Lions give C Raiola contract extension
Football Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions announced on Thursday they have agreed to terms with center Dominic Raiola on a contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2013 season. Financial terms of the deal were not released.
Raiola was selected with the 50th overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft out of Nebraska and has started 108 of 124 games with the Lions.
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Werder Bremen has finally completed the signing of Germany Under-21 international Marko Marin. The 20-year-old midfielder has signed a four-year contract to officially seal his $10.6 million transfer
<< Berkman clubs two homers to help Astros crown Royals
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman hit a pair of two-run homers and
reached the 1,000 RBI plateau as the Houston Astros edged the Kansas City
Royals, 5-4, in the finale of a three-game interleague set at Minute Maid
Park.
<< Dundee aims to keep Gomis
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dundee United manager Craig Levein is
hoping to hold off interest in Morgaro Gomis this summer.
Gomis, 23, is under contract with the Terrors until 2011, but has been the
subject of interest fro
<< Brazil advances to play U.S. in Confed Cup final
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Alves scored in the 87th
minute, helping Brazil edge South Africa 1-0 on Thursday in the Confederations
Cup to set up a rematch with the United States in the final.
Alves, who entered
<< St. Louis to host WPS All-Star Game
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Women's Professional Soccer announced
Thursday that The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo., will be the site
of the 2009 WPS All-Star Game on Aug. 30.
The league will employ a unique format
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks acquired guard Jamal Crawford from the Golden State Warriors on Thursday in exchange for guards Acie Law and Speedy Claxton. "We feel we have gained tremendous flexibility with the addition
D.C. United and goalie Crayton part ways >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United will not exercise the option on
goalie Louis Crayton's contract, ending his one-year stay with the club on June
30, the team announced Thursday.
Crayton played in six games, all starts, for the
L.A. signs Patterson, promotes Zerboni >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Sol signed forward Lyndsey
Patterson to a developmental contract and promoted McCall Zerboni to senior
player Thursday.
Patterson played for both the Seattle Sounders and the Atlanta
Inter's Ibrahimovic relaxed over future >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zlatan Ibrahimovic insists he remains focused
on Inter Milan despite the constant speculation surrounding his future.
The Sweden striker is reported to be at the center of a transfer tug-of-war
between
Barca's Xavi welcomes latest Villa link >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Xavi Hernandez has urged Valencia striker
David Villa to join him at Barcelona.
The Spain midfielder has admitted he is excited by the prospect of his
international colleague joining up with
SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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SPORTS BETTING
NFL Football Betting OnlineIn terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere.
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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