Reyes to rest after additional tests on thyroid

Baseball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets said shortstop Jose Reyes will not participate in any baseball activities until his thyroid levels return to normal.

Reyes underwent additional blood tests this week after being diagnosed with an overactive thyroid. The Mets confirmed Thursday that Reyes' thyroid hormone blood levels are elevated.

In addition to rest, Reyes will have to make changes to his diet. Doctors will also monitor his thyroid levels through regular blood tests.

Reyes has participated in just one intrasquad game this spring, tripling in his first at-bat. He reportedly had no running issues after having surgery in October to repair a hamstring problem -- an injury that limited him to just 36 games last season.

In his 791 career games, all with the Mets, Reyes owns a .286 batting average, with 63 home runs, 325 RBI, 301 steals and 73 triples.

Ccasion Baseball Betting News

<< Tank Johnson re-signs with Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals have re-signed defensive tackle Tank Johnson. Johnson originally signed with Cincinnati last offseason and recorded two sacks and 29 tackles in 14 games last season. "Si

<< Report: Woods working with Fleischer on return
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods may be returning to the PGA Tour in two weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, according to a report in the New York Post. In a story Thursday, the Post credits "two sources in the gol

<< Red Bulls sign former TFC 'keeper Sutton
Secaucus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York signed goalkeeper Greg Sutton, the Major League Soccer club announced on Thursday. "We have been impressed with Greg's performances during his time with us in preseason," New York

<< Chivas USA's Victorine retires
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA midfielder Sasha Victorine has retired from Major League Soccer after 10 seasons, the club announced on Wednesday. During his MLS career, Victorine scored 32 goals and 41 assists i

<< Rockies give Helton contract extension
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies and first baseman Todd Helton have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension that will allow him to finish his career with the franchise. The new deal will take Helton throug

Chiefs sign Urban >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs have signed wide receiver Jerheme Urban. Urban spent the past three seasons with Arizona after playing his first three years in the NFL with Seattle. He has 87 career recepti

Lions bring back OT Jansen >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions re-signed veteran offensive tackle Jon Jansen and linebacker Vinny Ciurciu to one-year contracts on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed. The 34-year-old Jansen signed wit

Canadian MLB players primed for impact year >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the boys of summer prepare for the upcoming MLB season, the ones north of the border are sure to get some extra attention. Tracking some of Canada's top players for the MLB 2010 season: HITTERS JUS

United enters into partnership with Japanese club >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United and Japanese club FC Machida Zelvia have entered into a technical, developmental and marketing partnership, the Major League Soccer club announced on Thursday. "This is particularly an exciti

Patriots re-sign RB Faulk >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots re-signed running back Kevin Faulk on Thursday. Details of the contract were not disclosed. The all-purpose back, who has been with the Patriots since being selected in the second r

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.

MySportsbook.com offers Blackjack contest and $10,000.00 in Free Prize money!

Every month MySportsbook.com's casino host, Jack Black, gives away $10,000.00 in free casino prize money. To Enter - All you have to do is play at least 10 hands (total) of Blackjack on one of the specified dates of the blackjack contest. The online casino host randomly hands out free bonuses ranging from $50 - $500, and one lucky player who will receive a free $2,500.00 bonus.

"We have been running this monthly free blackjack contest to our active mebers for 5 years now, and the players just love it," says Jack Black, online casino host at MySportsbook.com. "And why wouldn't they love a free chance to win some extra online blackjack cash."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.