United enters into partnership with Japanese club

Soccer Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United and Japanese club FC Machida Zelvia have entered into a technical, developmental and marketing partnership, the Major League Soccer club announced on Thursday.

"This is particularly an exciting partnership for me, as I was born and raised in Japan," United Executive Chairman Will Chang said. "I look forward to working with FC Machida on many fronts."

The partnership, which is the first of its kind between teams from the United States and Japan, began as a relationship that will see the two scout and develop amateur talent in the United States and Japan as well as provide opportunities to extend each club's marketing and branding reach.

"It was an important task for our new club to develop both its players and front office staff globally," FC Machida Zelvia General Secretary Minoru Moriya said. "The partnership with a prestigious club like D.C. United, who plays in a similar season, is a big step for both our technical side and club staff's development. We hope that this partnership will help develop both clubs."

Wwebmillion Soccer Betting News

<< Canadian MLB players primed for impact year
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the boys of summer prepare for the upcoming MLB season, the ones north of the border are sure to get some extra attention. Tracking some of Canada's top players for the MLB 2010 season: HITTERS JUS

<< Lions bring back OT Jansen
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions re-signed veteran offensive tackle Jon Jansen and linebacker Vinny Ciurciu to one-year contracts on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed. The 34-year-old Jansen signed wit

<< Chiefs sign Urban
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Chiefs have signed wide receiver Jerheme Urban. Urban spent the past three seasons with Arizona after playing his first three years in the NFL with Seattle. He has 87 career recepti

<< Reyes to rest after additional tests on thyroid
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets said shortstop Jose Reyes will not participate in any baseball activities until his thyroid levels return to normal. Reyes underwent additional blood tests this week after being diag

<< Tank Johnson re-signs with Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals have re-signed defensive tackle Tank Johnson. Johnson originally signed with Cincinnati last offseason and recorded two sacks and 29 tackles in 14 games last season. "Si

Patriots re-sign RB Faulk >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots re-signed running back Kevin Faulk on Thursday. Details of the contract were not disclosed. The all-purpose back, who has been with the Patriots since being selected in the second r

Lookin at Lucky highlights Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn >>
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Champion colt Lookin at Lucky tops a field of seven three-year-olds in Saturday's $300,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. The 2009 champion two-year-old will be making his first start of the year in the 1 1

Puerto Rico Open washed out by heavy rain >>
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first round of the Puerto Rico Open was washed out Thursday by another round of heavy rain that left the Trump International course unplayable. Only 18 players in a full PGA Tour field tee

Real's Pellegrini given vote of confidence >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid Technical Director Jorge Valdano has handed the dreaded vote of confidence to coach Manuel Pellegrini after the Spanish giants were knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon on Wednesday. Real

Hoyas knocked top-seeded Orange in Big East >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Wright scored 27 points and Greg Monroe contributed 17 with 10 rebounds and seven assists, as 22nd-ranked Georgetown pulled off a 91-84 victory over No. 3 Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the Big East To

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.