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01/02/2010 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma State Cowboys of the Big 12 Conference and the Ole Miss Rebels of the SEC will square off in the 2010 Cotton Bowl from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Oklahoma State is set to play in a school-record fourth consecutive bowl game and seventh in the last eight seasons. The program is 12-7 all-time in bowl games, and the club is 2-1 in such tilts under current head coach Mike Gundy. Oklahoma State is 9-3 overall and finished 6-2 in Big 12 play, good enough for second in the rugged South Division. The Cowboys are, however, coming off an ugly 27-0 loss to rival Oklahoma in the finale, a setback that halted a three- game win streak.
"You have to move forward and that's something we talked about after the game," said Gundy after the Oklahoma loss. "I think the coaches have to be enthusiastic about getting back on the practice field and the chance to go to the Cotton Bowl and spend time together. That's the way we've approached it."
As for Ole Miss, it is making its 33rd appearance in a bowl game, and the 20 wins that the program has earned in the postseason ranks 12th in NCAA Division I-A history. The Rebels are 7-1 in their last eight bowl games, and they beat Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl last season in a 47-34 final. This year's squad came into the season with tremendous hype and was ranked as high as fourth in the nation. Despite falling short of expectations, the team finished a respectable 8-4 overall and 4-4 in SEC action. Houston Nutt, the head coach of the Ole Miss program, is a three-time SEC Coach of the Year.
"They can't wait," said Nutt recently of his players, who are excited about the opportunity to play in the brand new Cowboys Stadium.
It is ironic that the only previous meeting between Oklahoma State and Ole Miss took place in the 2004 Cotton Bowl, and Eli Manning led the Rebels to a 31-28 victory in that contest.
The Oklahoma State offense entered the season with perhaps the best trio of quarterback, tailback and wide receiver nationally. Signal caller Zac Robinson's numbers are far off the pace from last season when he posted 33 combined touchdowns. This year, Robinson has thrown for 15 scores while rushing for four touchdowns, and he has a mere 1,966 passing yards in 11 games. It certainly hasn't helped matters that star receiver Dez Bryant was suspended for the season early on, or that standout runner Kendall Hunter has been limited by injury and largely ineffective.
Despite all the problems, OSU is still formidable offensively, as the team is averaging 30.2 ppg and 376.2 total ypg. The best player for the offense has been tailback Keith Toston, who has racked up 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. He is also second on the team in catches, providing a viable outlet for Robinson.
"The Cotton Bowl is one of those bowls if you miss the BCS; there is really no drop off by going there," says Toston. "That's how our team feels."
The Cowboys have been a solid defensive team for much of this season, as they are holding opponents to 21.8 ppg and 329.9 total ypg. They are sixth nationally in rushing defense, allowing a mere 87.7 yards per game at a clip of 2.9 yards per carry. They pass defense has been rather mediocre, but 14 interceptions have certainly helped the cause. Donald Booker leads the Pokes with 86 total tackles, while Patrick Lavine has recorded five interceptions.
Heading into this season, Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate. As the 2009 campaign progressed, however, it became obvious that he wasn't even the best player on his own team. Dexter McCluster, a versatile performer, rushed for 985 yards and six touchdowns on only 147 carries, and he also caught 39 passes for 475 yards and three scores. McCluster threw a touchdown pass on his only attempt and will undoubtedly be the main focus of the Oklahoma State defense in this contest.
Getting back to Snead, he has completed 54.3 percent of his passes for 2,464 yards and 20 touchdowns against 17 interceptions. Shay Hodge is clearly his favorite target, and the wideout enters this bowl game with 63 catches for 1,023 yards and eight scores. Ole Miss is generating 30.2 ppg while gaining 405.6 total ypg, formidable numbers by most standards.
Defensively, Ole Miss has been strong this season, limiting opponents to 18.6 ppg and 319.3 total ypg. The Rebels have allowed just over a 50 percent completion rating to opposing quarterbacks, as they have been solid against the pass. The run defense has been strong as well, permitting 3.8 yards per carry. Greg Hardy, the best player for the defense, will sit out this game with a wrist injury, and his ability to rush the quarterback will be missed. Still, the team has managed to avoid a large number of injuries, something that many other clubs nationally simply can not claim.
Patrick Trahan and Jerrell Powe pace the Rebels with 11 TFLs apiece.
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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.
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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies
It's that time of year folks. Betting on American Idol Season 9. And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below. With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.
No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.
Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.
Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.
Odds to Win
There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.
All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.
A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.
Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.
Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol.
Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.
If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.
Elimination Props
Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.
Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.
Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups
The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.
Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.
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