Blue Jays place Ryan, Romero on DL; recall pair of pitchers

Baseball Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays have added pitchers Brian Burres and Bryan Bullington to the major league roster after B.J. Ryan and Ricky Romero were recently placed on the disabled list.

Ryan, the team's closer, is on the disabled list with tightness in his right trapezius, which is a muscle in the upper back. He is out indefinitely after struggling to a 11.12 earned run average over 5 2/3 innings this season.

Romero was placed on the disabled list Thursday, retroactive to Monday, with a strained oblique. The Blue Jays' website says Romero may return by the middle of May. The rookie pitcher has been throwing well to start 2009, compiling a 2-0 record with a 1.71 ERA in three starts.

Burres hasn't appeared in a major league game for Toronto this season after spending the last three seasons in Baltimore. In 79 career games -- 39 starts -- he is 13-18 with a 5.88 ERA.

Bullington, the first overall selection in the 2002 draft, has yet to win a game in his brief major league career. In parts of three major league seasons with Pittsburgh and Cleveland, the 28-year-old is 0-5 with a 5.45 ERA in nine games -- five starts.

Casinosportplay Baseball Betting News

<< Mavs' Terry wins Sixth Man Award
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry captured the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award. Terry received 576 of a possible 605 points, including 111 of a possible 121 first-place votes from a panel of sports

<< Newman tops in qualifying for Talladega Nationwide race
Talladega, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Newman won the pole for Saturday's Aaron's 312 Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Newman turned in the best lap around the 2.66-mile, high-banked oval at 185.877 m.p.h. in

<< Chivas aims to rebound from midweek loss vs. FCD
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA and FC Dallas square off in a Major League Soccer Western Conference tilt on Saturday at The Home Depot Center. Chivas USA is coming off a midweek loss at Toronto, its first loss of the season,

<< Breaking Down the Kentucky Derby - Part I
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 135th Kentucky Derby is approximately one week away, and almost all the participants are settled in the Bluegrass State. The only three unaccounted for are Mr. Hot Stuff, Colonel John's full brother, and

<< Fiorentina faces crucial Roma test
Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The race for fourth place continues to heat up in Serie A on Saturday as fifth-placed Fiorentina hosts sixth-placed Roma in a match that will go a long way towards determining the fates of the two teams.

Wild G Backstrom undergoes hip surgery >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom underwent successful hip surgery on Friday and will have a recovery timetable of about 12 weeks. According to the team's website, Backstrom had a labral d

Langer and Lehman team for share of Legends lead >>
Savannah, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Lehman, playing in his first Champions Tour event, and Bernhard Langer teamed for an 11-under 61 on Friday to share first with Fuzzy Zoeller and John Jacobs after the first round of the Legends of Golf

'Determined' Bayern set for Schalke clash >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich has not led the Bundesliga at all this season and, with six matches remaining, realize "it's all or nothing," striker Luca Toni said this week. Bayern hosts Schalke at the Allianz Arena on S

Eskimos sign pair of RB's, release one >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Eskimos signed running backs Ciatrick Fason and Arkee Whitlock and released A.J. Harris on Friday. Fason was taken in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings and

NAC must produce response >>
Nijmegen, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NAC manager Robert Maaskant is desperate for his side to produce a good performance on Saturday when they travel to NEC. Maaskant has watched his team lose its last five games in all com

Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the  drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.

"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,'  it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."

"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.