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Twins demote Henn, to recall Duensing

Baseball Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have assigned pitcher Sean Henn outright to Triple-A Rochester and plan to recall left-hander Brian Duensing prior to Friday's game with the Detroit Tigers.

Henn, who signed as a minor league free agent this offseason, made 14 relief appearances and pitched to a 7.15 earned run average with an 0-3 mark for the Twins this season.

Duensing, who was a member of Minnesota's opening day roster, was 4-6 with a 4.66 ERA in 13 starts for Rochester. The 26-year-old made his major league debut with the Twins on April 10, when he pitched three innings and allowed two runs on two hits in his only appearance versus the White Sox. He was then optioned to Rochester on April 13.

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Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona forward Eidur Gudjohnsen is content to wait on a decision over where he will be playing his football next season. The 30-year-old is expected to exit the Camp Nou this summer, but his age

<< Longwood gives hoop's coach Gillian multi-year extension
Farmville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longwood University has extended the contract of men's basketball head coach Mike Gillian. Financial terms were not released but the extension covers multiple years. The Lancers were 17-14 la

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Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Kaymer got off to a flying start Thursday as he fired a nine-under 62 to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the Open de France. Kaymer matched the course record at Le Golf Na

<< Coyotes ink D Aucoin
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes brought in veteran defenseman Adrian Aucoin on a one-year contract Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed per team policy. Aucoin, whose departure from Calgary was ea

<< O'Neal ready to "Win a ring for The King"
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shaquille O'Neal met the media Thursday in Cleveland, a week after he was traded to the Cavaliers from the Phoenix Suns, and unveiled a new motto in his attempt to capture another NBA title. "Win a ring

Bremen's Schaaf confirms Naldo exit >>
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Werder Bremen manager Thomas Schaaf has confirmed that Brazilian defender Naldo will be allowed to leave the club this summer. The 26-year-old centre-half has been with the Bundesliga club for four s

Thrashers sign Antropov >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers signed unrestricted free agent forward Nik Antropov to a multi-year contract Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, per team policy. The 29-year-old compiled career-highs

Motor City Blues >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I've always thought of sports as the ultimate form of escapist entertainment. And a whole lot of people need to "escape" right about now. It was announced Thursday that the nation's employers cut a larger-than- expected

United loses out on Benzema >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United's hopes of signing Karim Benzema are over after the France striker agreed to a six-year contract with Real Madrid. Benzema, 21, was believed to have been earmarked by United

Wolfsburg's Veh backs Dzeko decision >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh has backed the decision to shun offers for star striker Edin Dzeko and keep him at the club next season. The 23-year-old Bosnia international had seemed set to join

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.

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