Tight end shuffle: Browns sign Watson, release Heiden
Football Betting Lines
03/12/2010 - Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns shifted their focus at the tight end position on Friday, signing unrestricted free agent Benjamin Watson to a multi-year contract and also releasing Steve Heiden.
Financial terms of the deal for Watson, a former member of the New England Patriots, were not disclosed, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported it to be three-year pact worth $12 million, including $6.35 million guaranteed.
"We viewed Ben as one of the top all-around tight ends in the free agent market," said Browns general manager Tom Heckert. "Because of his athleticism and intelligence, he has proven valuable as both a receiver and blocker during his career, and has performed well in both facets. He comes from a winning program in New England and possesses the traits that we like in a player. We feel as though he can help us in many different areas and we are excited about his addition to our team."
Watson spent each of his first six seasons with the Patriots, who made him the 32nd overall pick of the 2004 draft. He has 167 receptions for 2,102 yards with 20 touchdowns in 71 regular-season games.
In addition, the Georgia product has also appeared in nine playoff games and has 19 catches for 195 yards with three scores.
The 29-year-old Watson caught 29 passes for 404 yards with five touchdowns in 16 games, including seven starts, last season. His most productive season was 2006, when he hauled in 49 passes for 643 yards.
Heiden played in seven games for the Browns in 2009 before being placed on injured reserve on November 18th. He spent eight seasons with the organization and started 83 of the 148 games in which he appeared. Heiden caught 201 passes for 1,684 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Browns also announced linebacker Jason Trusnik has signed his contract tender. Trusnik along with wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, was acquired by the Browns in a trade with the Jets during last season.
Bethlehem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. McCollum poured in a game-best 20 points to go with seven rebounds, as the top-seeded Lehigh Mountain Hawks punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 74-59 victory over the third-seeded Lafayet
<< Thunder rookie Harden expected to miss 2-to-4 weeks
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City Thunder rookie guard James
Harden is expected to miss the next 2-to-4 weeks with a strained right
hamstring.
To replace Harden on the roster in the interim, the team recalled guar
<< Iowa State's Brackins to enter draft
Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Iowa State junior forward Craig Brackins will
forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 NBA Draft, men's basketball coach
Greg McDermott confirmed Friday.
Brackins ranked in the top-10 in the Big 12 in bo
<< Packers ink DT Pickett to extension
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers signed nose tackle Ryan
Pickett to a long-term extension through the 2013 season on Friday.
Pickett, 30, who has spent the last four seasons of his nine-year career with
the Packers, t
<< Packers sign Pro Bowl S Collins through 2013
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers announced Friday that
the team has signed safety Nick Collins to a multi-year extension through the
2013 season.
Collins had been a restricted free agent, and the team previously
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace left Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers with a sprained left ankle. With 1.5 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Wallace stole the ball fr
Onuaku day-to-day with right quadriceps injury >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Syracuse forward Arinze Onuaku is day-to-day
with a right quadriceps injury.
Onuaku was hurt in Thursday's 91-84 loss to Georgetown in the quarterfinals of
the Big East Tournament. He underwent an MRI on
Moore and Purdue down Northwestern in Big Ten quarters >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - E'Twaun Moore scored 28 points and JaJuan
Johnson added 22 with eight rebounds, as sixth-ranked Purdue defeated
Northwestern, 69-61, in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Big Ten Conference
Tournam
Holloway leads Xavier over Dayton in A-10 quarterfinals >>
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Terrell Holloway led all scorers with 22
points to lead the No. 24 Xavier Musketeers past the Dayton Flyers, 78-73, in
the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Ten Conference Tournament.
Jordan Crawford added
James returns, powers Cavs over Sixers >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James ended with 23 points and Mo
Williams chipped in 21, as Cleveland pulled out a tough 100-95 decision over
the Philadelphia 76ers.
James, who missed the previous two games due to a mildly sp
Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.