12/01/2008 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have reportedly come to an agreement on a deal with free agent starting pitcher Mike Hampton pending a physical.
According to MLB.com, the 36-year-old Hampton will travel to Houston to be examined in the coming days with an offical announcement expected as early as Tuesday.
It would be Hampton's second stint in Houston, where he enjoyed some of the best years of his career. A career-high, 22-win season in 1999 saw him finish second to Randy Johnson in the Cy Young Award voting. A successful six-year stint with the club ended after that season with Hampton joining the Mets for one season.
He went on to pitch for Colorado for two years (2001-02) and then signed with Atlanta, where his career has been racked with injuries. Hampton made 60 starts for the Braves over his first two seasons (2003-04) but has since made just 25 over the past four years.
Hampton missed the entire 2006 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery and had the 2007 season wiped out due to a strained oblique and torn flexor tendon.
In 388 career games, including 334 starts, for the Mariners, Astros, Mets, Rockies and Braves, the veteran lefty is 141-105 with a 4.01 earned-run average.
<< Christensen to take over at Wyoming
Casper, WY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wyoming is reportedly set to name Dave
Christensen its new head football coach.
According to the Casper Star Tribune, Christensen will leave his job as the
Missouri offensive coordinator to take ove
<< Boston recalls Boychuk, Lashoff from Providence
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins recalled defensemen Johnny
Boychuk and Matt Lashoff from their American Hockey league affiliate, the
Providence Bruins, it was announced on Monday.
Boychuk, 24, has posted four goals
<< Villanova's Drummond to transfer
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villanova junior center Casiem Drummond has
informed the coaching staff of his desire to transfer.
This season, the 6-foot-10 Drummond appeared in only two games, averaging 2.0
points and 2.5 rebounds in
<< This Week in Golf - December 3rd through December 8th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - PGA TOUR NATIONAL QUALIFYING
TOURNAMENT, PGA West (Nicklaus Tournament and TPC Stadium Courses), La Quinta,
California - The final stage of the PGA Tour's Q-School will be contested over
90 hole
Angels offer Teixeira, K-Rod, Garland arbitration >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Angels offered salary arbitration to first
baseman Mark Teixeira, closer Francisco Rodriguez, starting hurler Jon Garland
and southpaw Darren Oliver on Monday.
Teixeira, Rodriguez and Oliver are Type-A
Royals offer arbitration to Grudzielanek >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals have offered
arbitration to second basemen Mark Grudzielanek.
The 38-year-old Grudzielanek has until the conclusion of Sunday to accept the
offer. If he rejects the offer a
Yankees decline salary arbitration with Pettitte, others >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pitcher Andy Pettitte and right fielder Bobby
Abreu were both not offered salary arbitration by the New York Yankees prior
to a midnight (et) deadline on Monday.
Both players earned $16 million last season
Burnett offered arbitration by Blue Jays >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays offered salary
arbitration to star right-handed hurler A.J. Burnett on Monday.
Burnett finished second to ace Roy Halladay in wins for Toronto a season ago,
going 18-10 with
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting