Madson's deal with Reds finalized

Baseball Betting Lines

01/20/2012 - Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds officially signed right- hander Ryan Madson to a one-year contract Friday with a mutual option for 2013.

Madson notched 32 saves in 2011 -- his first full season handling ninth-inning duties -- to go with a 4-2 record and a 2.37 earned run average.

The 31-year-old seemingly had a deal done with the Phillies early in the free-agency period, but talks broke off between the parties and the Phillies wound up signing former Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon to a four- year, $50 million deal.

Madson had spent his entire career with the Phillies, who selected the 6- foot-6 hurler in the ninth round of the 1998 draft, going 47-30 with 52 saves and a 3.59 ERA in 491 games (18 starts).

Wwnascar Baseball Betting News

<< Manning probable, Ballard questionable for NFC Championship
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is listed as probable for Sunday's NFC Championship Game against San Francisco after dealing with a stomach illness earlier in the week. However, tight end Jake

<< Quick, Jackson, Steed set for Senior Bowl
Mobile, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appalachian State wide receiver Brian Quick and cornerbacks Asa Jackson of Cal Poly and Ryan Steed of Furman will participate in the Senior Bowl Jan. 28 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. All three players were named to T

<< Giants ink reliever Romo to 1-year deal
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with reliever Sergio Romo. The right-hander went 3-1 with a save and a career-best 1.50 earned run average in 65 appearances

<< Imrie completes move to St Mirren
Paisley, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St Mirren wrapped up the signing of Hamilton attacker Dougie Imrie on Friday, with the former Inverness man joining the club on a two-and-a-half-year contract. The 28-year-old made nearly 7

<< Jouffre extends stay at Lorient
Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lorient announced on Friday that midfielder Yann Jouffre has signed a new contract that ties him to the club until June 2014. Jouffre joined Lorient from Guingamp in January 2008 and has made 82 leagu

North Dakota adds QB, two JUCO standouts >>
Grand Forks, ND (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former North Carolina quarterback Braden Hanson is among three transfers who have joined the University of North Dakota football program, Fighting Sioux head coach Chris Mussman announced Friday. Like Hanso

Howard's hurting Jameer and Smith's hurting Magic >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Next time you're on Church Street in downtown Orlando, it's probably a good idea to look both ways before crossing the street. Those LYNX buses are dangerous, especially when someone is behind you p

Arsenal hosts United in Sunday's marquee EPL match >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Premier League title chase could become much more clear after the weekend as four of England's titans are set to suit up Sunday. Third-place Tottenham will head north to face the leaders, Manchester Ci

Real Madrid focused on Athletic Bilbao >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid lost another "El Clasico" earlier this week against Barcelona, but Jose Mourinho's club still has an edge on its rival in La Liga. So after the 2-1 loss at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos

Yankees, Gardner avoid arbitration >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees and outfielder Brett Gardner have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract. Gardner appeared in 159 games for the Yankees last season, batting .259 with career highs in both

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.