Blue Jays to shut down Morrow after next start

Baseball Betting Lines

08/29/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brandon Morrow will be shut down for the season following his next start on September 3 against the New York Yankees.

The right-hander is 10-6 with a 4.27 earned run average in 25 starts this season, his first full campaign as a starter. He has thrown a career-high 143 1/3 innings.

Morrow lost a no-hitter with two out in the ninth inning on August 8 against Tampa Bay.

The fifth overall pick by Seattle in 2006, Morrow was dealt to Toronto last December in exchange for reliever Brandon League and minor league outfielder Johermyn Chavez.

Cybersportbook Baseball Betting News

<< French helps Mariners get by Twins
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke French tossed seven strong innings to help the Seattle Mariners take a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins in the finale of a three-game set. French (3-4) was charged with just one run on three hi

<< USGA names U.S. World Amateur team
Far Hills, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States Golf Association announced the members of the 2010 U.S. World Amateur Team Championship squad on Sunday. U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein, David Chung, who lost to Uihlein at Chamb

<< Kuchar wins playoff for Barclays title
Paramus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kuchar birdied the first playoff hole Sunday to defeat Martin Laird and win The Barclays, the first playoff event of 2010. Kuchar fired a five-under 66 and was the only player to post four rounds i

<< Pato brace leads AC Milan over Lecce
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan opened its 2010-11 Italian Serie A campaign with an impressive 4-0 win over Lecce on Sunday. Alexandre Pato scored twice and Thiago Silva once in the opening half-hour before Filippo Inzaghi

<< Sochaux move into 4th with thrashing of PSG
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sochaux moved into fourth in the French Ligue 1 table after four weeks with a 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday. Modibo Maiga opened the scoring for Sochaux in the 13th minute before Ideye Brown a

Uihlein wins U.S. Amateur Championship >>
University Place, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Uihlein defeated David Chung, 4 & 2 on Sunday to win the 110th U.S. Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay. It will be a happy 21st birthday for the Oklahoma State University star. "I hope

Said nips Papis for Montreal Nationwide win >>
Montreal, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boris Said finally became a first-time winner in one of NASCAR's national touring series after he edged Max Papis by inches at the finish line in Sunday's NAPA Auto Parts 200 Nationwide Series race at

O's record first-ever season sweep of Angels >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Guthrie came within two outs of his first career shutout and Matt Wieters knocked in the lone run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, as Baltimore posted a 1-0 victory to complete its first-e

Gonzalez homers twice as Rockies take series from Dodgers >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with two homers and four RBI, as the Colorado Rockies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-5, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Coors Field. Dexter Fowler chipped in

Hamels, Phillies complete sweep of Padres >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cole Hamels pitched eight shutout innings, and the Philadelphia Phillies swept the San Diego Padres in three games with a 5-0 victory at Petco Park. Hamels (8-10) recorded his first win since July 11 desp

Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

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

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.