Mets, Phillies battle for first in NL East

The National League East division could look a lot clearer after this weekend. Or it could end up looking even cloudier. The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies meet four times in the next three days, and the outcome of this series will have a huge impact on the NL East.

Heading into a doubleheader Friday, the Phillies (41-37) trailed the NL East-leading Mets (43-33) by three games. The teams play the third game of the series Saturday and the fourth Sunday.

Philadelphia was the slight favorite going into the doubleheader Friday. Bet the Mets-Phillies games this weekend at Bodog.

Not only will the Mets be trying to stay atop the division, they’ll also be seeking revenge after being swept by the Phillies at Shea Stadium in early June. That sweep sent the Mets spiraling into a month that would see them at one point lose 10 of 12.

New York started hurlers Orlando Hernandez and John Maine, respectively, in the first two games on Friday, while Philadelphia countered with J.D. Durbin and Cole Hamels.

On Saturday, the Mets will have RHP Jorge Sosa (ERA: 3.79, W-L: 6-3) on the hill, while the Phillies will start Lefthander J.A. Happ (ERA: 0.00, W-L: 0-0). After two consecutive subpar starts earlier in the month, Sosa limited the St. Louis Cardinals to just one run off six hits over six innings on Monday night. He’s 2-1 with a 3.03 ERA in nine career outings against Philadelphia, including three starts.

Happ will be making his first Major League start. The 24-year-old is 1-2 with a 4.02 ERA after 13 starts with Triple-A Ottawa. The 6-foot-6 left-hander pitched five innings last Sunday for the Lynx and allowed three runs on eight hits.

On Sunday, New York will start LHP Oliver Perez (ERA: 3.14, W-L: 7-6) and Philadelphia will have righthander Kyle Kendrick (ERA: 5.00, W-L: 2-0). Perez recorded a no-decision on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up two runs off of five hits. He’ll look for his second win in June on Saturday against the Phillies, who he lost to earlier this season.

Kendrick won his second consecutive start his last time out, against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. He allowed four runs over six innings, but got plenty of run support in the 11-4 win. The Phillies have piled up a combined 28 runs in Kendrick’s three starts since being called up from Double-A Reading. He has lasted six innings each outing, all Phillies wins. Manager Charlie Manuel said after Kendrick’s win against the Reds that the young pitcher was in position to earn a permanent spot in the rotation.

You can bet MLB action this weekend at Pinnacle.

Nick Bailey

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Tour de France 2007 Preview: 1. Vinokourov, 2. Leipheimer, 3. Valverde

On July 7th, almost one year after Floyd Landis succeeded Lance Armstrong atop the podium on the Champs-Élysées, the cycling world will turn once again towards the most exciting race of them all – Tour de France. This will be the 94th edition of this Grand Tour that was started back in 1903. Now let’s take a look of how it may play out.

This year, the Tour departs from London and then gets onto the old continent to follow a clock-wise circle around the France. The French will be cheering the most on July 14th, which is Bastille Day, and brings the first mountain stage of the Tour, in the Alps.

With the Pyrenees appearing to be the tougher mountains this year, and coming in the 3rd week, they should be the decisive factor for the GC riders. Also, the time trials will make an impact, especially coming so late in the race – stage 13 and stage 19. Sprinters will also have their say because the course seems to give them lots of opportunities, but at the Tour you never know, there might be attacks on the flattest roads of them all.

As far as this year’s favorites go, the biggest favorite, at least according to the media, is Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov. And he does have good chances of winning especially considering his Astana team’s super-domestiques Paolo Savoldelli and Andreas Kloden.

Other riders with a good chance to win the Grand Boucle include still young but already accomplished Alejandro Valverde of Caisse de’Epargne, America’s current best stage racer Levi Leipheimer of Discovery Channel and climbing specialist Carlos Sastre for Team CSC.

If you want to prove your TdF GC prediction skills and show your friends that you know cycling you should bet on your favorites. Two of the major sportsbooks – Bodog and Sportbet – are offering quite reasonable odds. For sure, the odds on Vino are pretty low but hey, he is a big favorite.

