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05/20/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooks Conrad hit a pinch-hit, game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the Atlanta Braves scored seven times in the frame to come back and shock the Cincinnati Reds, 10-9, and complete the sweep of a brief two-game series at Turner Field.
Nate McLouth contributed a two-run single in the ninth, while Martin Prado and Jason Heyward knocked in a run apiece for the Braves, who have won three straight and eight of their last 10 overall.
Atlanta's Tommy Hanson got the start and was raked for a career-high eight runs on as many hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts in only 1 2/3 innings. Craig Kimbrel (1-0) was credited with the win for tossing a scoreless top of the ninth. It was his first major league victory.
Joey Votto cracked his first career grand slam, while Laynce Nix added a solo shot and knocked in three for Cincinnati, which has dropped two in a row after winning four straight.
Mike Leake worked six solid innings, giving up three runs -- one earned -- on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Francisco Cordero (1-3) absorbed the loss for giving up the grand slam in the ninth.
"It was kind of a shock, disappointing, obviously to finish off the game that way," Votto said. "I don't think anybody assumed we were going to win the game until it was over, but you go into the ninth inning comfortable and the bullpen has been excellent so far, another reason it was a shock to us."
Mike Lincoln replaced Leake after six frames and appeared to have things in total control after throwing a perfect seventh and eighth inning. The veteran right-hander stayed on for the ninth with the Reds up 9-3 and got into trouble.
Three straight singles loaded the bases and McClouth's two-run base hit made it a 9-5 game, leaving runners on the corners with nobody out.
Nick Masset came in out of the bullpen and walked David Ross to load the bases. Masset then got Prado to ground to third, but Miguel Cairo was unable to get the ball out of his glove, allowing another run to cross the plate. Arthur Rhodes entered the game and struck out Heyward.
Manager Dusty Baker again turned to his bullpen and brought in Cordero, who left a 2-2 fastball out over the plate and Conrad hammered it to deep left. Nix appeared to have a beat on the ball, but as he leapt at the wall to grab it, the ball hit off the left fielder's glove and went over for the dramatic grand slam.
"What an unbelievable game," Conrad said. "Getting down early, them hitting Tommy (Hanson) like that. Just perseverance. We stuck there the whole game, we scratched out a few runs, guys battled in the ninth and gave us a chance. Definitely unbelievable excitement. I'm speechless right now."
Hanson worked out of trouble in the first, but the young right-hander wasn't so fortunate in the second, as the Reds sent 12 men to the plate and pushed across eight runs -- all with two outs.
Cincinnati loaded the bases before Cairo's RBI base hit got the scoring started. Votto then crushed a fastball into the center field seats for a 5-0 game. After the next two batters reached, Ramon Hernandez brought in a run with a base hit and Nix followed with a two-run double to make it 8-0. Hanson was lifted for Jesse Chavez, who got the final out of the inning.
Atlanta got on the board in the third when Prado hit a ground-rule double and crossed the plate on Leake's missed catch error at first base on a grounder hit by Heyward.
Nix clubbed a solo shot in the fifth to make it a 9-1 game before the Braves responded with two in the bottom half. Atlanta loaded the bases with a walk and two singles, then Heyward grounded to first and Votto's throw was dropped at second base by shortstop Orlando Cabrera, allowing two runs to score.
Game Notes
The Reds won six of nine versus the Braves last year, sweeping all three meetings at Turner Field from September 4-6...Atlanta finished 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded only four runners, while Cincinnati went 4-for-13 with RISP and left eight.
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In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
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