Rockets agree to 3-year deal with C Miller

Basketball Betting Lines

07/17/2010 -

HOUSTON (AP) -Free agent center Brad Miller has agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract with the Houston Rockets.

Agent Mark Bartelstein said the 7-foot Miller will back up All-Star center Yao Ming, who's expected to return healthy next season after sitting out a year to recover from foot surgery.

The 34-year-old Miller averaged 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds for Chicago last season. Miller played in Sacramento from 2003-09, including three seasons playing for current Houston coach Rick Adelman.

Bartelstein said in a phone interview on Saturday that reuniting with Adelman was a major factor in Miller's decision.

The Rockets initially pursued Chris Bosh when free agency opened on July 1. But Bosh chose to join LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami. Houston agreed to terms this week with restricted free agents Kyle Lowry and Luis Scola.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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wwwworldwidegamble Basketball Betting News

<< Ilgauskas joins new-look Heat
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has officially joined former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James in Miami. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported earlier in the w

<< Kings sign Richardson for one year
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings signed forward Brad Richardson to a one-year contract on Saturday. The Belleville, Ontario native is coming off a career-high 27-point season (11 goals, 16 assists) while playing

<< Polanco returns for Phils
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies activated third baseman Placido Polanco off the 15-day disabled list on Saturday. Polanco has not played since June 25 due to inflammation in his left elbow. He had been playing

<< Serena to miss three events due to foot injury
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Serena Williams is scheduled to undergo surgery in the near future after cutting her foot on broken glass in a restaurant. The injury will cause the No. 1 ranked player in the world to miss ev

<< Indians place Wood on DL again
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have placed closer Kerry Wood on the 15-day disabled list and recalled reliever Jensen Lewis from Triple-A Columbus to take his spot on the roster. A blister on Wood's right index

Pennetta advances to Palermo final against Kanepi >>
Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta and Estonian Kaia Kanepi both moved into the finals at the $220,000 Palermo International tennis tournament with straight-set wins on Saturday. Pennetta of Italy rolled ov

Celtic inks Mexico international Juarez >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mexico international Efrain Juarez has agreed to a four-year deal with Celtic and has met up with his new teammates in Seattle on their preseason tour of North America. The 22-year-old has been gra

Woods unable to get anything going >>
St. Andrews, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time Open champion Tiger Woods mixed four bogeys and three birdies in a round of one-over 73 Saturday at the British Open. Woods finished three rounds at three-under-par 213 and is currently

Martino to remain Paraguay's manager >>
Asuncion, Paraguay (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerardo Martino has agreed to a four- year contract extension to remain in charge of Paraguay's national team, although he could still leave following the Copa America tournament. Martino's new

Monfils, Montanes to battle for Stuttgart title >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France's Gael Monfils and Albert Montanes of Spain will square off in the final of the Mercedes Cup tennis event following their semifinal wins Saturday. The third-seeded Monfils was taken

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .