Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
03/09/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack each scored 14 points, as the 12th-ranked Butler Bulldogs officially punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 70-45 victory over Wright State in the Horizon League Tournament Championship Game.
Howard also pulled down nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (28-4), who were appearing in their fifth straight conference title game. The win gave Butler its sixth Horizon League championship.
Zach Hahn donated 11 points off the bench for the Bulldogs, who finished a perfect 15-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season. The last time Butler went unbeaten at home was during the 2002-03 season.
N'Gai Evans finished with 13 points for the Raiders (20-12), who beat Detroit in the semifinals. Cory Cooperwood and Vaughn Duggins each chipped in nine points in defeat.
Wright State's lone conference title came in 2007 when it beat Butler.
Ahead 9-7 early on, the Bulldogs went on a brief 8-2 spurt to gain some breathing room. Mack's three-pointer capped the flurry, giving Butler a 17-9 lead with less than 12 1/2 minutes remaining.
A Howard three-point play and pair of Ronald Nored free throws put the Bulldogs ahead 32-21 with 4 1/2 minutes to go. The score was 42-28 at the half.
After trading baskets to start the second half, Butler turned the game into a rout by scoring 11 straight points. Gordon Hayward's jumper and layup extended the Bulldogs' lead to 55-30 with 14 minutes to play.
Shawn Vanzant made a pair of foul shots with 2 1/2 minutes left to make it a 69-39 contest.
Game Notes
The Bulldogs beat Milwaukee in the semis...Wright State was the second seed in this tourney...Butler shot 52.2 percent from the field, while the Raiders made just 34.6 percent of their shots...The Bulldogs own a 23-15 edge over Wright State in the all-time series...With the win, Butler tied former league member Xavier for most Horizon League Tournament titles...Butler is 30-2 at home over the past two seasons, and the Bulldogs have won 72 of their last 78 Hinkle Fieldhouse contests...The Bulldogs are now tied with Detroit for all-time Horizon League Tournament wins with 28.
<< Stillman keys rare win for Panthers over Wild
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cory Stillman forced overtime with a third-
period equalizer, then snuck a shot inside the left post for the lone score in
the shootout, as Florida downed Minnesota, 3-2, to snap a seven-game winless
stretch
<< Williams, Jazz open road trip with win over Bulls
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Deron Williams poured in 28 points with a game-
best 17 assists, as Utah used a big fourth quarter to pull away from Chicago,
132-108, at the United Center.
C.J. Miles scored 26 points off the bench, includi
<< Broncos bolster defensive line with Green, Williams
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos added a pair of defensive
linemen to their roster by signing Jarvis Green and Jamal Williams on Tuesday.
Green had spent each of his eight NFL seasons with the Patriots after New
Engl
<< Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Recaps
Winstom-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Reed scored a game-high 23 points as
he led the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats to a 64-53 win over the Florida A&M
Rattlers in the opening round of the 39th annual Mid-Eastern Athletic
Con
Blue Jackets-Ducks Sum >>
Columbus 1 2 2-5Anaheim 0 0 2-2First Period-1, Columbus, Dorsett 4 (Vermette, Blunden), 8:55.Second Period-2, Columbus, Voracek 10 (Tyutin, Stralman), 8:14 (pp). 3, Columbus, Tyutin 5 (Voracek, Umberger), 13:07.Third Period-4, Anaheim, Visnov
Kelly, Senators handle Oilers >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kelly registered a goal and an assist to
lead the Ottawa Senators to a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall
Place.
Mike Fisher, Matt Cullen and Milan Michalek also scored for the Senators, w
Blazers hold off Kings >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy scored 19 points and pulled down
eight rebounds as Portland beat Sacramento for the fifth straight time, 88-81,
at the Rose Garden.
Nicolas Batum and Andre Miller each tallied 14 points for the
Garon solid in net as Blue Jackets down Ducks >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mathieu Garon was strong with 36 saves to lead
the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.
Fedor Tyutin, Jakub Voracek and Antoine Vermette all recorded a goal and two
assi
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting