Barton had two hits and two RBI in the victory.

Vin Mazzaro (6-2) pitched six solid innings for the win, allowing two runs, three hits and three walks while fanning five.

Ramon Castro's two-run homer provided Chicago's lone offense, as the White Sox lost for the fifth time in eight games. Freddy Garcia (9-4) was blasted for five runs, six hits and three walks in just 1 1/3 frames to take the loss.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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