Montero agrees to one-year contract with D-backs
Baseball Betting Lines
01/31/2012 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks avoided arbitration with catcher Miguel Montero on Tuesday, agreeing to terms on a one-year contract.
Financial terms were not disclosed, although MLB.com has reported the deal to be worth $5.9 million. The agreement came just prior to what was to be the first scheduled arbitration hearing of the winter.
Montero had sought $6.8 million, while Arizona had offered $5.4 million.
An All-Star for the Diamondbacks in 2011, Montero batted .282 with a career- high 18 home runs and 86 runs batted in.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington's Alex Ovechkin was notably absent at All-Star weekend and he will serve the second part of a three-game suspension tonight as his Capitals visit the Lightning at the Tampa Times Forum. Ovechkin was selected to
<< Sabres, Canadiens aim to right ship in Montreal
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sabres and Canadiens both won their final games before
the All-Star break and the disappointing Northeast Division foes will try to
keep heading in the right direction when they clash tonight at Montreal's Bell
Centre.
<< Sens go back on the road to battle Bruins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators get back to work tonight after hosting
All-Star weekend, as they visit the Boston Bruins for a Northeast Division
battle at TD Garden.
The Senators entered the break on a three-game slide, but are still
<< Islanders, Hurricanes clash in Raleigh
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the three teams tied for the last seed in the
Eastern Conference will play each other tonight, as the Carolina Hurricanes
host the New York Islanders at RBC Center.
Along with Buffalo, the Hurricanes and Islanders e
<< Pens come out of break seeking to extend win streak vs. Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to pick up where they left
off before the All-Star break, as they shoot for an eighth straight victory
tonight in the opener of a home-and-home series against the visiting Toronto
Maple Leafs.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All-Star defenseman Ryan Suter and Shea Weber would rather wait until after the season to address their contracts than possibly become a distraction for the surging Predators. With Nashville challenging for one of the West
Red Wings aim to solve road woes in Calgary >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings have had almost a week to try and
figure out how to fix their road game.
Set to open the post-All-Star break schedule with four in a row away from
Detroit, the Red Wings try to get their road mark bac
Coyotes welcome Ducks to the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes hope their victory prior to the All-
Star break can get them headed in the right direction, while the Anaheim Ducks
will try to avoid falling back into a rut that plagued a good portion of their
first half
Avs and Oilers clash in Edmonton >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A loss a week ago knocked the Colorado Avalanche out of the
playoff picture. They'll try to rebound tonight and snap the Edmonton Oilers'
six-game home point streak in this series.
The Avalanche entered the All-Star break
Toews, Blackhawks ready for showdown in Vancouver >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a good news and bad news opening to the second half
for the Chicago Blackhawks.
On the down side, the 'Hawks come out of the All-Star break with a nine-game
road trip. However, they will have captain Jonathan Toews ba
College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.