Rex, Woody visit helped seal Revis deal for Jets
Football Betting Lines
09/07/2010 -
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - Darrelle Revis and Rex Ryan looked at each other, huddled in a conference room in Florida, and immediately knew they had the same game plan.
The New York Jets' star cornerback wanted to get back on the football field.
The brash and boisterous coach badly wanted him there.
``He was smiling like he took a trip to Disney World,'' Revis recalled Monday. ``I was smiling back because this is like a home to me, the New York Jets. It was just good to see him and work something out when we were down there to try to get me back up here.''
Revis signed a four-year deal Monday, ending a 36-day holdout that included some acrimonious moments between his agents and general manager Mike Tannenbaum. There were also plenty of doubts that the All-Pro cornerback would play this season.
Perhaps the most crucial moment of the negotiations came Saturday, when both Ryan and owner Woody Johnson flew to Revis' home in South Florida to meet with him, his mother Diana Gilbert and uncle and former NFL player Sean Gilbert to try to solve the contract impasse.
``I think that was a breakthrough, them coming down because I haven't seen them,'' Revis said. ``It was talks with my agents and Tannenbaum most of the time. I just thought when they both came down, it was a big step in this whole situation.''
Both Ryan and Johnson said the decision to visit Revis was a group idea, although agent Neil Schwartz said the coach reached out to them Friday night about setting it up.
``First off, I like to travel,'' a smiling Ryan said of how the trip came about. ``That was probably what one of the reasons was. We don't do things exactly by the books of other teams, but we do it our way. It's the New York Jet way.''
Both the Jets and Revis' agents spoke all weekend until they reached an agreement around 11 p.m. Sunday.
That was after Ryan lost his cool, a moment that's sure to be featured on the next episode of ``Hard Knocks'' on HBO. During a conference call between the Jets and Revis' agents, Ryan got frustrated at the sides not being able to seal the deal.
``I stormed out of there and was ripping everybody on both sides,'' he said. ``After I threw my little tantrum and the deal was getting done, they brought me back up.''
Added agent Jonathan Feinsod: ``He told us that he was going to go coach his football team and he was sick and tired of us.''
When cooler heads prevailed a few hours later, Revis had finally agreed to a deal.
``It was a long process,'' he said. ``It was rough on me. You know I'm a football player and I love to play the game and I'm happy it's over with. I can go play football now.''
Revis is expected to practice Tuesday and be ready to play in the season opener next Monday night at home against Baltimore.
``I do think we may play Revis, I'm not sure,'' Ryan quipped. ``I think he might need to practice for several weeks before we play him, but don't be shocked if he's out there.
``In other words, he's definitely playing.''
The Jets and Revis' agents declined to announce financial terms of the deal, but it is reportedly worth at least $46 million, including $32 million guaranteed. Revis said all along he wanted to be the highest-paid player at his position, something Feinsod said the Jets cornerback would be - without releasing terms.
``The numbers would reflect in our minds that he's being paid as the highest-paid cornerback,'' Feinsod said.
After months of waiting and wondering about his future, Revis was happy to be back on the field after flying up from Florida in the morning.
``This experience humbled me so much just because I love to play football,'' Revis said. ``At one point, it was something that was taken away, that I love to do. I've never had anything taken away from me that I love to do. So this was a point in my life where it was serious.''
As he walked toward his teammates on the practice field, a strange feeling came over him.
``I had butterflies,'' Revis said. ``I didn't know how my teammates were going to accept me because I haven't been here for a month.''
For a guy who routinely shuts down opponents' best wide receivers, the acknowledgment of insecurity was stunning. After some loud, welcoming cheers - including a ``Rudy'' clap - and good-natured ribbing, Revis knew he was finally back home.
``This process, I don't wish it on anybody,'' Revis said. ``I never thought it was going to turn out to be like this, to get a little bit crazy. But it's something I had to go through.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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U.S. Open on Monday, this time scoring a straight-set victory over Austrian
Jurgen Melzer to reach the quarterfinals.
The second-seeded Federer earned a 6-3
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opener of a big three-game set at Fenway Park.
With this being the final series fo
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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.
Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.