Critical Notes

Things were nice for a change on Hell’s Kitchen. (Photo courtesy of Fox.com)

You wonder if prison warden’s get this nice when an inmate’s sentence is about to expire.

With Hell’s Kitchen down to the final three, Gordon Ramsay not only eased up on the ritual lambasting of his wannabe chefs on Monday’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen, he encouraged them to wail into him. Rock, Jen and Bonnie all ripped it with vigor as they aimed to show Ramsay they were ready to lead a kitchen just like he does, swearing and spitting everywhere and expecting anyone watching to think his aim with saliva is so precise he never spews on the food.

In the end, Ramsay couldn’t be all nice because he had to let a good cook go. This week it was Jen, a 26-year-old pastry chef from Hazelton, Pa., who earlier in the episode was on top of the world when members of her family came for a visit and were treated to an outing with Ramsay. The high of shopping with her mom was contrasted by her tearful goodbye when Ramsay announced that Rock, a 30-year-old executive chef from Spotsylvania, Pa., and 26-year-old L.A. nanny/personal chef Bonnie would be the two finalists.

After Jen left, Rock and Bonnie got to reconnect with their own loved ones. Ramsay brought out Bonnie’s parents and Rock’s wife, spurring Rock to utter the priceless phrase: “Think they’ll allow us conjugal.” Ah, the sacrifices made for reality TV stardom.

The winner of the Fox show will be announced next week. Either Rock or Bonnie will receive the grand prize of running their own kitchen in Vegas.

For reality TV odds on all of your favorite shows, visit the Bodog Sportsbook.

Ichiro Suzuki scored one run and had an RBI in the Mariners’ shutout win. (AP Images)

The Seattle Mariners know their playoff hopes could hinge on how they perform in the early part of this week. They’re fortunate they have the right man to set the tone.

Ichiro Suzuki had three hits, scored one run and drove in another as the Mariners blanked division rival Los Angeles, 2-0, Monday night in a critical series at Safeco Field. Miguel Batista allowed four singles in seven innings and Seattle moved within three games of the American League West-leading Angels with its fourth straight win.

The Mariners were a solid bet as a home underdog, paying +124 on the moneyline (meaning a winning wager of $100 netted a $124 profit).

Los Angeles, which was coming off a sweep over Detroit, lost for the first time in five games. The Angels struggled against Batista (11-7), who struck out two and walked none in his first scoreless start this season. Brandon Morrow pitched a scoreless eighth and J.J. Putz needed just six pitches to complete the four-hitter and earn his 31st save in 32 chances.

Putz struck out Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero on three pitches.

Suzuki led off the third inning by lining a drive to the right-centerfield wall against Kelvim Escobar (11-5), who allowed eight hits in his third complete game this season. Suzuki then tested the vaunted throwing arm of rightfielder Guerrero by speeding around second as Guerrero picked up the ball. He reached third easily as Guerrero’s throw was wide of the base, and scored on Jose Vidro’s single to make it 1-0.

In other American League games on Monday:

Detroit 5, Oakland 2: Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco both had three hits and an RBI as theTigers snapped a four-game losing streak with a road win that paid their backers +105. Jordan Tata (1-0), brought up to take the injured Kenny Rogers’ spot in Detroit’s rotation, allowed two runs and six hits over seven innings in his first major league start. A 16th-round draft pick in 2003, Tata walked two and struck out five, including Nick Swisher three times.

Tampa Bay 5, Toronto 4: Carl Crawford, who scored the tying run as a pinch runner in the ninth inning, led off the bottom of the 11th with a home run that lifted the Devil Rays to a home win. Tampa Bay paid +131.

Minnesota 3, Kansas City 1: Scott Baker sparkled over eight crisp innings and Joe Mauer drove in three runs to lead the Twins at the Metrodome. Baker (5-4) faced one batter over the minimum, struck out seven and allowed two hits, both in the fourth inning. Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save in 25 opportunities as the Twins paid -140.

For complete MLB odds for Tuesday, visit the Bodog Sportsbook.

Many observers believe the only thing that can stop the New England Patriots from claiming a fourth Super Bowl crown this decade is a series of injuries. The doomsday scenario moved a little closer to fruition on Monday when the Super Bowl favorites announced that defensive back Chad Scott will miss the entire season because of a left knee injury suffered on the first day of training camp.

While in coverage during a team drill on Friday, Scott leaped into the air while attempting to deflect a pass and landed awkwardly on his left leg. Scott, 32, was placed on the reserve/injured list. The news came just hours after coach Bill Belichick continued to describe Scott’s injury as day-to-day.

