Astros designate Daigle, bring up Majewski

Baseball Betting Lines

07/18/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have designated pitcher Casey Daigle for assignment and purchased the contract of pitcher Gary Majewski from Triple-A Round Rock.

Daigle posted a 1-1 record with an 11.32 earned run average in 13 relief outings over two stints with the Astros this season. He allowed six runs on nine hits over just 1 1/3 innings in his last two outings Saturday and Sunday.

The Astros have 10 days to either trade, release or assign outright the 29- year-old right-hander's contract.

Majewski will join the Astros in Chicago for Monday's series opener against the Cubs after going 3-2 with a 4.04 ERA in 27 relief appearances for the Express.

The 30-year-old right-hander holds a combined 9-13 mark with a 4.61 ERA in 229 major league relief outings over five seasons with the Expos/Nationals franchise and Reds, though he has not pitched in the big leagues since 2008.

Sprtsline Baseball Betting News

<< Joh wins playoff for first Duramed Futures title
Bloomfield, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiffany Joh birdied the fourth playoff hole Sunday to defeat Gerina Mendoza and win the ING New England Golf Classic on the Duramed Futures Tour. Joh sank an eight-foot birdie putt on the fourth ext

<< McCann's grand slam helps Braves down Brewers
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian McCann hit his sixth career grand slam and drove in five to lead the Braves in an 11-6 win and split of a four-game series with Milwaukee at Turner Field. Matt Diaz also homered, knocked in three

<< Twins rally for ninth inning comeback win
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delmon Young's bases loaded run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth inning brought in two with the help of a throwing error by Alex Rios, as the Minnesota Twins scored four runs in the inning

<< Tolliver cruises to American Century Championship title
Tahoe, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Billy Joe Tolliver, the former NFL quarterback, collected 26 points on Sunday to easily cruise to a record-setting victory at the American Century Championship. Tolliver finished with 84 points, which is a tou

<< A's use home runs to sweep Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Rosales, Jack Cust and Kevin Kouzmanoff each homered, as the Oakland Athletics held off the Kansas City Royals, 9-6, to complete a three-game series sweep at Kauffman Stadium. Cliff Penn

Holliday caps Cards' comeback in ninth for sweep of Dodgers >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday's two-out, game-winning RBI single capped a five-run rally in the final two innings, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a four-game sweep a

McCutchen suffers shoulder sprain in Sunday's game >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen left Sunday's game against Houston with a mild sprain of his right AC joint. He sustained the injury to the top of his shoulder after making a diving catch on a

NCAA investigating possible rules violation at South Carolina >>
Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NCAA is reportedly investigating South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders about possible rules violations regarding dealings with a sports agent. According to The State, Saunders is believed to b

Bettencourt gets 1st PGA Tour win in Reno >>
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Bettencourt captured his first PGA Tour win Sunday at the Reno-Tahoe Open, closing with a four-under 68 in the final round to beat Bob Heintz by one shot. Heintz missed a three-foot birdie putt at the 18th ho

M's clip Angels in 10 to avoid sweep >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Lopez hit an RBI single in the top of the 10th inning, as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Angels, 2-1, to avoid a four-game sweep at Angel Stadium. Seattle snapped an eight-game skid to Los Angele

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football betting sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs.