The Seattle Seahawks have informed T. J. Houshmandzadeh that if a trade doesn't develop before the Saturday roster cuts deadline, he will be released NFL Network's Jason La Confora reports.

Houshmandzadeh, who had 79 catches for 911 yards in his one season with the Seahawks, appears to have become expendable with the shocking emergence of former 2005 NFL Draft bust Mike Williams. Unfortunately for Seattle, Housh will still receive the $7 million guaranteed from the contract he signed with the team last summer.

La Confora adds that Houshmandzadeh is simply not a good fit for Pete Carroll's system, citing Williams and Deion Branch as better options. If Housh is released Oakland, Minnesota, and Washington are possible destinations.

The loss of Housh probably won't hit a passing attack that has looked solid in preseason. With Williams emerging and the team in a relatively weak NFC West, they could exceed expectations. NFL odds in the Bodog Sportsbook have listed the Total as 7.5 for Seattle.

Ready to crack pads and river dance on NFL Sunday? Get in the game by taking NFL Odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.

All the news coming out of the NCAA offices have been negative this week, with it suspending practically half of the North Carolina Tar Heels – well, really the school is doing it but because of an NCAA investigation – as well as Alabama star linebacker Marcell Dareus. But for once there is some positive news: former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, ruled ineligible by the NCAA earlier this week to play for Mississippi this year, has suddenly been cleared to play for the Rebels.

And really the NCAA had no reason to rule him ineligible in the first place. Masoli graduated from Oregon and enrolled in a Parks and Recreation graduate program at Ole Miss — a program not offered at Oregon. That made him eligible to apply for an NCAA waiver of the transfer rule that forces athletes to sit out one season if transferring from one FBS school to another. The NCAA, without explaining why, granted that waiver on Friday.

In a press release announcing that he wouldn't be eligible until 2011, the NCAA had said Masoli's request violated the intent of the waiver: "The waiver exists to provide relief to student-athletes who transfer for academic reasons to pursue graduate studies, not to avoid disciplinary measures at the previous university."

Masoli led Oregon to the Rose Bowl last season before being dismissed from the program this summer after two offseason run-ins with police. Included in Masoli's appeal to the NCAA was the fact he was kicked off only the football team, not the university.

Ole Miss plays I-AA Jacksonville State on Saturday. Sophomore Nathan Stanley, who completed 11 of 23 passes for 163 yards, one touchdown and one interception last season as Jevan Snead's backup, is likely to start but Masoli should play – and most expect Masoli to win the starting job within a few games. The Rebels probably won’t be a Bodog NCAA betting underdog until Oct. 16 at Alabama, so Masoli should be well in sync with the offense by then. Suddenly the Rebels might make some noise in the SEC West.

Bet on Ole Miss futures at Bodog

Our English Premier League weekend glance continues today’s look at Bodog’s soccer odds. Tottenham vs. West Bromwich kicks off the weekend.

Tottenham (-110) dropped to 1-1-1 after losing 1-0 to Wigan Athletic last week, but the club got a big boost when it gained permission to sign Rafael Van der Vart. The Dutch star, who comes over from Real Madrid, is an attacking midfielder who should add some offense to Tottenham. He has played for the Netherlands at two European Championships and two World Cups. The offense will be welcome, as Tottenham has been shut out in two of its first three Premier matches this year.

West Bromwich (+300) made a signing of its own this week, picking up Paul Scharner. Scharner gives West Brom a lot of flexibility, as he can play both midfield and defense. The former Wigan player was available on free transfer for a while and had been linked to several premier clubs. He joins a West Bromwich squad that has opened the season 1-2 after last week’s 1-0 loss to Liverpool.

Manchester United makes its next match against Everton. Man U (-135) is off to a sluggish 1-1-1 start after losing 1-0 to Sunderland last week. The club is hoping the upset loss will light a fire under its players, who have been shut out in two of their three matches so far this season.

Everton is a big underdog with +360 but, after seeing Sunderland take care of business against Manchester United, there is hope. Everton is still searching for its first win of the season after losing 1-0 to Aston Villa last Sunday. The club scored its lone goal of the season in a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton a few weeks ago.

Bodog has all your English Premier League odds and props

We kick off Bodog soccer odds this week with our MLS weekend glance. There are plenty of games to choose from, but Saturday’s Dallas-Toronto matchup (8:30 p.m. ET) looks like the best of the bunch.

Toronto (+335) and Dallas (-135) each hold third place in their respective conferences; with a 9-10-2 record, FC Dallas is just six points behind first-place Los Angeles. Toronto FC, meanwhile, owns a 7-6-8 record but trails No. 1 Columbus by 14 points.

