Texas Rangers

The Rangers had an 11-game winning streak snapped last Friday against Houston, but they still went on to win two of three against the Astros, and they had split a pair against the Angels in Los Angeles ahead of Thursday’s series finale.  Josh Hamilton had 10 hits over six games, and his 49 hits in June was a franchise record.  Vladdy Guerrero also went deep three times and drove in 10 runs for the Rangers, while Ian Kinsler is regaining his power stroke with two homers and six RBIs last week.  On the pitching side, Scott Feldman didn’t have a good week with a 7.71 ERA in two starts, and those who bet on MLB odds know that you have to have a little bit of pitching to be successful in the postseason.  The Rangers are apparently hot on the heels of Houston’s Roy Oswalt, and they could even go after Seattle’s Cliff Lee, but their financial problems may put Lee out of their reach.   The Rangers also may have helped their hitting problem behind the plate by picking up Bengie Molina from San Francisco.  Texas has the worst-hitting catchers in the league, and Molina’s also a solid defensive catcher, so this should work out for the Rangers, but they will keep an eye for a pitcher to bolster themselves for the stretch run.

Dallas Mavericks

Dirk Nowitzki figured to be a Maverick for life, but stranger things have happened (look at Ghana, who are on the verge of reaching the World Cup semi finals betting stage).  But he did opt out of his contract and is officially fielding offers from other teams in the 2010 free-agent summer sweepstakes.  Now, the odds are still very good that Nowitzki will remain in Dallas, where he has spent all 12 years of his NBA career, and some feel that he’s just trying to get a contract under the current CBA, which will expire after next season.  But the Mavericks are going to have to go out and aggressively pursue another big free agent to join Nowitzki in Dallas, and some have even said they’re a solid betting darkhorse to land LeBron James, who is good friends with Dallas owner Mark Cuban.  Although that’s unlikely, the Mavericks have to go out and get someone better than Caron Butler to boost their betting odds.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers sit atop the AL West by two games over Oakland, but they didn’t have the best week, dropping two of three in Chicago against the Cubs in interleague play, and then they split a two-game set in Kansas City.  However, the big news comes off the field, where the Rangers will be funded in the interim by Major League Baseball until the team’s bankruptcy case concludes.  On the field, it doesn’t get any easier for the Rangers as they travel to Minnesota for a three-game set against the Central-leading Twins, then they head to Chicago again, this time to face the White Sox.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys’ NFL betting odds will be based on their receivers’ ability to provide targets for Tony Romo, and Roy Williams is already hinting at a fierce competition in the group.  However, the Cowboys took a step backwards as rookie Dez Bryant left OTAs (Organized Team Activities) with stomach problems, although he should be fine in the long term.  Bryant has already battled a hip pointer, and his life in Dallas is off to a rocky start.

Dallas Mavericks

Dirk Nowitzki would obviously make Germany his World Cup Group D betting choice, but will he choose to stay with the only team he has ever played for?  The former MVP surprisingly opted out of his contract for next season, making an already-historic free-agent class even better.  The odds are very good that Nowitzki will stay in Dallas, and given his production, he’s earned the right to see what he can get on the market before a new CBA is installed.  In other news, Mark Cuban was fined $100,000 for letting everyone in on the worst-kept secret in basketball: owners are interested in LeBron James.

Dallas Stars

The Stars are slated to pick 11^th in the NHL draft, which will take place on June 25-26 in Los Angeles, and most seem to think that they’ll aim to take defenseman Derek Forbort, a massive player who laces them up for the US Developmental Team.  Forbort is 6’4” and almost 200 pounds, but at 18 years old, he’s still has yet to fill out, really.  The Stars weren’t a great defensive team last year, and they’ll be looking to shore up that part of the team first.  If Forbort is gone, the play could be Nino Niederreiter, a Swiss winger who plays in Portland, or Stanislav Galiev, a Russian winger who skates for Moncton.  But above all, the Stars are just looking for a small boost to their online betting odds for next season.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have had a great week, sweeping Kansas City at home in a four-game series, and they had split the first two games of their three-game set with Oakland heading into Thursday afternoon’s finale.  The last week has been kind to Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton, the duo that many thought would power the Rangers to the top of the division, and over the last seven days, they’ve shown why.  Guerrero had a .348 average in six games last week, along with four homers and eight RBIs.  Hamilton wasn’t far behind with a .296 average, three homers and nine RBIs.  If they continue to hit like this, the Rangers will have one of the premier power duos in the entire majors, but Guerrero and Hamilton have to stay healthy.  As for the pitchers, C.J. Wilson and Derek Holland both had excellent starts against the Royals and Athletics, and Wilson is being counted on for the win in Thursday’s finale against Oakland.  Coming up this week, the Rangers will head to Toronto for the weekend before returning home for meetings with Guerrero’s former team, the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a visit from Baltimore. The Rangers’ MLB betting odds are looking up.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are still sorting through the rubble of their first-round implosion against San Antonio, and even though NBA championship odds thought they would challenge Los Angeles for the Western Conference title, all there is another opening-round exit for a team that has won 50 games or more in each of the last 10 seasons. Dirk Nowitzki is the biggest question as he has a $21.5 million player option, which many think he’ll take, but he has to wonder about the state of the team.  Will Jason Kidd be moved after an awful postseason, especially if they try and give more minutes to Roddy Beaubois?  Shawn Marion is another piece of trade bait who didn’t perform that well, especially own the stretch.  They would probably like to move Erick Dampier as well, but with $13 million owed to him next year, it may be hard to find a dance partner.  The Mavericks don’t have much in the way of cap room unless they make some moves, but they’re becoming the NBA’s version of the San Jose Sharks.  However, even the Sharks broke through this year, which means that maybe next year will be the Mavericks’ time if you’re going to bet on sports.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks seemed like they weren’t even interested in staving off elimination as they were down 22-8 at the end of their first quarter in the sixth game of their first-round series with San Antonio, but to their credit, they fought back gamely.  However, it wasn’t enough as the Mavericks fell 97-87 to the Spurs, falling out in the first round for the third time in four seasons.  Dirk Nowitzki tried to put the team on his back with 33 points, while Caron Butler had 25 points, but Jason Kidd finally started to look his age with a 1-of-6 performance, even though he added eight boards and six assists.  Now, the Mavericks will wonder if Nowitzki will opt out of the final year of his deal and test free agency, although it’s pretty unlikely that he’ll leave the only franchise he has ever played for in 12 years of NBA action.  Kidd was not present at the final team meeting of the season, and they could look to move the veteran point guard to give more time to Roddy Beaubois, who had 16 points in 21 minutes of the Game 6 loss.  Either way, there may be a change to the Mavericks, who must look at Spurs Suns betting odds and feel sick.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers swept the Mariners in Seattle last weekend, with two of the wins coming in extra innings, while Rich Harden began a three-game set in Oakland by getting a win against the team that drafted him in 2000, and where he spent 5 ½ seasons before he was traded to Chicago, where the Cubs were looking to improve their MLB betting odds in the National League.  The Rangers then dropped the last two games of the series in Oakland, and heading into the first of their four-game set at home with Kansas City, the Rangers were 14-14, which is good for second behind the Athletics in the American League West by a half-game.  The Rangers will go up against the reigning Cy Young winner, Kansas City’s Zack Greinke, on Friday night, while Harden will go the next day on Saturday night.  After the Royals, the Rangers will then welcome Oakland to town for their second series of the season against their West rivals before they gear up for a trip north to Toronto.  The Rangers are easing Ian Kinsler back into the lineup after his ankle injury, and as he gets more comfortable, online sports betting players will get more comfortable with picking the Rangers.