Gronkowski limited in Thursday's practice
Football Betting Lines
02/02/2012 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was a limited participant in Thursday's practice.
Gronkowski was on the practice field for the first time since suffering a left ankle injury in the AFC Championship Game.
The Patriots are getting ready to take on the New York Giants in Sunday's Super Bowl.
Gronkowski had a record-breaking season for the Patriots, setting an NFL mark for tight ends with 17 touchdown receptions. He also scored once on the ground and finished with 90 catches -- second on the team behind only Wes Welker's 122 -- for 1,327 yards.
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. women's national team coach Pia Sundhage named 28 players Thursday for an upcoming training camp, including 19 of the 20 players who were on the recent Olympic team roster. Ali Krieger, who tore the AC
<< Blue Jackets activate Carter
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated
center Jeff Carter off injured reserve.
Carter separated his right shoulder during a game against Anaheim on January
8.
He has posted 10 goals and 17 points
<< AZ signs coach Verbeek to two-year extension
Alkmaar, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AZ Alkmaar gave coach Gertjan Verbeek
a two-year contract extension on Thursday, locking him up through the 2014-15
season.
Verbeek, 49, joined the Dutch side before the 2010-11 season and led the c
<< Louisiana Tech RB dies at off-campus apartment
Ruston, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louisiana Tech running back Tyrone Duplessis was
found dead at his off-campus apartment on Thursday morning.
The 21-year-old was in his third year at Louisiana Tech.
The cause of death is not yet known and an
<< Chievo hands struggling Novara another loss
Novara, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergio Pellissier and Cyril Thereau scored on
each side of halftime as Chievo downed struggling Novara, 2-1, on Thursday in
Serie A.
Pellissier opened the scoring on 33 minutes and Thereau added a second goa
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlotte Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson is expected to miss 2-4 weeks after an MRI on Thursday confirmed a right hamstring strain. Henderson suffered the injury during the third quarter of Wedn
Indians have deal in place with 1B Kotchman >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians reportedly have a one-
year deal in place with free-agent first baseman Casey Kotchman.
The deal is worth $3 million plus incentives, according to MLB.com.
The Indians have not confir
Packers promote Clements to offensive coordinator >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers have promoted Tom
Clements from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator, the team announced
on Thursday.
Former offensive coordinator Joe Philbin left two weeks ago to become
Magic's Howard to start All-Star Game in Orlando >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic was the
leading vote-getter with 1,600,390 votes and will start for the Eastern
Conference in front of his home crowd at Amway Center in this month's All-Star
Game.
The star
Padres agree to terms with P Owings >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres agreed to terms with
right-handed pitcher Micah Owings on a one-year contract.
"Micah will compete for a spot on our staff," said executive vice
president/general manage
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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