Bills' Hargrove suspended four games

Football Betting Lines

08/11/2007 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills defensive end Anthony Hargrove was suspended four games without pay by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

The league did not announce what substance Hargrove tested positive for. Under league rules, players face a minimum four-game suspension for the first positive test, followed by an eight-game suspension for second-time violators.

He will be eligible to return to the Buffalo roster on October 1 following the team's game against the New York Jets on September 30. He will still be able to take part in all preseason practices and games.

The suspension is the latest problem for Hargrove. He was arrested last weekend and charged with three misdemeanors stemming from an altercation with police outside a Rochester nightclub. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and apologized to fans and his teammates.

Hargrove is entering his second season with Buffalo after the Bills acquired him in a trade with St. Louis last October.

The Bills signed him to a one-year contract in the offseason.

Vegaas Football Betting News

<< Sharapova withdraws from Toronto
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russian Maria Sharapova has pulled out of next week's Rogers Cup tournament in Toronto, citing fatigue, she announced on her website on Saturday. "Unfortunately at this stage of the summer and after many

<< Garcia disqualified at PGA
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Garcia was disqualified from the PGA Championship on Saturday for signing an incorrect scorecard. Garcia signed for a par four at the 17th, but actually made five. He should have shot a four-ove

<< Tigers demote pitchers Tata, McBride
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers optioned right-handed pitcher Jordan Tata and left-handed pitcher Macay McBride to Triple-A Toledo Saturday, purchasing the contracts of righthanders Eulogio De La Cruz and Aquilin

<< Gerrard leads Liverpool to win in opener
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Gerrard scored the game- winning goal on a free-kick in the 87th minute to lift Liverpool over Aston Villa, 2-1, in the English Premier League opener on Saturday. Liverpool, which is s

<< Bourdais wins pole at Road America
Elkhart Lake, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastien Bourdais captured the pole for Sunday's Generac Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. The No.1 Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver circled the historic 4.048-mile road course in one minute,

Toulouse stuns defending champion Lyon >>
Toulouse, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Elmander scored in the 90th minute as Toulouse upset six-time defending Ligue 1 champion Lyon, 1-0, on Saturday. Lyon, which lost just five games last season, went a man down late in the first

Livingston leads Reds to win over Padres >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobby Livingston threw a career-best 8 1/3 innings and Jeff Keppinger drove in three runs as the Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 8-3, in the second of a three game set. Livingston (3-2) allowed

Ankiel's hot bat helps Cards top Dodgers >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Ankiel hit two home runs and knocked in three as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-1, in the middle game of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. Ankiel also singled and scored

Woods poised for another PGA title >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods is well on his way to victory at the PGA Championship. The No. 1 player in the world and defending champion only managed a one-under 69 on Saturday, but will take a three-shot lead into the final roun

MISL announces 2007-08 home openers >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Major Indoor Soccer League recently announced home openers for eight of the nine teams for the 2007-08 season. The Baltimore Blast host the defending champion Philadelphia KiXX on Oct. 19 to kick

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.

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.