Canada following a path to gold

Baseball Betting Lines

07/29/2010 - Thunder Bay, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Team Canada's quest for gold at the World Junior Baseball Championship nearly took a detour down a dangerous road.

Luckily for them, Dalton Pompey knows his way around a diamond.

Pompey came off the bench to go 1-for-3 with two RBI including the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth that capped a dramatic comeback by Canada to defeat the Czech Republic 8-7 and advance to the quarterfinals against Italy on Friday.

"Never in doubt," said coach Greg Hamilton after his team avoided a first-round matchup with Chinese Taipei. "Those are the ones that you fear, you really do.

"They're the games that you have to win, that you should win."

And in the end they did, climbing back from a four-run deficit in the sixth to win Pool B in the final game of round robin play in front of a raucous crowd at Port Arthur Stadium.

Pompey, banged up after sliding into second base on Wednesday against Panama, showed no ill effects of the injury after roping a liner into center to score Philip Diedrick and sending the sell-out crowd into a frenzy.

"We had a bullet that we used," Hamilton said in reference to his center fielder. "I was hoping we could use it a little earlier but we'll take it at anytime."

With a crowd of nearly 3,000 fans on hand in support of the host country, few expected the Canadians to have to fight their way back against a winless Czech Republic team.

As it happened, the Thunder Bay faithful were treated to an early taste of the type of playoff atmosphere expected to sweep the city and Port Arthur Stadium when the medal round begins on Friday.

By beating the Czechs and coupled with the Netherlands' improbable come-from- behind win over Cuba, Canada's path to the championship has become much clearer - and perhaps, a little easier.

With coaches and players preaching nothing is a given in a tournament such as this, the fact Canada can now navigate its way to the final without facing two- time defending champion South Korea, Team USA or Cuba has to bode well for a country that has won gold just once in the history of the event.

After beating the Koreans in group play and hanging in tight with the Cubans, Canada has shown its ability to contend with the tournament's incumbent powerhouses.

But Hamilton's not biting as his team prepares to play an Italian squad with nothing to lose and everything to gain against the heavily-favored Canadians.

"You can't take anything for granted," Hamilton said. "We're in a quarterfinal game with a team that's playing with house money.

"If you don't come out ready, you can lose in any given night."

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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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