Vikings, tackle Williams reportedly near new deal
Football Betting Lines
12/23/2006 - St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Williams will likely have a brand new contract sitting under the Christmas tree, as the Minnesota Vikings and the Pro Bowl defensive tackle are reportedly nearing a seven-year contract extension.
According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the space-eater's new deal will likely make him the league's highest-paid defensive tackle with guaranteed money in excess of $13 million.
The newspaper reported that the contract could be announced Saturday.
The 26-year-old Williams burst onto the NFL scene after a successful collegiate career at Oklahoma State. The ninth overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft, Williams totaled 22 sacks and two interceptions during his first two seasons.
However, success has brought double teams on the inside, and Williams has molded into a prominent run stopper on the best rushing defense in the NFL.
Williams has five sacks this season after suffering through an injury-plagued 2005 campaign. The defensive tackle will line up on the interior as a starter for the NFC in the Pro Bowl.
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Kentucky head football coach Rich Brooks has agreed to a contract extension. Brooks is in his fourth season with Kentucky, which is headed to the Music City Bowl against Clemson on Decemb
<< Inter ties history
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a 2-1 win over Atalanta on Saturday,
Serie A's first-place Internazionale equaled the all-time league record for
consecutive wins, with its 11th, in front of the home fans at the Stadio
Giusepp
<< Krstic's season ends with torn ACL
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey's fear became a medical
reality Saturday, when further evaluation revealed that forward/center Nenad
Krstic had in fact suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament during Friday's
loss to
<< Rested Avs entertain improved Blackhawks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche return to action tonight for the
first time since the Denver area was rocked by a recent snowstorm, as the
well-rested club hosts the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pepsi Center.
Colorado's sche
<< Red Wings shoot for sweep of Wild
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings aim for a sweep of their home-and-
home series with the Minnesota Wild when the clubs meet again this evening at
the XCel Energy Center.
The Red Wings took the opener of this set with Frid
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United assured itself the top spot in the Premiership at the half-way point of the season with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday. After suffering a stunning 1-0 lo
I wouldn't have picked Cannavaro, but I understand >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italian Fabio Cannavaro became the first
defender to ever capture the FIFA World Player of the Year award recently.
The honor is usually reserved for a dynamic striker who has made a habit of
hitting
Redskins placed Washington on IR >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Washington's 2006 season officially came
to a close Saturday, as the Washington Redskins placed the linebacker on
injured reserve with a knee injury suffered in last Sunday's victory over New
Orleans
Memphis buries Middle Tennessee State >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doneal Mack scored 18 points to lead five
players in double figures, as 18th-ranked Memphis rolled to an easy 86-46
victory over Middle Tennessee at FedEx Forum.
Jeremy Hunt added 16 points and Ch
McCarthy shipped from White Sox to Rangers in multi-player trade >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas and the Chicago White Sox swapped
promising hurlers in a five-player trade completed Saturday, with standout
name Brandon McCarthy heading to the Rangers.
Texas also acquired 18-year-old outf
Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.