Cowboys' Bryant will catch passes, not carry pads
Football Betting Lines
07/25/2010 -
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -Cowboys rookie receiver Dez Bryant says he is in training camp to catch passes, not carry somebody else's shoulder pads.
The Cowboys were in pads for the first time in camp Sunday. Veteran players traditionally hand their pads to a rookie at the end of practice, but when receiver Roy Williams handed his to Bryant after the first of two sessions, the rookie didn't carry them.
Bryant says he was drafted to play football and that he'd feel the same way if he was an undrafted rookie and not the team's first-round pick.
Williams says every rookie has to go through such rituals. He says he carried pads and paid for meals when he was a rookie for Detroit in 2004.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Dixon won the Honda Indy Edmonton IZOD IndyCar Series race in a bizarre and controversial finish. Helio Castroneves crossed the finish line first, but was penalized for blocking his Penske Racing teammat
<< Ishikawa's hit sends Giants to sweep of Arizona
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Travis Ishikawa knocked in the winning run in
the 10th inning to lift San Francisco over Arizona, 3-2, to complete a
four-game sweep.
Sergio Romo (3-3) hurled a scoreless ninth for the win and Bria
<< Shin holds off Joh for first Duramed Futures win
Concord, NH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jenny Shin birdied the final hole Sunday to
beat Tiffany Joh by a single stroke at The International at Concord.
Shin, who won for the first time on the Duramed Futures Tour, closed with a
three-under 6
<< Mariners rally past Red Sox
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Saunders' two-run single, part of six
straight hits by the Mariners to start the eighth inning, lifted Seattle
to a 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox to conclude a four-game series.
Casey Kot
<< Chakvetadze titles in Slovenia
Portoroz, Slovenia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian Anna Chakvetadze needed just
over an hour to beat Sweden's Johanna Larsson, 6-1, 6-2, to capture the title
at the Slovenia Open.
Chakvetadze, who won her first championship of the year
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Raburn hit a go-ahead three-run double in the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 6-5 comeback victory over the Blue Jays to wrap up a day-night doubleheader and a four-game series. As a result of Friday
Marta, Milbrett help FC Gold Pride topple Freedom >>
Boyds, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two goals apiece from Marta and Tiffeny Milbrett
allowed FC Gold Pride to claim a comfortable 4-1 win over the Washington
Freedom at Maryland Soccerplex.
Milbrett opened the scoring 18 minutes into the
Guti announces Real Madrid departure >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Guti officially announced his departure from
Real Madrid on Sunday after 15 years at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 33-year-old midfielder debuted with Real in 1995 after joining the club as
a nine-year-old, a
Ferdinand still six weeks away from return >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United defender Rio
Ferdinand is still six weeks away from returning to action.
Ferdinand looks set to miss the start of the new season despite previous
suggestions of a full
Texas takes series from Angels to extend division lead >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Hamilton went 3-for-4 with a triple and
three RBI and Tommy Hunter stayed undefeated on the year, as Texas pulled out
a 6-4 victory over the American League West rival Angels.
The Angels made big new
Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
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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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