United fails to lure Brazilian starlet
Soccer Betting Lines
06/25/2009 - Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gremio has rejected a request from Manchester United to take rising star Douglas Costa on trial.
The 18-year-old attacking midfielder is one of the brightest talents in South American football and has been linked with moves to England, Italy and Spain in recent months.
United are reported to be at the head of the queue to sign the Brazil Under-20 international but the player's club side, Gremio, have turned down a request from the Premier League champions to take a closer look at Douglas on a two- week trial.
"We have said to them that this will not happen," said club president Duda Kroeff. "Douglas is not at the stage where he would go through such a situation."
Douglas is reported to have a $33 million buyout clause in his contract despite playing only a handful of first-team games for Gremio.
(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned struggling pitcher Ian Snell to Indianapolis of the International League on Thursday. Snell has made 15 starts this season, compiling a 2-8 record with a 5.36 earned r
<< Andujar returns to Serie A with Catania
Catania, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Argentinian goalkeeper Mariano Andujar has
returned to Serie A after joining Catania.
The 25-year-old former Palermo shot-stopper has joined Rossazzurri from
Estudiantes. Andujar made 21 appearanc
<< Santana outshines Carpenter as Mets edge Cards
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Santana was solid on the mound, and Nick
Evans' two-run double in the fourth inning was the difference, as the Mets
edged St. Louis, 3-2, in the finale of a four-game set at Citi Field.
Fernando Tat
<< Bayern dismisses Lucio reports
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich President Franz Beckenbauer
has categorically dismissed rumors linking Lucio with a departure from the
Allianz Arena.
The Brazil defender's future in Germany has been thrown into do
<< Ordonez, Santiago power Tigers to sweep of Cubs
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armando Galarraga got his first win in nearly
two months and the Detroit Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago
Cubs with a 6-5 win at Comerica Park.
Galarraga (4-7) threw six innings and gave u
Released defensive backs Patrick Body, Ronyell Whitaker, Jasper Johnson and Nick Kordic, wide receiver Terry Firr, offensive linemen Jean-Francois Morin-Robeerge, Matt O'Meara and Thaddeus Coleman, running back Joe Smith, defensive linemen Monte
San Jose waives Denton, Gray >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes placed defender Eric
Denton and midfielder Kelly Gray on waivers Thursday.
Denton appeared in 10 matches this season and had an assist. In 2008 he started
26 games at left back.
G
St. Louis to host WPS All-Star Game >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Women's Professional Soccer announced
Thursday that The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo., will be the site
of the 2009 WPS All-Star Game on Aug. 30.
The league will employ a unique format
Brazil advances to play U.S. in Confed Cup final >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Alves scored in the 87th
minute, helping Brazil edge South Africa 1-0 on Thursday in the Confederations
Cup to set up a rematch with the United States in the final.
Alves, who entered
Dundee aims to keep Gomis >>
Dundee, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dundee United manager Craig Levein is
hoping to hold off interest in Morgaro Gomis this summer.
Gomis, 23, is under contract with the Terrors until 2011, but has been the
subject of interest fro
FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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