Dodgers extend ace Kershaw for 2 years
Baseball Betting Lines
02/07/2012 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided arbitration with All-Star pitcher Clayton Kershaw on Tuesday, agreeing to a two-year contract with their ace lefty.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Kershaw, 23, won the NL Triple Crown in the 2011 campaign, by virtue of his league-best wins (21), strikeouts (248) and earned run average (2.28) in 33 starts. He was named the 2011 NL Cy Young Award winner for his efforts.
In addition to his pitching excellence, Kershaw aided his teammates in the field, netting him a Gold Glove award for the league's best defensive pitcher.
During his four years in the major leagues, all with the Dodgers, Kershaw has posted a 47-28 record with a 2.88 ERA in 118 games (116 starts). In five postseason appearances over two seasons, 2008 and 2009, the southpaw is 0-1 with a 5.87 ERA.
Kershaw was drafted 7th overall by the Dodgers in the 2006 MLB draft.
Lancaster, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A former major league outfielder died after being shot at his home and an acquaintance has turned himself in to police. Danny Clyburn Jr. was found dead in the front yard of his home by police after being
<< Dunfermline salvages home point against Killie
Dunfermline, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dunfermline battled back after
surrendering the opening goal Tuesday night at East End Park as the Pars
played to a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock.
James Fowler piled on the misery for last-pla
<< Marist to play five home games in 2012
Poughkeepsie, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Marist football team will play five
home games as part of an 11-game schedule announced on Tuesday.
The Red Foxes are coming off a 4-7 season under veteran head coach Jim Parady.
Marist will open its
<< Prosecutors: Sandusky should stay inside
Harrisburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Prosecutors want the conditions of Jerry
Sandusky's bail to be modified to prevent the former Penn State assistant
coach from leaving the walls of his house unless it is to receive medical
treatme
<< Western Illinois tabs Ward as defensive coordinator
Macomb, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Ward has been named Western Illinois'
new defensive coordinator, head football coach Mark Hendrickson announced
Tuesday.
Ward was Drake University's defensive coordinator last season when the
Bulldogs pos
Lexington, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - VMI football will visit the Naval Academy for the first time in nine seasons and play six home games at part of a 2012 schedule announced on Tuesday. The home schedule is the largest since the Keydets last pl
Portland State to face Washington, host five games >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland State's football team will travel to
the University of Washington and play five home games as part of a 2012
schedule announced Tuesday.
The Vikings will face a Pac-12 school for the eighth time since
Owen Nolan announces retirement >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former San Jose captain Owen Nolan officially
announced his retirement on Tuesday.
Nolan disclosed his decision during a press conference at HP Pavilion, the
home of the Sharks, the team for which he spen
Wichita's Perez named MISL Player of Week >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wichita Wings midfielder Bryan Perez was named
the Major Indoor Soccer League's Player of the Week on Tuesday for Week 14.
Perez scored the match-winning goal in overtime to cap a five-point night, as
Wichita
Owen Nolan announces his retirement >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former San Jose captain Owen Nolan officially
announced his retirement on Tuesday.
Nolan disclosed his decision during a press conference at HP Pavilion, the
home of the Sharks, the team for which he spen
Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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