A's lose Sheets for the season

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics pitcher Ben Sheets will miss the remainder of the 2010 season with a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow.

Sheets was placed on the disabled list Saturday, retroactive to July 20, with what was initially diagnosed as a strained right elbow. It marked his seventh trip to the DL in an injury-plagued career.

The 32-year-old right-hander had the distressing news confirmed after consulting with orthopedist Keith Meister on Tuesday and again Wednesday.

Oakland manager Bob Geren has indicated that surgery has not been scheduled for Sheets and that there are no plans to do so in the immediate future.

Sheets missed all of the 2009 campaign after undergoing elbow surgery.

He will finish his first season in Oakland with a 4-9 record and 4.53 earned run average over 20 starts.

Sheets signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Athletics in the offseason after spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Brewers.

He has a career record of 90-92, in 241 starts, with a 3.79 ERA.

Mylinesheet Baseball Betting News

<< Dodgers acquire Podsednik from Royals
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers made a move to bolster their outfield by acquiring former All-Star Scott Podsednik from the Kansas City Royals for two minor league players - catcher Lucas May and pitcher

<< Ohlendorf hit by line drive, leaves game
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Ross Ohlendorf left Wednesday's game against the Rockies after being struck by a line drive off the bat of Troy Tulowitzki in the first inning. With a runner at t

<< Rays' Zobrist leaves game
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Rays infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist left Wednesday's game against Detroit with lower back stiffness. His availability is being listed as day-to-day. The five-year veteran, playing cen

<< Chiefs sign second round picks
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs have signed second round draft choices Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas. Terms of the deals were not disclosed. McCluster was the 36th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft out of

<< Chargers ink Gates through 2015 season
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chargers and six-time Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates agreed to terms Wednesday on a contract that will keep him in San Diego through the 2015 season. Gates, who is one of the best at his position,

Mills picks up first MLB win as Blue Jays sweep O's >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brad Mills threw seven shutout innings for his first career win as the Toronto Blue Jays continued their domination of the Baltimore Orioles with a 5-0 win to cap a three-game sweep. Mills (1-0) gave up

Halladay goes distance again, Brown shines in MLB debut >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Outfielder Domonic Brown stroked an RBI double on his first major league swing and Roy Halladay tossed his major league-leading eighth complete game of the season, as the surging Philadelphia Phillie

Jones, Hudson lead Atlanta past Washington >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chipper Jones drove in two runs and Tim Hudson was solid in 7 2/3 innings on the mound, as the Atlanta Braves took down the Washington Nationals, 3-1, in the second test of a three-game set at Nationa

Longoria leads Rays to fifth straight win >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evan Longoria homered and Jeff Niemann battled through six innings to lead Tampa Bay to a 7-4 triumph over Detroit in the third installment of a four-game set. Longoria finished 3-for-4 with a walk, tw

Thrashers sign F Eager >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers signed forward Ben Eager on Wednesday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Eager spent last season with the Blackhawks and posted seven goals and nine assists with 1

MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

MySportsbook is a large, publicly traded company with strong financial backing. You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

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

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.