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03/13/2010 - Burlington. VT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A berth in the NCAA Tournament is on the line in Burlington today, as the second-seeded Vermont Catamounts battle the fourth-seeded Boston University Terriers in the 2010 America East Conference Championship Game.
Boston University crushed fifth-seeded Hartford by 41 points in the quarterfinal round before edging top-seeded Stony Brook, 70-63, in a semifinal matchup last Sunday. The Terriers, who are now 19-12 overall, have won this tournament five times, more than any other active member of the NEC. Still, the program hasn't captured the title since 2002 and last reached the championship game in 2003.
As for Vermont, it beat up on seventh-seeded UMBC in the quarterfinals and played tremendous defense in a 57-38 decision over sixth-seeded New Hampshire in the semis. Champions of this tournament on three occasions, all of which came during a spectacular run from 2003-2005, the Catamounts also lost in the title game in both 2006 and 2007. They are 24-9 overall this season and have the obvious advantage of playing at home today.
The Terriers own a 51-41 series advantage over the Catamounts, but Vermont won both meetings during the recently completed regular season.
John Holland leads a foursome of double-digit scorers for Boston University with 19.3 ppg, and he is grabbing 6.2 rpg as well. Corey Lowe checks in with 14.8 ppg and 125 assists, but his 37.4 percent shooting from the field is far from impressive. The same can be said of Jake O'Brien's 39 percent shooting, although he does contribute 13.4 ppg and 6.5 rpg. Carlos Strong rounds out the group with an even 10.0 ppg for the Terriers, who are netting 70.8 ppg while allowing 66.4 ppg. Against Stony Brook in the semifinal round of this tournament, Lowe scored 24 points off the bench to pace his squad, while Strong recorded 15 points. Both Holland and O'Brien netted 10 points apiece for BU, which committed nine fewer turnovers than the opposition.
Senior Marqus Blakely is a tremendous performer for Vermont, as he has won the America East Defensive Player of the Year award the last three seasons and is a First-Team All-league performer. Blakely leads the club in scoring (17.2 ppg), rebounding (9.1 rpg), assists (122), blocks (65) and steals (81), as his versatility is impressive. While Blakely is clearly the man to watch, he does get some help from Maurice Joseph (14.1 ppg), and Evan Fjeld (10.7 ppg). The Catamounts are generating 70.2 ppg while allowing 64.2 ppg to opponents on just 39.7 percent shooting from the field. In the semifinal victory over New Hampshire, Vermont allowed a meager 27.7 percent shooting, including 2-of-18 from three-point range. The Catamounts also forced 15 turnovers and earned a 37-30 rebounding advantage. Garvey Young led the Catamounts with 15 points, and Fjeld added 14 points. Surprisingly, Blakely was held to eight points and five rebounds.
<< Blues hope to continue surge versus Blue Jackets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A strong road trip has put the St. Louis Blues back in
contention for a postseason berth. The surging club continues its critical
swing with tonight's visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who'll be seeking a
third consecutive
<< Red Wings aim to get back in playoff picture against Sabres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finally healthy, the Red Wings' offense has looked like a
dangerous unit that could give teams trouble in the playoffs. However,
Detroit still needs to get there first.
The Red Wings will try to leap into the eighth spot i
<< Coyotes hit the road to take on Hurricanes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes will play their first road game in just
over a month this evening when they kick off a four-game swing versus the
Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center.
The Coyotes are among the league leaders with 25 home
<< Devils visit Islanders with first place in sight
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils will try to move into a first-place
tie in the Atlantic Division this evening when they take on the New York
Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
The Devils picked up their second victory in a row last night
SEC Tournament showdown pits Volunteers against Wildcats >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The semifinal round of the 2010 SEC
Tournament pits the second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats against the 15th-ranked
Tennessee Volunteers.
Up next for the winner of this game is a trip to tomorrow's championship
Commodores and Bulldogs do battle is SEC Tournament semifinals >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mississippi State Bulldogs and the 20th-
ranked Vanderbilt Commodores are set to collide in the semifinal round of the
2010 SEC Tournament.
Tomorrow, the winner of this contest will take on either Kentuck
Cougars and Miners duke it out for C-USA crown >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two programs trying to claim their first
Conference USA Tournament titles come together at the BOK Center in Tulsa, as
the top-seeded and 25th-ranked Texas-El Paso Miners clash with the seventh-
seeded Houston Couga
Rams and Owls square off in A-10 semifinals >>
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded and 17th-ranked Temple
Owls continue their run for a third straight Atlantic 10 Tournament title
today, as they clash with the fifth-seeded Rhode Island Rams in the semifinals
at Boardwalk Hal
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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