Golf Betting

Gambling and betting in sports dates back to the age of Roman Empires and it has been blatantly and relentlessly used as a source of enjoyment in the sports . Betting in sports refreshes the spectator, puts a little life back in the game. And betters who win the bet have nothing but triumph that calls for celebration. Its luck that works but clever people side the winners and somehow they always end up rich. If one desires to experience golf betting by betting on golf during any tournament here are a few things that would enlighten you with how it goes about.

Betting on golf games can be done directly or there is another way of betting on golf that is betting while you are attending a golf tournament. Tournaments are ostentatious and they involve a lot of players and especially famous ones and they are quite different from the ordinary golf games that involve only a few players and their rules can differ. In the tournaments players have to abide by the rules strictly and there are no exceptions. That is the reason most of the people bet on golf during tournaments. This is the simple way of golf betting.

There are other ways you can bet on golf. There is one called the 72 holes betting. When the players are playing a game of putting 72 holes and strangely enough the winner isn’t the one with the maximum scores but the one with the lowest scores! The wagers can bet on them and the winner is always decided in the end. These games always have space for betters because when the game ends in a tie there sill can be a winner. The betters do not have to face disappointment. There still remains however the condition that if the match gets reduced and cancels out before the 72 holes are completed there is no winner. All the betters have to forgo their bets.

The game of golf is played in many different ways. Numbers of holes that need to be putted vary a lot. Ordinarily the game that is played as the 18 holes match is famous. People bet on this one and it simply declares the player who has the lowest scores over the 18 holes. The advantage of betting in golf over other games is, there is very little role luck plays in this game and thus if you bet for the more skilled player, the chances of losing are very little.

Source: Free Articles

Federer, Murray, Roddick reach Wimbledon quarters

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) – Five-time champion Roger Federer, British hopeful Andy Murray and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick won their fourth-round matches Monday at The Championships, Wimbledon.

For the second time this month, the former world No. 1 Federer defeated free- swinging Swede Robin Soderling, this time in 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) fashion at the storied All England Club. Federer also topped Soderling, seeded 13th here, in straight sets in the French Open final 22 days ago, as the super Swiss became the sixth man in history to corral a career Grand Slam and equal Pete Sampras with a record-tying 14th major singles title.

Federer won the first set against Soderling on Day 7 by breaking the Swede in the 10th game of the stanza. The two players then held serve throughout the second set, which the Swiss snuck out via tiebreak.

At 4-4 in the third set, Soderling got his first break-point chance of the match, but netted a backhand on a second serve, as Federer went on to hold for a 5-4 edge. The Swiss went on to claim another tiebreak and reach a seventh straight Wimbledon quarterfinal.

Federer swatted 23 aces and held his serve throughout against Soderling, who is now 0-11 lifetime against the sublime Swiss.

“Today was hard to get through a really dangerous match,” Federer said. “Not many rallies, so maybe not as much fun for the people. But I stayed calm, waited for my chance.”

The reigning French Open and U.S. Open champion Federer, seeded second at this year’s fortnight, was last year’s Wimbledon runner-up to Rafael Nadal, as the Swiss lost a 40-match winning streak on these hallowed lawns.

The amazing Federer is 69-1 in his last 70 matches on grass overall and has reached at least the quarters in 21 straight Grand Slam events.

Federer’s quarterfinal opponent on Wednesday will be massive-serving 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic.

The third-seeded Murray, last year’s U.S. Open runner-up to Federer, outlasted 19th-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in the latest- ever match played on Centre Court. Murray will now appear in his second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal.

The Murray-Wawrinka match became the first-ever official match to both start and end under the new retractable roof on Centre Court. The match ended, inside under the lights, at 10:39 pm local time. The previous latest-ever finish on Centre Court was 9:35 pm, without a roof, of course.

The first time the roof was used was actually in the match before Murray’s on Monday, as Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo were doing battle in the second set when the roof was closed because of light rain, marking the first weather delay of this 2009 fortnight.

The translucent roof remained closed following the Safina-Mauresmo match, despite the fact that there were clear skies outside for the Murray-Wawrinka encounter.