Meanwhile, the Patriots continue contract talks with cornerback Asante Samuel, who is holding out for a multi-year deal after rejecting a one-year, $7.79-million offer.

Last season, Scott played in 14 regular-season games with nine starts. He made 44 tackles and had two interceptions. He signed with the Patriots before the 2005 season, which was cut short by a shoulder injury that October. He was drafted in the first round, 24th overall, by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997. He spent the first eight years of his career with the Steelers.

His loss hasn’t affected the Patriots’ Super Bowl odds, which remain at a stunningly strong 8/5.

For complete Super Bowl odds and other NFL odds, visit the Bodog Sportsbook. And be sure to read Bodog Nation for comprehensive coverage of the NFL preseason. The popular online magazine published a look at players likely to go “Boom or Bust” this year, starting with Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler. And don’t miss the first installment of this season’s fantasy football primer.

At 12-5, Cole Hamels has already established himself as an elite starter in the NL. (AI Wire photo)

Cole Hamels pitched eight impressive innings, Tadahito Iguchi hit his first homer with Philadelphia and the Phillies upset Ted Lilly and the Chicago Cubs, 4-1, at Wrigley Field Monday night for their fourth straight win. It was the only game in the National League on the night.

Aaron Rowand also hit a three-run drive for the Phillies, who have won nine of 10 and trail the NL East-leading Mets by three games. Philadelphia was 8.5 games back of New York on June 2.

The Phillies also made a move before the game to strengthen their pitching staff, acquiring Kyle Lohse from the Cincinnati Reds for a minor leaguer.

Philadelphia was a slight underdog, rewarding its backers with a +108 payday on the moneyline (meaning a winning wager of $100 would net a $108 profit). In-game wagering was available for the contest through BodogLIVE.

Hamels (12-5) allowed one run and three hits, struck out eight and walked two. The 23-year-old lefthander retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced, and also set down his last nine batters.

Brett Myers pitched a perfect ninth to complete the three-hitter and earn his seventh save.

For complete MLB odds for Tuesday, visit the Bodog Sportsbook.

The National League East-leading New York Mets neatly filled a big hole at second base, acquiring three-time All-Star Luis Castillo from the Minnesota Twins for a pair of prospects Monday. The 31-year-old Castillo will give the Mets three switch-hitters at the top of their lineup when injured Carlos Beltran returns and brings speed and a .304 average to a batting order already topped by major league stolen-base leader Jose Reyes. Castillo twice was the NL steals leader, though bad knees have limited his running in recent seasons.

A three-time Gold Glove winner who still has above-average range, Castillo also should solidify the defense in a standout infield with Reyes at shortstop, David Wright at third and Carlos Delgado at first. Ruben Gotay had been playing second since Jose Valentin broke a bone in his right leg when he fouled off a pitch at Dodger Stadium on June 21.

Minnesota gets catcher Drew Butera, who will report to Double-A New Britain, and outfielder Dustin Martin, who will go to Class-A Fort Myers. The deal, which came together in less than 24 hours, was completed one day before the deadline for making trades without waivers.

“With Valentin going down, this is a move we need to do,” Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. “For me, it’s important to have a guy to the right of Delgado to cover ground.”

Beltran, who has not played in nearly a week because of a strained oblique muscle, appears headed for the disabled list.

Castillo, who is making $5.75 million this season, can become a free agent after the World Series. He has only nine stolen bases in 13 attempts and just 29 walks in 349 at-bats with 11 doubles, three triples and 18 RBIs, but he has been one of only a handful of consistent hitters for the Twins this year.

“He was going to be a guy that this winter we were probably going to look at as a free agent,” Minaya said. “Now we have a better opportunity to look at him.”

The Mets, who tied the crosstown Yankees for the best record in baseball and were one win from the World Series last year, led the surging Philadelphia Phillies by 3?? games and the Atlanta Braves by 4?? games in the NL East race when the day began.

The Mets, whose World Series odds are 6/1, visit the struggling Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night in a battle of division leaders. For complete MLB odds, visit the Bodog Sportsbook.

LA Angels’ Casey Kotchman swings for an RBI single during their Major League Baseball game against the Detroit Tigers. (AP Images)

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim completed a three-game sweep over the defending American League champion Detroit Tigers Sunday at Angel Stadium.

Chone Figgins had three hits and scored three runs over the first three innings as the Angels cruised to a 13-4 victory over the Tigers, who came to LA on Friday with the league’s best road record.

Leaving the record in the dust, Detroit was outscored by Anaheim 34-13 over the three contests.

The Angels, who entered Friday with a 32-16 home record, scored 10-plus runs in three straight games for only the second time in franchise history. The only other time this happened was from May 20-23, 1997.

