Rockies send flailing Padres to ninth straight loss
Baseball Betting Lines
09/04/2010 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd Helton and Carlos Gonzalez both knocked in two runs to help the Colorado Rockies send the spiraling San Diego Padres to a ninth straight loss with a 6-2 win at PETCO Park.
Troy Tulowitzki had two hits and scored two runs for the Rockies, who have won five of their last eight games. Jason Hammel (10-7) gave up two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Hundley both doubled home a run for San Diego, while Jon Garland (13-10) allowed three runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings.
The Padres are now just 2 1/2 games ahead of second-place San Francisco in the National League West. The Giants play in Los Angeles later Saturday.
Colorado climbed to within 5 1/2 games of San Diego in the division standings.
Down 3-1, the Padres picked up a run in the seventh. Chase Headley singled to open the inning, took second on a groundout and scored on Hundley's double to right field.
Hammel was lifted in favor of Joe Beimel after pinch-hitter Oscar Salazar drew a two-out walk. Beimel walked the only batter he faced in pinch-hitter Yorvit Torrealba to load the bases. Esmil Rogers came on and struck out David Eckstein to preserve the one-run lead.
The Rockies put the game away with a three-spot against San Diego reliever Luke Gregerson in the eighth. Gregerson retired two of the first three batters, but the third out proved to be elusive.
Clint Barmes walked to put runners on the corners, then Dexter Fowler reached on an infield single to plate Ryan Spilborghs. Carlos Gonzalez followed with a two-run double to right to give Colorado a 6-2 lead.
Adrian Gonzalez staked San Diego to an early lead with an RBI double in the first, but the Rockies moved ahead in the third.
Carlos Gonzalez drew a two-out walk and Tulowitzki doubled before Helton plated both runners with a base hit to right.
Colorado loaded the bases with two outs in fifth, and increased its lead to 3-1 when Spilborghs reached on a fielding error by shortstop Everth Cabrera.
Game Notes
The Padres' losing streak is the longest since the club also dropped nine straight from May 14-23, 2003...Carlos Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 12 games...Adrian Gonzalez has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games...Garland struck out seven batters...The Rockies are now 10-4 against San Diego this season.
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterback Pat White and tight end David Martin were among the prominent players released by the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, as the team pared its roster to the 53-player minimum. White was selected in the secon
<< Titans include Simms, Gado, Rolle in roster cuts
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans narrowed their roster to
the NFL maximum of 53 players on Saturday, releasing 20 as part of their "cut-
down day" maneuvers.
Released were defensive end Eric Bakhtiari, defensive end Rahe
<< Notre Dame tops Purdue in Kelly's debut with Irish
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dayne Crist passed for 205 yards and a
touchdown, as Notre Dame topped the Purdue Boilermakers, 23-12, in Brian
Kelly's Fighting Irish debut.
Kelly, a proven winner that resurrected both th
<< England's Dawson ruled out of Swiss match
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England defender Michael Dawson was injured
against Bulgaria on Friday in Euro 2012 qualifying and will be sidelined six
to eight weeks.
Dawson sprained the medial ligament in his left knee and one of his
<< Trade-happy Eagles also list Demps, Harris among cuts
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive backs Quintin Demps and Macho
Harris, both of whom were contributing members of the Philadelphia Eagles last
season, were among the players released as the team pared its roster to the 53-
player ma
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former second-round pick James Hardy was among the players released by the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, as the team reduced its roster to the 53-player maximum. Hardy, the No. 41 overall pick out of Indiana
TE Havner chopped as Packers reach 53-man limit >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tight end Spencer Havner was among the players
released by the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, as the team reduced its roster
to the 53-player maximum.
Havner, who appeared in every game for Green Bay last yea
Bengals acquire safety Nelson from Jaguars >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On NFL cut-down day, the Cincinnati Bengals
made a move to bolster their defensive backfield by acquiring safety Reggie
Nelson from Jacksonville.
The Bengals sent cornerback David Jones to the Jaguars in
Thrashers sign veteran F Modin >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers appear to have signed
veteran forward Fredrik Modin.
TSN of Canada on Saturday quoted the Swedish paper Aftonbladet as saying it's
a one-year deal, but no terms of the deal were discl
Bears Release 21, including two '09 third-rounders >>
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias and
defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert, a pair of third-round draft choices of the
Chicago Bears in 2009, were released by the team as part of their Saturday
"cut-down day" maneuve
Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
| The Bubble Breakdown | |||
| CONFERENCE | LOCKS | SHOULD BE INS | AT-LARGES TAKEN (assuming no auto bid outlier) |
| ACC Betting Odds | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Big East Betting Odds | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Big Ten Betting Odds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 Betting Odds | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pac-10 Betting Odds | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| SEC Betting Odds | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| MVC Betting Odds | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MWC Betting Odds | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 5 | 25 |
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
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