July 21st, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)Today was a sparse day for the picks and I went along with the suggestion going 1-0-0 with the Atlanta Braves. Tomorrow looks like things are picking up a bit and I'm sure by Thursday we'll have a dozen or more to choose from. After a 12-4-0 day yesterday it was nice to stay above .500 though not by much. So let's get on to the picks then.

Recaps

Rookie Hanson Remains Unbeaten As Braves Beat Up On Giants Pen

Atlanta Braves 11 - 3 San Francisco Giants

Sanchez and Hanson took an inning or two to settle down but once they did it was 1-2-3 through both ends of the innings.

``Hanson struck out 11 to remain unbeaten, Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer, and the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 11-3 on Monday night in Jonathan Sanchez's first start since his no-hitter. Matt Diaz had a tiebreaking two-run triple in Atlanta's six-run seventh inning, helping the Braves snap a five-game skid against San Francisco. Sanchez struck out eight over six solid innings in his first game since his gem against San Diego on July 10. He gave up three runs and four hits. Sergio Romo (2-1) replaced Sanchez and failed to record an out, allowing four runs and four hits. Casey Kotchman had an RBI single after Diaz tripled, and pinch-hitter Ryan Church greeted Justin Miller with a two-run homer. Brian McCann added a run-scoring single."

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Picks
1) Nationality Of Tour de France Stage 16 Winner: French, Italian, or Spanish vs. Other - French, Italian, or Spanish
2) Spain U19 vs. Turkey U19 - Turkey U19 win or draw
3) Indiana Fever @ Washington Mystics - Washington
4) San Francisco Giants @ Atlanta Braves - San Francisco
5) Seattle Mariners @ Detroit Tigers - Detroit
6) D.C. United @ Rochester Rhinos - D.C. United win by 2 goals or more
7) St. Louis Cardinals @ Houston Astros - Houston
8) Tampa Bay Rays @ Chicago White Sox - Tampa Bay
9) Houston Dynamo @ Seattle Sounders F.C. - Seattle Sounders F.C. advance
10) Minnesota Twins @ Oakland Athletics - Minnesota
11) Result Of Manny Ramirez's Second At Bat: Hit, Walk, Or Strikeout vs. Any Other Result - Hit, walk, or strikeout
12) Inter Milan @ Chelsea - Chelsea win

Previews

Stage 16 elevation profile (inset: final 5km).

1) Looking at the elevaton profile for this stage one can see this stage is going to the king of the mountains. Clicking on `climber' next to the polka-dot jersey in the standings one can see that Franco Pellizotti is currently king of the mountains and that 14 of the top 15 cyclists in the mountain climbing points standings are Spanish, Italian, or French.

Tour de France - Stage 16 - Odds
Rider	Nation	Odds
Contador	Spain	6/1
Pellizotti	Italy	8/1
Kirchen	Luxembourg	9/1
Sanchez	Spain	11/1
Nibali	Italy	12/1
Velits	Slovakia	14/1
Evans	Australia	14/1
A. Schleck	Luxembourg	16/1
Menchov	Russian	18/1
10 other riders with worse than 20/1 and better than 30/1 odds, 3 of 10 from Spain, Italy, or France

To the left is a list of the riders given better than 20/1 odds at SkyBet. Only four of those nine riders are from Spain, Italy, or France but all four are in the top 25 in the climber points standings. Only Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans from the other nations are in the top 25. Essentially the 'favorites' to perform well in a mountain stage are from Spain, Italy, and France but a strong showing by another rider like Andy Schleck could steal this particular stage win. Any other nation is a mild underdog in this case. Considering only the odds on these nine riders the odds are -120 for the winner being from France, Italy, or Spain and +120 for the other nations.

11) Manny Ramirez passed Mickey Mantle for 15^th all-time in home runs last night with number 537 in his second at bat of the night. That's a good omen if you're betting on Manny to hit, strikeout, or walk in his second at bat in tonight's game. In his other three plate appearances Manny struck out once, hit a single, and flied out to right field. Over the course of the season Ramirez has managed to hit, walk, or strikeout in 61.5% of his plate appearances ([47H+33BB+27SO]/174PA). Tonight he'll more than likely be facing Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey by the time he gets up to bat for the second time. In five starts this season, spanning just 28 innings, Bailey has walked, struck out, or given up hits to 48.4% of his batters faced, so on his side of the equation this is more of a tossup.

Homer Bailey may look goofy on his delivery but it still may be enough to strike out Manny Ramirez.

