11/18/2008 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik has reportedly settled on a new manager, and he has apparently raided the coaching staff of a division rival in the process.
The Seattle Times reported Tuesday night that Zduriencik has picked Don Wakamatsu to be Seattle's next manager, and the announcement will be made on Wednesday. Wakamatsu, 45, just completed his first season as bench coach for the Oakland Athletics after spending five seasons on the coaching staff of the Texas Rangers.
Zduriencik tabbed Wakamatsu out of a group of seven candidates -- White Sox third base coach Joey Cora, Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills, Diamondbacks third base coach Chip Hale, Triple-A Portland manager Randy Ready, Red Sox third base coach DeMarlo Hale and Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo -- none of whom had major league managerial experience.
A former catcher, Wakamatsu's playing career spanned 12 seasons with seven organizations. His only stint in the majors came in 1991, when he played in 18 games with the Chicago White Sox, batting .226 with no homers or runs batted in.
Born in Hood River, Oregon, Wakamatsu grew up in Hayward, California, and played collegiately at Arizona State before the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 11th round of the 1985 amateur draft.
Prior to joining the Rangers coaching staff, Wakamatsu spent three years in the Angels organization, managing in the Arizona League, and for Single-A High Desert, Double-A Erie, and Double-A El Paso. He compiled a managerial record of 215-248.
Wakamatsu will take over for interim manager Jim Riggleman, who had been the bench coach when manager John McLaren was fired in June, after less than a year at the helm. McLaren was shown the door after the Mariners, a team expected to contend in the AL West, started the season 25-47. Seattle finished the campaign 61-101, the worst record in the AL.
McLaren's dismissal came three days after upper management fired general manager Bill Bavasi. The Mariners hired former Brewers executive Zduriencik as their new GM in October.
<< Arshavin's 'dream' to play at Bayern Munich
St. Petersburg, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrei Arshavin's potential move to
one of Europe's major leagues has taken another twist after the Russia star
claimed it would be "a dream" to join Bayern Munich.
The 27-year-old midfielder
<< Ex-Inter boss Mancini named top coach in Serie A
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini has
been named the Serie A coach of the year for last season.
Mancini, 43, was dumped by Inter in favor of Jose Mourinho during the summer
despite leading the clu
<< Portsmouth's Diarra likely to miss several weeks
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth boss Tony Adams fears that
key midfielder Lassana Diarra may be sidelined for several weeks with the ankle
injury he suffered in the goalless draw at West Ham United.
The 23-year-old form
<< NFC West: Real test begins for the Cardinals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a four-game lead in the NFC West after Sunday's
26-20 victory over Seattle -- the club that has won the last four division
titles -- the Arizona Cardinals appear a lock to win their first division
crown since claiming th
Purdue crushes Loyola-Chicago >>
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - E'Twaun Moore netted 14 points and
grabbed seven rebounds as the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers routed Loyola-
Chicago, 78-46, in the north regional finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at
Mackey
Williams stars as Volunteers rout UT-Martin >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Williams hit 8-of-10 from the floor
while recording 21 points and 12 rebounds as the 14th-ranked Tennessee
Volunteers cruised to a 91-64 victory over Tennessee-Martin.
The blowout was Tenne
Wade leads Heat past Wizards >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade scored 19 points and doled out
10 assists to lead the Miami Heat in a 94-87 victory over the Washington
Wizards.
Mario Chalmers added 15 points and six helpers for the Heat, who
Nowitzki, Dallas cruise past Bobcats >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki poured in 32 points and
grabbed nine rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks remained perfect all-time
against the Bobcats with a 100-83 win over Charlotte.
Josh Howard scored 21 point
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!
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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds
With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season. What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season. Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all. Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13). Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two. Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury. Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven. Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury. Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons. Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4. Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1). The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this. No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.
Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend. Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend. With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.
MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:
Atlanta Hawks 1000-1
Boston Celtics 5000-1
Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1
Chicago Bulls 20-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1
Dallas Mavericks 2-1
Denver Nuggets 25-1
Detroit Pistons 6-1
Golden State Warriors 250-1
Houston Rockets 12-1
Indiana Pacers 60-1
Los Angeles Clippers 45-1
Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1
Miami Heat 9-1
Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1
Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1
New Jersey Nets 50-1
New Orleans Hornets 150-1
New York Knicks 150-1
Orlando Magic 75-1
Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1
Phoenix Suns 5-2
Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1
Sacramento Kings 250-1
San Antonio Spurs 9-1
Seattle Sonics 5000-1
Toronto Raptors 35-1
Utah Jazz 20-1
Washington Wizards 25-1
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