Cubs sign Marquis to three-year contract
Baseball Betting Lines
12/20/2006 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs made it official on Tuesday, signing pitcher Jason Marquis to a three-year contract on Tuesday.
It was reported on Saturday in the Chicago Tribune that the deal would be worth $20 million.
The 28-year-old Marquis went 14-16 last season for St. Louis with a 6.02 earned run average. He won 11 games before the All-Star break, but pitched to a 3-10 record in the second half.
Marquis did not make an appearance in the postseason for the World Series champion Cardinals. He is 56-52 in his career with an ERA of 4.55 in 194 games (137 starts) with the Braves and Cardinals. He won 15 games with St. Louis in 2004.
Marquis is just the latest addition to the Cubs roster and shores up a rotation that will also include newcomer Ted Lilly, who signed a four-year deal.
Chicago also won the Alfonso Soriano sweepstakes, signing the outfielder to an eight-year deal, and re-signed third baseman Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chiefs wanted to win for the legendary Lamar Hunt this week, but in the end, it simply wasn't to be. Hunt, the beloved owner and founder of the Chiefs, died Wednesday evening at the age of 74. He was credited with coin
<< Colts get back on track
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nothin' like a little home cookin' to cure what ails ya.
The Colts can surely attest to that old cliche after Monday's fairly dominant
34-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at the RCA Dome ended a two-game
skid and kep
<< Cowboys: Beware of Ware
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I bet Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Ware can cover
teammate Terrell Owens in man-to-man coverage with no problem.
Ware has the speed of a cornerback, and hits harder than most defensive
players in the NFL, which is why fu
<< Tomlinson, Manning to lead AFC Pro Bowl offense
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson
and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning head up the list of this year's AFC Pro
Bowl Selections, the league announced on Tuesday.
This year, Tomlinson has set r
<< Zach Attack: Thomas shines in Buffalo
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Thomas was all over the field on Sunday, but his
sterling 21-tackle effort went for naught in Miami's 21-0 loss to the Buffalo
Bills.
Not only was it Miami's second loss in three games, but it also finished the
team'
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston College has named Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski head football coach, director of athletics Gene DeFilippo announced on Tuesday. Jagodzinski becomes the 33rd h
Cutler looking sharp >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Jay Cutler era began a few weeks back, the Broncos
were in the thick of the AFC playoff race, and after a couple rocky outings,
the youngster still has a chance to lead his club to the postseason.
Denver head coac
Losman turns in solid showing >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman had one his best
performances as a pro in Sunday's 21-0 victory over the AFC East-rival Miami
Dolphins.
Losman threw for 200 yards and matched a career high with three touchdown
passe
Bengals don't step up in the spotlight >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This is going to be brief.
It has to be.
Dwelling too long on a single loss in the middle of the playoff race could
lead to another one. Cincinnati can not afford another one.
A trip to Mile High to face the Denver Br
Bears Fans Might Finally Get to Seek Griese >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bear fans may finally get to see backup quarterback
Brian Griese over the final two weeks of the regular season. Of course, it has
nothing to do with a quarterback controversy, and everything to do with the
fact that
College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.