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."

Mysportsnook Baseball Betting News

<< Cuba edges U.S. in thrilling quarterfinal
Thunder Bay, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a dramatic quarterfinal matchup, one can only imagine what else is in store for the final weekend of the World Junior Baseball Championship. Omar Luis threw nine solid innings in a gutsy 144-pitch eff

<< Stosur, Sharapova reach semis in Stanford
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur and fifth-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova won their respective quarterfinal matches Friday at the $700,000 Bank of the West Classic tennis event. Stosur outlasted se

<< Rain-soaked Cardinals sneak past Pirates in 10
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendan Ryan's infield single scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, as the St. Louis Cardinals snuck past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1-0, in the opener of a three-game series at Busch S

<< Giants hold on in ninth to edge Dodgers
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBI, and Tim Lincecum lasted seven innings after a slow start to pace San Francisco to a tight 6-5 triumph over the Dodgers in the opener

<< Angels erase early five-run deficit, top Rangers
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Rivera had two hits, including a three-run homer, and the Los Angeles Angels overcame an early five-run deficit to beat the rival Texas Rangers, 9-7, in the start of a crucial intradivisional weekend

Blue Jays hope to stay hot versus Indians >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays are riding a four-game winning streak and will attempt to continue the string of strong play against the Cleveland Indians in the second of three weekend games at Rogers Centre. Righty Jake Westbrook

Tigers continue road series with Red Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers finally halted a nine-game road losing streak last night and will aim for a second straight win over the Boston Red Sox today at Fenway Park. In Friday's opener, Jhonny Peralta hit a pair of homers and d

Reds hope to reclaim first place in test with Braves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds try to once again reverse their standing in the National League's Central Division today when they host the Atlanta Braves in game two of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park. The Reds entere

Dodgers send out Billingsley on short rest to face Giants >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In danger of losing a fourth straight game, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in need of a spark. That could come from work-horse Chad Billingsley, who will pitch on three days' rest for the first time in his career this afternoon

Nats try to extend win streak against Phillies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Usually sellers around the non-waiver trade deadline, the Nationals didn't seem to impressed on Friday with the Phillies' big midseason pickup. One day after spoiling the Philadelphia debut of Roy Oswalt, Washington will

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.