Knicks don’t match, Lin officially a Houston Rocket

Jeremy Lin is now a Rocket as the New York Knicks failed to match Houston’s three-year $25 milllion off sheet. Lin burst on the scene after being claimed off waivers and leading the Knicks on an eight game win streak. Lin averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists during the 2011-12 season, his first and only with New York. He played just 35 games before undergoing season-ending surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus.

The Lakers have reportedly met with the Magic and are making another major push to acquire Dwight Howard. Any deal would likely have to include Andrew Bynum who would have to agree to a long term deal with Orlando. Bynum is in the final year of his deal with the Lakers. The Nets and Rockets are still in the D12 mix with the Atlanta Hawks possibly a darkhorse. Atlanta is Howard’s hometown and Josh Smith is one of Howard’s best friends.

The “Take it Down” banner flown over Penn State

Things are starting to get ugly at Penn State where a light aircraft was seen flying over the Joe Paterno statue flying the banner, “Take it Down or we will”. Veiled threat ??? Considering the poisoning of the oaks at Toomer’s Corner in Auburn and the number of crazies out there, don’t be so sure. Hopefully cooler heads will previal in what is absolutely a tragic situation.

Halladay and Sabathia money in their returns

Roy Halladay and C.C. Sabathia returned to the mound after stints on the DL and both were sharp in their returns. Halladay, who hadn’t started since May 29th with shoulder problems, pitched five innings of two-run five-hit ball getting a no decision in the Phillies 3-2 win over the Dodgers. Halladay threw 80 pitches, 55 for strikes, walking none and striking out
six. Sabathia threw six innings of shutout ball in a Yankee 6-1 win over Toronto to pick up his 10th win. Sabathia has been out since June 26th with a groin strain missing his first starts since 2006. Sabathia battled 95-degree heat to throw 87 pitches, 66 for strikes, walking one and striking out six.

Betting nuggets for Wednesday’s card. The Reds Matt Latos is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA over his L4 starts. The Nats Jordan Zimmerman is 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA over his L4 starts. Colorado’s Jeremy Guthrie is 0-4 with an 8.49 ERA in his L5 starts. The Brave’s Mike Minor rocks a 7.43 ERA over his L4 starts. The Cubs Jeff Samardzija is 1-5 with an 8.07 ERA in his last six starts.

The Braves have won seven of eight. The Yankees and Tigers are both 8-2 in their L10. Oakland is 9-2 in it’s L11 games. The Mets have lost five straight giving up 33 runs. Houston is 1-14 in their L15 road games. Baltimore has lost six of seven. The Royals are 1-7 in their L8 games.

The Under is 12-2 in the Reds L14 home games. Ten of the L11 Colorado games have gone Under the total. The Under is 7-1 in the A’s L8 home games. The Over is 12-2 in Mike Minor’s L14 starts. The Over is 12-2 in the Angels last 12 road games. The Over is 5-0 in the Minnesota Twins L5 games.

Sports Illustrated 50 Highest Paid American Athletes

Over the weekend, Forbes magazine released it’s list of “The World’s 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams” and we brought it to you right here at SP3. Yesterday, Sports Illustrated released it’s Fortunate 50, the Top 50 Highest Paid American Athletes and for the first time Tiger Woods is not leading the way. Floyd Mayweather Jr. might be in jail but he made plenty of bank in 2011 checking in at a cool $85 million. Here are the top ten highest paid athletes, American and International, and what they made in 2011.

Top Ten Highest Paid American Athletes

1. Floyd Mayweather, Jr: $85,000,000 – Boxing
2. Phil Mickelson: $60,763,488 – Golf
3. Tiger Woods: $56,440,238 – Golf
4. Kobe Bryant: $48,286,000 – NBA
5. LeBron James: $45,880,000 – NBA
6. Alex Rodriguez: $33,500,000 – MLB
7. Peyton Manning: $31,000,000 – NFL
8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: $28,164,690 – Auto Racing
9. Derek Jeter: $27,729,364 – MLB
10. Larry Fitzgerald: $26,750,000 – NFL

Joe Mauer is No.12 and Vernon Wells is at No.17 ….. YIKES !!!

Top Ten Highest Paid International Athletes

1. Roger Federer: $51.4M – Tennis
2. David Beckham: $46M – Soccer
3. Lionel Messi: $41.3M – Soccer
4. Christiano Ronaldo: $40.3M – Soccer
5. Fernando Alonso: $40M – Auto Racing
6. Manny Pacquiao: $39M – Boxing
7. Samuel Eto’o: $30.6M – Soccer
8. Rafael Nadal: $29M – Tennis
9. Valentino Rossi: $28M – Motorcycle Racing
10. Maria Sharapova: $26.5 M – Tennis

Free Plays

(MLB) San Diego (Richard) -131 over Houston (Rodriguez) 3:35 PM EST

Bovada: The offshore Sports Book gold standard for 17 years

(MLB) Cincinnati (Latos) -140 over Arizona (Kennedy)

New accounts at Top Bet and EZ Street get automatic 50% bumps

(MLB) Angels (Wilson)/Detroit (Fister) Under 9 +115

Diamond Sports International: It’s only a game until you bet it

(MLB) Seattle (Millwood)/Kansas City (Chen) Over 9 -125

Earn Bet Points with EVERY wager you make at Bookmaker