Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/14/2012 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox on Tuesday signed free- agent outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to one-year contract with a club option for the 2013 season.
Under terms of the deal, Fukudome will receive $500,000 in 2012, while the Sox hold a $3.5-millon option for 2013, including a $500,000 buyout.
Fukudome combined to hit .262 with 27 doubles, eight home runs, 35 RBI and 59 runs scored in 146 games between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland in 2011.
"Kosuke adds to our outfield depth and gives [manager] Robin [Ventura] another left-handed bat to mix into the lineup based on matchups," said White Sox assistant general manager Rick Hahn in a statement. "He can play center field and right and provides flexibility to our roster."
The 34-year-old left-handed hitter has appeared in 572 career games with the Cubs (2008-11) and Cleveland (2011), posting a .260 average with 110 doubles, 42 home runs, 191 RBI and 262 runs scored.
Prior to his MLB career, Fukudome played nine seasons with Chunichi of the Japanese Central League (1999-2007).
<< Morehead State to host six, but faces tough road schedule
Morehead, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morehead State football will play six home
games for the first time in four years and make a trip to Eastern Kentucky as
part of a 2012 schedule announced Tuesday.
The Eagles, who were 3-8 a year ago, last pla
<< Sabres coach Ruff set to return
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff will
return to his normal spot behind the bench on Tuesday night against the New
Jersey Devils.
Ruff had been watching his team from the press box since suffe
<< Rounding Third: A's take a big chance on Cespedes
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There was one last major order of business
before some baseball teams open camp on Sunday and that was to find a home for
Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.
Well, that has been taken care of, albeit by a te
<< Morehead State to host six, but face tough road schedule
Morehead, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morehead State football will play six home
games for the first time in four years and make a trip to Eastern Kentucky as
part of a 2012 schedule announced Tuesday.
The Eagles, who were 3-8 a year ago, last pla
Rams name Snead general manager >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams have named Les Snead as
the club's new general manager.
Snead spent the past 13 seasons in the personnel department with the Atlanta
Falcons. He was one of about 10 candidates for
Boca enjoys successful start to Clausura campaign >>
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After winning last season's
Argentina Apertura title, Boca Juniors got off on the right foot in the
Clausura on Friday with a 2-0 win at home against Olimpo.
Dario Cvitanich scored
Blue Jackets activate Letestu >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated
center Mark Letestu off injured reserve.
Letestu has missed the last 17 games due to a hand injury suffered at San Jose
on January 5.
In 36 games with the B
Bombers re-sign Morley >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have re-signed
offensive lineman Steve Morley.
Morley appeared in all 18 games at guard for the Bombers last season, as well
as the East Final and Grey Cup championship game, a
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting