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Kansas looms large in the MidwestNCAA Basketball Betting Lines03/15/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas Jayhawks began the 2009-10 college basketball season atop the preseason polls, and so far the voters have been spot on, as the Big 12 champs will carry that top ranking into the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks (32-2) are the top-seeded team in the tourney's Midwest Region, which will play its final games at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. If Kansas is to win its second title in three years, though, it will have to motor through some heady competition to gain its 14th Final Four appearance and fourth NCAA crown. Bill Self's club does have one major factor going for them going into the first round: experience. Several of his players have been there and done that, defeating Derrick Rose and Memphis in the 2008 title game. The two leaders this season, senior guard Sherron Collins and junior center Cole Aldrich, were both on that squad, and both figure to have a major say in who comes out of the bracket. "It was anti-climatic to know that we would be a No. 1 seed because we basically knew that going into the day," Self said. "To be the overall No. 1 it is good even though it doesn't mean anything. It will be a good recruiting mail-out this week. We are excited but know that we have a lot of work ahead of us." The Jayhawks will face off against 16th-seeded Lehigh (22-10) in its opening game Thursday night in Oklahoma City. Staring at the Jayhawks on the opposite end of the bracket is second-seeded Ohio State (27-7), which boasts National Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner. Turner recently led the Buckeyes through a gauntlet to win the Big Ten Tournament, making an incredible three-point shot to beat Michigan before a double-overtime victory over Illinois and a rout of Minnesota in Sunday's final. OSU has also tasted some recent success in the NCAA Tournament, and the last time the team won the conference tourney, it finished as the runner-up to Florida in 2007. The 15th-seed in the Midwest and Ohio State's first-round opponent is the Big West Champion UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (20-9). The third seed in this region is the traditional power Georgetown (23-10). The Hoyas, who were seeded eighth in the Big East Tournament but managed to come within seconds of beating West Virginia in the title game, are looking for their second Final Four appearance in four years after joining the Buckeyes in the 2007 quartet. Georgetown's first-round opponent tilted the NCAA field as possibly the biggest bracket buster of Championship Week. That is 14th-seeded Ohio (21-14), which, as a ninth seed, captured the MAC Tournament title. The Bobcats survived an overtime test in their opening round matchup before downing top- seeded Kent State, fourth-seeded Miami-Ohio and third-seeded Akron to earn their first NCAA tourney berth since 2005. The Bobcats, who have not won a game in the NCAA Tournament since 1983, will get that chance Thursday night in Providence. "You can't get to this part of the year and overlook anyone," head coach John Thompson III said. "The teams are too well-coached, too poised. They won their league or they're playing well to get an at-large bid - that's what makes (the NCAA Tournament) so special." Sitting fourth is surprise ACC regular season co-champion Maryland (23-8), which earned its third fourth seed since the 2003-04 season. Since the Terrapins won it all in 2002, the team has advanced past the second round just once. The Terrapins will play Friday in Spokane against Houston (19-15), which is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992 after a shocking run to the Conference USA title. The Cougars are widely known for the successful "Phi Slama Jama" era from 1982-84, which was highlighted by two runner-up finishes thanks to now-NBA Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. This Cougars team doesn't figure to make as deep of a run, but should they upset Maryland, it would be the first tourney win for the school since Olajuwon's and Drexler's run to the title game in '84. Last year's runner-up Michigan State (24-8) is the fifth seed after sharing the Big Ten regular season title. Tom Izzo has had numerous successes with the Spartans during his time in East Lansing and has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in three straight years. The Spartans will battle with 12th-seeded New Mexico State (22-11), which was a surprise winner in the WAC Tournament over Utah State on Saturday. The Aggies are making only their second tournament appearance since 2000. In a twist of irony in the Midwest Region, the sixth and seventh seeds -- Tennessee (25-8) and Oklahoma State (22-10) -- represent the only two losses Kansas has endured this season. Luckily for the Jayhawks, those two squads are on the lower half of the bracket and would likely have to beat Ohio State and/or Georgetown to have another shot at the top-ranked team in the country. Having those two teams in the Midwest, though, shows the enormous depth in the region that all these teams face. Tennessee's opponent in the opening round will be 11th-seeded San Diego State (25-8), which beat a top-10 team in New Mexico before topping the UNLV for the Mountain West Tournament title. The Aztecs are making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2005. SDSU has never advanced out of the first round. Seeded 10th and facing Oklahoma State is ACC Tournament runner-up Georgia Tech (22-12), which is making its first tourney appearance since 2007. The Yellow Jackets have not tasted any success in the NCAAs since a surprise runner-up finish in 2004. The 8-9 matchup features a pair of mid-majors in UNLV (25-8) and Northern Iowa (28-4). The Rebels, who used to be one of college basketball's big powers, won the entire tournament in 1990 amid a stretch of three Final Four appearances in five years. The team has made somewhat of a return to prominence in recent years, as this is its third NCAA Tournament appearance in four seasons. Should UNLV get past the ninth-seeded Panthers, who are looking for their first NCAA tourney win since 1990, the Rebels will likely have an opportunity to avenge its 2008 tournament loss to Kansas.
<< Duke, Big East highlight South
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hours after winning their record 18th ACC Tournament title on Sunday, the Duke Blue Devils were awarded the No. 1 seed in the South Region in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Duke (29-5), backed by the triumv
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NCAA Capsules-West Regional >>
Syracuse, N.Y., 28-4.Nickname: Orangemen. Coach: Jim Boeheim.Conference: Big East. Bid: At large.Region: West. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 50-32, 32 years. Last appearance: 2009.Scoring: Team (81.5); Wesley Johnson 16.0; Andy Rautins 11.7; Kris J
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 millionIn 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.
NFL Football BettingBILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover. BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week. COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy. TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win. RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win. PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start. JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch. SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do. VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams. DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home. SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one. BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1. BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses. RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw. PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting. |
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