Where I think we see that Bailey is better than 50% likely to give up a hit, strike out, or walk Manny is in his platoon splits. First off, whether facing right or left handed batters his BB/9 is at or above 6.0, a number most starters can't survive. When it comes to striking batters out he's also at 6.0, but the bulk of those strikeouts are coming against right handers with a K/9 of nearly 9.0. Clicking on batting average on balls in play (BABIP) shows he tends to give up more hits to right handers when they make contact with the ball as well. Ramirez is a right handed batters. For Manny his strikeout rate, walk rate, slugging percentage, and batting average are all greater against right handed pitchers such as Homer Bailey. Overall Manny is going to hit, walk, or strikeout more often than not and Bailey is going to give up a hit, walk, or strike out a right hander like Manny more often than not. Obviously with a one-play-prop like this anything can happen but the 'any other' result is less than likely.

July 20th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)Suh-weet, 2-0-0 today with Boo Weekley and the women's softball team limiting their slaughter of Australia to 8 runs. Of course, the day I determine to keep from going pick-happy is the day I couldn't miss. Ya better believe I'll be hoping for just one tomorrow. And on to the picks.

Recaps

Tom Watson Misses Clincher And Bows Out To Cink In Playoff

Front 9 Scores: Boo Weekley 35, Angel Cabrera 36

Boo Weekley got his game under control and managed to avoid bogeying three out of the last four holes on the front 9 as he did in the third round. Angel Cabrera wasn't too bad himself, he just couldn't manage the one birdie that separated his score from Weekley's. Of course, with the and draw option Cabrera would have needed two birdies on a front 9 that was killing the field.

Tourney Wrap Up & NewsLeaderboardHighlightsPhotos

United States Advances To Championship Game With Eight Run Mercy Win

United States 8 - 0 Australia (in 5)

This one could have easily been even worse for the Aussies. I think it was the third inning the US had runners on second and third with one out so Australia opted to intentionally walk the bases loaded. Unfortunately the Australian pitcher hit the next batter to walk in a run and then threw four balls to walk in another. Australia went with an 18 year old rookie who then gave up a grand slam to make it 7-0. 10 runs or under looked bad when the same rookie pitcher found herself in the same situation, bases loaded with one out. This time, however, she induced an inning ending double play and from there it was smooth sailing!

``Ashley Hansen clubbed a grand slam and Jennie Finch threw a two-hit shutout as the U.S. advanced to the World Cup of Softball championship game with a 8-0 win against Australia on Sunday."

Read more....Box Score

Picks
1) Halmstad BK @ Malmö FF - Halmstad BK win or draw
2) San Francisco Giants @ Atlanta Braves - Atlanta
3) Chicago Cubs @ Philadelphia Phillies - Chicago
4) Tampa Bay Rays @ Chicago White Sox - Chicago
5) Will Australia Score Any Runs (USA vs. Australia): No, they are shutout vs. Yes, they score - No, shutout
6) Florida Marlins @ San Diego Padres - San Diego
7) Joey Votto vs. Manny Ramirez - Ramirez records more total bases

Previews

Proportion of games with 'N' total bases. Click image for timeline of total bases by game for each player since Manny's return and larger view of both graphs.

7) Joey Votto (.588 slugging in 216 at bats) and Manny Ramirez (.622 slugging in 135 at bats) would be two of the slugging leaders in the Majors if they had the minimum number of at bats required. Looking at the graph on the right one sees that Votto has had enough at bats to have developed a relatively normal looking total bases curve. It is a bit unusual for him to have more games with zero at bats than any other number, most players have a few more games with singles. Votto has a large number of games with 3 or more total bases, however, so that games when he does hit he tends to get more than one hit, including an extra base hit. Manny Ramirez's curve still looks rather jagged as he's only played in 40 games this season. Assuming his curve will tend to normalize he is going to have more games with at least one hit than not, but will have quite a few lone singles games (i.e. 1 total base). Overall this graph tells me Ramirez is more likely to get one total base and that Votto is more likely to get one or zero total bases.
Clicking on the graph one can see the total bases each player has gotten in each game played since Manny returned from suspension. One sees that both players have been very productive and have tended to alternate games with 4-plus total bases and games with 0 or 1 total base. Votto has had 4, 0, 0, and 2 total bases in his last four games while Ramirez has had 1, 0, 2, and 0 total bases. This graph here suggests both players are due for a home run, or a couple of doubles. I think Manny Ramirez is just a bit more due, however, especially playing at his home park.
Finally, I think the pitching matchup favors Manny Ramirez to get a big hit and rack up the total bases. Jason Schmidt is returning to the lineup for the Dodgers after sitting out most of the past two seasons with a shoulder injury. He's been pitching in AAA with the Albuquerque Isotopes for the past month and a half and has done semi-decent, racking up a 4.18 ERA in 32¹/₃ innings with a 1.30 WHIP. That's fairly comparable to Micah Owings' 4.94 ERA and 1.58 WHIP earned in the major leagues. Where I favor Schmidt to do a better job pitching is in terms of HR/9. Before Schmidt was injured he gave up quite a few home runs, but he was far more likely to concede one to a right handed batter, while Joey Votto bats left. That was in 2007, but he had given up 3 home runs in his AAA rehab stint so one might assume he's not pitching lobs to the plate. Micah Owings also gives up more home runs to right handers, which is the side of the plate Manny Ramirez bats from. The Dodgers' bullpen should be able to limit Votto far more than the Reds' bullpen can limit Ramirez as well.

