The 2009 Preakness Odds and Triple Crown betting take center stage this weekend. Rachel Alexandra, Pioneerof The Nile, Friesen Fire, Mine That Bird, and Musket Man are the favorites.

Meanwhile American Idol Vegas odds have Adam Lambert as the presumed winner.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Giants play host to the Mets, the Cardinals get a visit from the Brewers, and the Royals send their ace to the hill.

Sports headlines…

Waymen Tisdale, a popular former NBA player is dead at age 44 from bone cancer…Remember that the Drudge Report for gamblers is the betting news section.

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Tim Lincecum (3-1, 3.25 ERA) will be looking for his sixth straight quality start on Friday when his Giants play host to the Mets. Righthander Lincecum had to settle for a no-decision against the Dodgers last time out, allowing just three earned runs on six hits over six innings of work; he had previously won three straight starts. The Mets will go with veteran Livan Hernandez (3-1, 5.08 ERA) on Friday night. Righthander Hernandez has won each of his past two outings for New York, allowing just three earned runs on 14 hits over those 12 1-3 innings pitched.

Elsewhere on the NL schedule for Friday it’ll be Houston at the Cubs, Colorado at Pittsburgh, Philadelphia at Washington, the Dodgers at Florida, Arizona at Atlanta, Cincinnati at San Diego, and Milwaukee at St. Louis. The Brewers will use Yovani Gallardo (4-1, 3.09 ERA) against their division rival on Friday; the righthander hasn’t lost since April 13. The Cards will counter with righthander Kyle Lohse (3-2, 4.25 ERA), who has given up 13 runs in his last 10 1-3 innings.

Over in the Junior Circuit on Friday the Royals will send red-hot ace Zack Greinke (6-1, 0.51 ERA) to the mound in their home game against the Orioles. Greinke tasted defeat for the first time this season last time out, but he only surrendered one earned run on four hits (and no walks) over eight innings versus the Angels. The Orioles are slated to start righthander Adam Eaton (2-3, 7.18 ERA) in Friday night’s contest. Eaton beat the Yankees in his start last Saturday.

The full slate of AL action on Friday also includes Oakland at Detroit, the White Sox at Toronto, Cleveland at Tampa Bay, the Angels at Texas, Boston at Seattle, and Minnesota at the Yankees. New York will be hoping Phil Hughes (1-2, 8.49 ERA) can get back on track for the Friday outing; the righthander was pounded for eight earned runs in 1 2-3 innings by the Orioles last time out. The Twins will send Francisco Liriano (2-4, 5.75 ERA) to the mound to take on the Yankees. The lefthander has won his last two starts, due in large part to 16 runs of support.

After your Preakness betting action is all done on Sunday, players can start placing their online sports bets on the NHL’s conference series, which kick off Sunday in Detroit. Last year’s Stanley Cup finalists both made it to the final four again this year, and they’re favored to draw first blood against a pair of pesky teams that won’t lie down.

Blackhawks vs Red Wings odds – Sunday, May 17, 3:00 PM ET

The Red Wings are favored at -190 to win the first game at Joe Louis Arena, and they took four of six from the young Blackhawks during the regular season. Detroit, who is the oldest team in the NHL, put away Anaheim in seven games, and they can trot out four productive lines all capable of playing well at both ends of the ice. The Blackhawks, who are the second-youngest team in the league, used their speed to defeat Vancouver in six games, and they’ll try to attack the Red Wings from all angles. However, they showed some nerves early in the Vancouver series, and it’ll come up again on Sunday against a team that doesn’t get frazzled easily. Take Detroit’s NHL odds on Sunday.

Hurricanes vs Penguins odds – Monday, May 18, 7:30 PM ET

The Penguins are -205 favorites at home on Monday, coming off an exciting seven-game series with Washington. Sidney Crosby is tied with the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin in playoff scoring with 21 points, and he had a pair of goals and an assist in the series-clinching 6-2 romp in Washington, while Evgeni Malkin woke up about halfway through the series and is third in points. The Hurricanes upset Boston in seven games, taking the deciding game in overtime, and Eric Staal is the engine that makes them go offensively, as Carolina is only 1-4 in the postseason when he doesn’t score. These two split four meetings this year, and the key matchup will come between the pipes as Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury takes on Carolina’s Cam Ward in a battle of two top young goalies. Score one for Fleury, who would love to make up for a below-par performance at home in Game 6 against Washington with the series on the line. Make Pittsburgh your hockey betting pick on Sunday.

