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08/12/2010 - Cortland, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets and holdout cornerback Darrelle Revis will keep the remainder of their contract negotiations confidential.
Revis, who has three years remaining on his rookie contract, wants to be the highest-paid player at his position and both sides appear to be at an impasse.
The New York Daily News has reported that the Jets have offered Revis a 10- year deal worth $120 million, but have not included the specific amount of guaranteed money.
Revis wants to surpass the contract signed last year by Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha, who is set to average $16.5 million over the next two years.
After the first episode of "Hard Knocks," which provides an inside look at the Jets' training camp, aired on HBO Wednesday night, both parties said Thursday the talks will stay private.
"Both parties have had conversations to clear the air and will continue to negotiate with the hopes of reaching an agreement," a joint statement from the Jets and Revis' agents read Thursday. "From this point forward, all discussions regarding these negotiations will remain confidential."
Revis' agents have been quoted in the New York papers as saying they have given the team contract proposals that would make the All-Pro a Jet for life.
The Jets, in the "Hard Knocks" episode, painted a dark picture of the contract talks.
General manager Mike Tannenbaum was quoted as saying Revis' agents "haven't said one thing that I agree with. We're so freakin' far apart that I feel like a failure right now."
Jets head coach Rex Ryan has been saying during his media briefings at training camp that the team is preparing as if Revis won't be with the team. He also was quoted on the "Hard Knocks" program as saying the team "will not be bullied by anybody."
Revis is reportedly due to make just $1 million this year as part of the deal that he held out for as a rookie. However, had he not held out and reported to training camp, a $20 million guarantee over the final two years would have kicked in.
<< Trail Blazers hire pair of assistant GMs
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers rounded out their
front office staff on Thursday by hiring Bill Branch and Steve Rosenberry as
assistant general managers.
Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.
"I've ha
<< Rangers sale approved by MLB
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball has approved the sale of
the Texas Rangers from Tom Hicks to a group led by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan
Ryan.
The lengthy process finally came to a close Thursday after the Greenberg-Rya
<< Cal hopes lower expectations lead to more success
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -The talk of the Heisman Trophy, a Rose Bowl and BCS bids that was so prevalent around California last year feels as far away as the Golden Bears' last outright Pac-10 title more than a half-century ago.After yet another promis
<< Replacing Gerhart tough task for Stanford
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -When it comes to replacing Toby Gerhart and his 28 touchdowns, 1,871 rushing yards and countless big plays, Stanford will have a hard time finding one person to fill the job.Gerhart's running duties will likely be shared by Je
Capello: Beckham too old for England >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England coach Fabio Capello has signaled
an end to former captain David Beckham's international career.
The 35-year-old midfielder, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy in
Major League Socce
United signs striker Bebe from Guimaraes >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United signed 20-year-old
striker Bebe from Portugal's Guimaraes on Thursday.
Bebe joins Mexican Javier Hernandez as new signings this offseason for United.
The 6-foot-2 forward just sign
Wozniacki exits Cincy >>
Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki was a
third-round upset victim Thursday at the $2 million Western & Southern
Financial Group Women's Open, a hardcourt U.S. Open Series event.
Former Wimbledon runner-up
USC freshman RB Baxter suspended for season opener >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southern California freshman running
back Dillon Baxter has been suspended for the Trojans' season opener against
Hawaii due to a violation of team rules.
The team said Baxter will continue to pr
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.
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