Cards agree with top pick Kozma

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2007 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals agreed to terms with their top draft pick, shortstop Pete Kozma, on Saturday.

Kozma, who was the 18th pick overall in the first-year player draft on June 7, will report to the club's minor league facility in Jupiter, Florida and is expected to undergo a physical early next week.

By agreeing to terms more than three weeks before the August 15 deadline, Kozma has more than a month left in the minor league season. He will most likely report to rookie-level Johnson City of the Appalachian League.

The 19-year-old hit .522 in his senior season of high school with 11 home runs and 14 stolen bases. He had committed to play for Wichita State University before being locked up by St. Louis, which would have received its pick back and select 18th next summer had it not signed Kozma by the deadline.

Wwwattheraces Baseball Betting News

<< Herron takes lead at U.S. Bank Championship
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While Tim Herron plays for his fifth PGA Tour win on Sunday, he'll be chased by two players looking to finally claim their first. Herron took a one-shot lead over Tim Clark and Joe Ogilvie after shooting

<< Red Sox rout Chicago for second straight day
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kason Gabbard tossed a three-hitter over seven innings, as the Boston Red Sox pounded the Chicago White Sox, 11-2, in the third game of a four-game set from Fenway Park. Gabbard (4-0) struck out one batter

<< Bonds goes 0-for-2; Lincecum leads Giants past Brewers
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Bonds went 0-for-2, failing to move any closer to Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, but his teammates provided enough offense to power San Francisco past the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-0, in the second

<< Henry set to make Barca debut in Scotland
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Striker Thierry Henry successfully completed his first full practice with Barcelona on Saturday, and is now scheduled to travel with his new team to Scotland for his Spanish debut. Henry, who came to Ba

<< Penny struggles, still leads Dodgers past Mets
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kemp crushed a three-run home run in a five-run fourth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers recovered from a shaky outing by Brad Penny to beat the New York Mets, 8-6, at Dodger Stadium. Penny (12-

Marlins sink Reds with eight-run eighth >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hanley Ramirez hit a three-run home run as part of an eight-run eighth inning as the Florida Marlins crushed the Cincinnati Reds, 11-1, in the third of a four-game set at Dolphin Stadium. The big news for Fl

Chakvetadze, Morigami reach Cincinnati final >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze and seventh-seed Akiko Morigami of Japan will battle in the final of the $175,000 Western & Southern Financial Open after both completed hard-fought victories on Satu

Mauer's inside-the-park HR lifts Twins past Angels >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Mauer's inside-the-park three-run home run in the eighth inning lifted the Minnesota Twins over the LA Angels of Anaheim, 5-2, in the second game of a three-game set at the Metrodome. Jason Bartl

Bowden among those enshrined into College Football Hall of Fame >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Bowden, the winningest coach in major college football history, led a group that was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Other notables included former Heisman Trophy winners

Bay and LaRoche help Bucs end skid >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche both drove in two runs, as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Houston Astros, 7-3, at PNC Park in game two of a three-game series for their first win since the All-Star break. Fredd

MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards

About MySportsbook.com MySportsbook.com  is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.