July 19th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)3-2-0 today. I got greedy after starting out with three wins, one with the All Blacks of New Zealand, then a close one stroke win with Lee Westwood, followed by another nail biter with the Yankees. Then it all went south. Kenshin Kawakami walked in a run and really that was about all the Mets needed as Atlanta failed 100% when it came to hitting with runners on base. Bases loaded to end the inning twice and a man on third two other innings, no runs scored. Finished with the Colorado Rockies who were pretty quiet offensively. It just took one poor inning by the weak Colorado bullpen for San Diego to take the lead and they ran with it. I'm nearly done painting my new place and moving in so the blog will be back to normal come Monday. And so, on to the picks.

Picks
1) Amets Txurruka vs. Brice Feillu - Txurruka has a better Stage 15 finish
2) Boo Weekley vs. Angel Cabrera - Weekley has a lower or equal front 9 score
3) Nationality Of British Open Winner: American or South African vs. Other Nation - Other nation
4) FC Sion Sitten @ Grasshoppers - Grasshoppers win
5) United States vs. Australia - 10 runs or fewer
6) Seattle Mariners @ Cleveland Indians - Seattle
7) Boston Red Sox @ Toronto Blue Jays - Toronto
8) Who Will Win The American Century Championship: Rhoden, Romo or Roenick vs. Other - Other
9) Indiana Fever @ Connecticut Sun - Connecticut
10) Atlanta Dream @ New York Liberity - New York
11) Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Athletics - Los Angeles
12) San Antonio Silver Stars @ Chicago Sky - Chicago
13) New York Mets @ Atlanta Braves - Atlanta
14) Minnesota Lynx @ Seattle Storm - Minnesota
15) Minnesota Twins @ Texas Rangers - Texas
16) Detroit Shock @ Sacramento Monarchs - Detroit

July 18th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)Well, I avoided the dreaded five game losing streak with Angel Cabrera in the morning. Paul Casey was downright bad, but then the course played pretty difficult as the majority of players ended up over par for the round, including Tiger who missed the cut by one stroke with his +5 overall. From there I got back to work picking FC Kärnten to get me back to L1. They went a man down at 79' with the score tied 1-1. They managed to keep it that way until injury time where they gave up two goals to the Wieners of Neustadt. Then it was another loss with Suppan and the Brewers and now I'm looking to take a third straight L by avoiding all my winning picks in the evening and going with the Angels. Ah well, things continue to be busy so on to the picks!

Picks
1) Australia @ New Zealand - New Zealand
2) Lance Armstrong vs. Christian Vande Velde - Armstrong has a better Stage 14 finish
3) Stewart Cink vs. Lee Westwood - Westwood cards a lower front 9 score
4) Tom Watson's Third Round Score: 73 or lower vs. 74 or higher - 73 or lower
5) Canada vs. United States - United States
6) Houston @ Toronto FC - Toronto FC
7) Detroit Tigers @ New York Yankees - New York
8) New York Mets @ Atlanta Braves - Atlanta
9) Honduras @ Canada - Canada win or draw
10) Tampa Bay Rays @ Kansas City Royals - Kansas City
11) Arizona Diamondbacks @ St. Louis Cardinals - Arizona
12) United States vs. Japan - 6 runs or fewer
13) Minnesota Twins @ Texas Rangers - Texas
14) Kyle Busch vs. Carl Edwards - Busch has a better final position
15) Colorado Rockies @ San Diego Padres - Colorado

July 17th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)A perfect 0-4-0 today. Both Woods and two-time British Open defending champion Padraig Harrington were less than stellar yesterday. Then I went with low scoring summer league and Canadian football games. Not sure what I was thinking expecting people to play defense in the Summer league, but sometimes the players are just not that good offensively and you see some real low scores. Canadian football games tend to be high scoring, but I looked through their season and nearly two-thirds of the games have fewer than 54 points scored. My router has been going in and out, real spotty, so until it gets replaced later today I won't have much internet access. So, just the picks and they're just gut instinct for today. Good luck!

