Wick's two home runs power Canada over Italy

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - Thunder Bay, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With upsets aplenty and coming off a scare of their own, Team Canada wasn't taking any chances against an overmatched Italian squad in the quarterfinals of the World Junior Baseball Championships.

A day after nearly losing to a winless Czech Republic team, coach Greg Hamilton made sure his team treated their matchup as if it was the last game they would play.

"We tried to take a business-like approach," said Hamilton, after his team eliminated Italy with an 11-1 thrashing on Friday night. "I think everybody realizes what's at stake.

"That game [versus the Czechs] served as an eye opener, it served as a lesson and I think we took the lesson well."

One player taking notes was outfielder Rowan Wick, who entered the game just 5- for-17 for the tournament with no home runs and two runs batted in.

The left-handed hitting slugger changed that in a hurry, evident by the rocket shot he lined over the right field fence in a five-run first inning that buried the Italians in a flash.

"You want to get out early," said Hamilton. "You want to take away any life that they might have or any enthusiasm that they might have out of the equation.

"It makes it a whole lot easier when you get some runs on the board early."

Wick added another homer in the fifth, finishing the game 3-for-4 with four RBI and more importantly, a hot bat heading into championship weekend.

"He's a guy that we really counted on coming through the process, a guy we felt would be a key contributor," said Hamilton of the North Vancouver, B.C. native.

"He was struggling a little bit as we went through our tour [pre-Worlds] but he's really starting to dial it in, he's locked in and he's swinging the bat really well.

"He's a guy that can turn a game around with one swing."

Wick got some help along the way from a team that appears to be clicking at just the right time.

Backed by an impressive outing from Jonathan Pacquet (1-0), who breezed through six innings of one-run ball, Team Canada is now one step closer to its second world junior title.

Pacquet was dominant against an Italian squad that didn't stand much of a chance against the towering 6'4", 193-pound righthander from Ancienne Lorette, Que.

"I had good control of my pitches," said Paquet. "I went straight at these guys."

After surrendering a pair of singles in the first, Pacquet cruised through Italy's lineup en route to nine strikeouts while scattering four hits and walking just one.

"It was great to pitch an important game like that in the Worlds," he said. "You can't compare that to any other outing I've ever pitched."

Andrea Zambelloni (0-1) took the loss for Italy, who now move on to the consolation round after winning a pair of games in round robin play and proving to be a formidable opponent. The 6'2" righthander allowed six runs -- two earned -- on six hits over four innings.

Ajax's Philip Diedrick continued his impressive showing during the tournament, driving in another three runs to bring his team-leading total to 10.

Brandon Dailey of Brantford, Ont. hit a solo home run in the seventh to mercy Italy per International Baseball Federation rules.

Following Australia's ousting of defending champion South Korea earlier in the day and Cuba's thrilling win over the United States, Hamilton is well aware of the path that's been created for his squad in Thunder Bay, Ont.

But with over 20 years experience in international baseball, Hamilton knows better than to look beyond the day at hand.

"You got to be ready to play, it's international baseball, it's a one-game shot and on any given night if you're not ready someone will get you."

Intercasio Baseball Betting News

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


Stanley Cup betting

New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.

MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.

Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.

Stanley Cup Odds    

 Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings 
Carolina Hurricanes  
San Jose Sharks     
Anaheim Ducks    
Philadelphia Flyers 
Calgary Flames     
New Jersey Devils 
Buffalo Sabres   
Dallas Stars    
New York Rangers  
Nashville Predators  
Vancouver Canucks 
Colorado Avalanche  
Minnesota Wild    
Tampa Bay Lightning    
Boston Bruins    
Florida Panthers   
Montreal Canadiens   
Atlanta Thrashers 
Toronto Maple Leafs  
Edmonton Oilers      
Phoenix Coyotes    
Los Angeles Kings      
New York Islanders   
Columbus Blue Jackets  
St. Louis Blues      
Pittsburgh Penguins 
Washington Capitals   
Chicago Blackhawks    		 7-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
80-1
80-1
100-1
100-1 

NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games 

Team     
Ottawa Senators      
Anaheim Ducks 
Detroit Red Wings   
Nashville Predators 
San Jose Sharks 
Calgary Flames     
Philadelphia Flyers    
New Jersey Devils     
Buffalo Sabres    
Carolina Hurricanes       
Dallas Stars          
New York Rangers   
Minnesota Wild     
Atlanta Thrashers     
Montreal Canadiens    
Team        
Los Angeles Kings           
Tampa Bay Lightening   
Vancouver Canucks 
Boston Bruins       
Colorado Avalanche 
Edmonton Oilers  
Phoenix Coyotes  
Toronto Maple Leafs   
Florida Panthers 
Columbus Blue Jackets   
New York Islanders   
Chicago Blackhawks  
St. Louis Blues  
Washington Capitals 
Pittsburgh Penguins  		 Over/Under
108.5
106.5
104.5
104.5
103.5
101.5
100.5
99.5
97.5
97.5
97.5
95.5
94.5
93.5
92.5
Over/Under
91.5
91.5
91.5
89.5
89.5
88.5
88.5
86.5
84.5
82.5
80.5
72.5
72.5
72.5
71.5

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.