Big Hurt's grand slam lifts Toronto over Tampa Bay

Baseball Betting Lines

04/08/2007 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank Thomas belted his ninth grand slam, moving him into a tie with Al Kaline (1,583) for 32nd on the all-time RBI list, as the Toronto Blue Jays downed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 8-5, to continue a three-game series at Tropicana Field.

Reed Johnson went 3-for-5 with an RBI and scored a run for the Blue Jays, who have split their last four games. Royce Clayton finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Thomas finished 2-for-3.

Carl Crawford and Brendan Harris both homered for Tampa Bay, which trailed the Blue Jays by two runs heading into their last at-bat on Friday, but scored three times off Toronto closer B.J. Ryan in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out a 6-5 win. Delmon Young finished 2-for-4 and scored a run.

Tomo Ohka, signed by Toronto during the offseason to add needed depth to the team's starting rotation, allowed five runs on six hits with three walks and a strikeout in 4 1/3 innings in his regular-season debut. Shaun Marcum (1-0) struck out five batters in 2 1/3 perfect innings for the win. Ryan got the final three outs this time for his second save.

Casey Fossum (0-1), who is looking to rebound from a lackluster 2006 season, the final month of which he missed for shoulder surgery, gave up seven runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.

The Jays got two runs in the first. Johnson got hit by a pitch, moved to third on Lyle Overbay's single, and scored on a Vernon Wells sacrifice fly to center field. Thomas then singled Overbay to third and the first baseman scored as Troy Glaus reached on a force attempt courtesy of an error by B.J. Upton.

Tampa Bay responded with a run in the home half of the first when Crawford belted a solo shot to right field on a full count.

Toronto put up four more runs in the second. Jason Phillips lined a lead-off single, moved to second on a Johnson base hit, and to third as Overbay grounded into a force out. Wells then got hit by a pitch to load the bases for Thomas, who smacked a grand slam over the wall in left field on a 3-1 pitch.

Toronto added another run in the fourth, as Clayton doubled and scored on a double by Johnson.

The Rays rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Young singled, Akinori Iwamura walked, and Dioner Navarro grounded out to move both baserunners into scoring position. Harris then homered to right field, and Upton followed with a walk. Crawford's ground-rule double moved him to third, and Upton scored on a wild pitch by Ohka.

The Jays padded their lead with a run in the ninth when Alex Rios tripled and later scored on a Clayton single for the final margin.

Game Notes

Crawford set a club record with the sixth leadoff homer of his career...Glaus left in the fifth with soreness in his left heel...Tampa Bay stopped a four- game losing streak to the Blue Jays with Friday's triumph...Toronto took 12 of the 18 meetings between the AL East rivals in 2006 and is 13-7 over their last 20 games at Tropicana Field.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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