Picks
1) Angel Cabrera vs. Paul Casey - Cabrera cards a lower or equal second round score
2) Alberto Contador vs. Lance Armstrong - Contador has a better Stage 13 finish
3) Tiger Woods' Second Round Score: 68 or lower vs. 69 or higher - 68 or lower
4) SK Austria Kärnten @ SC Magna Wiener Neustadt - SK Austria Kärnten win or draw
5) Milwaukee Brewers @ Cincinnati Reds - Milwaukee
6) Philadelphia Phillies @ Florida Marlins - Florida
7) United States vs. Italy - 8 runs or more
8) Tampa Bay @ Kansas City Royals - Tampa Bay
9) Seattle Storm @ Sacramento Monarchs - Sacramento
10) Breidis Prescott vs. Miguel Vasquez - 9 rounds or more
11) Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Athletics - Los Angeles

July 16th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)2-4-0 today. Ran my all-star game streak out to 4 with the Argentine women's field hockey team, but then I got suckered into the `freebie' WNBA pick and lost by 1 point along with the Mystics. So with nothing to lose I got jibbered by Stabæk IF who were (ugh!) pleased with their 1-1 draw in Albania. Then Jodie Meeks fell short on the points followed by DeMar DeRozan scoring too many. Finally I managed to get back to the green with Joey Dorsey's surge of rebounding and scoring in the fourth quarter. Yesterday just confirmed what we all already know: guessing is generally as effective as researching the pick. And so, on to the picks!

Recaps

Las Leonas Rise To The Top With Third Consecutive Win

Argentina 3 - 1 England

I suppose England could have won, but I'm not sure they ever have in this tournament. Against anyone.

``After England’s lead Argentina pressed them deep and gained the equaliser scored by Soledad Garcia. Argentina was able to take the lead after Aymar won possession in a brilliant way, defeated a couple of English defenders and passed to Carla Rebecchi who waited already for the ball and scored. “It was a tough game as it normally is against England. We’re very glad to get the three points. We defended and attacked very well tonight", Rebecchi said. Noel Barrionuevo increased the lead in the second half by scoring another penalty corner goal. With the confident lead in the back Argentina slowed down the pace. England really wanted to score, gained the opportunities for it but were just too unlucky to defeat goalkeeper Maria Belen Succi again."

Read more....Box ScoreNotesPhotos

Alana Beard Fouls Out As Silver Stars Strip Mystics Of Final Chance

San Antonio Silver Stars 79 - 78 Washington Mystics

Washington nearly gave up a 12 point lead before winning in San Antone two weeks ago. This time it was the Silver Stars who nearly gave up the lead.

``The Silver Stars (6-6) nearly blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and gave the Mystics a chance to win when Hammon committed an offensive foul with 3 seconds. Washington tried to set up for the winning shot, but Lindsey Harding's inbounds pass was stolen by Belinda Snell to seal the game. The Mystics trailed by as much as 12, relying on the play of Harding, who poured in 18 points, and Alana Beard, who scored 18 points, despite playing much of the second half with four fouls. Matee Ajavon was key to the Mystics' comeback, scoring 14 points, including a 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining that moved the Mystics to within one point."

Read more....Box Score

Tirana Captain Mukaj Makes Knudsen Pay For Mistake

KF Tirana 1 - 1 Stabæk IF

Japanese off-season acquisition Daigo Kobayashi scored first for Stabæk, but KF Tirana's captain Devis Mukaj equalized five minutes into the second half. Stabæk keeper Jon Knudsen failed to clear the ball with a block and Mukaj ended up with an open net shot from up close. Of course those Norwegian dogs are happy to be all square heading home for the second leg, hah!

