Browns sign second-round pick Hardesty
Football Betting Lines
07/26/2010 - Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have signed rookie running back Montario Hardesty to a multi-year contract.
The Browns selected the Tennessee product in the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 draft and expect him to work in tandem with Jerome Harrison.
Hardesty rushed for 1,345 yards and 13 touchdowns during his senior season. He also caught 25 passes for 302 yards and one score.
For his collegiate career, he rushed for 2,391 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raul confirmed on Monday that he is leaving Real Madrid after spending the last 16 years at the Bernabeu. The 33-year-old striker is the all-time leading scorer in the club's history with 323 goals in 740
<< Report: Vick cleared by NFL
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL has reportedly cleared Michael
Vick to play after completing its investigation into the shooting that
occurred last month outside a restaurant celebrating his 30th birthday.
According t
<< Altintop to give it "one more year" at Bayern
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich midfielder Hamit Altintop has
admitted this could be his final season with the Bundesliga champions.
The Turkey international has found first-team opportunities hard to come by in
recent time
<< Pettersson climbs 98 spots in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Pettersson climbed 98 places in the
world rankings following his victory Sunday at the Canadian Open.
Pettersson, who was one putt from shooting a 59 on Saturday, rallied to beat
54-hole leader D
<< Shin replaces Miyazato as women's No. 1
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jiyai Shin replaced Ai Miyazato atop the
world rankings for women's golf following her win Sunday at the lucrative
Evian Masters.
Shin birdied the 18th hole for a one-shot victory over three players
Blackpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackpool striker Billy Clarke looks set to miss the entire season following knee ligament surgery. Clarke, 22, injured his knee during the Seasiders' opening preseason friendly against Tiverton Town ea
Canucks sign LW Raymond to two-year deal >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks on Monday avoided
arbitration with Mason Raymond, signing the left winger to a two-year
contract.
Raymond, 24, enjoyed a breakout season in 2009-10, setting personal bes
Two giants might actually meet >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A few weeks ago, at the post position draw
for the Delaware Handicap, the discussion around the table was about the hoped-
for meeting between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.
Since neither champion was ente
CP3 summit in New Orleans >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets have prepared for
their scheduled sit-down with All-Star guard Chris Paul by fending off the
latest flurry of trade calls received from teams salivating over adding the
game's best pur
NHLPA files grievance against NHL over Kovalchuk >>
TORONTO (AP) -The National Hockey League Players' Association has filed a grievance over the league's rejection of the contract between Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils.The league rejected the landmark 17-year, $102 million contract last wee
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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