11/13/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2011 season.
Gardenhire will begin his eighth season as Twins skipper in 2009. He has guided the club to a record of 622-512, including 88-75 in 2008. Last year's team nearly reached the postseason, losing a one-game playoff to the Chicago White Sox for the American League Central crown.
The Twins also signed Gardenhire's coaching staff to two-year contracts through the 2010 campaign -- the first year of Minnesota's new ballpark.
"Ron and his staff have done an outstanding job over the last seven years, and none was better than the 2008 season," said Twins general manager Bill Smith. "We had a lot of new players and a lot of young players, and our major league staff did a marvelous job with a changing cast of players. Continuity has been a great strength of the Twins organization for two decades. The current staff has played an important role in the design and development of the Target Field facilities, and these agreements will carry the staff into the new ballpark in 2010."
The 51-year-old Gardenhire, who was runner-up to Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon in the AL Manager of the Year voting, took over as Twins skipper before the 2002 season. He has led the team to four AL Central titles in his first seven years, posting winning records in six of those seven campaigns.
Only Tom Kelly, with 1,140 victories, has more wins than Gardenhire with the Twins.
<< Leafs continue swing with stop in Edmonton
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto continues its tour of western Canada tonight, as it
visits the Edmonton Oilers and Rexall Place.
The Maple Leafs began this swing on Tuesday with a 4-3 loss in Calgary. Alexei
Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov both sco
<< Kings, Stars cap home-and-home in Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It isn't too often that the Stars get pushed around by the
Kings. Trailing Los Angeles by one point in the standings, last-place Dallas
hosts the Kings tonight at American Airlines Center in the finale of a home-
and-home set
<< Red Wings head south to battle Lightning
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to rebound from a tough loss
when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning for this evening's test at St. Pete
Times Forum.
The Red Wings went into Tuesday's much-hyped game against visiting Pittsb
<< Pens take on Flyers aiming to extend winning streak
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to extend their season-
high winning streak to five games tonight, when they welcome the Philadelphia
Flyers to Mellon Arena for another edition of this intrastate rivalry.
The Penguins had
Seeing is Believing >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Like many college football pundits, I have
watched Texas Tech put up gaudy offensive numbers over the years and chalked
it up as a gimmick offense much like Hawaii under June Jones. I had never
been a fan of
Bulls sign veteran Hunter >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls signed guard Lindsey Hunter
on Thursday, bringing the 15-season veteran back to the league.
Hunter spent last season with Detroit, averaging 2.4 points and 1.4 assists in
24 games. He play
NBA Southwest: Spurs need to tread water >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Since it's an odd year in the NBA, it wasn't really a
stretch picking the San Antonio Spurs to win an NBA championship.
After all, the club's last three championship rings came in 2003, 2005 and
2007.
But, any hopes of
L.A. defender Franklin named Rookie of the Year >>
Carson, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Galaxy defender Sean Franklin was
named Major League Soccer's Rookie of the Year on Thursday.
Franklin, 23, started 26 out of 27 matches and recorded one assist. He was the
Galaxys first pick -
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
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