Orioles renew contracts of Jones, Wieters

Baseball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Sarasota, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have renewed the contracts of young stars Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Brad Bergesen and Nolan Reimold, while also agreeing to 2010 contracts with 22 other players.

Jones is entering his third season with Baltimore after being acquired from Seattle in the Erik Bedard trade. He was an All-Star last season and finished the campaign with career bests of 19 homers, 70 runs batted in and a .277 batting average.

Wieters, considered Baltimore's top prospect entering the 2009 season, made his big league debut last May and finished his rookie season with a .288 average, nine homers and 43 runs batted in over 96 games.

Bergesen also made his big league debut last year and posted a record of 7-5 with a 3.43 earned run average in 19 starts, while Reimold clubbed 15 homers, drove in 45 runs and batted .279 in 104 games during his first big league season.

The 22 players that agreed to contracts for the upcoming season included outfielder Felix Pie, who hit .266 in 101 games last season, and pitcher Jason Berken, who was 6-12 in 24 starts of his rookie campaign in 2009.

Adventure-casino Baseball Betting News


<< 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 57th-annual Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament is on tap this week from the Greensboro Coliseum and will run from opening round action on Thursday, March 11th through the championship game on Sunday, Ma

<< Nathan has significant ligament tear
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan reportedly has a significant ligament tear in his right elbow. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune said tests revealed damage to the ulnar collateral ligament.

<< Kings cruise past listless Blue Jackets
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Quick needed to stop just 11 shots for his third shutout of the season and Los Angeles scored four first-period goals on its way to a 6-0 clobbering of Columbus. Alexander Frolov had a goal and t

<< Wofford beats Appalachian State, earns first NCAA berth
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cameron Rundles had 20 points to help Wofford capture the Southern Conference Tournament title with a 56-51 win over Appalachian State. The Terriers (26-8) captured their first title and gained the au

<< Atlanta Flacons
Re-signed long snapper Joe Zelenka.

2010 Big 12 Conference Tournament Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Another year and another championship for Kansas, which captured its sixth straight Big 12 regular-season crown with a 15-1 finish. The No.1 ranked Jayhawks are the top-seed for the sixth time in the 14-year

Blazers' Przybilla undergoes surgery >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla underwent surgery late Monday to repair a ruptured right patella tendon. It was the second such procedure for Przybilla, who first suffered the injury on Decemb

2010 Conference USA Tournament Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the first time in five years, someone other than Memphis is the top seed in the Conference USA Tournament, as the Texas-El Paso Miners won the regular-season title with a 15-1 finish. Winners of 14 straig

Rockets take fading playoff push to Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The chances of the Houston Rockets making the playoffs are fading like a flattop. Tonight they'll have to get past the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center and hope for some help around the league. Houston is 4 1/2 gam

Streaking Magic hope to make Clippers disappear >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The acquisition of Vince Carter has paid off so far for Eastern Conference power Orlando, which will shoot for its sixth straight win tonight versus the Los Angeles Clippers in the second test of a three-game homestand at Amw

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

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 .

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.