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04/29/2010 - Bolton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bolton will not stand in Gary Cahill's way should a major club come calling this summer, according to manager Owen Coyle.
The 24-year-old England World Cup hopeful has been one the most consistent performers for the Trotters during the past two seasons and has recently been linked with a 10million summer transfer to Liverpool and Arsenal.
"I have always said, regardless of what club I am at, that if there comes a time when any player outgrows the football club, I won't be the person to stand in their way," said Coyle.
"I said it to my Burnley lads when I was there - if there is something better for them out there, then they would go and blossom. That will be the same with Gary Cahill.
"I have got everything crossed that Gary gets to the World Cup because if he does he will be terrific, if he is allowed the opportunity.
"And if that means that he is elevated to a position where they are all going to clamor for him, then good luck for Gary Cahill.
"He is comfortable on the ball, he has got pace, he is terrific in the air and he is a goal threat.
"For me, Gary Cahill is the full package - and he is only 24, and getting better."
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
<< Gonzalez leads in Spain
Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricardo Gonzalez fired a seven-under 65 on
Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Open de Espana at Real Club de
Golf de Sevilla.
Paul Waring is alone in second place at six-under 66.
Gonzalez
<< NC State's Tracy Smith to test NBA Draft waters
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina State junior forward Tracy
Smith has entered his name into consideration for the NBA Draft, but has not
hired an agent.
Smith retains the opportunity to return to the Wolfpack for his s
<< White Sox OF Quentin scratched with hamstring injury
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin
missed Thursday's series-ending game versus the Texas Rangers with a left
hamstring strain.
The slugger has disappointed in the early going this year, hitt
<< L.A.'s Buddle takes home MLS Player of the Month
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Galaxy forward Edson Buddle was
voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Month for April after scoring every
one of his teams goals through five games.
The 28-year-old Buddle scored an MLS-
Flyers prepare for physical series against Bruins >>
VOORHEES, N.J. (AP) -The Philadelphia Flyers see a lot of themselves in the Boston Bruins.Both teams had to finish strongly just to make the playoffs. Both stress defense, with plenty of muscle.Beginning Saturday in Boston, they go at each other in
Jazz hoping to close out Nuggets at home >>
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -The Utah Jazz hope they just made their last trip to Denver this season.The playoff series between the Jazz and Nuggets returns to Utah on Friday night for Game 6. The Jazz can wrap up the series with a win at home or the Nugget
Wolverhampton's Ward to miss final two matches >>
Wolverhampton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wolverhampton midfielder Stephen
Ward will miss the two remaining games of the season following an exploratory
knee operation.
Ward, 25, has made 25 appearances in all competitions this season
Rocky Mountain Sigh: Nene's knee only sprained >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets got good news on the
injury front Thursday with an MRI exam revealing only a sprained left knee for
center Nene.
Reports swirled that the Nuggets feared their big man had torn the AC
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.
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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back
With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.
"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."
Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .
Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.
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