Hudson will make start for White Sox

Baseball Betting Lines

07/11/2010 -

CHICAGO (AP) -The Chicago White Sox have called up right-hander Daniel Hudson from Triple-A Charlotte for Sunday's start against the Kansas City Royals in place of injured Jake Peavy.

Hudson was 1-1 in six games, including two starts, last season for the White Sox and will take Peavy's spot in the rotation. Peavy will have season-ending surgery on his right shoulder.

Hudson will be making his first start of the season for Chicago. He was 11-4 with a 3.47 ERA in 17 starts for Charlotte.

To make room for Hudson, the White Sox optioned reliever Jeff Marquez to Charlotte.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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wmozilla Baseball Betting News

<< White Sox strive for eighth straight win, sweep of Royals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. Cellular Field is the site of today's finale of a three-game set between the Kansas City Royals and hometown Chicago White Sox, who'll be taking aim at an eighth consecutive victory. The White Sox kept up their red-ho

<< Longtime Yankees' PA announcer Bob Sheppard dies
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longtime New York Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard died Sunday. He was 99 years old. According to the New York Daily News, Sheppard died at his home on Long Island with his wife, Mary, at hi

<< Orioles have chance for surprising sweep of West-leading Texas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers, who continue to lead the American League West, will close out a four-game weekend series with the lowly Baltimore Orioles today in Arlington. The Orioles may have the worst record in baseball at 28-59, b

<< Silva tries to send Cubs to split with Dodgers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- In a first half filled with disappointment, Carlos Silva has been an unexpected source of joy for the Chicago Cubs. Tonight the rejuvenated pitcher takes aim at a 10th victory of 2010 when he takes the mound for the North Si

<< Ryall wins Van Lanschot Senior Open
The Hague, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - George Ryall birdied the final hole Sunday to come from behind and win the Van Lanschot Senior Open on the European Senior Tour. Ryall finished with a six-under 66 and won the title by a st

Wiesberger wins on Challenge Tour >>
Monthieux, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Austria's Bernd Wiesberger fired a course-record, nine-under 62 on Sunday to come from behind and win the Allianz Golf Open de Lyon on the European Challenge Tour. Wiesberger finished at 17-under

Astros name Bagwell hitting coach >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have named Jeff Bagwell their new hitting coach, replacing the fired Sean Berry. Bagwell had been serving as a special assistant to the general manager since his retirement in 2006. He

Royals' Greinke scratched from start >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals scratched reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke from his scheduled start Sunday against the Chicago White Sox. The right-hander is experiencing discomfort

Kuo to replace Heyward at All-Star game >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Hong-Chih Kuo has been selected to replace injured Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward at the All-Star game.Heyward is on the 15-day disabled list because of a deep bone bruise in his left thumb. He wi

Czechs complete Davis Cup quarterfinal win over Chile >>
Coquimbo, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivo Minar won the second reverse singles match for the Czech Republic on Sunday to complete a 4-1 rout of host Chile in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. Minar posted a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory over Cristobal

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.