Rangers sale approved by MLB

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08/12/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball has approved the sale of the Texas Rangers from Tom Hicks to a group led by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan.

The lengthy process finally came to a close Thursday after the Greenberg-Ryan group prevailed in an auction last week to purchase the club out of bankruptcy.

Ryan and Greenberg outbid the tandem of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston businessman Jim Crane. The winning bid was $593 million, topping the Cuban-Crane reported offer of $581.2 million.

"I am very pleased that Chuck, Nolan and their impressive ownership group have been approved as the new leadership of the Texas Rangers franchise," said MLB commissioner Bud Selig. "Chuck and Nolan have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the Rangers. Their passion for Major League Baseball as a whole and particularly the future of baseball in Texas is exemplary."

Greenberg, a Pittsburgh attorney, will serve as the new ownership's control person, while the legendary Ryan will remain as the club's president.

"I can't tell you how excited we are to complete our purchase of the Texas Rangers," commented Greenberg. "It's been a long journey, but well worth the wait. We believe that this franchise belongs to all of its fans, and we pledge to be passionate in all we do to bring you the very best on and off the field."

Ryan and Greenberg had reached an agreement on January 23 to purchase the team and the land around the Ballpark in Arlington for $575 million. The Rangers filed for bankruptcy in May, but the lenders who hold the debt on Hicks Sports Group ultimately objected to the sale with the belief that the team could fetch more money.

"In addition, I want to thank the Rangers' fans for their patience throughout this difficult process," Selig added. "I am confident that Chuck, Nolan and the entire ownership group will serve as dedicated stewards of this club by building a long-term, stable franchise which values its standing in the Dallas-Fort Worth communities. I am glad that the Rangers' great season on the field will get the attention it deserves during the pennant race."

The Rangers are 65-48 and lead the American League West by 7 1/2 games over the Angels.

"We can now turn our full attention to continuing what has been a great season on the field," said Ryan. "We thank the fans and the community for their tremendous loyalty and support and we look forward to the excitement as we head down the stretch and into October."

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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