``Etter pause presset Tirana på for utligning og fikk tellende resultater etter 50 minutter fa Devis Mukaj scoret på åpent mål. Jon Knudsen klarte ikke å holde et skudd fra skrått hold, og Stabæk-forsvaret maktet ikke å markere Mukaj, som fikk stå alene foran mål og pirke inn returen. På overtid hadde Daniel Nannskog en stor mulighet til å avgjøre kampen. Svenskens lobb gikk imidlertid like utenfor. `Det var et godt forsøk, og den gikk nesten inn. Både Daniel og Fredrik gjorde en god jobb her nede.' mente Jönsson."

Read more....Brief English ReportMinutesLineups

Joe Alexander Leads Bucks To Fourth Consecutive Summer League Victory

Milwaukee Bucks 87 - 72 Chicago Bulls (J. Alexander 18, J. Meeks 16)

Jodie Meeks' 60% shooting percentage regressed to the norm a bit and Joe Alexander did the same with his 33% field goal percentage. Without as many free throws the result was Alexander by two.

``The Bucks led for nearly the entire game going coast-to-coast for all but half of the second quarter. The teams traded the lead on four occasions before Joe Alexander put Milwaukee up for good at 35-34 on a jumper with 3:44 remaining in the half. Alexander’s bucket initiated a 14-6 run by the Bucks to end the half with a nine-point cushion at 47-38. Milwaukee kept things revving for the final 20 minutes of the game, as they held a double-digit lead for most of the period, including two 15-point leads. Alexander was the game’s top scorer with 18 on 7-of-16 shooting. Amir Johnson followed Alexander’s hot hand with 17 of his own. Jodie Meeks and Brandon Jennings rounded out the quartet of the Buck scorers with 16 and 14, respectively."

Read more....Box ScorePlay-By-Play

DeRozan Leads The Way With 20 Points As Ibekwe Denies Suns

Toronto Raptors 74 - 73 Phoenix Suns (DeMar DeRozan, 20 pts. on 9/16 shooting)

DeMar DeRozan was shooting 73% from the field (8-for-11) until a string of misses in the fourth brought his percentage down to mortal levels.

``The Raptors rallied in the final 7:28 and got the game-winning basket via alley-oop from DeRozen with 46 seconds remaining in the game. The Suns’ Goran Dragic went coast-to-coast with seven seconds remaining and put up a running jumper that was swatted away by Ibekwe. Unfortunately, Ibekwe landed awkwardly and had to be taken off the court via stretcher. DeRozan led all scorers with 20 points off 9-of-16 shooting. Roko Ukic joined DeRozan and Douby in double figures with 10 of his own. Phoenix was got a double-double from Earl Clark, who had a team-high 13 points and 12 boards. Robin Lopez notched 11 points to round out the 10-point scorers for the Suns."

Read more....Box ScorePlay-By-Play

Rockets Rally To Remain Unbeaten In Summer League Play

Houston Rocket 87 - 82 Portland Trailblazers
J. Dorsey 9 pts., 11 reb. (20); J. Bayless 13 pts., 0 stl. (13)

Dorsey nabbed 6 boards in the last 6 minutes of the game and added a couple of baskets down the stretch as well.

``The Rockets trailed 80-77 with 1:23 remaining in regulation before mounting their comeback. Chase Budinger began the rally with five consecutive points that started with a three pointer and quickly followed by two made free throws. The team’s final five points were made from the charity stripe with Garrett Temple scoring one and Maarty Leunen knocking down the next four."

Read more....Box ScorePlay-By-Play

Picks
1) Tiger Woods vs. Lee Westwood or Ryo Ishikawa - Woods cards a lower first round score
2) Tony Martin vs. Bradley Wiggins - Wiggins has a better finish
3) Jim Furyk vs. Padraig Harrington - Harrington cards a lower first round score
4) Hammarby @ BK Häcken - BK Häcken
5) Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers - 159 points or fewer
6) Chicago Cubs @ Washington Nationals - Washington
7) Milwaukee Brewers @ Cincinnati Reds - Milwaukee
8) Philadelphia Phillies @ Florida Marlins - Florida
9) United States vs. Netherlands - U.S.A. allows 4 hits or fewer
10) David Beckham vs. Landon Donovan - Beckham records more or equal goals and assists
11) BC Lions @ Edmonton Eskimos - 53 points or fewer
12) Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Athletics - Oakland
13) Colorado Rockies @ San Diego Padres - Colorado

July 15th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)A decent 5-2-0 day for my actual Streak picks though it seemed like I did a lot worse. Started off with a loss at the hands of Young Boys then got back on track quickly with the Sparks and Sun scoring in flurries at the ends of the first and second quarters. Obama got me back to W2. The camera angle made it difficult to see where the pitch went but it looked good on the delivery. Apparently Pujols had to move up a bit and scoop it up before it hit the ground. Tim Lincecum was shaky for the NL to start and the fielding on display was poor for regular players, let alone all-stars. Got three wins in a row to finish though with zero runs in the third, the AL scoring more in the fifth, and the final out being a pop out or ground out. And so on to the picks.

