Heat re-sign Anthony; formalize Miller signing

Basketball Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat continued filling out their roster on Friday by re-signing center Joel Anthony and inking second-round draft pick Dexter Pittman.

The team also formalized the signing of free agent guard Mike Miller to a reported five-year deal worth about $25 million. A career 40.5 percent three- point shooter, Miller has been on three teams the last three years, playing 54 games for Washington last season and averaging 13.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

It's been a whirlwind week for the Heat following the re-signing of guard Dwyane Wade and the additions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

Anthony has started 45 of the 169 games he's played in during his three seasons with the Heat, averaging 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds. He has also averaged 1.38 blocks.

"This contract with Joel Anthony is a testament to the man who is second to none; who has worked hard and deserved this," said Heat president Pat Riley. "We felt that what he has done over the last couple of years in developing his game, his body and his knowledge warrants this reward. If other NBA non- drafted free agents want a prototype to follow, Joel Anthony is that man."

Pittman, a 6-foot-10 center, averaged 6.6 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 62.3 percent from the field in 134 games at the University of Texas. He was the 32nd overall draft pick.

"One of our priorities in the draft was to make sure that we could augment the depleted center position with the loss of Jermaine O'Neal," Riley said. "Dexter has the size and agility to be a very productive player for us in the long run, and there is no better place for him to improve than in the Miami Heat system."

Footballfantasybetting Basketball Betting News

<< Red Sox issue medical updates on Pedroia, Varitek
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona issued medical updates on second baseman Dustin Pedroia and catcher Jason Varitek prior to Friday's game against the Texas Rangers. Pedroia broke a bone in his left

<< Yankees honor Steinbrenner, Sheppard
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees held a tribute prior to Friday night's game against Tampa Bay to honor late team owner George Steinbrenner and former public address announcer Bob Sheppard. Fans and the entire

<< Habs appoint Carriere assistant GM
Montreal, Quebec (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday the appointment of Larry Carriere to assistant general manager and director of player personnel. Carriere, a Montreal native, had been a pro scout fo

<< Padres disable Latos, Adams
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres have placed pitchers Mat Latos and Mike Adams on the 15-day disabled list. Latos will be out of action due to a strained left oblique muscle suffered when he was trying to hold

<< Indians release C Redmond
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have released catcher Mike Redmond after designating him for assignment last Saturday. Redmond was hitting .206 with five runs batted in over 63 at-bats at the time of his designation

Mets bump Pelfrey to Monday >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey will have his scheduled Saturday start pushed back to Monday due to a stiff neck. The Mets will insert lefty Hisanori Takahashi to take the place of Pelf

Gainey goes in front at Chiquita Classic >>
Maineville, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Gainey posted a six-under 66 on Friday to move atop the leaderboard after the second round of the inaugural Chiquita Classic. Gainey finished 36 holes at 14-under 130 at TPC River's Bend and is one st

Manny Ramirez replaced in first inning >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez left Friday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals due to right calf tightness. He's considered day-to-day. Ramirez was replaced in left field by Xavier Paul in the b

NFL suspends Seahawks LB Hill one game >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL has suspended Seattle Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill one game for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Hill was also fined an additional game check. The Seattle Times reported

Harvick grabs first truck pole at Gateway >>
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Harvick will start on the pole for Friday's CampingWorld.com 200 Camping World Truck Series race after posting the quickest lap in qualifying at Gateway International Raceway just outside of St.

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.