Current Yankees remember Steinbrenner
Baseball Betting Lines
07/13/2010 -
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yankees manager Joe Girardi spoke about a time
in spring training when he and his wife were walking their dog, a white
bichon, on the manicured grass when he encountered owner George Steinbrenner.
He expected Steinbrenner to yell, but said Steinbrenner instead sat and talked
to them, asking about the dog.
"Totally different expectation than what I had," Girardi said. "It was the
first time I realized he wasn't everything he was painted to be...I gotta tell
you, one of his athletes walking a little white dog, I was expecting something
different."
Steinbrenner was tough and had high expectations, but was fair and revealed a
softer side in personal moments. That was the consistent theme when Girardi,
along with Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, third baseman Alex Rodriguez and
shortstop Derek Jeter -- who are in Anaheim for the All-Star Game -- spoke
about the Yankees owner, who died Tuesday morning.
Steinbrenner could be demanding and had high expectations for his team, which
became clear in some anecdotes they told.
Rodriguez, who joined the Yankees in 2004, said within the first two minutes
of meeting Steinbrenner, the owner told him multiple times that the Yankees
have to win a World Series. Girardi said winning the World Series meant a lot
to Steinbrenner, but Steinbrenner didn't take too long to enjoy the
accomplishment.
"He was like, 'Okay, how are we going to win next year,'" said Girardi, who
won three World Series titles with the Yankees as a player and last year as
the manager.
Jeter recalled being yelled at by Steinbrenner for getting doubled off third
base early in his career, despite the fact that the Yankees won.
"He was an old football coach," Jeter said. "His way, he'd sort of look at the
baseball season like we played 12 games and we have to win every single day.
He really expected to win, every night, every day."
But Jeter also remembered getting a call in 2003, saying The Boss wanted to
talk to him. Jeter figured he was in trouble again and called Steinbrenner.
"He said how much respect he had for me and he wanted to name me captain and
would I accept that role," Jeter said. "I was in Cincinnati, and it's a memory
I'll always cherish not only because I thought I was getting in trouble, but
because I realized how much that title meant to him and to the organization."
That was the way all four recounted how Steinbrenner revealed his true self to
them, through surprising moments that told them he was more than a caricature.
Rodriguez remembered a letter delivered to him in 2004 from Steinbrenner,
hand-written. At the end it said "I'm counting on you" in capital letters and
with an exclamation point.
"To this day I hold this dear and still feel we're playing for him," Rodriguez
said.
Pettitte said Steinbrenner would hand him bible verses before some playoff
starts.
"He was tough, but he was always there to support you also," Pettitte said. "I
don't think enough is said about the support he'd give you."
In addition to the dog-walking story, Girardi also remembered how Steinbrenner
teased him about football. Girardi went to Northwestern, while Steinbrenner
was an assistant football coach there in the 1950s.
"He would needle me about Northwestern football, and had a way of making some
light moments in some tough times," Girardi said. "I enjoyed it. I never
really felt that his expectations were overbearing. I just felt he wanted what
we all wanted; to win."
Jeter, who knew Steinbrenner since he was 18, said Steinbrenner was a father
figure to anyone in the organization, saying "he really went out of his way to
take care of his players."
"He's more than just an owner to me, he's a friend of mine," Jeter said.
"He'll be deeply missed."
<< Pittsburgh gets 2013 Frozen Four, Philly in 2014
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh will host the 2013 men's ice
hockey Frozen Four, and the 2014 event will be held in Philadelphia.
The Consol Energy Center will be the site of the 2013 Frozen Four, and the
following year
<< Hornets, Bower part ways
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets announced Tuesday
that the club and general manager Jeff Bower have mutually agreed to part
ways, effective immediately.
"We feel it is in the best interest for us and Je
<< Wizards sign C Armstrong
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards on Tuesday signed
center Hilton Armstrong. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not
announced.
