Rangers ink Cruz to two-year deal
Baseball Betting Lines
02/09/2012 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The two-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers have agreed to a two-year contract with outfielder Nelson Cruz, the team announced on Thursday.
The 31-year-old Cruz batted .263 with 29 home runs and a career-best 87 runs batted in during 124 regular-season games in 2011. In 17 postseason contests during the Rangers' pennant run, he logged a .226 average with eight homers and 16 RBI.
The bulk of Cruz's 2011 playoff output came during the American League Championship Series, during which he posted MLB records for most home runs (6) and RBI (13) in a postseason series. Not surprisingly, he was crowned ALCS Most Valuable Player for his efforts.
Cruz, who has played six of his seven major league seasons with the Rangers, has a .270 batting average with 106 home runs and 323 RBI over 536 career games.
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets announced Thursday that guard Keith Bogans has been diagnosed with a complete tear of the deltoid ligament as well as a fractured left ankle. Bogans, who signed with the Nets on
<< Lamar to visit Hawaii as part of 12-game schedule
Beaumont, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lamar University football will visit the
University of Hawaii as part of a 12-game schedule announced Thursday.
Football Championship Subdivision teams usually play a maximum of 11 games,
but the Cardinals are
<< Gonzalez will retire next month
Santiago, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chilean star Fernando Gonzalez says he
expects to retire from the ATP World Tour next month.
The former Australian Open runner-up, who has been plagued by hip, knee and
back injuries over the las
<< Lafayette-Lehigh to play 150 in NYC?
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As if the 150th meeting between the
Lafayette and Lehigh football teams wasn't special enough ...
How about an extra special venue?
The Express-Times of Easton, Pa., reported Thursday about the concept o
<< Houston acquires Kandji from Colorado
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Dynamo have acquired forward
Macoumba Kandji from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for a conditional draft
pick.
Kandji, 26, has played 57 regular season matches over five seasons in MLS. H
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will get France going Friday in its opening-round Davis Cup tie against host Canada. The world No. 6 Tsonga will meet Vasek Pospisil in the first singles
Bartoli lands in Paris quarters >>
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - French crowd favorite Marion Bartoli was an
easy second-round winner Thursday in Paris.
The second-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up handled Croat Petra Martic 7-5,
6-1 on Day 3 at the Open GDF Suez.
B
Ten-man Lazio rallies to defeat Cesena >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lazio, which had a player sent off 34 minutes
into the match, rallied from two goals down Thursday for a 3-2 win over Cesena
in Serie A action at the Stadio Olimpico.
Abdoulay Konko was sent off after the hal
Royals, Gordon agree to one-year deal >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms
on a one-year contract with outfielder Alex Gordon, the team announced
Thursday.
Gordon notched career-highs in batting average (.303), runs batted in
RSL re-signs four, including Espindola, Grabavoy >>
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake re-signed four players Thursday,
including forward Fabian Espindola and midfielder Ned Grabavoy.
Espindola and Grabavoy combined to make 52 appearances, including 46 starts,
last season for Rea
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.