Recaps

Young Boys' Doumbia Collects All Three Points From The Spot

BSC Young Boys 3 - 2 FC Zürich

FC Zürich started out strong but soon Young Boys were in control of the match as they scored two early on in the first half. FC Zürich fought back to tie the game 2-2 but a penalty on Zürich keeper Andrea Guatelli gave Young Boys a penalty kick and with the quality of strikers on their side it was as much as a guaranteed goal.

``Zürich startete stark in die Partie und erarbeitete sich schon in den ersten Minuten mehrere gute Möglichkeiten. Entgegen dem Spielverlauf waren es jedoch die Berner, die für die ersten Tore besorgt waren. Hätten die Young Boys Doumbia noch mehr in ihr Spiel integriert, der FCZ hätte noch mehr Schwierigkeiten bekommen. Aber als der FCZ nach dem 0:2-Rückstand mit dem 2:2 ins Spiel zurückgefunden hatte, foulte der Torhüter Guatelli den durchgebrochenen Degen (75.). Doumbia verwertete den Penalty zum 3:2-Siegtreffer für die Berner."

Read more....FC Zürich Point Of View & PhotosYoung Boys Point Of View & LineupsEvents

American League Win 13^th Straight All-Star Game

American League 4 - 3 National League (Obama's pitch to Pujols' glove; First to score: AL, 2 runs top 1^st)
3^rd Inning: 0 runs scored; 5^th Inning: AL 1 - 0 NL; Final out: M. Tejada pops out

Tim Lincecum started for the National League and got off to a rocky start. Ichiro Suzuki led off with a chopped infield single and Derek Jeter followed by getting on base after Lincecum struck his left hand with the ball. Jeter was OK but the National League was not. Joe Mauer hit the ball directly into the dirt in front of Yadier Molina who hesitated a second, unsure if the ball was fair or foul, before making a fine toss to David Wright at third base for the out. Wright tried to convert the double play but tossed it wide to Albert Pujols who made the catch but had to take his foot of the base. Mark Teixeira hit a grounder on the next play but Pujols was screened by Mauer, failed to see the ball, and kicked it to commit the error allowing Derek Jeter to score. In the third inning Rich Franklin and Mark Buehrle did not allow a single baserunner. Then in the fifth inning it was Chad Billingsley's turn for the NL. He allowed Crawford to get on base before forcing Ichiro Suzuki and Derek Jeter to ground into fielder's choice, but with two outs he gave up an RBI double to Joe Mauer. Edwin Jackson pitched the bottom of the fifth for the AL and he did better getting Molina, Zimmerman, and Hanley Ramirez to hit out in a row. The final out of the game was a Miguel Tejada pop fly to second base as he faced off against Mariano Rivera and with that the American League took the win and home field in the World Series."

``Crawford pulled back a home run with a leaping grab an inning before Curtis Granderson tripled and scored the tiebreaking run in the eighth, giving the AL a 4-3 victory Tuesday night at the new Busch Stadium."

Read more....Box ScorePhotos

Picks
1) Argentina vs. England - Argentina
2) How Many Cyclists Will Finish Ahead Of Mark Cavendish: Cavendish In Top 3 vs. 3 Or More - Cavendish top 3
3) San Antonio Silver Stars @ Washington Mystics - Washington
4) Stabæk IF @ KF Tirana - Stabæk IF win
5) Jodie Meeks vs. Joe Alexander - Meeks pts.
6) How Many Points Will DeMar DeRozan Score: 15 or fewer vs. 16 or more - 15 or fewer
7) Estudiantes de la Plata @ Cruzeiro MG - 3 goals or more
8) Jerryd Bayless vs. Joey Dorsey - Dorsey pts. + reb.
9) Detroit Shock @ Seattle Storm: Storm win by 10 or more vs. Shock lose by 9 or less or win - Storm win by 10+
10) International League vs. Pacific Coast League - International League

Previews

Five time Champions Trophy medalists Argentina are huge favorites to defeat England today.

