Red Sox, Cubs work out compensation for Epstein
Baseball Betting Lines
02/21/2012 - Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox have acquired pitcher Chris Carpenter and a player to be named later from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later.
The trade finalizes the compensation the Red Sox received for allowing Theo Epstein to join the Cubs as president of baseball operations.
"I am pleased that the Cubs and Red Sox have resolved this matter," said baseball commissioner Bud Selig in a statement. "It has always been my preference that clubs resolve matters like this amongst themselves, as they understand their unique circumstances better than anyone else could."
Selig had threatened to become involved if the teams could not work out compensation terms.
"Though the matter required time, both clubs demonstrated professionalism throughout their discussions, and I appreciate their persistence in finding common ground."
The 26-year-old Carpenter made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2011, posting a 2.79 earned run average over 10 relief appearances. The right-hander also combined for 32 games between Chicago's Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa clubs last year, going 3-4 with two saves and a 5.91 ERA.
Originally selected by the Cubs in the third round of the 2008 draft, Carpenter has a 21-19 record with two saves and a 3.62 ERA in 96 career minor league games (60 starts) in Chicago's system.
The Red Sox also placed right-handed pitcher Bobby Jenks on the 60-day disabled list as he recovers from back surgery, which took place on December 30.
Jenks went 2-2 with a 6.32 ERA for Boston last season. He was limited to just 19 games due to three stints on the disabled list.
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand will miss Tuesday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies due to a right thumb sprain. Brand has averaged 10.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 30 games for the Sixers this
<< Broken foot sidelines Blues F Langenbrunner
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues placed forward Jamie
Langenbrunner on injured reserve Tuesday because of a broken foot suffered
over the weekend.
Langenbrunner sustained the injury to his left foot in Sunday's 3
<< Drake reportedly will name McCaslin as DC
Des Moines, Iowa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drake University will name former
Nebraska-Omaha assistant football coach Brad McCaslin as its new defensive
coordinator, according to a report Tuesday.
Footballscoop.com first reported the hiring.
McCa
<< Blackhawks' Toews to miss Tuesday's game
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews has
been ruled out for Tuesday's game against the Detroit Red Wings due to an
upper-body injury.
Toews, who is listed as day-to-day, has 29 goals and 28 assis
<< Yankees make it official with Ibanez
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees made it official on Tuesday
and signed outfielder Raul Ibanez to a one-year contract.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the New York Daily News had reported
the deal to be worth $1.1
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Impact signed 38-year-old striker Eduardo Sebrango on Tuesday. Sebrango was a Cuban international, playing 24 matches for his native country, before immigrating to Canada. He's played most of his
Lightning's Lecavalier out indefinitely >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will have to continue
their playoff push without captain Vincent Lecavalier, who will be sidelined
indefinitely due to an undisclosed upper-body injury.
Lecavalier has already been
Philadelphia signs five players >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union signed five players
Tuesday, including SuperDraft selections Greg Jordan and Raymon Gaddis.
Jordan, a midfielder, was selected 32nd overall out of Creighton in the MLS
SuperDraft,
Datsyuk out two weeks following minor knee surgery >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk
underwent minor arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday morning and will miss at
least two weeks.
General manager Ken Holland said on the team's Twitter account
Blue Jackets place Boll on IR; activate Nikitin >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed forward
Jared Boll on injured reserve because of a foot injury.
Boll was hurt during a February 9 game against Dallas and has already missed
four games. He is listed as
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
| The Bubble Breakdown | |||
| CONFERENCE | LOCKS | SHOULD BE INS | AT-LARGES TAKEN (assuming no auto bid outlier) |
| ACC Betting Odds | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Big East Betting Odds | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Big Ten Betting Odds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 Betting Odds | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pac-10 Betting Odds | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| SEC Betting Odds | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| MVC Betting Odds | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MWC Betting Odds | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 5 | 25 |
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
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