Despite looking relatively even on paper, Dallas is a big favorite thanks to a major slump by the Canadian squad. Toronto is coming off a nil-nil draw with Real Salt Lake, dropping the club’s record to 1-3-1 in its last five matches on MLS odds. Toronto has struggled to find the back of the net, scoring just three times in that stretch. The club isn’t known for a high-flying offense to begin with, but that’s certainly not getting it done.

Dallas is also coming off a nil-nil draw after facing Columbus last week. The team has been much hotter than Toronto overall, though, winning three of its past four matches. FC Dallas has shown a much more potent offense than Toronto, racking up seven goals in those four games.

Toronto and Dallas met fairly recently, settling for a 1-1 draw in Toronto on July 24. Toronto took the lead with a goal from Maicon Santos in the 61st minute, but the Texas club stole a draw when Milton Rodriguez scored the equalizer in the 77th minute.

Also be sure to check out Real Salt Lake and New York this week (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET). Both teams remain in the hunt for first place; this will be their first meeting of the season.

Get your MLS odds all season at Bodog

This week’s NASCAR odds lead off with the Trucks Series, as the Built Ford Tough 225 waves the green flag on Friday evening. Todd Bodine is the favorite with 4/1 odds.

Bodine also sits atop this year’s NASCAR truck standings. The Germain Motors driver has been very consistent, racking up a dozen Top-5 finishes among his 17 starts. Victories have been a little harder to come by, with just three on the season. That said, Bodine has been on fire lately, and two of those three wins came in his last four races. His other two finishes during that span were a sixth and a second (last week in Illinois). Bodine is a good bet to deliver the goods again.

He’s not going to run away with it, however. Ron Hornaday is right on his tail with 5/1 odds to win the Built Ford Tough 225. Hornaday ranks fourth in the 2010 standings and has been running quite well over the past few weeks, earning a third-place finish in three straight starts. Hornaday’s lone win of the season came in the AAA Insurance 300 in July but, with 11 Top-10 finishes on the year, he’s likely to be in the hunt this week.

Aric Almirola rounds out the top three contenders this week with 8/1 odds. Almirola trails only Bodine in the Truck Series standings, though he’s not quite the threat to make the podium like Bodine and Hornaday. Almirola has reached the Top-5 just six times in his 17 starts this year, but he does own a Top-10 finish in 13 races. He’s also won twice this season, though he hasn’t captured the checkered flag since June at the VFW 200.

Johnny Sauter and Timothy Peters complete the Top 5 on this week’s NASCAR Truck Series odds with 9/1 each.

Get all your Truck Series odds and props at Bodog

She didn’t exactly get off to a roaring start in her last match, however. Despite facing Rebecca Marino – the 193rd ranked player in the world — Williams fell behind early. She found a groove, though, and ripped off six consecutive points for a tie break before cruising in the final set (she won 7-6 (3), 6-3).

Williams is seeded third in the tournament. It’s clear she’s still trying to shake off some rust, as it was just her second match since late June, when she was surprised in the quarters at Wimbledon. She was forced to pull out of a couple of tune-up tourneys in August because of a bum knee.

An upset in this round, at the U.S. Open of all places, would be surprising. Not only does Williams own back-to-back titles at Flushing Meadows — although she hasn’t won since 2001 — Williams has never lost earlier than the fourth round (that’s where she was eliminated last year).

Minella, meanwhile, faces a rather daunting task. In fact, this marks the first time in her career she’s ever faced a player ranked among the top 50. Minella, 24, is playing in her first Grand Slam event of the year, and she fell in qualifying at Flushing Meadows in last year’s tourney.

The France native opened this year’s U.S. Open with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Polona Hercog. She followed that up with a great upset victory — Minella blistered in a 6-4, 6-0 over Tzvetana Pironkova, the world’s 34th ranked player. Minella, by contrast, isn’t even ranked.

Get all your U.S. Open odds and props at Bodog

Nadal (-2500) may be a huge favorite over Istomin (+900), but that doesn’t mean things will be easy. The Spaniard struggled in the first round against Teymuraz Gabashvili, winning 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. That said, the world’s top-ranked player came through when it mattered most, saving the only break point he faced.

In fact, Nadal was probably more impressive than ever considering he had his serve absolutely rolling — a facet of his game that is oft-criticized. He slammed the ball at up to 131 mph and it went a long way to putting down the pesky Gabashvili. There were no break points in the entire match until three-all in the third set, but Gabashvili finally gave one away by putting a ball into the net.

