Angels get Dan Haren and a tree falls in the forest

Baseball Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yawn.

That is exactly the first thought that went through my head when my I-Phone beeped on Sunday night with the news that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim had acquired Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Joe Saunders and a few other guys that (trust me) you will never, ever hear from.

I don't understand this deal from either team's standpoint.

I guess if you try hard you can convince me that the Angels are attempting to keep pace with the American League West-leading Texas Rangers, who, of course, picked up stud Cliff Lee two weeks ago. But, Haren is nowhere near as good as Lee, and may not be all that much better than the one they gave up in Saunders, forgetting for a second the other extra pieces they had to give up.

In case you were wondering. Saunders is a year younger than Haren and also has two more wins than then him since the start of the 2008 season. And, by the way, does not earn $25.5 million over the next two seasons.

Saunders was viewed as an untouchable last summer and last winter when the Angels were engaging in talks with Toronto for Roy Halladay. Why did Anaheim pull the plug now? Did they covet Haren more than Halladay? I am sorry, but this move reeks of desperation from a team that is seven games back of the Rangers at the moment.

Maybe it's just me, but I am not a big Dan Haren guy. If he is that good, how come he is now going to be pitching for his fourth different organization since being drafted in 2001?

Aren't franchises supposed to build their teams around pitchers like Haren? Why is it that he is always the guy who gets dealt?

As bad as the Kansas City Royals are, how come Zack Greinke is off limits? Why do the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are heading towards their 18th straight losing season, not entertain offers for someone like Paul Maholm?

And yes, I would rather have Paul Maholm than Haren. For that matter, I would rather have Maholm than Roy Oswalt, but maybe that is why I am not in a front office at the moment.

I don't get the fascination with Oswalt either. I hate the fact that you have to convince players on a losing team to play for a winner. I hope Roy Oswalt, his no-trade clause and the $40 million coming to him all remain in Houston for the rest of his career, without a title.

We will see if Oswalt gets moved later this week.

People have said to me in the past week that in both the cases of Haren and Oswalt, it must be hard to get up every fifth day knowing you pitch for Arizona and Houston. Really? That raises more of a red flag for me. That means they have some quit in them. Cliff Lee seemed to do well in Seattle and I don't think I ever noticed Halladay struggling in Toronto.

I'm sorry, if you are moved around as often as Haren, I don't think that much of you. Minnesota dealt Johan Santana only when they had to. Cleveland dealt CC Sabathia and Lee when they had to. There was no reason for Arizona to move Haren, unless, of course, they don't think much of him either.

As little as I think of Haren, I would rather have him than Joe Saunders at the moment. But, if Arizona had already resigned itself to the fact that it had to deal him, couldn't they have found a better package than the one Anaheim gave up? Other than Saunders, the best prospect in the deal is 19 years old.

You have to think that due to his shoulder concerns, Brandon Webb re-signs in Arizona this offseason. With him, Haren, Ian Kennedy and even Edwin Jackson in the fold, that is a pretty solid rotation heading into 2011. Not to mention young offensive stars like Justin Upton, Chris Young and Mark Reynolds.

The Diamondbacks are not as far away as their record may indicate. This, though, probably isn't the only move they will make. I am guessing Jackson is the next to go.

I just don't get it. If this is the move that new general manager Jerry DiPoto is willing to start his legacy with, then good luck. And if this was a salary dump, then how long until the team sells off Justin Upton?

Bottom line, Anaheim is probably better off today than it was when the sun rose on Sunday, but in the grand scheme of things this is a move that will have little or zero impact on the American League West standings.

As far as Arizona goes, well, I guess it's back to the drawing board ... again.

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2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

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