After dropping the first set against Wawrinka, Murray got back into the match by breaking his Swiss counterpart for a 5-3 lead in the second and then held serve to level the bout.

The 22-year-old Murray appeared to be in control of the match after cruising in the third set, but Wawrinka made things interesting in the fourth by breaking the Scotsman for a 6-5 edge and then held his serve to send it into a fifth and deciding stanza.

Murray jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the fifth set, which included a service break in the second game, but Wawrinka wouldn’t go away, as the Swiss got the break back to pull within 2-3 and then held to make it 3-all in the high-quality affair.

But Murray would fire up the crowd again by breaking Wawrinka for a 5-3 lead and capped the day’s events by holding serve to advance. Murray converted on his first match point by striking a forehand winner into an open court after 3 hours, 57 minutes of electric tennis.

The game Wawrinka popped 17 aces, but Murray recorded five breaks, compared to four for the Swiss loser.

Murray’s quarterfinal opponent on Wednesday will be former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The fiery Murray, the highest-seeded Brit here since Roger Taylor in 1973, is trying to become the first British male to capture Wimbledon in 73 years (Fred Perry 1936).

The sixth-seeded Roddick posted his first straight-set win of the fortnight by handling 20th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-3. Roddick broke Berdych to claim the second set at 6-4 and would cruise after that.

Roddick committed a mere eight unforced errors, uncorked 24 aces among his 46 winners and did not face a break point on Day 7.

The former world No. 1 and former U.S. Open champion Roddick was the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon runner-up to Federer. He reached the quarters here for the fifth time in nine years.

Roddick’s quarterfinal opponent will be gritty Aussie star Lleyton Hewitt, who is 6-5 lifetime against the big-serving American.

The former Wimbledon champion Hewitt continued his surprising 2009 run here by coming from behind to oust 23rd-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

The unseeded former world No. 1 Hewitt titled here in 2002 for the second of his two career major titles.

Fourth-seeded Serbian star Novak Djokovic booked his spot in the quarters with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 beating of Israeli Dudi Sela. The former Aussie Open champion Djokovic was a semifinalist here two years ago.

Djokovic’s quarterfinal opponent will be resurgent 24th-seeded German Tommy Haas, who got past 29th-seeded Russian Igor Andreev 7-6 (10-8), 6-4, 6-4. Haas will play in his first-ever Wimbledon quarterfinal this week, in this his 11th trip here.

The 31-year-old Haas is currently riding a nine-match winning streak, all on grass. He captured his first-ever grass-court title in his native Germany three weeks ago by upsetting Djokovic in the final in Halle.

The aforementioned towering Karlovic posted an upset by dousing seventh-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-6 (11-9). The 22nd- seeded Karlovic launched 35 aces and was not broken by the lefthanded Verdasco on Day 7. Karlovic managed only one break en route to victory.

Karlovic has piled up 137 aces through his first four matches here.

Another unseeded former No. 1, the aforementioned Ferrero, reached his second Wimbledon quarterfinal in three years by dismissing eighth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-2. The talented Ferrero is a former French Open champion and former U.S. Open runner-up.

The men will have the day off on Tuesday, with all four quarterfinals scheduled for Wednesday.

New By: OddsandNews.com

Serena, Dementieva reach fourth round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) – Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva advanced into the fourth round at Wimbledon Friday, posting straight set victories at the All England Club.

Williams has now reached at least the fourth round in eight of her 10 appearances in the only grass Grand Slam of the year, needing 1 hour, 7 minutes to post a 6-3, 6-4 win over Italy’s Roberta Vinci. This was the first- ever meeting between the two players.

A 10-time major titlist and two-time Wimbledon champion, Williams had her serve broken twice but managed to record four breaks of serve, winning 65 of the 116 total points. She used her powerful ground game to push past Vinci, blasting 34 winners to her opponent’s 14.

The second-seeded Williams has set up a fourth round matchup with Daniela Hantuchova, whom she has beaten six out of seven times in her career. Hantuchova is in the fourth round of Wimbledon for the third time in four years after ousting Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour, 36 minutes.

Williams and Hantuchova have met twice at Wimbledon, in 2007 and 2002, with Williams taking both matches.

Dementieva, the fourth seed and reigning Olympic gold medalist, was an easy 6-1, 6-2 winner over fellow Russian compatriot Regina Kulikova. Like Williams and Vinci, it was the first time the two have played each other. Kulikova was playing in her first-ever Grand Slam tournament and upset 27th-seed Alisa Kleybanova in three sets in the second round.

The two-time major finalist Dementieva is still in search of her first major crown, having been a semifinalist in the previous three Grand Slam events. In only 59 minutes, Dementieva won 58-of-86 points, forcing her opponent into 21 unforced errors.

Next up for the Russian star is Elena Vesnina, whom Dementieva has beaten twice in as many tries. Vesnina went the distance with 14th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova but was able to pull off a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory in a grueling 3 hours, 3 minutes.

In other third round action, 26th-seeded Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano ensured her best-ever Wimbledon finish with a walkover victory over seventh-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva. Zvonareva was forced to withdraw due to an ankle injury — originally suffered in an April match against Razzano — that caused her to miss eight weeks earlier in the season.

Razzano will next play the winner of the match between Marion Bartoli and Francesca Schiavone.

Tenth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia recovered after losing the first set to defeat unseeded Argentine Gisela Dulko 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Petrova used a solid ground game to come back for the victory, posting 33 winners to only 17 for Dulko.

Petrova will move on to face rising Belarussian star and eighth seed Victoria Azarenka, who posted a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 win over 28th-seeded Sorana Cirstea to move on to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time. Azarenka recently had her best Grand Slam finish, advancing to the quarterfinals at the French Open earlier this month. Azarenka has faced Petrova three times, with Petrova winning two, including a third round battle in last year’s Wimbledon.

New Football Pools

Follow Alan Hansen’s advice and you can win huge prizes playing the New Football Pools

The New Football Pools regularly offer football fans the chance to win jackpots up to a huge £45,000 with their Premier League prediction game Premier 10.

For just a £1 stake you can put your football knowledge to the test by attempting to correctly predict the outcome of 10 of the weekend’s fixtures and scoop £45,000. And if you don’t manage to predict all 10 results, don’t worry you can still be a winner. Last week people who didn’t get all correct answers still managed to win over £350 each, which is great value for money.

Premier 10 is the official UK Pool of the Premier League and is a weekly football prediction game giving football fans the chance to win thousands of pounds. Need a hand making your selections? Each week Alan Hansen and a number of other guest pundits will make their selection for you to compare your selection with.

To play Premier 10 visit: www.footballpools.com

Betting Football Teasers

Football Teasers are a popular bet among sports bettors, and can be a profitable vehicle—if used in the right manner. First, let’s go over what teasers are, and the odds that reputable bookmakers give their clients.

A teaser is a 2-team (or more) proposition bet where a player selects multiple teams and is given a certain amount of bonus points to add to the final score of each game he selects. To win the bet, a bettor must be correct on each of the teams selected. If any game loses or ties, the bettor loses the teaser.

In this article, I’ll focus on 2-team teasers.

With 2-team teasers, reputable bookmakers will make a player lay 11-10 for the benefit of adding an extra 6 points to each of the 2 teams he selects. Please note that the odds are not 12-10 (or 6-5), which unscrupulous bookmakers (i.e., thieves) will make their clients lay. If your bookmaker’s odds are not 11-10, don’t be a sucker and play teasers. Just avoid the bet.

Now, if you have a bookmaker that has 11-10 odds on 2-team, 6-point teasers, then here are the 2 conditions to including a team in your bet.

First, select only teams that you LOVE without the extra 6 points.

Second, and just as important, is to select teams where the 6 point will capture key numbers. Let me explain. In the NFL, certain numbers end up being the final margin of victory more than others. The number 3 is by far the most common number, followed by 7, and then 1, 4, and 6 also are popular numbers for the final margin of games.

