Every day still a struggle for Hamilton

Baseball Betting Lines

02/03/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton relapsed this past week.

The 2010 American League Most Valuable Player met the media on Friday to address the situation. According to Hamilton a family issue led him to downtown Dallas where he had dinner and had "three or four" drinks.

"You guys all know how hard I play on the field," Hamilton said. "When I don't do that off the field. I leave myself open for a weak moment. And I had a weak moment on Monday in Dallas."

Hamilton called teammate Ian Kinsler to come hang out with him. Kinsler then took him home, but Hamilton returned to the bar and had some more drinks, but did not touch drugs, nor did he want to.

"Ian [Kinsler] did not know I had been drinking because once I do drink I can be very deceptive, very sneaky in a lot of ways," Hamilton said.

He's had two drug tests since the incident.

"Anytime I drink there is a point that comes and the switch flips and you never know when it's going to be," Hamilton said. "Whether it's the first three or four or the 15th. That's why its so dangerous."

At the outset it doesn't appear to be as damaging as the time Hamilton slipped up in Arizona back in 2009 when pictures of him with other women at a bar surfaced on the internet.

But, it was a relapse nonetheless and sadly it probably won't be the last.

"It was just wrong. That's all it comes down to," Hamilton said. "I needed to be in a different place. I needed to be responsible ... I was not responsible."

Everyone knows the story with Hamilton. Selected first overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999, Hamilton was injured early in his minor league career and fell into a pattern of drug abuse shortly thereafter that ultimately got him suspended from the game.

Tampa eventually cut ties with the outfielder in 2006, leaving him exposed to the Rule 5 Draft where he was selected by the Chicago Cubs before being moved to the Cincinnati Reds later in the day.

Hamilton shined for the Reds in 2007, but was dealt to the Rangers the following winter. Hamilton's comeback really took off in Arlington, as he became an All-Star in 2008, stealing the show with a breathtaking performance in the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium that year.

The common denominator in all his past transgressions and his most recent slip-ups has been time away from the game. Injuries at the outset of his career led him to his initial downward spiral and the latest incidents both came in the offseason.

So, here we go again.

You can applaud Hamilton for his honesty, his courage and his willingness to address his addiction without a prepared statement, but you could have also replayed the same press conference he gave after the incident three years ago. It sounded almost the same.

And again, the next time this happens, it will probably be a replay of this one. Yet I'll still continue to root for him because you want him to succeed.

You have to wonder, though, why Hamilton would even go to such a high-profile place. Then again, given his story, which I am sure everyone in the Texas area is probably aware of, why would someone even serve him?

This is a constant struggle for Hamilton, one I can't begin to understand since thankfully addiction is not something that I have had to deal with in any capacity of my life.

As far as baseball goes, the question has to be asked, can the Rangers depend on him long term? Of course there are some out there who are already questioning the Rangers' choice of trying to work out a deal with Hamilton, who

It's a valid argument. Forget the injuries that have plagued him almost all of his career, would you commit the type of money that Hamilton is worth to a player that obviously has demons most people cannot begin to fathom?

When he is on the field, though, he is one of the more dynamic bats in the game, as evidenced by his terrific showing in the Bronx that night and his amazing MVP campaign of two years ago.

But, as he proved this past week, he could always be a drink away from leaving the game forever.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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