What a difference a couple of weeks make. Sportsbook.com bettors that were fortunate enough to have a wager on long shot, ‘Mine that Bird’ cashed in at 50-1 at The Kentucky Derby.

With a victory under his saddle, Sportsbook.com handicappers currently have the three year-old gelding at +450 to win Saturday’s Preakness Stakes. At +150 ‘Rachel Alexandra’ is the heavy favorite and rightly so; the filly is undefeated in 2009.

Some Sportsbook.com bettors profited on the generous odds ‘Mine that Bird’ offered at the Derby, but nobody took home the $1 Million in the Triple Crown Challenge. So as promised, a seven figure payout will be on the line for The Preakness Stakes.

Wager just $5.00 on Saturday’s Preakness and correctly predict the finishing order of the Top 10 horses to cash-in on Sportsbook.com’s biggest ever Triple Crown promotion. Obviously, going 10-for-10 is no easy task, that’s why the $1 Million will be carried over to the Belmont if no one achieves perfection this Saturday.

There’s also a $10,000.00 Guaranteed Prize Pool up for grabs for those that wager on and make selections for the Triple Crown races. Members are awarded points for every correct selection they make with the Top 5 point earners cashing in on the $10K.

With the most lucrative Triple Crown promotion in the industry to go along with countless ways to wager on the all of the races, there is no reason not to make Sportsbook.com your home for your Preakness Stakes action.

SportsBook  Odds to win the 2009 Preakness Stakes: 

Rachel Alexandra         +150

Mine That Bird             +450  

Pioneerof The Nile        +450

Friesan Fire                    +650

Papa Clem                     +800

Big Drama                     +1000

Musket Men                  +1000

General Quarters           +1500

Take The Points             +2500

Tone it Down                 +3000

Terrain                            +3000

Flying Private                 +4000

Lov Gov                         +4000

Those looking at Preakness odds should be in for a good race on Saturday, but another pair of American League West thoroughbreds will battle at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Friday night, as the division-leading Rangers welcome the Los Angeles Angels to town. Texas‘ high-powered offense, as well as homefield advantage, should make them the favorites in your sportsbook. But the Angels are getting hot, and they’ll be sending their ace to the hill.

Angels vs Rangers odds – Friday, May 15, 8:05 PM ET

Joe Saunders (5-1, 2.66) has been carrying the banged-up Los Angeles rotation, and he shone in a 1-0 win at home over Kansas City as he went the distance, tossing a five-hitter with six strikeouts and only one walk. Saunders is out to prove that last year’s 17-7 record was no fluke, and he’s well on his way to another great season. The 27-year-old southpaw handled the hard-hitting Rangers rather well in 2008, going 1-1 in three starts with an ERA of 1.93.

Kevin Millwood (3-3, 2.92) gets the nod for the Rangers, and he gave up three runs on seven hits over seven innings of work, but he took a loss as the Rangers fell 3-2 at Chicago against the White Sox. This was the first time in five starts that Millwood didn’t allow a homer, and he walked three batters while striking out two. The 34-year-old righthander brings a veteran presence to an inconsistent Texas rotation, and he is looking to bounce back from a 9-10 record in 2008. Last year, Millwood was 1-2 in four starts against the Angels with an ERA of 4.21.

US-friendly sportsbook odds should favor the Rangers at home, and as of Thursday, both teams had won eight of their last 10 games. However, the Angels won seven of nine trips to Texas last year, with five of the nine games going over the posted total. Saunders has been as solid as they come this year, and he won’t have to do it all himself much longer as Ervin Santana and John Lackey have returned from the disabled list. This is the team that Texas needs to beat to prove they are a legitimate contender in the West, but until proven otherwise, the Angels are the team to beat. Take Los Angeles for a baseball betting win on Friday.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The NBA and NHL will continue the second rounds of their playoffs, and the PGA Tour will hit the links in San Antonio. The sports gambling version of cell for cash and race for Tamir Sapir type wealth starts with day baseball and continues tonight.

