Rangers, Napoli reach agreement on contract

Baseball Betting Lines

02/12/2012 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers and catcher Mike Napoli have reportedly agreed on a one-year contract for the 2012 season, thus avoiding arbitration.

The Dallas Morning News reported Napoli will make $9.4 million for next season. He was requesting $11.5 million, while the Rangers were offering $8.3 million. He was slated for a hearing on Wednesday.

Napoli, who could become a free agent following the 2012 season, batted .320 with 30 homers and 75 runs batted in, all career-bests in 2011. He played in 113 games.

Footballstake Baseball Betting News

<< Smith, Coyotes blank reeling Blackhawks
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Smith stood tall between the pipes, making 38 saves to backstop the surging Phoenix Coyotes to a 3-0 victory over the struggling Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night. Smith recorded his third s

<< Kentucky holds on against Vanderbilt
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doron Lamb scored 16 and his three-pointer with under four minutes left gave Kentucky the lead for good, as the top- ranked Wildcats beat Vanderbilt, 69-63, for their 17th straight win. Anthony Davis

<< Richardson's hot shooting leads Orlando over Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Richardson made 9-of-11 from long range, including four in the last five minutes of the game, to lead the Orlando Magic with 31 points as they defeated Milwaukee, 99-94, at the Bradley Center.

<< West helps Mavs outlast Blazers in 2-OT
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delonte West scored six of his 10 points in the second overtime period as the Dallas Mavericks took a 97-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at American Airlines Center. Dirk Nowitzki scored a team-h

<< Lin pushes Knicks past T'Wolves
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The legend of "Linsanity" grew a bit larger on Saturday as Jeremy Lin scored 20 points, including a game-winning free throw with the game tied to lead the Knicks over the Timberwolves 100-98 at Target

Saint Mary's stays perfect at home >>
Moraga, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rob Jones scored 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, as 16th-ranked Saint Mary's remained unbeaten at home by topping Santa Clara, 82-67, at McKeon Pavilion. Coming off a Thursday loss at Gonzaga, the

Iginla lifts Flames over Canucks in shootout >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stymied late in regulation, Jarome Iginla made good on his opportunity in the shootout, netting the decisive goal to lift the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at the Saddledome. Iginl

Suns ease past Kings >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jared Dudley had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns eased past the Sacramento Kings, 98-84, at Power Balance Pavilion. Steve Nash missed the second quarter after taking a shot to the face

Korda wins playoff at Women's Australian Open >>
Victoria, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jessica Korda first gained control during the final round at the Women's Australian Open on Sunday, then gave it away with a string of bogeys on the back nine. But when she needed critical birdies, she

Croatia advances past Japan in Davis Cup >>
Hyogo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivo Karlovic defeated Go Soeda in the final match as Croatia downed host Japan, 3-2, to advance in the Davis Cup. Kei Nishikori had taken down Ivan Dodig 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to tie the match at 2-all, but

SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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