Unpredictable tournament sets up USA-Cuba in quarters

Baseball Betting Lines

07/30/2010 - Thunder Bay, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After six exciting days and 30 hard- fought games of round-robin competition, the 2010 International Baseball Federation World Junior Baseball Championship is set to begin the medal round. Anything but predictable, the round-robin portion of the tournament had a touch of everything, from pitching gems to nail-biting, walk-off wins. Fans in Thunder Bay have been treated all week to a world class display of the best young talent the game has to offer.

Even before the first pitch was thrown, the drama had begun. Less than 24 hours before the start of the championship, the IBAF announced that Team Venezuela had dropped out of the tournament amid speculation of visa troubles, only to be reinstated the following day, enabling them to play in their second scheduled game. While Venezuela stumbled to a 1-4 record in round-robin play, their eventual participation in the tournament can be viewed as a minor victory.

Perhaps the most shocking storyline to emerge out of the preliminary round was powerhouse Cuba's 3-2 record and fourth-place finish in Pool B. Cuba enjoyed a blazing-hot start to the tournament capturing wins in each of their first three contests while outscoring their opponents 29-1, but following a 6-5 loss to the defending champions from South Korea in their fourth game, Team Cuba was beaten in extra innings by tournament underdogs the Netherlands. As a result, a potential gold-medal-game scenario will now take place in just the quarterfinals, as Cuba will take on undefeated Team USA.

"You never know what is going to happen in a tournament," said Team USA assistant manager Tom Succow. "I think all different types of things occur when you have a round-robin with as many games as we've played in the past week. The fact that we have drawn Cuba and Cuba has drawn us, it's not shocking,"

Equally unpredictable was Wednesday night's surprise thriller between Team Canada and the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic came into the game winless and hungry to upset the host nation in front of a patriotic sold out Port Arthur Stadium, and almost delivered another shocking tournament upset. After being up 6-2 through seven innings, Canada chipped away until Dalton Pompey hit a walk-off, opposite-field blast into the corner in the bottom of the ninth that gave Canada a quarterfinal berth versus Italy. Had Canada lost to the Czechs they would have had a much more daunting task in the round of eight, facing a talented Chinese Taipei team whose only loss came to gold-medal favorites Team USA.

Canada's path to the gold medal game could not have been scripted any better for the host nation. Should Canada beat Italy on Friday, they would face the winner of Team Netherlands and Chinese Taipei in the first semi-final matchup Saturday afternoon. Arguably the three toughest matchups in the entire tournament for Canada have fallen to the opposite side of the medal round bracket. In the process, Cuba, USA and South Korea are likely to beat up on each other vying for the remaining spot in the gold medal final. This all bodes well for a Canadian team looking to build off the momentum of a walk-off win but if we've learned anything from this past week, it's that nothing is certain. With the tournament shifting to single-game knock out, there's an even smaller margin for error, and an upset at this stage of the game doesn't permit for second chances.

Even though the round-robin hasn't shaken down exactly as experts had projected, contending teams are echoing the pragmatic words of Succow.

"You've got to play the best teams to win the gold medal...our mind set is to win the gold medal."

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NFL Football Betting


BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES

It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.

BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES

All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.

COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES

Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.

TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES

Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.

RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES

Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.

PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES

Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.

JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES

Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.

SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES

I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.

VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES

Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.

DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES

Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.

SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES

I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.

BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES

Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.

BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES

Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.

RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES

A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.

PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers

Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.

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