Astros sign C Snyder

Baseball Betting Lines

01/20/2012 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Astros have agreed to terms with native Houstonian Chris Snyder on a one-year contract. The deal also includes a mutual option for 2013.

The 30-year-old catcher hit .271 with three home runs and 17 runs batted in for the Pirates last season before back surgery ended his campaign in June.

Snyder has a career batting average of .231 in 630 games for Arizona and Pittsburgh with 70 home runs and 273 RBI.

Wwwtrenitalia Baseball Betting News

<< Marlins sign Rowand to minor league deal
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Marlins have signed outfielder Aaron Rowand to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Rowand spent the past four seasons with the Giants, winning a World Series title in

<< Steelers' Arians retires from coaching
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers announced Friday that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is retiring from coaching. "I appreciate his efforts over the past five years as the team's offensive coordinator and

<< 76ers vie to bounce back vs. Hawks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers try to bounce back from their first home loss of the season this evening when they welcome the Atlanta Hawks to the Wells Fargo Center. After opening the year with six straight home wins, the Sixers

<< Struggling Pistons entertain Grizzlies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Many thought the Memphis Grizzlies would be in trouble after Zach Randolph went down with a torn MCL, but that hasn't been the case. The Grizzlies are 6-3 since the big man went down and will shoot for a fifth straight win

<< Clippers hope to have CP3 back vs. Wolves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Clippers hope to have Chris Paul back in the lineup tonight when they welcome Minnesota to Staples Center. Traditionally two of the league's doormats both the Clippers and Wolves have made big strides this season

Inter eyes top four spot against Lazio >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When Claudio Ranieri took over as manager of Inter Milan in September the Nerazzurri was hovering just above the drop zone and in the midst of a terrible start to the season. But since the former Chelsea

Pena returning to Rays >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Pena is a Ray once again. The Tampa Bay Times reported Friday that the 33-year-old first baseman has agreed to a one-year contract worth $7.25 million. Pena played for the Rays from 2007-

Pepe sidelined by hamstring injury >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid defender Pepe will miss the next two weeks of action after sustaining a hamstring injury in his team's 2-1 defeat against Barcelona on Wednesday in the first leg of their Cope del Rey clash.

Celik secures Rangers switch >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rangers made its first signing of the January transfer window on Friday, securing the services of Swedish midfielder Mervan Celik. The 21-year-old arrives at Ibrox as a free agent after leaving Swe

Betis adds Paulao on loan >>
Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Betis added to its defensive options on Friday by taking St Etienne defender Paulao on loan until the end of the season. The Brazilian moved to France last summer from Braga but has been unable

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.