07/03/2009 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves have placed second baseman Kelly Johnson on the 15-day disabled with right wrist tendinitis.
Johnson has struggled thus far in 2009, hitting just .214 with five home runs, 20 runs batted in and 33 runs scored over 68 games for Atlanta. Braves skipper Bobby Cox recently announced that utilityman Martin Prado would supplant Johnson as the starting second baseman for the time being.
The 27-year-old hit .287 in full-time duty last year for the Braves in 547 at- bats. He added 12 home runs, 69 RBI and scored 86 runs.
The club purchased the contract of infielder Brooks Conrad from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill the roster spot. Conrad was recently named to the International League All-Star team, having hit .259 with nine home runs, 38 RBI and 46 runs scored in 73 games with Gwinnett this season.
<< Primus gets new deal from Pompey
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defender Linvoy Primus will extend his
nine-year association with Portsmouth after agreeing to a new 12-month
contract.
The 35-year-old defender has been at Fratton Park since 2000 and has
<< Pens bring back Fedotenko for one more year
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward
Ruslan Fedotenko to a one-year contract on Friday.
The 30-year-old tallied 16 times with 39 points in 65 regular-season games for
Pittsburgh last season a
<< Jackson announces return to Lakers bench
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil
Jackson, fresh off a record 10th NBA Championship as a coach, announced on
Friday he will return to the bench next year for a 10th season in LA and 19th
as an N
<< Diao close to signing new Stoke deal
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stoke City midfielder Salif Diao is
close to agreeing a new contract to remain at the Britannia Stadium.
The 32-year-old Senegal international is out of contract and had been
interesting se
M's Hernandez named AL Pitcher of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez
was named the American League's Pitcher of the Month for June.
Over six starts, Hernandez went 3-0 with an 0.94 earned run average,
allowing only four
Upton named AL Player of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay outfielder B.J. Upton was selected
as the American League Player of the Month for June.
Upton, who garnered his first monthly honor, hit .324 in 26 games during June.
He also belted five homers, s
Lincecum voted NL Pitcher of the Month for June >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum
was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for June, the league
announced on Friday.
Lincecum posted a 4-1 mark with a 1.48 ERA during the month,
Braves P Hanson named NL Rookie of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson was named
National League Rookie of the Month for June on Friday.
The right-hander was a perfect 4-0 to go along with a 2.48 earned run average
in five starts during the m
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.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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