Redskins bring in RB Johnson
Football Betting Lines
03/12/2010 - Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins signed running back Larry Johnson on Friday.
Terms of the deal were not announced, but a report in the Washington Post says the contract is for three years and a total of $12 million.
The two-time Pro Bowl selection was released from the Chiefs last November following a suspension that was levied after the former first-round pick posted demeaning comments toward Chiefs head coach Todd Haley, using a pair of gay slurs in the process.
He was later picked up by Cincinnati and played in seven games with the Bengals, running for 204 yards.
The 30-year-old now returns home after growing up in Pomfret, Maryland.
"Being from the Maryland area, [I] grew up watching the Redskins," Johnson said. "That's what was on the TV, the Redskins and Cowboys...there's just so much history. I used to go to their camps--Gary Clark, Art Monk, all of those guys were there.
"It's great to be in a city with all my family and friends and everybody I basically went to high school and college with that's still down here. So it's fun."
Over his seven-year career, he has totaled 6,219 yards with 55 touchdowns along with 154 catches for 1,373 yards and six scores.
His best season came in the 2006 campaign, when he rushed for a career-high 1,789 yards and added 19 total touchdowns with Kansas City.
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced the signing of linebacker Jon Alston on Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Alston spent the last three seasons with Oakland. He recorded 23 tackles in
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semifinal round of the Conference USA Tournament at the BOK Center.
Christian Polk
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Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.P. Prince scored 17 points and Wayne Chism
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Cameron Tatum had fou
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Chiefs sign veteran center Wiegmann >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs have signed
veteran center Casey Wiegmann.
The 14-year pro spent the last two seasons with Denver and started in all 32
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Schalke edges Stuttgart to grab first >>
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Schalke moved one point ahead of Bayern Munich
Weather woes remain at Puerto Rico Open >>
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A new day brought only more weather
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Oregon QB Masoli suspended for entire 2010 season >>
Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oregon Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was
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Ducks head coach Chip Kelly made the announce
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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