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01/18/2007 - Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shan Foster scored a game-high 27 points as Vanderbilt stormed past 10th-ranked Alabama, 94-73, in a Southeastern Conference showdown at Memorial Coliseum.
Derrick Byars contributed 15 points, while Ross Neltner added 14 and also pulled down six rebounds for the Commodores (12-6, 2-2 SEC), who hit a season- high 15 three-pointers in 28 attempts and shot 58 percent from the floor, their best effort of the season. Dan Cage and Alex Gordon rounded out the players in double-figures, each scoring 12 points.
Mykal Riley had 21 points for the Crimson Tide (14-3, 1-2), who have dropped eight straight road contests against Vanderbilt. Jermareo Davidson scored 18 points, Richard Hendrix donated 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Alonzo Gee chipped in with 11 points and eight boards.
The Commodores eventually grabbed a 19-16 edge on Ted Skuchas' jumper, a shot that started an 11-2 run to open a 28-20 lead with 7:41 to play in the first half.
Alabama continued to chip away at the deficit, but a suddenly hot Vanderbilt offense got nearly every shot to fall as the seconds ticked off the clock. A Byars three-point bucket built the margin to 43-30, in the Commodores' favor, with 3:17 to play.
The Crimson Tide made just three shots from the floor over the final five minutes, as Vanderbilt built a 54-37 lead heading into intermission. Foster ended with 18 points in the opening 20 minutes, while the Commodores made a scorching 68 percent of their shots from the hardwood.
Despite trailing badly most of the second half, Alabama managed to pull within nine, 76-67, with 8:28 remaining in the contest.
The Crimson Tide, however, did not make another shot from the floor until there was just 1:22 left to play. By that point, Vanderbilt had built a 19- point cushion and cruised to the finish.
Game Notes
Vanderbilt won the battle of the boards, 26-20...The Crimson Tide made just 36 percent of their shots from the hardwood...Alabama holds a 65-60 edge in the all-time series with Vanderbilt, but the Crimson Tide have not won at Memorial Coliseum since 1990...The Commodores upset a ranked team for the second time in eight days, as they also defeated then-No. 16 Tennessee 82-81 on January 10.
<< Zetterberg leads Wings past Predators
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Henrik Zetterberg scored twice and added an
assist to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators
at Joe Louis Arena.
Pavel Datsyuk registered four assists and Tomas Holmstrom picke
<< Blake advances into third round at Aussie Open
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded American James Blake
was an early second-round winner on Thursday at the Australian Open.
Blake had little trouble in his match against fellow countryman Alex
Kuznetsov, as he rolled to
<< Strong third carries Sabres past Bruins
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Campbell scored the go-ahead marker in
the third period, and Ryan Miller made 25 saves as the Buffalo Sabres doubled
up the Boston Bruins, 6-3, on the back end of a home-and-home series at HSBC
Arena.
<< Charles, Huskies rout Providence
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles scored 18 points as sixth-
ranked Connecticut routed Providence, 96-53, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
Mel Thomas added 17 points for the Huskies (15-2, 5-0 Big East), who rebounded
from its
No. 16 LSU topples Ole Miss >>
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tasmin Mitchell posted 19 points on 6-of-14
shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead 16th-ranked LSU past Ole Miss, 62-55.
Terry Martin scored 15 points for the Tigers (13-4, 2-1 Southeastern), who
have
Tolbert, Prowell lift Auburn over No. 22 Tennessee >>
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frank Tolbert poured in 24 points and Quan
Prowell added 21 points and eight rebounds as Auburn rattled off 18
consecutive points in the second half to topple 22nd-ranked Tennessee, 83-80.
Rashe
Florida State upends No. 23 Virginia Tech >>
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Thornton's game-high 27 points and 13
rebounds led Florida State to an 82-73 win over 23rd-ranked Virginia Tech at
the Tucker Center.
Toney Douglas added 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the flo
Hawks picks up first win in Minnesota in nearly a decade >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson poured in 29 points and doled
out eight assists, and the Atlanta Hawks ended almost a decade of futility in
Minnesota with a 105-88 thrashing of the Timberwolves.
Josh Smith scored 21 point
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.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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