The 6-foot-11, 235-pounder has averaged 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds
<< Mavs sign Dominique Jones
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks signed Dominique Jones on
Tuesday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound guard was originally drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies
with the 25th over
<< Chicago's Masar named WPS Player of Week
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Red Stars forward Ella Masar was
named Women's Professional Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 13 on Tuesday
after scoring a pair of goals.
Masar scored the equalizer in a 1-1 tie against the
Southern Nevada's Bryce Harper wins Golden Spikes Award >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southern Nevada slugger Bryce Harper, the top
overall pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, has
won the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, presented to the top amateur
basebal
Griffin ahead at Publinx in second stroke-play round >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John-Tyler Griffin of Georgia Tech holds a
one-shot lead after playing two rounds of the U.S. Amateur Public Links.
Griffin, who is from Wilson, North Carolina, about two hours west of
Greensboro
Rahal reunites with Newman/Haas Racing >>
Lincolnshire, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newman/Haas Racing announced Tuesday that
Graham Rahal will rejoin the team and pilot the No. 02 Dallara/Honda/Firestone
entry for six of the remaining series races.
Five of those races will see Rahal s
Jazz acquire Al Jefferson from Timberwolves >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz have acquired
center/forward Al Jefferson from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for
center Kosta Koufos, the Memphis Grizzlies' protected 2011 first-round pick
(obtain
Oilers give Dubnyk two-year contract >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers have come to terms with
goaltender Devan Dubnyk on a two-year contract. The team also agreed with
defenseman Shawn Belle on a one-year deal.
The 24-year-old Dubnyk appeared in 19
The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.
Bet NFL Sports Lines
Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.
Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.
A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.
Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.
Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.
And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.
2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win
Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1
Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1
Donald Brown (IND) 5/1
Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1
Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1
Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1
Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1
Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1
Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1
Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1
Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1
Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1
Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1
Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1
Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1
Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1
LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1
Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1
Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1
Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1
Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1
Jason Smith (STL) 40/1
Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1
Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1
Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1
Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2
Pat White (MIA) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 9/1
Betting Line
To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.
For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.
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.
your source for online betting
As the web was just getting it's footing in the business world in 1997, My Sportsbook was breaking new
ground in the online sportsbook arena. Offering over 20 Las Vegas Games and backed by Sporting Bet UK,
the largest publicly traded Internet gaming company in the world today, My Sportsbook offers betting lines
on every major sporting event in the world, including Online MLB Baseball Betting. With a wide array of bonuses including a 10% Free Money bonus
to all new customers, My Sportsbook is a top online sportsbook, poker room, casino and racebook -- join today!For those that feel that a site like My Sportsbook is only a sportsbook we would like to introduce you to
a place where a single login allows you to not only bet on every major sporting event in the world but also
to bet on horses at over 90 different tracks or play at over 20 Las Vegas style table games in their top online
casino. My Sportsbook has won many awards for it's site design and ease of use as well as it's 24/7
customer support. Get all your gaming done in one spot - try My Sportsbook Today!
|
Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
read more
|
online sportsbook and casino
Since 2000, Best eCasino has maintained a 98.5% payout rate on all their more than 20 Las Vegas style games.
Each of their award winning games including, blackjack (and blackjack super 7s), Baccarat, Roulette and Craps are
available as either a downloadable program or as java programs that can be played directly within your browser. Don't
know how to play a certain game? Read the details and strategy here and start with their Play for Fun section which
allows you to practice a game before taking on the casino. Let's see any Vegas casino do that... Best eCasino doesn't stop there, they now offer horse wagering and sportsbook lines to round off all the online
gaming industry have to offer. They are consistently at the forefront of the industry with new innovations consistently
starting with their site. These guys are the entrepreneur's of the online gaming world and they set the standard for others
to follow. So bet with a leader that's backed by the largest online gaming company in the world with 24 hour customer support,
Best eCasino.
|