Teasers are advantageous when you can use the extra 6 points to capture these key numbers. For example, you can tease a team that is +2.5 up to +8.5. Then, you capture the key numbers of 3, 4, 6 and 7. Or, vice versa, tease a team down from -8.5 to -2.5. Another excellent move is to tease a team from +1.5 up to + 7.5. Then you capture the key numbers of 3, 4, 6 and 7 as well.

Of course it follows that teasing a team from -12 to -6 doesn’t really accomplish much. You’ve captured the key numbers of 7 and 10, but that is really about it. I would stay away from games in that price range. Also, it’s foolish to tease a team from -3 to +3. That accomplishes virtually nothing, especially since ties lose.

Finally, don’t fall into the trap of finding games which allow you to capture key numbers that you didn’t like at the initial number. That would be letting the tail wag the dog. For example, say the Steelers are playing the Ravens, and Pittsburgh is favored by 6.5 points. Sure, it would a good play to include Pittsburgh in your teaser, but only if you LOVED the Steelers at -6.5. Otherwise, don’t do it.

If you follow these simple rules, I believe you can achieve great profits with teasers.

History of the Basketball

Although sports are often easy to trace back in history due to their ancestral heritage, some others can be considered an invention of the modern times and Basketball is one of those sports which history began in the late 19th century.

Basketball was coined in Springfield, Massachusetts, place where it was invented on 1891 after Dr. James Naismith, instructor of the YMCA International Training School thought of a game to keep the students indoors during the cold winter days but still active practicing some sport that invigorates them rather than the predictable and boring exercises they were condemned to practice during those days.

Naismith wrote several rules and ideas before the game was accepted because of indoors gymnasiums were not suitable for his former idea. In December 1891, he finally came up with the game that originally consisted of nine members per team and two baskets in the top of a wood pole and based in 13 rules, although the number of players was declined and the teams were reduced to seven players.

In the basketball game, the team that gets more points within that time of the match will be deemed the winner. The first basketball game held after the rules were written occurred on January 20, 1892 the gym of the Springfield College. In 1893 first female basketball match was played in the United States and in 1897, the number of players was regulated again, this time to 5 members per team.

In 1898, the National Basketball League (NBA) was the first professional league established. Basketball was introducing as an exhibition sport during the Olympic Games of the early 20th century, but due to its rapid success it was granted with Olympic level in 1936. The most famous basketball team in the world, The Harlem Globetrotters was founded in 1927, while the first intercollegiate game was held at the Madison Square Garden in New York on 1934.

Originally, the basketball shots did not differ from 2 and 3 points as nowadays, but the triple line was approved in America on 1933, and it was fully established in 1968 by the NBA League of USA. The popularity of basketball has grown enormously around the world and there are 125 national basketball federations only in the United States.

SBOBET takes directly to you the hottest moments of the basketball game and offers you professional customer services to help you with any enquiry, betting assistance as well as support whenever you need to deposit funds or make a withdrawal. As a leading online Sportbook, SBOBET is committed to provide you with the best tools to place your bets via the Internet 24/7 all year round and membership is open to anyone over 18 years in age.

With minimum of $10 USD, you can open your account and find your favorite teams of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Philippine Basketball Association, or the International Basketball Federation, or browse the site for other sports and bets in which you are also welcome to participate.

Golf Betting

Gambling and betting in sports dates back to the age of Roman Empires and it has been blatantly and relentlessly used as a source of enjoyment in the sports . Betting in sports refreshes the spectator, puts a little life back in the game. And betters who win the bet have nothing but triumph that calls for celebration. Its luck that works but clever people side the winners and somehow they always end up rich. If one desires to experience golf betting by betting on golf during any tournament here are a few things that would enlighten you with how it goes about.

Betting on golf games can be done directly or there is another way of betting on golf that is betting while you are attending a golf tournament. Tournaments are ostentatious and they involve a lot of players and especially famous ones and they are quite different from the ordinary golf games that involve only a few players and their rules can differ. In the tournaments players have to abide by the rules strictly and there are no exceptions. That is the reason most of the people bet on golf during tournaments. This is the simple way of golf betting.

