Orioles' Wigginton has suspension reduced, drops appeal

Baseball Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton had his three-game suspension reduced by one game, Major League Baseball announced on Monday.

Wigginton, who agreed to drop his appeal, was originally slapped with three games for his on-field argument and subsequent volatile reaction with an umpire in Thursday's game against Minnesota.

The nine-year veteran had initially appealed the ruling and was in Baltimore's starting lineup on Friday, going 1-for-4 with a triple in the club's 3-2 win over the Twins.

Wigginton's suspension began on Monday when the Orioles opened a three-game series at Toronto. He will be able to return for the finale on Wednesday.

Manager Juan Samuel and pitching Rick Kranitz were ejected, along with Wigginton, during the seventh inning of the game.

Umpire Gary Darling ruled that Wigginton missed a tag on Twins' shortstop J.J. Hardy, who was diving back to first base on an aborted stolen base attempt.

Wigginton argued briefly, but vociferously, and was thrown out of the game after it appeared he had bumped Darling chest to chest.

The veteran infielder then had to be restrained by Samuel before leaving the field.

Later in the frame, home plate umpire Bill Hohn threw Kranitz out for sarcastically clapping from the dugout after Drew Butera's single scored Hardy.

Samuel then came storming out of the dugout and was dismissed after taking his hat off, throwing it to the ground and stomping on it.

Wwwbetgameday Baseball Betting News

<< Pats ink pair of second-round picks
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots have signed their 2010 second-round draft selections, tight end Rob Gronkowski and defensive lineman Jermaine Cunningham. Terms of the contracts were not released. Gronkowski was ta

<< Golf Course Review - The Quarry Golf Club
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS AND STATS: Course Architect: Keith Foster (1992-94). Year Opened: 1994. Location: San Antonio, Texas. Slope: 128. Rating: 72.4. Par: 71. Yardage: 6,740. Hole-by-Hole: 1 - Par 4 388 Yds 10 - Par

<< Dodgers P Kershaw drops appeal, will serve suspension
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has dropped the appeal of his five-game suspension and will begin serving it Tuesday when the team opens a three-game series in San Diego. The southp

<< Dolphins sign DT Stanley
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins added some depth to the defensive line position on Monday by agreeing to terms with veteran tackle Montavious Stanley. Details of the contract were not disclosed. Stanley, a five

<< Report: Titans file lawsuit against Kiffin, USC
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans have reportedly filed a lawsuit against the University of Southern California and head coach Lane Kiffin in the wake of the hiring flap surrounding Kennedy Pola. On Saturday, USC

Angels option Bell, call up Kohn >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have optioned right-hander Trevor Bell to Triple-A Salt Lake and purchased the contract of pitcher Michael Kohn to take his place on the roster. Bell started Sunday's game

Mets' C Barajas disabled, INF Hessman recalled >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have placed catcher Rod Barajas on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 25, with a strained left oblique. The veteran receiver was injured in the sixth inning of Saturday'

Coyotes re-sign winger Picard >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have re-signed left wing Alexandre Picard to a one-year contract. As per team policy, no terms of the deal were announced. Picard was acquired by the Coyotes from Columbus on March 3 bu

Packers sign second-round pick DE Neal >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers signed their 2010 second-round pick, defensive end Mike Neal Monday. Terms of the contract were not released. Selected 56th overall, the 6-foot-3, 294-pound Neal started 23 of

Titans file lawsuit against Kiffin, USC >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans have filed a lawsuit against the University of Southern California and head coach Lane Kiffin in the wake of the hiring flap surrounding Kennedy Pola. On Saturday, USC announc

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

MySportsbook.com is the Internet’s largest online sportsbook site serving customers in more than 80 countries worldwide. Founded in 1997, MySportsbook.com was the first sports book to introduce reduced margin wagering, using a -105 pricing model that gives bettors up to 50% better value on wagers than traditional bookmakers. With low minimum bet requirements and the highest maximum limits on the Web, MySportsbook.com has earned an industry leading reputation for providing consistent value to the player, professional customer service and the quickest payouts online. Fully licensed and regulated in Antigua and the UK, the company offers a secure environment for sports betting, horse racing and online casino games.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts credit cards needs.