Cardinals ink Molina, Wainwright, 16 others
Baseball Betting Lines
02/28/2007 -
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending world champion St. Louis Cardinals signed catcher Yadier Molina and reliever Adam Wainwright among a
slew of 18 total players, all to one-year deals, the team announced Tuesday.
The 24-year-old Molina batted .216 with six home runs and 49 runs batted in
last season while logging 129 games behind the plate for the Cardinals.
Molina, who is entering his fourth season in the league, is a career .238
hitter.
Wainwright appeared in 61 games last season in his first full season in the
league. The 25-year-old right-hander had a 3.12 earned run average in 75
innings, with a 2-1 record and three saves.
The 16 other signings meant that the Cardinals now have every player on their
40-man roster under contract.
<< Lundqvist and Blueshirts blank Habs
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Lundqvist stopped 19 shots to post his
third shutout of the season, as the New York Rangers blanked the Montreal
Canadiens, 4-0, at Madison Square Garden.
Marcel Hossa scored twice and added an as
<< Nash, Suns shine over Pacers
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash had 25 points and 11 assists as
the Phoenix Suns came back from an 18-point, third-quarter deficit to win
going away, 103-92, over the Indiana Pacers.
Amare Stoudemire had a monster game, w
<< Pitt powers past Mountaineers
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Levance Fields had 14 points, four rebounds
and five assists, leading 12th-ranked Pittsburgh over West Virginia, 80-66, in
its final home game of the season at Petersen Events Center.
Mike Cook, Levon Kend
<< Jenks among 21 signed by White Sox
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Relief pitcher Bobby Jenks was among 21 players
signed to one-year contracts by the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
An All-Star last year, Jenks went 3-4 with a 4.00 ERA and 41 saves in 67
games. The 41 sav
<< Tucker gets four-year deal with Leafs
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs signed forward Darcy
Tucker to a four-year contract Tuesday. Per club policy, terms of the deal
were not disclosed.
The 31-year-old Tucker, who would have become an unrestricted
Stumpel, Jokinen shine as Panthers edge Caps >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jozef Stumpel notched the game-winning goal
in the shootout and Olli Jokinen recorded his third hat trick of the season,
as the Florida Panthers edged the Washington Capitals, 6-5, at the Verizon
Center.
Brodeur earns 12th shutout as Devils top Penguins >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marty Brodeur notched his NHL-leading 12th
shutout of the season to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 1-0 victory over the
Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena.
Brodeur stopped 31 shots and Jamie Langenbr
Sabres crush Toronto >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jochen Hecht scored a pair of goals with an
assist as Buffalo pummeled Toronto, 6-1, at the Air Canada Centre.
Clarke MacArthur had a goal and two assists, while Derek Roy also tallied and
notched an assi
Carter, Kidd lead Nets over Wizards >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter scored 27 points and Jason
Kidd had another solid all-around game with 26 points, eight rebounds and nine
assists, as the Nets used a big run in the fourth quarter for a 113-101 win
over Wa
Redd, Bucks storm past Warriors >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Redd poured in 31 points, Charlie
Bell reached double digits for the 19th straight time with 20 points and
Andrew Bogut scored 13 points to go along with 14 rebounds, as Milwaukee
trounce
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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