Spurs officially re-sign F Jefferson

Basketball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs officially re-signed Richard Jefferson on Wednesday, reportedly to a contract at least three-years in length according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Jefferson opted out of the final year of his contract on June 30 to test the free agent market, forgoing the $15 million he was originally due in 2010-11.

The Spurs acquired Jefferson in a trade with Milwaukee as part of a three-team deal last offseason. He figured to fit right in with the veteran club, but struggled in recording his lowest numbers since his rookie year in 2001-02.

In 81 games with the Spurs, the University of Arizona product logged 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in just over 31 minutes per game.

Jefferson, the 13th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, spent the first seven seasons of his career with the New Jersey Nets. He owns career averages of 17.0 points and 5.2 rebounds in 652 contests.

Gamblingh Basketball Betting News

<< Warriors sign undrafted free agent Jeremy Lin
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -The Golden State Warriors have signed undrafted free agent guard Jeremy Lin.The team announced the deal with the former Harvard star and Bay Area native on Wednesday.The 21-year-old Lin averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 assists and 4.4

<< 76ers sign free agent Battie
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -The Philadelphia 76ers have signed free-agent center Tony Battie.Team president Ed Stafanski said Wednesday that the 76ers want Battie to provide frontcourt depth and a ``veteran presence'' for younger players.Terms of his contrac

<< Nolan Ryan lobbies for auction of Texas Rangers
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -Nolan Ryan is urging a bankruptcy judge to auction off the Texas Rangers on Aug. 4 as planned, saying a delay could hurt the team and maybe even cost them slugger Josh Hamilton.The Hall of Fame pitcher testified Wednesday in

<< NL Central: All eyes now on Oswalt
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a 38-56 record and a 14-game deficit to make up in the National League Central standings, it's safe to say the Houston Astros aren't going anywhere this season. But will Roy Oswalt? With the Seattle Mariners having sh

<< Sabres sign Kaleta, avoid arbitration
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres have agreed to terms with winger Patrick Kaleta on a two-year contract. Kaleta had been scheduled for an arbitration hearing later this month. The 24-year-old scored a career-high

Reds option Owings, recall Fisher >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds optioned Micah Owings to Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday and recalled pitcher Carlos Fisher from the same club. Owings, in his second season with the Reds, is 3-2 with a 5.40 earn

Tigers bring up Sizemore >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers recalled infielder Scott Sizemore from Triple-A Toledo and optioned pitcher Casey Fien to the Mud Hens. Sizemore was batting .329 with six homers, 13 doubles and 19 RBI in 41 games with

Rachel to face six in Lady's Secret >>
Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rachel Alexandra, 2009 Horse of the Year, will take on six challengers in Saturday's $400,000 Lady's Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park. The 1 1/8-mile race will be the champion filly's second career start a

Blazers officially sign G Matthews >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers have officially signed restricted free-agent guard Wesley Matthews. As per club policy, no terms of the deal were announced. However, a report in the Oregonian last

Szczur, Thomas headline All-CAA team >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villanova and Richmond, the last two FCS champions, lead the way on the Preseason All-CAA Football Team with eight and seven selections, respectively. Villanova senior Matt Szczur was named in two spots, a

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.