Bulls acquire F Carlos Boozer

Basketball Betting Lines

07/08/2010 -

CHICAGO (AP) -Carlos Boozer is now officially a member of the Chicago Bulls.

The two-time All-Star forward is going to the Bulls in a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz, giving them the dominant big man they've craved for years.

He and the Bulls agreed Wednesday to what several outlets reported was a five-year deal worth roughly $75 million dollars. Shortly after Chicago announced the signing on Thursday, Jazz spokesman Jonathan Rinehart said Utah sent him along with a future protected second-round pick to the Bulls for a trade exception.

The deal gives the Jazz salary cap flexibility while the Bulls get a major presence inside.

``I feel we have the talent here to begin competing for a title and I cannot wait to get started,'' Boozer said.

The Bulls also confirmed the draft day trade that sent Kirk Hinrich and his $9 million salary along with the rights to No. 17 pick Kevin Seraphin to Washington. They received the rights to 2006 second-rounder Vladimir Veremeenko in return. But more important, that deal put them in position to sign two major stars.

They already had an All-Star point guard in Derrick Rose and one of the leading rebounders in Joakim Noah.

Now, with the flexibility to make a big splash in free agency, the Bulls were looking for more after back-to-back first-round playoff exits.

They did that when they reeled in Boozer on Wednesday, after Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decided to team together in Miami instead of Chicago. By landing Boozer, the Bulls ensured they wouldn't go away empty-handed.

``We are confident that his skill set, toughness and leadership are all qualities that make him a great fit for the Bulls, and he will add a low-post element to our team that we have been searching for,'' Bulls general manager Gar Forman said in a statement. ``Post players, with the skills that Carlos possesses, are at a premium in the NBA and we believe that we have landed one of the best big men in the NBA.''

Most years, Boozer might be the top free agent, but this is like no other offseason. Teams did all they could to clear salary cap room to go after the stars, and the Bulls were no exception.

They made a big move by landing Boozer, who spent six years with Utah and averaged 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds last season. His arrival gives the Bulls a big man who will attract double-teams, taking some pressure off Rose, and another double-double player to go with Noah.

Although he sometimes clashed with management and was limited by injuries in three of his six years with the Jazz, Boozer played in 78 games the past season. His arrival in Utah came after an awkward exit from Cleveland following the 2003-04 season.

The Cavaliers, who could have exercised a one-year option after Boozer's second season, thought they had a six-year, $41 million agreement in place and let him hit the market. Boozer wound up accepting a six-year, $68 million dollar contract as a restricted free agent that they chose not to match.

The Cavaliers' general manager at the time was Jim Paxson, who is now a Bulls scout and consultant. And his brother John Paxson is Chicago's executive vice president of basketball operations.

--

AP Sports Writer Doug Alden in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.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.

Wtravelocity Basketball Betting News

<< Votto, Swisher voted as final All-Stars
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto and New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher were chosen by fan voting as the final two All-Stars, Major League Baseball announced Thursday MORE TO FOLLOW...

<< Potters land Belgium starlet Cuvelier
Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Belgium youth international Florent Cuvelier has joined Stoke City from Portsmouth. The 17-year-old midfielder was part of the academy set-up at the recently relegated Premier League club but

<< Giants take brooms to Brewers for first time
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer and knocked in four, as the San Francisco Giants finished off a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers with a 9-3 win at Miller Park. Andres Torres went 2-for-6 with

<< Palop extends Sevilla contract
Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop has extended his stay after penning a new contract that will keep him in Andalusia until the summer of 2013. The 36-year-old joined the club in 2005 from La Liga r

<< Rockies cap sweep of Cardinals behind Jimenez
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ubaldo Jimenez worked eight solid innings and Jason Giambi chipped in with four hits and two runs batted in to lead Colorado to a 4-2 win over St. Louis in the last of a three-game set. Jimenez (15-1) yielded

Milwaukee inks top pick Sanders >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks have signed forward Larry Sanders, their 2010 first-round draft choice, to a multi-year contract. No terms of the deal were announced for the 15th overall pick in the NBA Draft

Naslund to have number retired by Canucks >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Vancouver Canucks captain Markus Naslund will have his number 19 raised to the rafters by the club on December 11. The announcement came late Wednesday that Naslund, who played in Vancouver

Rangers' fan injured in fall thankful to be alive >>
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -Texas Rangers fan Tyler Morris says he's thankful to be alive after tumbling about 30 feet from second-deck stands while trying to catch a foul ball.The 25-year-old tells The Associated Press his face is swollen and his foot

Coroner: Ex-Kentucky star Turpin commits suicide >>
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -Mel Turpin, former NBA player an All-American Kentucky center, has died. He was 49.Police and the coroner were called to his North Lexington house Thursday afternoon on a personal injury call. They found Turpin dead.Coroner Gary

Hanley Ramirez added to Home Run Derby >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez has been added to the Home Run Derby during the All-Star break.The 2009 NL batting champion will participate in his first derby on Monday in Anaheim, Calif. He had 13 home runs entering the Marlins' ga

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.