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01/31/2012 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Kerry Watkins announced his retirement on Tuesday.
During his eight-year career, Watkins caught 515 passes for 7,431 yards and 48 touchdowns.
"We congratulate Kerry for a fantastic career and thank him for helping us build such a successful football team," said general manager Jim Popp of Watkins, who was a key contributor to the back-to-back Grey Cups won by the Alouettes in 2009 and 2010.
Watkins eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark for five consecutive seasons from 2005-2009.
Last season, Watkins caught his 500th career pass, surpassing Red O'Quinn for the No. 2 spot on Montreal's all-time receptions list behind Ben Cahoon.
<< United signs defender Veseli from City
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United acquired 19-year-old
defender Frederic Veseli from rival Manchester City on Tuesday.
Veseli, a center back, plays for Switzerland's Under-20 side and captained the
Swiss to the U-17 W
<< Barca signs forward Cuenca to extension
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona signed forward Isaac Cuenca to a
contract extension Tuesday that will keep the 20-year-old with the club until
the summer of 2015.
Cuenca has made 12 appearances for Barcelona this season and sc
<< Everton acquires Jelavic from Rangers
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton acquired Croatian striker Nikica
Jelavic from Scottish side Rangers on Tuesday, and signed him to a 4 1/2-year
deal.
Jelavic, 26, scored 36 goals in just 55 games for Rangers. Capped 17 times fo
<< Southern Illinois' Boemer wins Rimington Award
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southern Illinois senior Bryan Boemer was
named on Tuesday as the 2011 recipient of the Rimington Award, given to the
top center in the FCS.
Boemer earned All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors for the
Missouri's Tiguinho named MISL Player of Week >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Missouri Comets forward Tiguinho was named the
Major Indoor Soccer League's Player of the Week on Tuesday for Week 13.
Tiguinho had two goals and five assists as Missouri rolled to a 33-12 win over
the Syracus
Indians acquire Canzler from Rays >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians acquired INF/OF Russ
Canzler from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for cash considerations Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Canzler was named the MVP of the International League last
seas
City acquires Pizarro on loan from Roma >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City acquired Chilean David
Pizarro on loan for the rest of the season Tuesday from Italian side Roma.
Pizarro, 32, played under City manager Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan, but has
played j
Los Angeles Angeles >>
Suspended minor league pitcher Daniel Reynolds 50 games for a second violation of MLB drug policy.
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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