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Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Saint Mary's-CA Gaels look to stay unbeaten in West Coast Conference action as they hit the road to square off with the Loyola Marymount Lions at the Gersten Pavilion. This will be the 130th meeting between the Gaels and Lions. Saint Mary's holds a 76-53 advantage in the series after winning the last 10 games in the rivalry.
The Gaels are led by the dynamic duo of Rob Jones and Matthew Dellavedova. Jones is the team's second leading scorer with an average of 14.5 ppg and the conference's leader in rebounding with 10.7 rpg The senior forward has been phenomenal as he has already recorded 13 double-doubles this season. Dellavedova is one of the best point guards in the nation this season. The Australian guard displayed his excellence as he scored 26 points, handed out seven assists, and grabbed five boards in the team's win over Santa Clara. Stephen Holt is making his mark on the defensive end, as he leads the league with 2.2 steals per game. Holt also leads the WCC with a 2.4 assist to turnover ratio. All five starters scored in double-figures in the team's last outing.
Drew Viney and Anthony Ireland will lead the Lions in this one. Viney is scoring 15.9 ppg and leading the team in rebounding (5.8). He scored 16 points and grabbed four boards in the team's win over Santa Clara. Anthony Ireland is one of the top point guards in the WCC as he is third in the league in assists with 5.2 apg. Ireland is also a capable scorer as he averages 15.9 ppg. Ashley Hamilton and Jarred DuBois are both solid contributors to the Lions' success.
Charlottesville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers will look to bounce back from its first home loss of the season as they host the Boston College Eagles for an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the John Paul Jones Arena. This will be the 14th meeting in the all-time series. The Cavaliers still hold a 7-6 advantage in the rivalry despite Boston College winning five of the last six meetings, including the last four regular season encounters.
Head coach Tony Bennett's team comes in with a 15-3 overall record and a 2-2 mark in league play after its being upset 47-45 by its in-state rivals Virginia Tech on Sunday. Virginia is an elite team defensively as it ranks second in the nation in scoring defense with an allowed average of just 50.2 ppg on 38.6 percent shooting. Only two teams have eclipsed the 60-point mark against the Cavaliers this season. Virginia's focus on the defensive end has left it with a sub par average of 64.3 ppg on the offensive end.
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Instate rivals collide in ACC action in Chapel Hill this evening, as the seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels welcome the NC State Wolfpack to the Smith Center. The Tar Heels were handed their worst loss in the Roy Williams' era with a 90-57 rout at the hands of Florida State back on January 14th. North Carolina was able to rebound from that however, with an 82-68 victory at Virginia Tech, posting the 10th win in the last 11 games and moving to 3-1 in league play.
Mark Gottfried's first season in Raleigh has been a successful one to this point. The Wolfpack enter this contest on a three-game win streak and have won nine of their last 10 overall. NC State moved to 4-1 in the ACC with last weekend's 78-73 victory at Miami-Florida.
The Wolfpack certainly have some offensive firepower, but getting into a shootout with the Tar Heels can't be a sound gameplan. UNC leads the nation in scoring at a hefty 85.1 ppg and boasts of the fifth-best scoring margin at +17.8. The Tar Heels rely on a dominant frontcourt that rivals any in the country. Sophomore forward Harrison Barnes headlines the trio and can score both inside and out, averaging 17.4 ppg and shooting 43.6 percent from behind the arc. Junior forward John Henson does his work down low, averaging a double-double with 14.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Center Tyler Zeller has been equally productive in the paint, averaging a near double-double of at 14.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per outing. The backcourt consisted of point guard Kendall Marshall (9.5 apg) and Dexter Strickland (7.5 ppg), but Strickland went down last week with a season-ending knee injury. Expect youngsters Reggie Bullock (8.4 ppg) and P.J. Hairston (7.5 ppg) to see increased minutes. Barnes poured in a game-high 27 points in the win over Virginia Tech last time out. Henson finished with 16 points and 16 boards, while Zeller had a double-double as well, with 14 points and 11 caroms.
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A top-25 showdown is on tap in Madison this evening, as the 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers play host to the 16th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in Big Ten action from the Kohl Center. Tom Crean's Hoosiers were one of the real surprise teams in the country prior to league play, as they won their first 12 games of the season. Big Ten play has presented a different set of challenges however, as Indiana has split its first eight games in-conference. The team was able to end a three-game slide last weekend with a 73-54 pasting of Penn State.
An offensive-minded team, Indiana is averaging 79.8 ppg and ranks sixth nationally in field-goal percentage (.500) and second in three-point accuracy (.449). Five players are averaging double figures, including four starters. Freshman Cody Zeller leads the charge up front with 15.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Christian Watford adds 12.6 ppg and joins Jordan Hulls (12.4 ppg) as a potent one-two punch from three-point range. The pair have combined for 78 of the team's 145 three-pointers to date. Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey give the team a couple of extra options at the offensive end with 10.5 and 10.0 ppg, respectively. In the lopsided win over Penn State, Indiana shot a sizzling .533 from the floor, including 62.5 percent in the second half to run away with the game. Zeller led the charge with 18 points. Hulls added 14, followed by Watford's 11.
Wisconsin will counter with the nation's top defense. The Badgers lead the country in both scoring defense (49.6 ppg) and field-goal percentage defense (.359). In addition, the team also boasts of a +4.2 rebounding margin and is among the top teams in the country in turnovers, committing just 9.0 miscues per game. Offensively, the team is led by playmaker Jordan Taylor. The 6-1 senior can do a little bit of everything, leading the team in scoring (14.1 ppg) and assists (4.4 apg), while also pulling down just over four rebounds per game. Jared Berggren is next in the scoring column at 11.0 ppg, while Ryan Evans and Ben Brust chip in with 9.7 and 9.5 ppg, respectively. The Badgers fought hard in earning the three-point win at Illinois last time out. Trailing by four points with only nine minutes left in the game, Wisconsin went on a 7-0 run to establish the lead and earn the win. Taylor, who scored just five points in the first half, tacked on 14 after the break to finish with a game-high 19 points. Berggren netted 18 points in support, while Brust chipped in with nine off the bench.
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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.
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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