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03/18/2010 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thanks to a late run down the stretch, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish earned the six seed in the South Region and will open the NCAA Tournament with a first round meeting against the 11th-seeded Old Dominion Monarchs at the New Orleans Arena this afternoon.
The Monarchs will be making their 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but in the previous nine showings, the team has gone just 2-9. This will be the third NCAA Tournament for ODU since 2005, and the first since 2007 when the team was bounced from the event in the first round by Butler. This season the Monarchs collected an impressive 26 victory and earned an automatic bid with a 60-53 victory over William & Mary to earn the Colonial Athletic Association tournament title.
The Fighting Irish were bounced from the Big East Tournament with a loss to West Virginia (53-51) in the semifinal round, but the team racked up six straight victories beforehand to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame was just 10-8 in Big East play, but the team finished with 23 overall victories, landing the squad in the Big Dance for the sixth time in the last 10 seasons. This is the 30th appearance for Notre Dame in this event, as the team is 30-33 in its previous 29 showings. In 2008, the Irish opened the tournament with a victory over George Mason, but followed that with a loss to Washington State.
This will be the second-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. The only other matchup took place during the 1983-84 season, ands the Irish defeated ODU, 67-62, in the NIT.
The winner of this matchup will move into the second round where they will face either Baylor or Sam Houston State.
Defensive play has been the main reason for Old Dominion's success this season, as the Monarchs are limiting the opposition to just 57.1 ppg. Teams are shooting 40.1 percent from the floor, but behind the arc is where the Monarchs really step up their efforts, as the team is holding opponents to a woeful 30.0 percent clip from long range. At the other end of the floor the team has not enjoyed similar success. In fact, Old Dominion comes into this tournament with just one player averaging double figures, and that is Gerald Lee, who is posting 14.6 ppg, to go along with 4.9 rpg. Frank Hassell has been the second best option on the season and is currently netting 8.9 ppg, to go along with a team-high 6.6 rpg for ODU, which as a whole is producing 67.5 ppg, behind a 44.8 percent shooting effort.
The Irish are anchored by the play of Luke Harangody down low. The talented forward has been coming off the bench of late and it has paid off for the Irish. Notre Dame possesses other talented players, but the heart and soul of this squad is Harangody, who finished in the top 10 in the nation in scoring with 22.4 ppg. Harangody, who is shooting 48.6 percent on the season, is also leading the Irish with 9.2 rpg. However, the senior has not done all the work on his own, as Tim Abromaitis and Ben Hansbrough have also made solid contributions throughout the campaign. Abromaitis has been a dangerous weapon from behind the arc, connecting on 44.0 percent of his three-point attempts and comes into this matchup averaging 16.3 ppg. As for Hansbrough, he is netting 11.8 ppg for Notre Dame and has also dished out 150 assists on the season. Running the show on the floor has been Tory Jackson, who has distributed a team-best 181 assists, to go along with 9.8 ppg for the Irish, who as a whole are producing 76.0 ppg.
<< Flyers vie to end 13-year winless drought in Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers have goaltender Michael Leighton to
thank for keeping them alive in the postseason race. However, the team will be
without its waiver-wire gem when it goes for its first win at Dallas in over
13 years
<< Road-weary Sabres make a stop in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An inability to win on the road has plagued the Buffalo
Sabres as of late. The Northeast Division leaders will attempt to reverse that
negative trend when the team visits a venue it's had great success in during
recent years
<< Surging Wild head to Nashville for key late-season clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators are riding
three-game winning streaks, but only one club is in the playoff picture.
The Wild look to continue their playoff push this evening at Bridgestone Arena
versus the
<< Devils visit surging Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Although it's highly unlikely to result in a playoff spot,
the Toronto Maple Leafs have put together one of their best stretches of the
season over the past week. They'll try to sustain that newfound momentum into
a three-gam
No. 2 seed Kansas State begins tournament play against North Texas >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expecting big things in the 72nd NCAA
Tournament, the Kansas State Wildcats begin play in their 24th appearance in
the event as they tangle with the North Texas Mean Green at the Ford Center in
Oklahoma City
No. 1 seed Kentucky opens NCAA Tournament against 16th-seeded ETSU >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats begin play
in the 2010 NCAA Tournament with first-round clash against the 16th-seeded
East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the East Region.
The winner of this clash will take
Grizzlies battle Lobos in first round of 2010 NCAA Tournament >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament's
East Region features a matchup between the third-seeded New Mexico Lobos and
the 14th-seeded Montana Grizzlies.
The winner of this tilt will battle either sixth-se
Top-seeded Kansas opens tournament play against Lehigh >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks begin
their quest for a national title tonight, as they take on the 16th-seeded
Lehigh Mountain Hawks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's Midwest
Regional at the Ford C
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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