American Idol Odds

Goodbye to early favorite Danny Gokey on American Idol. The latest Vegas odds for the 2009 American Idol sees Adam Lambert at -325 as the overwhelming favorite to win the most prestigious of all reality shows Hollywood and entertainment betting odds. Kris Allen is 5/2.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

The Celtics can eliminate the Magic on Thursday night when those teams meet in Orlando for Game 6 of their second-round series. Boston rallied in the fourth quarter for a 92-88 home win in Game 5 on Tuesday, which gave them a 3-2 lead in the series. Glen Davis had a team-high 22 points in that win for the Celtics, and Paul Pierce had 19 points. Rashard Lewis led the Magic’s attack with 19 points in the defeat, and Dwight Howard had 12 points and 17 rebounds.

The Lakers can punch their ticket to the third round on Thursday night as well when they play on the road in Houston. Los Angeles got 26 points from Kobe Bryant on Tuesday night in a 118-78 home romp over the Rockets, which gave the Lakers a 3-2 series advantage. Pau Gasol contributed 16 points and 13 boards for Los Angeles in the win, and Andrew Bynum tossed in 14 points. Aaron Brooks had 14 points in the loss for the Rockets, and Ron Artest had nine points.

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The Dodgers will go with Chad Billingsley on Thursday afternoon as they finish off a road series in Philadelphia. Righthander Billingsley is 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA on the season, but he’s coming off his first loss of the year (three runs over seven innings vs. the Giants). The Phillies will counter with Cole Hamels on Thursday; the ace lefthander is just 1-2 with a 6.17 ERA through his five outings.

There are just five other games on the National League schedule for Thursday, with San Diego at the Cubs, Houston at Colorado, St. Louis at Pittsburgh, Florida at Milwaukee, and the Mets at San Francisco. New York probable starter John Maine is 3-2 with a 4.54 ERA on the season, and he’s won his last three outings.

The American League also offers up a half-dozen games on Thursday, with Detroit at Minnesota, Seattle at Texas, Boston at the Angels, Cleveland at Tampa Bay, Baltimore at Kansas City, and the Yankees at Toronto. CC Sabathia (2-3, 3.94 ERA) is slated to take the mound for New York against the Blue Jays; Sabathia tossed a complete-game shutout vs. the Orioles in his last mound trip.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

The Bruins will try to complete the comeback on Thursday night as they host the Hurricanes in the seventh and deciding game of their second-round playoff series. Boston doubled up on Carolina 4-2 on Tuesday night to tie up the series 3-3 and force Thursday’s Game 7. Marc Savard, Mark Recchi, Chuck Kobasew, and Steve Montador all scored for the Bruins in that victory, while Tim Thomas made 31 saves. Cam Ward stopped just 15 of 19 Boston shots in a losing cause.

The Ducks also managed to force a Game 7 in their series with the favored Red Wings, with that matchup taking place on Thursday night as well. Ryan Getzlaf picked up a goal and an assist on Tuesday night in Anaheim‘s 2-1 home victory, which tied up the series 3-3. Corey Perry had the game-winning marker for the Ducks, and Jonas Hiller stopped 38 of 39 Detroit shots. Johan Franzen had the Detroit tally in the third period, while Chris Osgood had 26 saves in the contest.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

Finally, Zach Johnson is pegged as the 10/1 Vegas favorite to win the PGA Tour’s stop this week, the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. Johnson grabbed the trophy in this event last year, shooting a final-round 64 to end up at 19-under. Anthony Kim is next on this week’s odds list at 12/1, with each of Chad Campbell, Justin Leonard, Stephen Ames, and Tim Clark sitting back at 15/1. Most of golf’s big guns, including Tiger Woods, won’t be in the field for the event.