Report: Eagles' Westbrook to have surgery, out until season begins
Football Betting Lines
06/03/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook will reportedly be out until the start of the regular season due to a nagging ankle injury.
Comcast SportsNet reported Wednesday that the two-time Pro Bowl selection will see ankle specialist Dr. Mark Myerson in Baltimore and may need a procedure to clean out bone spurs in the ankle.
The report also states that regardless of the whether or not Westbrook has surgery, he will be sidelined until the start of the regular season.
The running back, who turns 30 by the opening of the 2009 campaign, ran the ball for a career-low tying 4.0 yards per carry last year, amassing 936 yards on the ground and 402 through the air, a far cry from a career-high 2,104 yards from scrimmage the year before.
The oft-injured Villanova product has played in at least 12 games each season throughout his seven-year career -- all with Philadelphia -- compiling 5,721 yards on the ground, 3,609 receiving yards on 401 grabs and 64 total touchdowns.
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Everton trio Phil Jagielka, Joseph Yobo and Tim Howard have all put pen to paper on new extended contracts with the club. Defenders Jagielka and Yobo had both agreed to new five-year deals before las
<< Braves P Campillo returns to DL
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves right-handed pitcher Jorge
Campillo was placed on the 15-day disabled list with problems in his throwing
shoulder, the club announced on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old was placed on the DL
<< Braves release Glavine; trade for McLouth
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves made a couple of stirring
moves on Wednesday, first releasing 305-game winner Tom Glavine, only a day
after he pitched six scoreless innings in a rehab start, and then acquiring
center
<< Padres place Hairston on DL
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres placed outfielder
Scott Hairston on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday with a strained left
biceps.
Hairston suffered the injury in Tuesday's game against the Phillies. In
<< Wang to start Thursday; Teixeira out with bruised ankle
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees announced Chien-Ming Wang
will start Thursday's game against Texas, ultimately pushing back CC Sabathia
to Friday's contest vs. Tampa Bay.
Wang, who has struggled to an 0-3 mark and a 16.07 E
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse left his Wednesday start against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning due to a recurrence of right forearm discomfort. Lohse was pulled because of tightness in the ar
Weaver strikes out 10, Abreu stars as Angels rout Blue Jays >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver struck out a career-high 10
batters in seven strong innings, Bobby Abreu hit a two-run homer and drove in
four, as the Angels cruised to an 8-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Weaver (5-2)
Niemann twirls two-hit shutout, Zobrist slams Rays past Royals >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist hit a grand slam and Jeff
Niemann tossed his first major league complete game, giving up only two hits,
as the Tampa Bay Rays routed the Kansas City Royals, 9-0, in the second of a
three-g
Feldman remains unbeaten as Rangers top Yankees >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kinsler went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run
scored to lead Texas past the New York Yankees, 4-2, in the middle test of a
three-game set.
Marlon Byrd also had an RBI for the Rangers, who snapped a two-
Hoffpauir's hit in 11th inning lifts Cubs over Braves >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Micah Hoffpauir hit a pinch-hit RBI single in
the 11th inning to give the Cubs a 3-2 victory over Atlanta, on a day the
Braves acquired a young All-Star and said goodbye to a 305-game winner.
Mike Fonte
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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