There are other ways you can bet on golf. There is one called the 72 holes betting. When the players are playing a game of putting 72 holes and strangely enough the winner isn’t the one with the maximum scores but the one with the lowest scores! The wagers can bet on them and the winner is always decided in the end. These games always have space for betters because when the game ends in a tie there sill can be a winner. The betters do not have to face disappointment. There still remains however the condition that if the match gets reduced and cancels out before the 72 holes are completed there is no winner. All the betters have to forgo their bets.

The game of golf is played in many different ways. Numbers of holes that need to be putted vary a lot. Ordinarily the game that is played as the 18 holes match is famous. People bet on this one and it simply declares the player who has the lowest scores over the 18 holes. The advantage of betting in golf over other games is, there is very little role luck plays in this game and thus if you bet for the more skilled player, the chances of losing are very little.

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Source: Free Articles

Football Betting for Dummies

Football betting is the most popular form of online wagering, and offers a wide variety of betting lines for both NFL and college football betting.   There are generally seven different types of bets utilized when betting on football.   These forms of wagering consist of straight bets, over/under bets, money line bets, parlays, teasers, half time wagers, and future book wagers.

The simplest and most common type of bet placed in NFL and college football betting is the straight bet.  In this instance the bettor is simply betting on which football team will win or lose the game.   The team bet on must win by the pointspread that was given at the time the wager was placed.  Unless specified otherwise, the football betting odds for a straight bet are eleven to ten.

Another relatively simple bet to make when betting football is an over/under bet.   Placing an over/under bet means that you are betting on what the combined point total will be by the end of the football game.  You can either bet on whether the actual number of points is going to be over or under the total.

With regard to football betting, a money line bet only requires that the football team wagered on win the game. The money line that is read at the time the football bet is made is the money line you keep regardless of any future line movements.

Parlay bets are a multiple form of football betting where a group of straight bets are placed, or totals are combined into one bet.  Although all of your NFL and college football picks must win in order to collect on a parlay bet, this type of football betting offers an extra incentive for the bettor.  The linesmaker offers extra money to a bettor that is able to correctly pick more than one game at a time.  As a result, you can win large amounts of money when betting football with very limited risk.

Teaser bets are similar to parlays in that they are multiple football bets combined into the same wager, and all of your picks must win in order to collect on this type of wager in football betting.  The difference between a teaser bet and a parlay bet is that with a teaser bet you are allowed to add or subtract points in order to make the bet stronger.

In football betting, half time wagers are bets made only on the outcome of a game or series scheduled to occur at some future date.  The line offered for betting on football will either be a pointspread, money line, or a combination of both lines.  The football bet placed applies only to the score of the half of the game specified.

A future wager made in football betting is a bet that is based on the outcome of a game or series scheduled to occur at some future date.  A future wager is final and there are no refunds or switching of teams permitted at any time.  Football betting odds may change on a daily basis, and all bets are considered action at the odds quoted at the time the future bet is placed.

While these seven different types of wagers are not the only methods used in football betting, they are the most common kinds of bets placed.  Before betting on football or any other sporting event, make sure you are familiar with the online sportsbook that you choose and the different betting options that are offered.   It could make the difference in whether you win or lose.

Articles by: BettingArticles.com

Basketball Betting for All Ages

Basketball betting is an aspect of sports wagering that is dependent on several different factors that help determine the outcome when betting on basketball. Most importantly, basketball betting requires an understanding of what the odds are and how they are set. Also playing an extremely important role in basketball betting is the number of games that a team is forced to play back to back.

When the basketball betting line is set by the odds maker his principal purpose is to generate the same amount of money bet on each side of the game. The basketball betting line set by the odds maker is referred to as the points or odds that determine the conditions under which the wager is placed. The line used most often for basketball betting is the pointspread. When using a pointspread to bet on basketball, additonal points are either subtracted from the favorite team or added to the underdog. Generally, when a pointspread for basketball betting is set the home team is listed in all capital letters, and the favorite team is printed on the left side with the pointspread in the middle.

Directly affecting the basketball betting pointspread are games that are played back to back. When a team is forced to play two back to back games while traveling on the road there is an enormous decline in the performance of the players in the second game. Even if a team does win the second game in a back to back series, chances are that they will not cover the basketball betting pointspread set by the odds makers.

This is due to the fact that most basketball betting odds makers take the back to back factor into consideration when setting the pointspread.

When betting on basketball there are several different factors that must be taken into account. While the two most important basketball betting factors are the pointspread and the role of back to back games, there are an infinite amount of other elements to consider. The bettor who is able to discern the factors that an odds maker overlooks will be victorious when betting on basketball.

Articles by: BettingArticles.com

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All gambling experts agree on the need to pay the utmost attention while choosing an online casino. This is why many of them recommend playing blackjack and other Internet casino games at UK casinos.

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Another revolutionary change in the panorama of international online casinos is the appearance of the new versions of many casino games like craps and keno which are now offered on the Web with much more enjoyable content and fun than before. The most evident applications of new technologies to online gaming are video poker machines, bingo games and Internet backgammon.

Time to find a better way to start the season

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) – With awards season upon us, I thought a good metaphor would be this: Winners-only tournaments are the golf equivalent of Oscar goodie bags.

I like Members Only jackets better.

How’s this for an idea? Let’s gather together the most successful among us, somewhere where the weather’s warm and everyone’s tan, and offer them more money and more prizes.

No thanks.

Geoff Ogilvy won the Mercedes-Benz Championship on Sunday, taking home $1.12 million for beating 32 other players in the PGA Tour’s season-opener in Hawaii. The event is reserved for the previous year’s winners.

Now, you’re going to tell me that just because a player won a tournament doesn’t mean they are among the most successful golfers in the world or undeserving of additional perks.

After all, the field at Kapalua included Mark Turnesa and Ryan Palmer and Greg Kraft and Parker McLachlin.

You’ll say that just because so-and-so earned an Oscar nod for playing the hooker with a heart of gold, or the English widow with a heart of gold, or whoever, doesn’t mean she is a highly-paid actress undeserving of a bag full of expensive gifts.

Fiddlesticks, the bishop would say. Guess what? I don’t care.

There are already so many exclusive tournaments in golf, beginning with the four majors and the ultra-lucrative World Golf Championships, do we really need to start the season with such a small event?

Sometimes, the players we want to see the most don’t show up anyway. Consider that the Mercedes-Benz Championship was missing the top four players in the world rankings — Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington — who were all winners last year.

Vijay Singh, the world No. 5, was the top-ranked player in the field, but Vijay shows up everywhere. He’s like the guy you knew in high school who would sit anywhere in the cafeteria.

The tournament, like every one since the U.S. Open, lost Woods due to an injury. Usually, though, when a top player decides not to make the flight to Hawaii, it’s because he doesn’t feel like it, plain and simple. Woods hasn’t shown up in Hawaii since 2005.

As for those second- and third-tier players who win to make the field, the ones who always seem to show up at Kapalua? They rarely title in the season- opener.

Excluding Daniel Chopra’s victory last year, all of this century’s Mercedes Benz Championships have been won by stars: Ogilvy, Singh (2007), Stuart Appleby (2004-06), Ernie Els (2003), Garcia (2002), Jim Furyk (2001) and Woods (2000).

The rich are getting richer off this tournament — when they show up, anyway. And the biggest reason they show up, when they do, is the riches. It’s time to open it up to everyone else.

Me? I mark next week’s Sony Open, also in Hawaii, as the real start of the PGA Tour season. A hundred and forty players and a cut line. That’s more like it.

Boldin misses practice Thursday, will be a game-time decision

Tempe, AZ (Sports Network) – Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin missed practice again Thursday with a strained hamstring, leaving his status for Saturday’s playoff game against Carolina a game-time decision.

Boldin, who suffered the injury this past Saturday during Arizona’s win over Atlanta in an NFC wild card contest, has not practiced all week, though he said earlier in the week he would still be prepared to play if he’s able.

On Saturday, the Cardinals travel to Charlotte for an NFC Divisional playoff matchup with the Panthers.

Boldin had already missed the final two regular-season contests because of a shoulder injury, but still had 89 receptions for 1,038 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games, earning his third career Pro Bowl selection.

