Current Yankees remember Steinbrenner

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07/13/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yankees manager Joe Girardi spoke about a time in spring training when he and his wife were walking their dog, a white bichon, on the manicured grass when he encountered owner George Steinbrenner.

He expected Steinbrenner to yell, but said Steinbrenner instead sat and talked to them, asking about the dog.

"Totally different expectation than what I had," Girardi said. "It was the first time I realized he wasn't everything he was painted to be...I gotta tell you, one of his athletes walking a little white dog, I was expecting something different."

Steinbrenner was tough and had high expectations, but was fair and revealed a softer side in personal moments. That was the consistent theme when Girardi, along with Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, third baseman Alex Rodriguez and shortstop Derek Jeter -- who are in Anaheim for the All-Star Game -- spoke about the Yankees owner, who died Tuesday morning.

Steinbrenner could be demanding and had high expectations for his team, which became clear in some anecdotes they told.

Rodriguez, who joined the Yankees in 2004, said within the first two minutes of meeting Steinbrenner, the owner told him multiple times that the Yankees have to win a World Series. Girardi said winning the World Series meant a lot to Steinbrenner, but Steinbrenner didn't take too long to enjoy the accomplishment.

"He was like, 'Okay, how are we going to win next year,'" said Girardi, who won three World Series titles with the Yankees as a player and last year as the manager.

Jeter recalled being yelled at by Steinbrenner for getting doubled off third base early in his career, despite the fact that the Yankees won.

"He was an old football coach," Jeter said. "His way, he'd sort of look at the baseball season like we played 12 games and we have to win every single day. He really expected to win, every night, every day."

But Jeter also remembered getting a call in 2003, saying The Boss wanted to talk to him. Jeter figured he was in trouble again and called Steinbrenner.

"He said how much respect he had for me and he wanted to name me captain and would I accept that role," Jeter said. "I was in Cincinnati, and it's a memory I'll always cherish not only because I thought I was getting in trouble, but because I realized how much that title meant to him and to the organization."

That was the way all four recounted how Steinbrenner revealed his true self to them, through surprising moments that told them he was more than a caricature.

Rodriguez remembered a letter delivered to him in 2004 from Steinbrenner, hand-written. At the end it said "I'm counting on you" in capital letters and with an exclamation point.

"To this day I hold this dear and still feel we're playing for him," Rodriguez said.

Pettitte said Steinbrenner would hand him bible verses before some playoff starts.

"He was tough, but he was always there to support you also," Pettitte said. "I don't think enough is said about the support he'd give you."

In addition to the dog-walking story, Girardi also remembered how Steinbrenner teased him about football. Girardi went to Northwestern, while Steinbrenner was an assistant football coach there in the 1950s.

"He would needle me about Northwestern football, and had a way of making some light moments in some tough times," Girardi said. "I enjoyed it. I never really felt that his expectations were overbearing. I just felt he wanted what we all wanted; to win."

Jeter, who knew Steinbrenner since he was 18, said Steinbrenner was a father figure to anyone in the organization, saying "he really went out of his way to take care of his players."

"He's more than just an owner to me, he's a friend of mine," Jeter said. "He'll be deeply missed."

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.