Then there are the riders that will go for the stages. The top sprinters to watch will be mostly Robbie McEven, Stefan Schummacher and Erik Zabel. The best climbing specialists shooting for the stage wins will include Iban Mayo, Alberto Contador and Michael Rasmussen.

The underdogs of the GC competition can bring lots of surprises whether in the overall or stage wins since they are all very good all rounders – Frank Schleck, Markus Fothen, Yaroslav Popovych or Micheal Rogers.

The doping accusations will still be a big issue and a topic of lots of discussion but the Tour roads will be crowded with spectators nevertheless. Simply, Le Tour is too great to be overlooked.

Million Dollar Idea or Just a Gimmick?

A short while ago I came across this site where this college student, Graham Langdon, thought he might try to make a bunch of money by setting up his Million Dollar Wiki. Inspired by the Million Dollar Homepage this fellow thought he would improve on the idea by selling pages on his Wiki site.

The idea here is people can come along and buy words in his wiki and control those pages. Words like Poker, Sports, Gambling, Football and even multiple words like Horse Racing were scooped up fairly quick. To date the site has sold 95 pages at $100.00 per page. Clearly he has a long way to go but seeing as the site has been active for a little better than 2 weeks, close to 10K ain’t too shabby either.

At this time I can’t tell if he is going to make his money or not but as long as he keeps meeting milestones, then some hype could build which could propel him closer to that million dollar mark.

Another thing that could help this person realize his dream is the quality of the pages that have been purchased. At this time some are being developed into informational pages while others seem to be nothing more than ads for everything from Google ads to full on ads for ideas, services and products.

Only time will tell if this project works or not but the fact that people keep trying, to varying degrees of success, means that the Internet is alive and well. If the site reaches its goal then it will spawn several copycats and if it doesn’t well then it just means people will try, try again and I like that about the world wide web.

Oden, Durant and 2007 NBA Draft

Ohio State Buckeye center Greg Oden has long been considered a lock to be selected first overall in the 2007 NBA Draft. The Texas Longhorns’ 6-9 forward Kevin Durant is widely regarded as the No. 2 pick. But with the draft upon us, is it possible the two could switch places, with Durant going first over all? The answer is: possibly.

There are a couple of reasons that Oden may not be taken first by the Portland Trail Blazers. First, his right wrist seems to be acting up again, the same wrist that forced him to miss the start of the last NCAA basketball season. It is bothering him so much, that on a recent trip to Portland and Seattle — which has the No. 2 pick — to showcase his talents, Oden found himself apologizing to Trail Blazers’ management, and even owner Paul Allen, for what by all accounts was a sub-par performance in Portland. The nagging (chronic?) injury was so bad, he didn’t even show off his skills in Seattle. He just met with the SuperSonics managers, coaches and the Seattle media.

There’s also the fact that the Trail Blazers have a plethora of talented centers, and Durant is more versatile player than Oden.

Either way, it should be interesting when the teams start picking players Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in NYC.  If this were a horse race, Oden would have been leading out of the gate. But he appears to be limping into the home stretch, and Durant could nose him out at the finish line.

Sports can be fun and yet oh so painful!

I came across this little clip on you tube and it reminds me of why I am a couch potato. Guys… there is one scene in here that you will really, really enjoy.

E. Zack Lee

Bet on Michael Vicks Troubles

Michael Vick, the superstar quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, has got some legal problems.

Police in Surry County, Virginia, found over seventy pitbulls, many of which were injured, in a home owned by Vick. Along with the alarming number of pitbulls which were found on the property, equipment and supplements associated with dog-fighting were also found and seized. In a statement released after the story went public, Vick admitted to owning the property but said he doesn’t live there and rarely ever visits. According to Vick, the house is occupied by one of his younger family members

Vick hasn’t been formally charged yet, but federal investigators are still searching his property and phone records. If Vicks phone records show that he made calls to the house at the time when dog fighting was going on, he’ll be charged! If Vicks creditcard statements show that he purchased pet supplies ie. dog food, kennels or dog supplements(usually tied with dogfighting) then, he’ll be charged! Federal Investigaters are leaving no stone unturned in trying to get Vick charged.

Then why not get in on the action? Bodog.com is offering you a peice of the action by letting you bet on whether Michael Vick will be charged by the end of the 2007 Regular Season. bodog.com is offering a (-150) bet that Michael Vick will be charged by the end of the 2007 regular season and a (+110) that he doesn’t get charged.

posted by Scooter

The British Open

Visit the 137th British Open Championship page for updated information on this golf event.

The 136th British Open Championship will be held at Carnoustie Golf and Country Club from 19th – 22nd July 2007 when Tiger Woods will aim to make it three Open wins in a row. Carnoustie is one of the oldest courses in the world. Golf was played their nearly 400 years ago. The last time the British Open was held at Carnoustie was in 1999, when the famous collapse of Jean Van de Velde was heard around the world.

With bodog.com picking the obvious favorites Tiger Woods(5/2) and Phil Mickleson(14/1) to win. I don’t think either one of them will take the cup.While Tiger’s finished 2nd in the last two majors(Masters Championship and U.S. Open) he had the chance to win by birdying any of the last two holes, in both majors. But failed to do so. Tiger is 0-12 when behind after 54 holes in a major, compared to his PGA Tour stats of 39-42. When Tiger’s leading after 54 holes he is 12-12. So after Saturdays final round if Tigers got the lead, rush to your computer and place a bet on bodog.com for Tiger to win. Otherwise don’t bother. Also Tiger and his wife Elin Woods gave birth to a baby boy this week. So i think his mind will be elsewhere, plus he’ll be tired from staying up late with his child.

Phil Mickleson on the other hand played awful in the U.S. Open . He didn’t even make the cut! Phil got a wrist injury when he went to practice at Oakmont. The ruff was to long and ended up hurting himself. Phil has pulled out of The Travellers Tournament to rehab his wrist for the The British Open. I think because of Phils wrist and the fescue at Carnoustie he will not win the British Open.

So who else is a favorite? This years favorites will be the European players. The European’s are good at playing in the windy, cold weather. With Americans winning the last four Opens, the Europeans are due. The last European to win was Ernie Els in 2002. Bodog.com has Ernie as a 14/1 favorite. Watch out for Sergio Garcia, who’s due for his first major. Bodog.com has Sergio as a 28/1 favorite. Keep an eye out for Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood. For more stats and betting odds go to bodog.com

posted by Scooter

Yankees Fan or Hater?

The New York Yankees are one of the worlds best and most reconized baseball teams in the world.They’ve been around since 1903 and have won 26 World Championships. They have one of the oldest stadiums, and the best fans that a team can have. Watching the Yankees on TV while their playing at home is a treat, even if your not a big baseball fan.

The Yankees are so exciting to watch because they usually come through in the clutch moments.They have the best players money can buy, with a payroll of over $195 million. Their top players include Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada. Their top pitchers include Roger Clemens, Andy Petite, Mike Mussina, and Mariano Rivera.

This is why their so good to bet on. They always come through, they have the most talented players and a brilliant coach, Joe Torre. Go to bodog.com to check stats and place bets.

Yankee Hater

Are you a Yankee hater? Are you sick of seeing them in the playoffs every year? Sick of their $195 million dollar payroll? Then why not bet against them. Make it all that much sweeter. Think of joy that would bring you. Then go to bodog.com to place a bet and watch em loose.

posted by Scooter

Federer vs Wimbledon

Wimbledon, the greatest grass court tournament in the world, will begin on June 25. This tournament is one of the most prestegous in the world. Wimbledon is held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet club in London, England. This tournament, which lasts for forteen days, will pit 176 men vying for the title. But is there one man that stands out among them all? Yes, Roger Federer.

Roger Federer, #1 player in the world, has been one of the most dominant players on grass since Pete Sampras and Bjon Borg. Federer has won this title every year since 2003. In fact Federer has never even lost a set in every Wimbledon he’s played.With his superb shot making and power, Roger Federer is by far the favorite player to win this tournament again. With bodog.com offering odds of 5/11, you would be a fool not to put your money on Federer.

