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01/31/2012 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros signed veteran pitcher Livan Hernandez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training Tuesday.
The 36-year-old spent the last season with the Washington Nationals, recording an 8-13 record with a 4.47 ERA in 29 starts.
In 475 appearances -- 474 starts -- with the Marlins, Giants, Expos/Nationals, Diamondbacks, Twins, Rockies and Mets, Hernandez has a career 174-176 record and 4.39 earned run average with 50 complete games and nine shutouts.
The 16-year veteran has not recorded a winning season since 2008, when he finished with a 13-11 mark after splitting the year between Minnesota and Colorado.
<< Benfica signs forward Djalo
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Benfica signed forward Yannick Djalo on a
4 1/2-year deal Tuesday.
Djalo, 25, had been out of contract since the summer, but joins the Portuguese
leaders for the second half of the season. He played for S
<< FC Porto acquires Lucho, Janko
Porto, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Porto acquired Lucho Gonzalez and Marc
Janko on Tuesday, as the Portuguese giants added a pair of reinforcements just
days after its first loss of the season.
Lucho, 31, previously spent four seasons a
<< Manning's 1st QB coach hired as Colts OC
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts have continued the
rebuilding of their coaching staff by bringing back Peyton Manning's first NFL
quarterbacks coach.
Bruce Arians, who coached the Colts' quarterbacks from 1998-200
<< Timbers acquire midfielder Renken
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Timbers acquired midfielder and
U.S. youth international Charles Renken off MLS waivers Tuesday.
Renken, 18, has been a member of U.S. youth national teams since 2005 and most
recently participa
Blackburn signs defender Orr from QPR >>
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn beat the deadline Tuesday to
make its third January addition, as Bradley Orr was acquired from QPR on a 2
1/2-year deal.
Blackburn previously signed Anthony Modeste and Marcus Olsson, and O
West Brom adds Andrews from Blackburn >>
West Bromwich, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Bromwich acquired midfielder
Keith Andrews from Blackburn on Tuesday on a free transfer and signed him to
a deal through the end of the current season.
Andrews, 31, made 76 appearances an
Sunderland snaps up Kyrgiakos from Wolfsburg >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland signed defender Sotirios
Kyrgiakos from Wolfsburg on Tuesday on loan for the rest of the season.
Kyrgiakos, 32, previously played with Liverpool and made 30 appearances in the
Premier Lea
Crosby has soft tissue damage in neck >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
has a soft tissue injury in his neck, but an independent specialist found no
evidence of a past or present neck fracture, the team said Tuesday.
The news came
In 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 for online football betting .
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
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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