Barca offers Eto'o new contract
Soccer Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Confusion surrounds Manchester City's hopes of signing Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o after the Cameroon international's agent confirmed that the 28-year-old had been offered the chance to extend his stay at the Camp Nou.
City reportedly offered Barca $42 million for Eto'o who they are keen to land on a lucrative two-year contract.
However, according to Eto'o's agent, Josep Maria Mesalles, the Champions League winners have now offered his client a new contract.
"On June 2, the club called a meeting and I was told by Barca sporting director Txiki Begiristain and director of football Raul Sanllehi that, due to a technical decision, Samuel does not feature in the club's plans next season," Mesalles said.
"We then had another meeting and I was told once again that Samuel was not in their plans for next season. [Barcelona boss Pep] Guardiola said at the end of the season that he was delighted with Samuel, so I don't know what has changed.
"My mistake was to not verify this information and we need to find out what the coach wants, because he is the one who ultimately decides.
"I don't know if everything changed in the space of an afternoon, I don't know if they really want Samuel to stay of if they just want to make money out of him.
"He would be delighted to stay if they want him and we will study their offer if it is serious, but if they don't want him we will do all we can to help Samuel find a new club.
"We have not sat down to speak to Manchester City, but they have made Barcelona an offer.
"In theory he wants to play in the Champions League, but if Manchester City have an offer accepted, we would be delighted to go there."
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh has played down reports of a bust-up with AC Milan target Edin Dzeko. Dzeko, who has told the Italian media that he is being forced to stay at Wolfsburg against his wish
<< Kyiv makes offer for Shevchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ukraine international Andriy Shevchenko has
been handed the chance to return to his homeland by Dynamo Kyiv.
The 32-year-old moved to Stamford Bridge just over three years ago from AC
Milan but has fa
<< WPS All-Stars to play Swedish champions
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Women's Professional Soccer announced
Tuesday that Swedish Champions Umea IK will play in the WPS All-Star Game on
Aug. 30.
The game is being played eight days following the WPS Championship, feat
<< L.A. acquires Shaner from Sky Blue FC
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional
Soccer acquired defender Christie Shaner from Sky Blue FC on Tuesday.
Los Angeles sent Sky Blue a third-round pick in the 2010 WPS draft. Shaner will
fill the
<< Subotic signs five-year deal with Dortmund
Dortmund, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic
has ended speculation over his future by signing a new five-year contract with
the Bundesliga club.
The 20-year-old had been linked with a move away from German
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italian striker Luca Toni has pledged his future to Bayern Munich, following rumors of a possible return to his homeland. The 32-year-old faces increased competition for places following the arrivals o
Buddies bring in Gallacher >>
Paisley, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Mirren has completed the signing of
experienced goalkeeper Paul Gallacher on a two-year contract from Dunfermline
Athletic.
The 29-year-old Scotland international has spent the last two seasons
Phillies' Bastardo lands on DL with shoulder strain >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies placed left-handed
pitcher Antonio Bastardo on the 15-day disabled list with a left posterior
shoulder stain.
Bastardo suffered the injury on June 25 versus the Tampa Bay Ra
Pirates get Milledge, Hanrahan from Nats in four-player deal >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired outfielder
Lastings Milledge and right-handed pitcher Joel Hanrahan from Washington in a
four-player deal on Tuesday.
In return, the Pirates gave up outfielder Nyjer Mor
Sol's Marta wins WPS Player of Week >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles forward Marta was selected Women's
Professional Soccer Player of the Week for Week 14 on Tuesday after scoring
three goals to lead the WPS-leading Sol to wins over the Saint Louis Athletica
and
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.
MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.