12/02/2008 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have declined to offer salary arbitration to pitchers Doug Brocail and Randy Wolf, as well as infielder Mark Loretta and catcher Brad Ausmus.
The Astros are not precluded from continuing to negotiate with any of their free agents, but would not be awarded draft pick compensation should the ranked players sign elsewhere. All but Ausmus are considered ranked players.
"Our decision to not offer arbitration doesn't close the door on our ability to get deals done with our guys," said Astros general manager Ed Wade. "We are continuing to have dialogue with Doug Brocail and are hopeful that we can reach an agreement shortly. In Randy Wolf's case, we've had to back off our negotiations for economic reasons, but we can still re-engage at a later date if we can create greater payroll flexibility. In the case of Mark Loretta, we'd like to let things play out for now, and Brad Ausmus told everyone at the end of the season that his intention is to play on the West Coast or retire.
"While securing additional draft picks is very attractive, we have to balance that with the possibility that the players may have accepted the offer to arbitrate. At this time, the overall player payroll picture carries too much uncertainty to run that risk."
Brocail, 41, was 7-5 with a 3.93 earned run average in a career-high 72 relief appearances in 2008. In 606 career games, the 14-year veteran is 51-48 with a 3.99 ERA and nine saves. In his time spent with Houston (1995-96, 2008), Brocail was 14-14 with a 4.21 ERA.
Wolf, 32, went 6-2 with a 3.57 ERA in 12 starts with Houston in 2008 after being acquired from San Diego before the trade deadline. A one-time All-Star, Wolf has a career record of 90-78 and a 4.26 ERA in 10 seasons with Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Diego and Houston.
Loretta, 37, hit .280 with four home runs and 38 RBI in 101 games with Houston in 2008. In his 14-year career, Loretta has appeared in two All-Star games and has compiled 76 home runs, 604 RBI and a career batting average of .297.
Ausmus, 39, hit .318 with three home runs and 24 RBI in 81 games with Houston in 2008. During his 10 seasons with Houston from 1997-98 and 2001-08, Ausmus hit .246 with 41 home runs and 386 RBI in 1,259 games. The three-time Gold Glove Award winner caught more games as an Astro than any other catcher in franchise history and ranks ninth all-time among catchers with 1,887 career games caught.
<< United's Ronaldo named Europe's best
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned European
Footballer of the Year on Tuesday after winning the 2008 Ballon d'Or.
The 23-year-old Portugal winger won the prestigious accolade after leading
Manchester
<< Ovechkin, Caps try to find offense versus Panthers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will try to
rebound from a rare shutout when they welcome the Florida Panthers for
tonight's Southeast Division matchup at Verizon Center.
The Capitals, who are averaging a solid 3
<< Wilson returns to San Jose as Leafs visit Sharks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto head coach Ron Wilson makes his return to San Jose
tonight, as the Maple Leafs visit the Sharks at HP Pavilion.
Wilson took over as head coach of San Jose during the 2002-03 season and then
helped engineer a quick
<< Lightning aim to turn the page versus Flyers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to put a tumultuous month
of November behind them when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at the
Wachovia Center in the first December outing for both clubs.
The Lightning went just
Zenit's Tymoshchuk likely to join Bayern >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness
has revealed the team held an "informative chat" with Zenit St. Petersburg
captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.
The Ukraine international midfielder is reported to
Ajax talking to Real Madrid about Huntelaar >>
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax has confirmed it has opened
negotiations with Real Madrid over the potential sale of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to
the Spanish champions.
Real have been linked with the Netherlands international a
Columbus' Mason named top rookie for November >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason
has been selected as the NHL's top rookie for the month of November.
Mason posted a record of 5-2-1 with a 2.09 goals-against average, a .919 save
percentage and
White Sox offer Cabrera arbitration >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have offered salary
arbitration to free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera.
A 12-year veteran with a career .274 batting average, Cabrera hit eight home
runs and drove in 57 runs whil
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sports betting
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting