Kouzmanoff, Gonzalez help A's top Royals

Baseball Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in two runs and Gio Gonzalez tossed seven innings of one-run ball, as the Oakland Athletics handled the Kansas City Royals, 5-1, in the opener of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

Jack Cust and Mark Ellis each had an RBI for the Athletics, who have won three in a row since a four-game skid. Gonzalez (8-6) gave up seven hits to go with three strikeouts and one walk.

Alberto Callaspo had two hits for the Royals, who have lost four straight contests.

Zack Greinke (5-9) allowed five runs -- two earned -- on four hits in six innings to take the loss. He also walked four and struck out three. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award recipient had gone 4-0 with a 3.00 earned run average over his previous five starts. He had also lasted at least seven innings in each of those games.

The A's went ahead in the top of the first on Cust's sacrifice fly. Kansas City, though, got the run back in the home half. With runners on the corners and nobody out, David DeJesus plated a run when he grounded into a double play.

Oakland scored a run in the second to take a 2-1 lead. Kouzmanoff got things started with a double. Ellis then reached first on Greinke's throwing error, which allowed Kouzmanoff to score.

The Athletics opened things up with a three-run third. Cliff Pennington walked, Coco Crisp reached base on Yuniesky Betancourt's fielding error, and Kurt Suzuki walked to load the bases one out. After Cust popped out, Kouzmanoff hit a two-run single to center. Ellis followed with an RBI base hit for a 5-1 advantage.

The Royals failed to score after loading the bases in the fourth. Billy Butler singled, Jose Guillen walked and Callaspo singled to load the bases with nobody out. Gonzalez, though, settled down and retired the next three batters in order to keep it a four-run game.

Kansas City never threatened the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Oakland won six of eight bouts with Kansas City last season, including two of three games held at Kauffman Stadium...The A's were without outfielder Ryan Sweeney (right knee)...The Royals started a six-game homestand on Friday...Greinke fell to 4-1 lifetime against Oakland.

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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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