Dolphins’ Pennington selected as top comeback player

Davie, FL (Sports Network) – Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington has been selected as the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year, as voted by the Associated Press.

Pennington joined the Dolphins this season after the New York Jets released him following their acquisition of Brett Favre during the summer.

All Pennington did was help the Dolphins complete one of the most amazing turnarounds in league history, as the club went from 1-15 a year ago to an AFC East title at 11-5 this season. Miami finished its resurgence with a victory over Favre and the Jets at the Meadowlands this past Sunday.

For the season, Pennington completed 67.4 percent of his passes for a career- high 3,653 yards with 19 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. His passer rating of 97.4 was the second-best in the NFL.

Pennington became the first to win the Comeback Player of the Year award twice. He first captured the honor in 2006 with the Jets after coming back from a pair of rotator cuff surgeries to lead New York into the playoffs.

The 32-year-old veteran received 19 votes in the balloting by sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the NFL on a regular basis. Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins and Carolina signal-caller Jake Delhomme each garnered six votes.

Two Pennington teammates, linebacker Joey Porter and running back Ronnie Brown, also received consideration.

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Yankees go for Cash

New York, NY (Sports Network) – The New York Yankees have reportedly signed catcher Kevin Cash to a minor league contract.

The New York Post has reported that the deal will pay the former Boston backup $700,000 if he plays in the majors.

Cash was not tendered a contract by the Red Sox earlier this month, making him a free agent. He had spent each of the past two seasons with Boston’s organization and hit .225 with three homers and 15 RBI in 61 games for the parent club in 2008.

LeBron leads Cavs into Denver

(Sports Network) – The Cleveland Cavaliers resume a four-game road swing in the Rocky Mountains Friday when they face the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

The Cavs evened their record at 1-1 on the trip Wednesday in Minneapolis when LeBron James posted 32 points, as Cleveland used a strong fourth quarter to post a 93-70 victory over the hapless Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.

James shot 14-of-20 from the floor for the Cavaliers, who recently had their franchise-record 11-game win streak snapped by Atlanta but improved to 21-4 on the season.

Delonte West contributed 21 points, while Wally Szczerbiak had 10 points in the win. Anderson Varejao provided 13 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which is 8-4 on the road.

The Cavs, who continue to play without center Zydrunas Ilgauskas (sprained left ankle) and guard Daniel Gibson (sprained toe), will finish their trek with a visit to Oklahoma City on Sunday.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, dropped the back end of a two-game trip through Texas on Tuesday when Houston’s Tracy McGrady notched his fourth career triple- double with 20 points, 10 assists and a season-high 14 rebounds to lead the Rockets in a 108-96 victory over Denver.

Carmelo Anthony logged 22 points and three assists for Denver, which saw its four-game win streak halted. J.R. Smith had 17 points and Linas Kleiza 13 in defeat.

Despite the loss in Houston, the Nuggets are a gaudy 16-5 since acquiring point guard Chauncey Billups in a four-player trade that sent Allen Iverson to Detroit. “Mr. Big Shot,” a Denver native, is averaging 18.2 points and 7.0 assists with the Nuggets, who will be trying to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time since November 1 and 5.

The Nuggets, who are 9-3 at the Pepsi Center, had won five straight over Cleveland until the Cavs triumphed, 110-99, on November 13 in Cleveland.

News provided by OddsandNews.com

Dodgers re-sign Blake to three-year deal

Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) – The Los Angeles Dodgers re-signed infielder Casey Blake to a three-year contract on Tuesday. Although financial terms of the deal were not released, the Los Angeles Daily News reports it is worth $17.1 million.

Blake, who was acquired by the Dodgers from Cleveland in late July for a pair of minor league prospects, hit .251 with 10 homers and 23 RBI in 58 games for the NL West champions. He had hit .289 with 11 home runs and 58 RBI in 94 games for the Indians.

The 35-year-old Blake is a career .264 hitter in parts of 10 seasons with the Blue Jays, Twins, Orioles and Indians. He was also being pursued by the Minnesota Twins.

Los Angeles also came to terms with utility infielder Mark Loretta on Tuesday.