Devils re-sign Johnny Oduya
Hockey Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils have re-signed defenseman Johnny Oduya to a multi-year contract.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Oduya posted career highs of seven goals, 22 assists and 29 points while skating in all 82 regular-season games during the 2008-09 campaign. He has spent the past three seasons with the Devils and has compiled 15 goals with 51 assists for 66 points in 233 games.
"We are delighted to have Johnny Oduya stay with the organization," said Devils president/CEO/general manager Lou Lamoriello. "He has developed into one of the more talented young defensemen in the National Hockey League."
The 27-year-old Oduya signed with New Jersey in July 2006 as a free agent after playing three seasons in the Swedish Elite League.
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has accepted that his club do not have the financial muscle needed to try and sign Valencia star David Villa. Spain international Villa has been tracked by seve
<< Revs acquire international spot from Wizards
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution acquired an
international roster spot from the Kansas City Wizards on Tuesday in exchange
for a third-round selection in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.
New England will retain
<< Finley to play next season for Spurs
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs announced on Tuesday
that guard/forward Michael Finley stated he will return to the team for the
2009-10 season.
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Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Pistons president of basketball
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Curry.
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St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have extended qualifying
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Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan defender Douglas Maicon insists he has no wish to leave the club and is happy to remain at the San Siro. Maicon has reportedly attracted interest from Chelsea and Real Madrid, but the fullback h
AL West: Mariners keeping pace in division standings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - By now, the Seattle Mariners were supposed to have folded
up the tent and begun auctioning off pending free agents to the highest
bidders. But apparently, the team never got the memo.
Seattle (39-36) has won nine of its la
NCAA appeals committee upholds Sampson findings >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals
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coach Kelvin Sampson.
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Rapids sign French defender Baudet >>
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids signed French defender
Julien Baudet on Tuesday.
Baudet begins a new chapter in his 10-year career, coming to the Rapids from
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Wolverhampton completes Doyle swoop >>
Wolverhampton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolverhampton Wanderers have wrapped
up the signing of Reading's Republic of Ireland striker Kevin Doyle for an
undisclosed fee.
The 25-year-old has signed a four-year contract at Molineux,
SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."
Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com
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