12/03/2008 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have signed right-handed reliever Bob Howry to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not released.
"We feel that Howry brings a tremendous amount of talented experience to our bullpen," said Giants general manager Brian Sabean. "He's pitched in big games and has proven to be both durable and very effective. With the previous addition of left-hander Jeremy Affeldt, we are pleased to have strengthened our 'pen and these two veterans will help provide experience to our younger pitchers. We look forward to having Howry on our staff."
San Francisco signed Affeldt last month.
Howry was 7-5 with the Chicago Cubs last season with a save, 15 holds and a 5.35 earned run average in 72 appearances. His 87 holds, though, since 2005 are the fourth-highest total in the majors.
The 35-year-old Howry, who earned $4.5 million last season, has appeared in 70 or more games in each of the last four seasons, with his 313 appearances since 2005 ranking second-most in the big leagues, one shy of Arizona's Chad Qualls.
Howry is 42-43 lifetime with 66 saves, 165 holds and a 3.68 ERA in 668 games - all out of the bullpen - for the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Cubs. He was actually drafted by the Giants in the fifth round back in 1994, but was shipped to the White Sox in 1997.
<< Coyotes acquire Lindstrom from Anaheim
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have acquired forward
Joakim Lindstrom from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Logan
Stephenson.
Lindstrom, a second-round pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets, has fou
<< Sakic out at least six weeks
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Avalanche center Joe Sakic will miss at
least the next six weeks while receiving treatment for a herniated disc in his
back.
Sakic sustained the injury on his first shift of the November 28 game a
<< Coughlin addresses Burress situation
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin
addressed the situation with suspended wide receiver Plaxico Burress on
Wednesday, but would not divulge the reasons behind the club's decision to
place t
<< Mariners come to terms with Branyan
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners have signed infielder
Russell Branyan to a one-year deal. Per club policy, financial terms of the
deal were not released.
"Russell gives us a veteran left-handed bat with power a
Line of Scrimmage: Week 14 - Weighing in on StarCaps >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After his team defeated the Chicago Bears
to take over first place in the NFC North this past Sunday night, Minnesota
Vikings head coach Brad Childress told the media he celebrated by having "a
vodka as big a
Seattle places center Spencer on IR >>
Renton, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seattle Seahawks center Chris Spencer was
placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
Spencer started all 11 games played this season, and 35 consecutive, before
being sidelined with a back injury during the
Jags CB Mathis out for season >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Rashean
Mathis will miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee.
Mathis, who leads the team with four interceptions, sprained his medial
collateral ligame
Udinese through to next round with win over Zagreb >>
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Udinese remained perfect in Group D play in
the UEFA Cup as the Italian side booked a spot in the next round with a 2-1
win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Stadio Friuli on Wednesday.
Fabio Quagliarella put
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
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