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01/17/2012 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers have signed three-time Japanese batting champion Norichika Aoki to a two-year contract with a club option for 2014.
The Brewers won the negotiating rights to Aoki on December 19.
The 30-year-old Aoki has played his entire eight-year professional career with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, batting .329 with 84 HR, 385 RBI and 164 stolen bases in 985 games.
The Central League batting champion in 2005 (.344), 2007 (.346) and 2010 (.358), Aoki won the CL Rookie of the Year award in 2005. He is also a six- time Golden Glove Award winner.
Aoki has participated in both World Baseball Classic events (2006 and 2009) as well as the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Also on Tuesday, the Brewers signed pitchers Francisco Rodriguez and Kameron Loe to one-year contracts.
Rodriguez's deal is worth a reported $8 million, $3.5 million less than the $11.5 million he earned last season.
The major-league record holder for saves in a single season (62), Rodriguez had a 6-2 record with a 2.64 ERA and 23 saves last season, serving mainly as an eighth-inning man with Milwaukee.
Loe went 4-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 72 appearances for Milwaukee last year.
<< Blue Jays release Teahen
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays have released infielder
Mark Teahen.
Teahen was acquired from the Chicago White Sox on July 27 along with pitcher
Edwin Jackson in exchange for pitchers Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart.
<< Michigan WR Stonum dismissed from team
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michigan head coach Brady Hoke announced
on Tuesday that wide receiver Darryl Stonum has been dismissed from the team
for a violation of team rules.
"I love Darryl and wish him nothing but the ab
<< Rockies sign Fowler to one-year deal
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have signed outfielder
Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract.
Fowler, 25, hit .266 with 35 doubles, 15 triples, five home runs, 45 RBI and
scored 84 runs in 125 games last season.
I
<< Pacers' Jeff Foster out 2 weeks with bad back
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indiana Pacers forward/center Jeff Foster
will undergo a back procedure and will miss the next two weeks, the team
announced Tuesday.
Foster, 35, has been hampered by a balky back for parts of
Steelers RB coach Wilson remains in critical condition >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Steelers running backs coach
Kirby Wilson remains hospitalized with burns on more than 45 percent of his
body.
Wilson was severely burned during an early morning fire on January 6 at hi
Lille signs striker Roux from Brest >>
Lille, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lille acquired striker Nolan Roux from Brest
on Tuesday for $10 million, and signed him to a 4 1/2-year contract.
Roux, 23, has scored 25 times in 80 matches in all competitions for Brest. He
had four goals
Giants agree to terms with Schierholtz >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have
avoided arbitration with Nate Schierholtz, signing the outfielder to a one-
year contract.
Schierholtz hit .278 with nine home runs and 41 RBI in 115 game
Boca Juniors signs Uruguayan forward Silva >>
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boca Juniors inked forward Santiago
Silva from Italian side Fiorentina on Tuesday, but the Uruguayan will not be
eligible to play in the upcoming Clausura season.
Silva, 31, will be eligible for C
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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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