Weekly Sports Betting Roundup: July 4
It's plain old intraleague action for sports bettors this week as baseball highlights a wagering calendar that also includes NASCAR and Formula 1 racing, the PGA Tour, and the Canadian Football League.
MLB's National League slate early in the week offers up an NL Central clash between the Reds and Cardinals in St. Louis. Watch for Cincinnati ace Johnny Cueto (5-2, 1.84 ERA) to the take the mound in Monday's matchup. Cueto is coming off a no-decision against the Rays (three runs over 7 2-3 innings of work), but he knocked off the Cardinals when he faced them on May 14 by giving up three runs (all unearned) on just three hits over 7 2-3 innings pitched.
Over in the American League the week wraps up with a pair of AL East clashes, with Baltimore at Boston and Tampa Bay at the Yankees in weekend sets. The Rays and Yankees last met in Tampa Bay in the middle of May, with the teams splitting a short two-game set. The Orioles and Red Sox, meanwhile, have split four games this year. The other AL East club, the Blue Jays, finish out the first half of their schedule this weekend by taking on the Central-leading Indians in Cleveland.
On the track this week the Sprint Cup Series will take NASCAR betting to Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400 on Saturday, while Formula 1 races at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix on Sunday.
NASCAR's top circuit hasn't raced at Kentucky before; the Quaker State 400 is the first Sprint Cup Series event on the track. Some of the drivers, though, have experience at the venue from Nationwide Series races, including last year's Meijer 300 winner Joey Logano.
F1 bettors get another chance to wager on Sebastian Vettel at the series' race this week; Vettel, the drivers championship leader, has won six of eight races this season.
The PGA Tour tunes up for the British Open this week with the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run. Golf bettors who want to look ahead to the major tournament, though, can get Rory McIlroy as the 5/1 favorite on the golf betting odds right now to win the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George's Golf Club. Lee Westwood is at 9/1 on those odds, with Luke Donald tied as the third favorite with Tiger Woods at 14/1.
Finally, the football league that's not locked out, the CFL, stages its second week of action with Toronto at Winnipeg and Calgary at British Columbia on Friday, and Montreal at Saskatchewan and Hamilton at Edmonton on Saturday. Winnipeg, a league-worst 4-14 last season, showed some life in their season opener in Week 1 by beating Hamilton 24-16 on the road as an 8-point underdog at the sportsbooks.