The Tampa Bay Rays might be in first place in the American League East, but their storybook season isn’t inspiring much confidence among handicappers. The Rays are 5-1 to win the AL pennant, behind the Boston Red Sox (7-5) and the New York Yankees (7-2).

The Rays are deservedly behind the Los Angeles Angels (9-4) on the odds list. Los Angeles has the best record in the majors at 64-40, and with a 10.5-game lead in the AL West are almost certain to make it into the postseason. The same can’t be said for the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees – one of those three is going to be on the outside looking in come October.

Tampa Bay also finds itself behind the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox at 4-1. The White Sox are 2.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins (11-1) and 6.5 up on the Detroit Tigers (10-1). Looks like the Twins have their share of unbelievers.

Another chapter was added to the legends of Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva on Saturday. Next up: Georges St. Pierre. The reigning UFC Welterweight champion defends his title on Aug. 9 at the Target Center against up-and-comer Jon Fitch; St. Pierre is the –295 favorite, with Fitch priced at +235.

St. Pierre has a 16-2 record as a mixed martial artist, and he’s avenged both of those two losses. The pounding he gave Matt Serra in April at UFC 83 proved St. Pierre’s versatility. Fitch has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so St. Pierre has prepared by training at one of the Gracie family-run centers in Rio de Janeiro.

Fitch has earned his spot as the No. 1 contender. He was the captain of the wrestling team at Purdue, and defeated the likes of Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez while compiling a 17-2-1 record – those losses coming early in his career. This has “instant classic” written all over it.

If you’ve only got a buck to bet you’ll want to find a good wager to place it on. The best bets in a casino are a poker game, if you have some skill, but a dollar won’t be any good at a poker table. You could bet your dollar at the mini-baccarat table, if you can find one with stakes that low.

Betting it on the come/don’t come or pass/don’t pass will give an almost even chance to win, with the casino only getting a house edge of 1.4% or less. Also the 6 or 8 bet on the craps table carries only a 1.52% edge for the house.

Even a hand of blackjack is a good bet if you know basic strategy. The house will hold a little more than 4% on you, but that can be diminished greatly if you can learn to count cards properly.

Summertime can be pretty slow for betting on sports. Same thing for reality television. The lone offering at press time was for one of the top-rated summer shows in any TV genre, the fourth season of the American version of So You Think You Can Dance.

Although the competition is very much like American Idol (it was co-created by Simon Fuller himself), the format introduces enough luck to trip up even the best dancers. The show started with 20 contestants – 10 male, 10 female. Then they were paired off; in some tandems, one dancer is clearly better than the other, but the home viewers are supposed to vote for their favorite couple. Having to draw a dance style out of a hat can also spoil the day for someone who happens to be weak in that one style but strong otherwise.

So will the winner be male (-110) or female (-130)? You make the call.