Is there anyone who can challenge Federer. Yes, #2 seeded Raphael Nadal. Nadal has been a thorn in Federer’s side ever since he joined the tour in 2001. Nadal has beat Federer on clay time and time again. Currently Nadal denied Federer the Grand Slam(winning all four majors) by beating Federer at the French Open, which Nadal has won three years in a row. Nadal hasn’t been very good on grass or hard court. Although he made it to the final match last year, Federer beat him 6-0, 7-6, 6-3. Even though this might be Nadals year, bodog.com has Nadal as a 9/2 favorite.It’s not whether Nadal can beat him, which he’s done, it’s whether he can beat him on grass.

Other contenters to watch for are Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, David Nalbandian, and Tim Henman.

Andy Roddick, with his 150mph serve, has made it to the final twice at the All England Club. This year he is seeded #3, with giving him bodog.com odds of 9/1. His best finish atWimbledon was in 2004 and 2005, losing both times to Federer. Roddick has been in a bit of a slump lately. Although he won the Artois Championship, the field wasn’t stacked with the top seeded players. So it wasn’t that hard. Roddick has a new coach, Jimmy Connors, and has been practicing on grass alot. Look for Roddick to make it to quater finals but not much farther after that.

Lleyton Hewitt is seeded #6. Hewitt won Wimbledon in 2002, so you know he is capable of winning again, but he did not have to face Federer. Hewitt is in a bit of a slump this year falling out of the top ten. Look for Hewitt to make it to final 16 or quater finals but no further. bodog.com has Hewitt as a 20/1 favorite.

David Nalbandian is seeded #9. Nalbandian beat Federer in the final of the Australian Open in 2004 to win the cup. So Nalbandian is capable of beating Federer. Nalbandian has not played to good this year, but when it comes to major tournements he’s usually around in the final sixteen or quaters. Bodog.com has Nalbandian as a 40/1 favorite to win.

Tim Henman is Englands favorite player in this tournament because he is from England. Henman is seeded #19, without a win this year. Last years Wimbledon was not good to Henman because he was knocked out of the tourney early. The only reason i give him a chance, this year, is because he will have all the English fans cheering for him, which i’m sure will give him a boost. If Henman advances on into the quaters or finals look for the english fans to go crazy. It’s a long shot, but hey, thats what bettings all about. Bodog.com has Henman as a 100/1 favorite to win.

posted by Scooter

NHL Entry Draft 2007

On June 22^nd and 23^rd the NHL Entry Draft will take place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH – now there is a hockey town. Given the fact that American’s don’t really give a rat’s ass about hockey why in God’s name do we have an American for a commissioner? Oh well that is something that the brain trust will have to answer for one day I suppose.

Anyway back to the draft.

This year the top North American prospect is once again – a Canadian and surprise surprise, he is coming out of that hockey hotbed of talent – Burnaby. Not that there is a problem with Burnaby as that small suburb has given us such greats as Joe Sakic, Cliff Ronning and me… E. Zack Lee.

The top North American prospect, Kyle Turris played for the Burnaby Express in the BCHL and is reported to be, according to Central Scouting, to be a skilled forward with great playmaking ability… has an accurate shot with a quick release… a fluid skater that has a nose for the net and the ability to control the flow of the game… not afraid of taking a hit and can perform under pressure… has good on-ice awareness and a good work ethic. 

The top European prospect, Alexei Cherepanov is a left shooting right winger who played for Omsk in Russia. According to the Central Scouting Report, Alexei is an offensive winger with great acceleration and a nose for the net … has a quick release and can shoot at top speed … has good puck handling and makes good decisions with the puck … works hard at both ends of the ice … doesn’t shy away from being hit, but needs to add a physical presence to his game and improve his consistency from game to game. 

Myself, I am willing to put money on the North American skater going number 1 overall this weekend. Too bad none of the online sportsbooks are offering any odds that I am aware of. But one thing is for sure… there will be lots of people discussing the NHL Entry Draft at the various sports betting forums like therx.com or egads – Lucky Lester’s Hockey Forum. 

E. Zack Lee