Figgins, who is batting a league-best .419 (85-for-203) since June 1, singled and scored in every one of his first three at-bats.

Chris Bootcheck got the win after relieving Dustin Moseley and allowing two hits over 2 1/3 scoreless frames for the Angels, who have now won four consecutive contests.

Curtis Granderson hit his major league-leading 17th triple of the season for the Tigers, who have now lost four straight.

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San Jose SaberCats coach Darren Arbet holds the trophy overhead after beating the Columbus Destroyers in the ArenaBowl XXI football game in New Orleans. (AP Images)

The San Jose SaberCats beat the Columbus Destroyers 55-33 to win their third ArenaBowl championship in just six seasons.

The sold out crowd at New Orleans Arena was in for a thrilling game as San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb, who was named the Mitsubishi Motors Most Valuable Player, passed for 218 yards (24-of-29) with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Wide receiver James Roe made eight catches for 76 yards and two scores and wide receiver Rodney Wright added 10 catches for 94 yards.

The ‘Cats defense also put on a show, holding the Destroyers to a playoff low 33 points with defensive backs Cleven Thomas and Omarr Smith making interceptions for San Jose.

SaberCats’ head coach Darren Arbet is now 3-0 in ArenaBowl games and just the second coach in AFL history to win three ArenaBowl Championships.

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For more ArenaBowl coverage, check out our Bodog Nation article.

Florida Marlins’ Miguel Cabrera is congratulated by teammate Josh Willingham after his third inning home run against the San Francisco Giants. (AP Images)

The Florida Marlins came back Sunday against the San Francisco Giants, beating them 8-5 in the finale of a three game set at AT&T Park.

Marlin Miguel Cabrera went 4-for-5 with a solo home run, three RBI and two runs scored.

Barry Bonds finished the game 0-for-4 and remained at 754 career homers, still one shy of Hank Aaron for the all-time record. Bonds grounded out to second in the second, flied out to right in the fourth, grounded out again to second in the sixth and reached first base on an error by Miguel Olivo in the eighth.

Jeremy Hermida went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Hanley Ramirez scored a pair of runs for the Marlins, who snapped a six-game losing streak.

Sergio Mitre (5-5) got the win, giving up five runs on six hits with a pair of walks in 6 2/3 innings of work.

The Giants had a four game winning streak snapped, with Ryan Klesko and Guillermo Rodriguez each driving in a pair of runs.

Matt Morris (7-7) got the loss, giving six runs on 13 hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings of play.

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Jim Furyk won the Canadian Open Golf Tournament in Ontario Sunday. (AP Images)

Jim Furyk had a near flawless final round of golf Sunday to win the Canadian Open, golf’s third-oldest national championship, for a second straight year.

The American shot a 7-under 64, including a hole in one on the 209-yard fourth hole, followed by three consecutive birdies, and another birdie on the 15^th. His only blemish was a bogey on the 18^th.

Furyk ended the tournament with 16-under 268 total on Angus Glen’s links-style North Course. He earned $900,000 for his 13th PGA Tour victory and first since last September in Ancaster.

Furyk beat third-round leader Vijay Singh by one shot. Singh, the 2004 winner at Glen Abbey in a playoff with Canadian star Mike Weir, shot a 68.

Ryan Palmer and George McNeill closed with 66s to tie for third at 13 under, and Bob Heintz (67) and Hunter Mahan (67) followed at 12 under.

Bodog Sportsbook has all your PGA odds and bets – come see! To read more about the Canadian Open, visit Bodog Nation.

Maggie, Marge, Lisa, Homer and Bart have hit the big screen, earning a whopping $71.9 million in sales this weekend at the box office. (Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox)

After 18 years on the small screen, the Simpsons have hit the big screen with a huge weekend opening. The Simpsons Movie took in $71.9 million in ticket sales and topped this weekend’s box office.  

Last week’s number one, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, fell to second place with $19.1 million in sales, raising its two week total to $71.6 million.

The latest Harry Potter film, Order of the Phoenix, fell to third place from second in its third week in release, taking in $17.1 million for a total of $241.8 million.

The latest Broadway play to hit the big screen,Hairspray, opened in third last week but finished fourth this week with $15.6 million.

Catherine Zeta-Jones’ latest film, No Reservations, took fifth place this weekend, earning $11.8 million.

Rounding out the top ten were Transformers in sixth with sales of $11.5 million, Ratatouille fell to seventh with $7.2 million, Bruce Willis in Live Free or Die Hard in eighth with $5.4 million, Lindsay Lohan’s bomb I Know Who Killed Me in ninth with $3.4 million and comedy Who’s Your Caddy in tenth with $2.9 million.

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