Cano out of Home Run Derby

Baseball Betting Lines

07/07/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has pulled out of the Home Run Derby at next week's All-Star festivities in Anaheim because of a back injury, according to general manager Brian Cashman.

Cano, who has hit 16 home runs this season, was initially confirmed by Major League Baseball as one of the first six participants for the event to be held on Monday, the day before the 81st All-Star Game at Angel Stadium.

According to the New York Daily News, Cano has been receiving treatment for a couple of days on his back, though the injury had not been previously reported.

Both New York manager Joe Girardi and hitting coach Kevin Long had expressed their reluctance over the 27-year-old's participation in the event.

Cano is hitting .337, good for fourth best in the American League, and has knocked in 55 runs through 83 games for the Yankees, who wrap up a three-game set in Oakland on Wednesday.

Wdogpile Baseball Betting News

<< White Sox put Peavy on DL
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have placed right-hander Jake Peavy on the 15-day disabled list with a detached latissimus dorsi muscle in his right posterior shoulder. Peavy came down with the injury during Tuesday

<< Puyol's header powers Spain past Germany and into final
Durban, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carles Puyol's 73rd-minute header was enough for Spain to claim a 1-0 win over Germany at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday in a FIFA World Cup semifinal. The win allows Spain to reach its first

<< Pirates acquire P Gallagher from Padres
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired reliever Sean Gallagher from the San Diego Padres on Wednesday for cash considerations. The right-handed Gallagher has spent four seasons in the majors and in the 2010 cam

<< Report: Former Sharks G Nabokov heading to Russia
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Multiple media outlets are reporting that former San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov has signed to play in Russia. TSN.ca is reporting Nabokov signed with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hock

<< Fish rolls; Querrey, Ram upset in Newport
Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded American Mardy Fish booked a spot in the quarterfinals, while top-seeded 2009 runner-up Sam Querrey and defending champion Rajeev Ram were second-round upset victims Wednesday at the Hall of Fame Te

Rail Trip out to defend Hollywood Gold Cup >>
Inglewood, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rail Trip will take on six challengers on Saturday in defense of his title in the $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at Hollywood Park. The five-year-old gelding will carry highweight of 123 pounds in the

Warriors sign top pick Udoh >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors signed first-round pick Ekpe Udoh on Wednesday. Terms of the contract for the sixth-overall selection in last month's draft were not disclosed. The team also announced that

Sabres bring back Lalime for one year >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres agreed to terms with backup goaltender Patrick Lalime on a one-year deal on Wednesday. Lalime, who has spelled starter Ryan Miller for each of the last two seasons, went 4-8-2 with

Yonkers Trot has eight for Saturday >>
Yonkers, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eight three-year-old trotters are set for Saturday night's $573,770 Yonkers Trot, the first leg of trotting's Triple Crown. The one-mile race has a scheduled post-time of 10 p.m. (et) at Yonkers

Report: Bulls land Boozer >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls and free agent power forward Carlos Boozer have reportedly agreed to a five-year contract. The Chicago Tribune is citing two league sources on the pact, which ESPN reports is for $80 mi

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

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.

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.