07/03/2008 - Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers signed four players on Thursday, including defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick, 33, who signed a two-year contract, appeared in 19 games with the Philadelphia Flyers last season and tallied one assist with a minus-11 rating. Over 11 seasons in the NHL, he has appeared in 287 games and has 10 goals and 25 assists. He has also donned the uniforms of Montreal, St. Louis, Nashville, Buffalo and Vancouver.
The club also agreed to terms on two-year contracts with goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu and forward Steve MacIntyre.
Beckford-Tseu made his NHL debut, and his lone appearance in the season, on February 21, 2008 for St. Louis in a relief mode against Los Angeles.
MacIntyre has yet to appear in the NHL, but played for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League last season and totaled two goals and three assists along with 213 penalty minutes in 62 games.
In addition, the team signed defenseman James DeLory to a three-year entry level contract. He was originally a fourth round draft pick of San Jose in 2006.
<< Rays place Bartlett on DL, make three other moves
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays placed shortstop
Jason Bartlett on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a right knee sprain
suffered in Wednesday's 7-6 victory over Boston.
The 28-year-old Bartlett is battin
<< Dodgers edge Astros in finale
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Billingsley tossed eight strong innings,
and James Loney went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs batted in and two runs
scored as the Los Angeles Dodgers topped the Houston Astros, 5-2, in the
finale
<< Red Sox searching for relief on rocky road trip
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the hearts of the fans -- and especially the minds of
the television network executives -- the Boston Red Sox' most important
regular-season games will always be those played against the New York Yankees.
That notion ma
<< Cubs activate Johnson
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs activated outfielder
Reed Johnson from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday.
The 31-year-old went on the shelf on June 24, retroactive to June 18, due to
lower back spasms.
In 5
Laraque leaves Penguins for Montreal >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens signed forward
Georges Laraque to a three-year contract on Thursday.
Financial terms of the deal for the 31-year-old were not disclosed.
Laraque played in 71 games last seas
Phoenix signs D Jones >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes signed defenseman Matt
Jones to a two-year contract on Thursday. Per club policy, financial terms of
the deal were not disclosed.
Jones, 24, played 45 games last season with the Coyote
Blues re-sign Stastny >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Blues president John Davidson
announced Thursday that the club has re-signed forward Yan Stastny to a two-
year deal.
The 25-year-old Stastny skated in 12 games with the Blues last s
Timlin activated from DL, Smith optioned >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox activated righty Mike
Timlin from the 15-day disabled list in time for Thursday's game against the
club's bitter rival, the New York Yankees.
Timlin was placed on the DL on June 21,
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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)
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