1) To start with I know absolutely nothing about field hockey and especially women's field hockey. The closest I've come to seeing a field hockey game is that scene in `Clerks' where they play on the roof. The one thing I do know after searching around for information on this match is that women's field hockey players are actually pretty attractive. The other thing I found out was that Argentina should win this match.

Looking at the standings one sees Argentina is 2-0-0 while England is 0-1-1. OK, so maybe the English team has just played the harder competition at this early stage. Argentina won the Gold at this competition last year, however, and are favorites to repeat or at least finish in the top three. England has never won a medal at the Champions Trophy competition and are not expected to this year either. English betting site BetFair has odds on the match favoring Argentina immensely. Converting to moneyline odds Argentina is a -320 favorite while England is a +620 underdog with the draw being given +410 odds. Aside from Argentina's overall superiority they will be playing a young English squad as England tries out players in preparation for the World Cup. Said English assistant coach Karen Brown, ``This tournament we’re using it for development, we’ve brought a pretty young squad." The match preview gives a host of statistical tidbits such as the fact that England has not scored against Argentina in a competitive match since 1998 when they scored twice in a 4-2 loss. It would be a big upset for England to win and the worst case scenario it would seem for Argentina would be to come away with a draw, which would at least preserve your streak.

Perennial Albanian Champions League entrants host Stabæk IF in the second qualifying round today.

4) The 2008 Norwegian Tippeligæn champions Stabæk IF have arrived and trained in Tiranë in preparation for their match against KF Tirana today. They finished first in the league last season after a one year spell in the second division during the 2004/2005 season. They rose to the top of the Tippeligæn behind the strength of foreign internationals Alanzinho, Veigar Páll Gunnarsson, Somen Tchoyi and Daniel Nannskog. Unfortunately some hard decisions faced the club and the choice was made to upgrade Telenor Stadium leaving them short of funds to hold on to their stars. Of the four mentioned prior only Daniel Nannskog remains with the team and as a result Stabæk now find themselves in 5^th place two-thirds through the season. Interestingly, the fourth and last remaining star of the 2008 championship team, Daniel Nannskog, is slated to start today's match on the bench. Rising star Frederik Berglund, who has scored 6 goals in Stabæk's two most recent matches, will start in his place at the tip of a 4-1-4-1 formation.

KF Tirana, as reigning champions of the Kategoria Superiore (Albania's top-flight soccer league), and winners of the league 24 times over, will be making yet another foray into the Champions League. They have never progressed into the group stage of the competition and have yet to make it past the second qualifying round since UEFA implemented the current format in 1992. Although they are currently in the off-season of their domestic league KF Tirana are still beset with a few injury concerns, while Stabæk IF are bringing a fully healthy and full strength squad. Toni Pezo (M), Ansi Agolli (M), and Migen Memelli (F) will all miss the match for Tirana. Laurent Mohellebi (M), Igor Gal (D) and Arber Abilaliaj (F) have been called up to fill in the roles vacated by Pezo, Agolli, and Memelli which are some fairly big shoes to fill according to Tirana trainer Alban Tafaj.

There was one English-language preview I was able to find that seemed to favor even a weaker Stabæk side given their fine recent form in domestic play and the fact they have a few months of competitive play under their belts while KF Tirana have only been able to fit in a few friendlies in that time. This is Stabæk IF's first Champions League entry and the players will be nervous with rumors swirling of Albanian crowds throwing rocks and even knives at visiting foreign teams. KF Tirana, on the other hand, have plenty of Champions League experience though they have found victory or even draws few and far between. They lost both legs of their ties the past two years they have participated, against NK Domzale (Slovenia) in '07 and against CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) in '05. In terms of how competitive the Norwegian and Albanian leagues are in relation to one another Norway has the better talent. The Tippeligæn is ranked 18^th amongst UEFA nations while the Kategoria Superiore is ranked 43^rd. The club coefficients for each team are given by UEFA which take into account their past success in UEFA competitions (66%) and their domestic league's rating (33%). KF Tirana has a coefficient of 0.799 while Stabæk IF has a coefficient of 3.760 which reflects Norway's overall success in Europe more than Stabæk's. It will be interesting to see how Stabæk's players deal with playing an intimidating foreign environment but overall I think they will have the talent to come away with a victory today and in the return leg in Norway.

Jodie Meeks has got the shooting edge (.600 FG%) but Joe Alexander has a bigger inside game (23 FTA).

