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Braves try for another outburst against Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

04/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, Atlanta's Jason Heyward lived up the hype for a least one day.

Heyward will try to help the Braves open the season with two straight wins for the second year in a row this evening, when they host the Chicago Cubs in the second contest of a three-game set from Turner Field.

Expectations have risen steadily for Heyward since the Braves took the Atlanta resident 14th overall in the 2007 draft. He hasn't disappointed yet, as he turned window-smashing homers in spring training into an Opening Day start on Monday versus the Cubs. It didn't take long for the 20-year-old to make an impact, as he crushed a three-run homer with his first major league swing in the first inning of his first big-league game, helping Atlanta to a 16-5 victory over Chicago.

Heyward was the fifth Brave to homer in his first at-bat and helped Atlanta claim its biggest Opening Day victory since a 21-6 defeat of the Orioles way back in 1896.

"It was loud, for sure," said Heyward about the noise after his blast. "The home run put the team ahead and that's what it felt like."

Heyward finished with four RBI, and his homer was part of a six-run first inning for the Braves that erased an early 3-0 deficit. The Cubs' Marlon Byrd had put his club ahead with a three-run homer in the top of the inning.

Yunel Escobar had two hits and drove in a career-high five runs for the Braves, while Brian McCann connected on a solo homer. That helped give Derek Lowe (1-0) the win in his second straight Opening Day start for Atlanta, despite allowing five runs over six innings.

Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano (0-1) wasn't as lucky. He matched the shortest outing of his career by yielding eight runs over 1 1/3 frames of work. Jeff Samardzija gave up another six runs (4 earned) in relief for a Chicago team that led the majors in the spring with four shutouts to go along with a team earned run average of 4.24.

"It's just one game," said Aramis Ramirez, who also homered for the Cubs. "Hopefully they'll pick it up and they will. It was just one of those days where they hit everything."

The Cubs will next try to solve 24-year-old Braves starter Jair Jurrjens, who is coming off an excellent 2009 season in which he went 14-10 with the NL's third-lowest ERA at 2.60.

Jurrjens, who battled right shoulder inflammation in the spring, went 4-0 with a 0.97 ERA in his final five starts in 2009, a season in which he held opponents to a pair of runs or less in 26 of his 34 starts.

The right-hander did lose his only other career start versus Chicago, giving up four runs on seven hits over six innings of a July 6 loss. The Cubs' Derek Lee connected on a two-run homer in the first inning of that meeting.

The Cubs counter with Ryan Dempster, who saved 85 games with Chicago from 2005-07 but enters his third straight season as a full-time starter for the club.

The 32-year-old righty started off slow in 2009, going 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in his first five starts. However, he was 5-2 with a 2.27 ERA in his last nine outings of last season, helping him post season totals of 11-9 with a 3.65 ERA.

Dempster is 2-11 with a pair of saves and a 5.14 ERA in 26 career games versus the Braves, 15 of those starts.

Atlanta won four of the six 2009 meetings between these teams and took two of three from the Cubs in Chicago's lone visit to Turner Field.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards

Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Betting

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.