July 22nd, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)1-0-0 today with the Tigers as I kept to my strict regimen of one pick a day, at least during the week. Overall it looks like my picks will be right around .500 for the day. The day started with two players sitting at 25 wins, the longest streaks we've seen in seven months of playing. One of them went down with a missed pick on Allsvenskan soccer of all things. The other is looking good to reach 26 wins as the Sounders just went up 2-1 in extra time of their U.S. Open Cup match. My bet is that 25 to 28 wins will be the range containing the top 7 streaks in December, but hey, maybe someone with a big streak will get ballsy and hit 35 or 40 with a big run on a stunt day. Until then, it's on with the picks.

Recaps

Magglio Ordoñez Grand Slam Helps Detroit Defeat Feisty M's

Detroit Tigers 9 - 7 Seattle Mariners

Detroit and Porcello got me the win though it looks like it was a much harder fight than the 8-1 score after the 2^nd inning suggested.

``Seattle's Jack Hannahan hit two of the seven home runs in the game. Miguel Cabrera, Placido Polanco also homered for Detroit. Wladimir Balentien and Ryan Langerhans connected for Seattle. Seattle starter Garrett Olson (3-4) allowed seven runs in 1 1/3 innings while [Tigers] rookie Rick Porcello (9-6) got the win despite allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk in five innings. The Mariners went up 1-0 in the first on Jose Lopez's RBI single, but the Tigers quickly took command with five in the bottom half and three in the second. Curtis Granderson led off with a single and scored on Polanco's double. Olson walked Cabrera and Marcus Thames to load the bases, and Ordonez gave the Tigers a 5-1 lead with his first grand slam in seven years."

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Picks(skip to notes)
1) Where Will Lance Armstrong Finish: 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd vs. Any Other Place - Any other place
2) (Darts) Dennis Priestly vs. Denis Ovens - Priestly
3) Milwaukee Brewers @ Pittsburgh Pirates - Milwaukee
4) Chicago Cubs @ Philadelphia Phillies - Chicago
5) FC Lucerne @ FC Sion Sitten - FC Lucerne win or draw
6) Florida Marlins @ San Diego Padres - Florida
7) San Francisco Giants @ Atlanta Braves - Atlanta
8) New York Mets @ Washington Nationals - Washington
9) Seattle Mariners @ Detroit Tigers - Seattle
10) Boston Red Sox @ Texas Rangers - Boston
11) Dustin Pedroia vs. Ian Kinsler - Pedroia records more total bases
12) Deportes Savio @ CD Motagua - CD Motagua win
13) How Many Runs Scored In Innings 4 through 7: 3 or fewer vs. 4 or more - 3 or fewer

Previews

(top) Proportion of games this season recording 'N' total bases. (bottom) Total bases in last 20 games played. Click image for larger version.

11) This prop pits second basemen Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox and Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers against one another to see who will record more total bases. Total bases are simply bases earned from a hit. So if a player grounds into fielders choice and the defense makes a play at second the batter reaching first does not get a hit and does not get a total base. If a player hits a double to deep center and stretches it into a triple they earn two total bases since the fielding is what allowed the third base to be reached.

Of the two players considered here Ian Kinsler is the better power hitter with a .491 slugging average compared to Pedroia's .422 slugging average. The bottom graph on the right shows each players' total bases in their last 20 individual games. Surprisingly (or not) the bulk of the middle of the graph shows Pedroia recording more total bases in most games while the most recent games and the games three weeks ago show the two recording identical numbers. Looking at the splits for each player one can see that Pedroia has a .595 slugging average over the past two weeks while Kinsler has slumped a bit with a .421 slugging average in that same time. Those numbers will normalize at some point with Pedroia hitting fewer doubles and Kinsler getting some more home runs, but I'm not sure it will be in this game.

The starting pitchers in the game are projected to be Clay Buchholz for the Red Sox and Vicente Padilla for the Rangers. Kinsler is 0-for-3 against Buchholz in his career while Pedroia is 0-for-2 against Padilla. I somewhat expect both batters to be shut down by the starters again today. Pedroia, Kinsler, Buchholz, and Padilla are all right handed when batting or pitching. In general right handed pitchers do well against right handed batters as they are releasing pitches at the inside of the plate. Clay Buchholz doesn't have much experience in the Majors but in his 19 starts plus 2 relief efforts he has shown a typical platoon split, with lefties slugging .443 off of him and rightys slugging .386. Over the past three years Vicente Padilla shows the same trend with lefties/rightys slugging .498/.372 off of him. One reason I favor Pedroia in a matchup with few total bases is that he hits right handers about as well as left handers while Kinsler excels against left handers but struggles against righties. Looking at the top graph to the right one can see that both players are getting zero hits in a high proportion of their games (30% is a lot for a star player). Pedroia is recording 1 to 3 total bases in 56% of his games while Kinsler is recording 1 to 3 total bases in 41% of his games. Kinsler has many more games than Pedroia with 4 or more total bases so normally I'd favor the slugger, but with these pitchers I like the more consistent hitter, Pedroia.

Notes
12) CD Motagua is one of the staples of Honduran soccer having won the league championship 6 times since 1997. Last season was not their most successful but they did defeat Deportes Savio on the road last season 2-0. It's the very beginning of the Apertura portion of the season and I haven't looked to see what changes each team has made to their side. Motagua is favored to win the game but not by much and generally I'd stay away from these season opening sorties unless it's a league you're very familiar with.

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."

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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."

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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."

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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