5) The Milwaukee Bucks have to be happy to have a couple of incredible athletes like Joe Alexander and Jodie Meeks playing for them in the NBA Summer League this year. Joe Alexander was a candidate for the slam dunk competition last season while Jodie Meeks was the driving force behind the Kentucky Wildcats' limited success. So far they have each played in 3 games for Milwaukee averaging around 30 minutes per game each. The Bucks are 3-0 with their help and look to continue that success against the Chicago Bulls tonight.

In those three games Meeks is averaging slightly more in the points department with 14, 16, and 20 points for an average of 16.7 while Joe Alexander has scored 14, 8, and 24 for an average of 15.3 points. The main difference between these two is in how those points have been scored. Meeks is shooting 21/35 from the field (60%) including 3/5 from three point range but has only made 5/6 free throws. Joe Alexander is shooting 13/36 from the field (33%) including 1/1 from three point range but has taken 23 free throws, making 19 of them. Joe Alexander is more active down low and has been able to get to the free throw line often but is barely half the shooter that Jodie Meeks is. In terms of points per shot (PTS/FGA) Meeks is at 1.43 and Alexander is at 1.21. I favor Meeks here as he has not had to rely on being fouled and making free throws to score his points and has been much more efficient with his shots overall.

DeMar DeRozan averaged 13.9 points in 33.4 minutes per game in one season with USC.

6) The fans in Toronto are trying to get as excited as they possibly can about the arrival of DeMar DeRozan. Toronto desperately needs to meet with success, both in the regular season and the playoffs, if they want to keep the franchise in the city. Essentially they need every new addition to the club to exceed all expectations which can be difficult when hopes are so high. DeRozan is a young player who will turn 21 years old early next month and completed one season at USC. While at USC he averaged 13.9 points per game in 33.4 minutes. His FG% was over .500 and he managed 1.32 points per shot. So far in the summer league he has played in three games and is averaging near 34 minutes per game, but his FG% is only .435 while his points per shot have been a truly sub par 0.98 meaning he's taking a field goal for every point scored. Part of the reason for that is he's not been getting to the line too often and has settled for jump shots against the tougher defensive competition he's faced. In the three games he's played he's scored 10 points on 12 shots, 20 points on 20 shots, and 15 points on 14 shots, not exactly a model of efficiency. If he can start taking better shots and making a higher percentage he would be a lethal scoring threat, but as it stands he's just one of four players averaging double figures for Toronto. As long as he works to get layups and lays off the jumpers he should score 16 or more, but he's young and I don't think he'll have the patience for it just yet.

Cruzeiro look to retain the Copa Libertadores against challengers Estudiantes de la Plata after a 0-0 draw in La Plata.

7) Brazilian side Cruzeiro will host Argentine squad Estudiantes de la Plata for the second and deciding leg of the Copa Libertadores final this evening. Cruzeiro are the defending champions and being as this is the most prestigious competition in South America both teams will be running on all cylinders to win this, and extremely wary of losing. Evidence for this can be found in the first leg at La Plata where the two teams played to a 0-0 draw. This after the two clashed in the Group Stage with Cruzeiro winning 3-0 in Belo Horizonte and Estudiantes winning 4-0 in La Plata. Both teams average between 2.1 and 2.6 goals scored plus allowed for Estudiantes and Cruzeiro in their respective domestic leagues. Given the low scoring nature of soccer in general and that fewer than half of the matches for either team involve 3 or more goals being scored in domestic or Cup competitions 2 or fewer is the smarter pick. I think the only way this goes over is if either side makes a costly mistake, such as an own goal. If the match is tied 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes plus injury time they will enter into two 15 minute halves of extra time which would give either side more chances to score a third goal. I do not believe the match will remain scoreless through the 90 minutes of regulation. It's crunch time and the first to score will probably win.

The Detroit Shock are 1-4 on the road with all four defeats coming by at least 10 points.

9) The line on this game has the Seattle Storm being given 9.5 points at -110 and the Detroit Shock being given -110 odds of covering 9.5 points. So it's a 50/50 proposition whether Detroit will win by double digits according to these oddsmakers. I see this more as a prop regarding whether the Seattle Storm will win, however, as the Detroit Shock have yet to lose on the road by single digits. Even at home half of Detroit's losses have come by 10 or more. The odds of Seattle winning outright are much more favorable as they are -550 favorites while the Shock are +425 underdogs. Detroit has been beaten by 20, 12, 10, and 16 points on the road and I think 10 is a fairly conservative estimate for Seattle to win today. That's not to say there are not close WNBA games, but blowouts are just as common.