Thankfully for Nadal, he’s had a few days to rest — the match lasted over three hours and he was under siege for most of the evening, facing 49 winners (a whopping 19 more than he forced Gabashvili to deal with).

The victory extended Nadal’s winning streak in Grand Slam events to 15 matches, including wins at the French Open and Wimbledon. Although he has eight major championships, Nadal has never made it past the semifinals at the U.S. Open.

Istomin met some resistance from Maximo Gonzalez in his first match before smoothly sailing in the final set, winning 7-5, 7-5, 6-1. The Uzbekistan native, 23, has never been ranked higher than 39th in the world. He is, however, playing pretty good tennis heading into the U.S. Open; Istomin cruised to the finals of the ATP Pilot Pen tournament, his last appearance before visiting Flushing Meadows.

Get all your U.S. Open odds and props at Bodog

Cleveland Browns rookie running back Montario Hardesty, a second-round pick out of Tennessee, had been so impressive in OTAs and practices that he was pushing Jerome Harrison for the team’s starting featured back role.

Well, forget that now.

Hardesty left Thursday’s preseason finale against the Bears after injuring his left knee while trying to make a cut on a 2-yard run. There are reports now that he tore his ACL and is done for the year. That’s good news for Harrison but bad for the offensively challenged Browns, who open the regular season next Sunday at Tampa Bay – bet on the game with Bodog’s NFL odds. Thursday’s game was Hardesty's preseason debut after he suffered a bone bruise in his right knee at the start of training camp. He carried seven times for 25 yards and a 1-yard touchdown before leaving.

The Browns traded a third-round pick and two fifth-rounders to move up to draft Hardesty back in April. This would be Hardesty’s second serious knee injury as he suffered a torn right ACL as a freshman in 2005 with the Vols and sat out the season. He ran for 1,345 yards last season at Tennessee.

Peyton Hillis will now back up Harrison, who is probably too small at 5-foot-9, 205 pounds to get a ton of carries. Although thanks to Harrison, the Browns led the NFL in rushing over the last five games of 2009. James Davis, who gained 66 yards on 15 carries and caught five passes for 53 yards before leaving with a leg injury in the fourth quarter Thursday, now probably makes the roster as the No. 3 running back.

Bet a player and bet on Cleveland Browns futures – as bad as they may be – at Bodog

By now you of course now what transpired this offseason at a Georgia bar between Big Ben and a co-ed, which led to a six-game suspension for the QB. He met with commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday – reportedly hoping to get the suspension reduced as low as two games – and Goodell cut it to the expected four games. Roethlisberger remains the only NFL player to be suspended under the league’s personal conduct penalty who was not charged with a crime or arrested (that was his argument for getting it reduced even further).

That means Roethlisberger will be eligible to return to the Steelers after the team's Oct. 3 game against the Ravens. This works out well because the Steelers have a bye in Week 5, so it will allow Roethlisberger to get in sync with the offense because he’s allowed no contact with the team during the suspension. Pittsburgh comes out of the bye to face the Browns.

Meanwhile, Leftwich reportedly either sprained or tore a ligament in his knee in the preseason finale on Thursday night (depending on which report you ready) and is at least out for Week 1 (and probably longer) against the Falcons, meaning third-year pro Dennis Dixon will make his second career start. Dixon actually had outperformed Leftwich during the preseason – Dixon was 23-for-32 for 327 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Pittsburgh also has Charlie Batch on the roster; he was likely to be cut before Leftwich’s injury.

Be a player and put your money down on Pittsburgh Steelers futures at Bodog if you dare!

Are there NFL odds on whether Pittsburgh Steeler safety Troy Polamalu will cut his hair?

If so it's easy money. Not only is Polamalu never going to chop his flowing locks, but every strand has been insured for $1 million by Head & Shoulders.

The Lloyds of London policy was taken out Monday by the Proctor & Gamble Co. brand and will last over the next two years.

"They've created the first-ever insurance policy to protect his iconic mane for the entire NFL season," Proctor & Gamble stated in a release.

We're not sure why the shampoo company would decide to put up that much cash just for some dude's mane, but considering current Washington Redskins running back Larry Johnson has tackled the Pro Bowl safety by the hair before, Head & Shoulders made sure  they had a backup plan.

The question is, what happens if it suddenly gets cut off? Does Polamalu get a payout, or does Head & Shoulders get paid considering they put up the cash in the first place? This sounds like a publicity stunt to us… a good one.

Think you can tackle Polamalu's manly mane? Tackle some NFL odds instead in the Bodog Sportsbook!