Patchan returns, Nixon out for No. 4 Florida
NCAA Football Betting Lines
08/23/2010 -
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Florida's Matt Patchan is back at practice, but the player competing with him at left tackle is out with a knee injury.
Coach Urban Meyer says sophomore Xavier Nixon, who started the final five games last season, is having his knee checked and could miss fourth-ranked Florida's opener Sept. 3 against Miami (Ohio).
Meyer says the injury is ``nothing major,'' but adds that it ``might be a couple weeks.''
Patchan sat out the last two weeks because of a broken bone in his right wrist. He was in a cast last week, but Meyer says he has returned to practice. Patchan is not participating in full-contact drills, though.
Defensive tackle Brandon Antwine (concussion) and receiver Justin Williams (shoulder) also are sidelined. Meyer expects Antwine back this week.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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
WASHINGTON (AP) -A judge assigned to Roger Clemens' perjury case has issued a gag order designed to prohibit public comments that could affect the jury pool for a possible trial.Clemens was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for allegedly lyi
<< Red Sox claim Tigers' Damon; decision pending
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox have claimed outfielder
Johnny Damon off waivers from the Detroit Tigers, and the veteran has until
Wednesday to decide if he will waive his no-trade clause to re-join the club
he help
<< Dodgers to keep Triple-A team in Albuquerque
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers announced they have
extended their Triple-A minor league player development partnership with the
Albuquerque Isotopes through the 2012 season.
Albuquerque, which plays in the Pac
<< Nats' Strasburg going back on DL, to have 2nd exam
WASHINGTON (AP) -Stephen Strasburg is headed back to the disabled list, and his prized right arm will undergo yet another examination that will largely determine whether he pitches again this season.The Washington Nationals rookie will have a second
<< Kwame Brown, Michael Jordan reunited again
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan is bringing back what's considered his worst move as a basketball executive: Kwame Brown.The Bobcats on Monday agreed on a one-year deal with Brown for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million.
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal will seek his first U.S. Open title and a career grand slam as the top-seeded player in the tournament, as the men's seedings for tennis' final major of 2010 were announced on Monday. Nadal,
Ohlendorf leaves game versus Cardinals >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ross Ohlendorf's season continues to get
worse, as the Pirates starter left Monday's game versus St. Louis with an
apparent shoulder injury.
Ohlendorf had just a 1-10 mark despite a 3.90 earned
Bradford to start for Feeley Thursday >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo
announced Monday that overall No. 1 draft pick Sam Bradford will start
Thursday's preseason game against New England due to a thumb injury to A.J.
Feeley.
Saints put RB Hill on IR; sign Wynn >>
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints placed running back
P.J. Hill on injured reserve Monday due to a season-ending triceps injury.
The team also added DeShawn Wynn, signing the former Green Bay Packers running
back.
South Carolina TE Saunders suspended >>
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders has been suspended indefinitely by coach Steve Spurrier for violating team rules.Saunders was not at practice Monday night. Spurrier said after the workout that Saunders' absence was not
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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