Carter Acquires Sports For Club

Baseball Betting Lines

Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Growing up in New York whether you were a fan of the Yankees or the Mets, it was hard not to get caught up with what was going on at Shea Stadium in the Summer of 1986. A big reason for the excitement that summer was the exuberant play of Gary Carter. On Thursday, Carter passed away at the age of 57, succumbing to brain cancer.

 

"Learning of Gary's passing feels as if I just lost a family member. Gary and I grew up together in the game, and during our time with the Expos we were as close as brothers, if not closer," said Steve Rogers, who played 11 seasons with Carter in Montreal. "Gary was a champion. He was a 'gamer' in every sense of the word -- on the field and in life. He made everyone else around him better, and he made me a better pitcher. His contributions to the game, both in Montreal and New York, are legendary and will likely never be duplicated."

 

Although, I grew up about 20 minutes away from Shea Stadium, the Yankees were the team I rooted for. But, for some reason most of my baseball memories in the '80s come from the Mets and, more specifically, Gary Carter.

 

And if you don't know what game I'm referring to, then you probably aren't much of a baseball fan.

 

Trailing by two runs to the Boston Red Sox, who by the way had just been congratulated on the Diamond Vision screen for their World Series win, Carter walked through the dugout yelling to anyone who could hear him that he wasn't going to be the one to make that last out.

 

Dwight Gooden may have described who Carter was the best Friday morning during a radio interview. After Gooden had the first of his substance abuse problems back in 1986, Carter would often visit him at the Smithers Clinic after games and just talk to him, see how he was doing from a personal standpoint. Never once did Carter ask when he was coming back. All he wanted to make sure was that Gooden got better.

 

"The one thing I remember about Gary was his smile," former teammate Mookie Wilson said. "He loved life and loved to play the game of baseball."

 

Sure, Carter had his flaws. Everyone does. Some people said he was arrogant. He probably was. Show me a professional athlete who isn't. That attitude is probably a big reason why they made it so far in the first place.

 

The slim chance that he may have had was probably gone. And that fight ended on Thursday.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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