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10/21/2009 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols underwent a successful arthroscopic debridement of bone spurs in his right elbow Wednesday morning.
The procedure, which also included the removal of bone chips from the elbow, was performed in Birmingham, Alabama under the direction of Dr. James Andrews. The procedure was unrelated to Pujols' nerve transportation surgery of a year ago.
In addition, doctors have ruled out the necessity for ligament reconstruction surgery for the All-Star first-baseman. Rehabilitation will commence next week with Pujols expected to be ready for spring training in 2010, although no official timeline was provided.
Pujols batted .327 with 135 runs batted in, a league-leading 47 home runs and .658 slugging percentage in 160 games this season with the Cardinals, who won the Central division title with a 91-71 record but were swept by the Dodgers in the NL Division Series.
<< Pugh pens Potters extension
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Manchester United midfielder
Danny Pugh has penned a one-year contract extension with Stoke City that will
keep him at the Britannia Stadium until the summer of 2012.
The 27-year-old accep
<< Wilkie suffers injury setback
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dundee United captain Lee Wilkie has been
rocked by suffering yet another injury setback.
The 29-year-old was injured during training, with the Terrors fearing that
Wilkie has damaged his knee as well
<< Michigan AD Martin to retire in 2010
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Michigan director of
athletics Bill Martin will retire from his position on September 4, 2010, he
announced Wednesday.
Martin notified school president Mary Sue Coleman with a le
<< Browns sign TE Gaines
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have signed tight end
Michael Gaines.
Gaines was released by the Bears last week after seeing action in only one
game this season. The sixth-year pro played in 16 games last year
Brady, Cushing and Royal take home AFC weekly honors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom
Brady, Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing and Denver Broncos kick
returner/punt returner Eddie Royal have been selected as the AFC's top players
for Wee
Ducks recall goaltender Pogge >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks announced Wednesday they
have recalled goaltender Justin Pogge from Bakersfield, the team's development
affiliate in the ECHL.
The 23-year-old Pogge has seven games of NHL experience fro
Magic C Foyle has knee surgery >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Orlando Magic center Adonal Foyle underwent
arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the team announced Wednesday.
The 34-year-old has not played in any of Orlando's preseason games, and the
team said his
Packers bring back Ahman Green; place Wynn on IR >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers brought back a
familiar face Wednesday with the signing of running back Ahman Green.
Green played seven seasons in Green Bay from 2000 to 2006 which included four
straight trip
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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