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04/23/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Billingsley can make it four wins in four starts tonight, as the Los Angeles Dodgers try to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The 24-year-old Billingsley defeated San Diego on April 8, then returned for successive wins over San Francisco and Colorado on April 13 and April 18, respectively.
Combined, the 6-foot, 245-pound right-hander has allowed 11 hits and six runs in 19 innings.
Billingsley split a pair of decisions last season against Houston, allowing 12 hits and four earned runs in 13 innings.
For the Astros, Dominican right-hander Wandy Rodriguez tries to make it two straight victories.
The 30-year-old tossed seven innings of scoreless two-hit ball in his last start, a 7-0 defeat of Cincinnati on April 18. Previously, he'd posted a no- decision and a loss against the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis, giving up nine hits and four runs in 12 innings.
Rodriguez got a no-decision in one start against the Dodgers in 2008 after being touched for six hits and five runs in five innings.
After halting the Dodgers' eight-game winning streak on Tuesday, Houston made it two straight wins over Los Angeles on Wednesday, as Lance Berkman hit a game-tying homer and Ivan Rodriguez singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, lifting the Astros to a 6-5 win.
Hunter Pence hit a two-run homer and Jason Michaels added a two-run double for the Astros, who have won five of their last eight. Houston last swept the Dodgers at home July 8-10, 2005.
Houston starter Roy Oswalt allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings, but did not factor into the decision. Chris Sampson (1-0) took the win despite allowing a potentially decisive run in two relief innings, while LaTroy Hawkins tossed a perfect ninth to nail down his second save.
Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Casey Blake all homered in the sixth inning for the Dodgers, who have managed just 10 runs through the first two games of this series after averaging eight-per-game during their winning streak.
Los Angeles center fielder Matt Kemp, who had gotten at least one hit in each of the season's first 14 games, went 0-for-4.
Ronald Belisario (0-1) took the loss after allowing the two runs in the bottom of the eighth. He followed LA starter Randy Wolf, who gave up four runs on eight hits in seven frames of work.
Houston took four of seven from the Dodgers last season, but LA won the final three meetings.
<< Fernandez-Castano, Brown share Ballantine's lead
Jeju Island, South Korea (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Mark
Brown shot matching seven-under 65s Thursday to share the first-round lead at
the Ballantine's Championship.
Kyung-Nam Kang led the Korean contingent with a s
<< Tigers top Angels in wild win
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Magglio Ordonez, Brandon Inge and Adam Everett
each collected three hits and drove in two runs, as the Detroit Tigers took
advantage of a nightmarish seventh inning by the Los Angeles bullpen to come
away w
<< Nuggets dominate Hornets again to take 2-0 series lead
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups finished with 31 points to lead
the Denver Nuggets to a resounding 108-93 win over New Orleans in Game 2 of
their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Billups' performance followed a 36-po
<< Longoria, Rays slam Mariners
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Longoria had three hits and three runs
batted in, as the Tampa Bay Rays posted a 9-3 win against Seattle in the
middle contest of a three-game series at Safeco Field.
Carl Crawford went 4-for-5
White Sox bring road trip to an end in Baltimore >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox will wrap up a rain-shortened yet
still lengthy road trip tonight in the finale of a three-game series against
the Baltimore Orioles from Camden Yards.
Chicago departed the Windy City for a 10-game tr
Palmer set for Angels debut against Tigers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Palmer makes his Angels debut this evening when Los
Angeles closes out its three-game series with the Detroit Tigers at Angel
Stadium.
Los Angeles, which in addition to dealing with the Nick Adenhart tragedy, are
dea
Rays hope to build momentum in clash with Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After coming through with a much-needed win on Wednesday,
the Tampa Bay Rays will be striving to carry that momentum into this
afternoon's finale of a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners from
Safeco Field.
The def
Bulls host Celtics in pivotal Game 3 >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The scene shifts to the Windy City tonight for a pivotal
Game 3 as the Chicago Bulls try and get a leg up on the defending NBA champion
Boston Celtics in their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series.
The Celtics evened th
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
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