Orioles send Tejada to Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

07/29/2010 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles on Thursday traded veteran infielder Miguel Tejada and cash considerations to the San Diego Padres in exchange for right-hander Wynn Pelzer.

Tejada batted .269 with seven home runs and 39 RBI in 97 games with the O's this season. A six-time All-Star, the 36-year-old returned to Baltimore after spending the previous two seasons in Houston.

The 2002 AL MVP recipient with Oakland is a career .288 with 437 doubles, 292 homers and 1,224 RBI in 1,968 contests with the A's, Orioles and Astros.

Pelzer, 24, was 6-9 with a 4.20 earned run average in 22 games (18 starts) for San Diego's Double-A affiliate in San Antonio this season.

Gambleling Baseball Betting News

<< Jimenez gets 16th win as Rockies snap eight-game slide
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ubaldo Jimenez turned in seven strong innings and Clint Barmes drove in three runs as Colorado blitzed Pittsburgh, 9-3, to stop an eight-game losing skid in the finale of a three-game series at Coors F

<< Sanchez throws gem as Marlins earn split with Giants
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anibal Sanchez was nearly perfect on the mound as he tossed his second career shutout in Florida's 5-0 win over San Francisco. Sanchez (8-6), who authored a no-hitter in 2006, gave up just one hi

<< Falcons sign first-round pick Weatherspoon
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons agreed to terms with their 2010 first-round draft pick, linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, the club announced on Thursday. Financial terms were not released. The 6-foot-2, 244-pou

<< Sens re-sign F Regin
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators on Thursday re-signed forward Peter Regin to a two-year contract. Regin, 24, registered 13 goals and 16 assists in 75 games with the Senators last season, his first full NHL campaig

<< Hughes named manager at Fulham
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham named Mark Hughes its new manager on Thursday and signed him to a two-year contract. The former Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City manager replaces Roy Hodgson, who left to join Arsenal this offs

Broncos come to terms with Tebow >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos agreed to terms with quarterback Tim Tebow, a first-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed, but The Denver Post reports it is a

Steelers sign former Cowboys T Adams >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly signed veteran and longtime Dallas Cowboys tackle Flozell Adams. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday revealed the deal is for two years. A former second-ro

Niemi decision expected by Saturday >>
CHICAGO (AP) -Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman expects to learn on Saturday whether his salary cap-squeezed team will be able to keep restricted free agent goaltender Antti Niemi.After Bowman and Niemi's agent, Bill Zito, were unable to reach

Rangers acquire Cantu from Marlins >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers bolstered their infield, acquiring Jorge Cantu and cash considerations from the Florida Marlins in exchange for a pair of pitching prospects. Cantu, 28, was in the starting lineup

Lorenzen Wright's death ruled a homicide >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The death of Lorenzen Wright has reportedly been termed a homicide by gunshot wound. The Commercial Appeal cited a police statement in reporting Wright, a former Memphis basketball star and NBA player,

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

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 .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards