UCLA remains on top of poll; Clemson and Tennessee join Top 25
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
12/25/2006 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the fifth consecutive week, UCLA remained atop the Associated Press college basketball poll.
The Bruins (11-0) crushed Michigan, 92-55, and also dismantled Sam Houston State this past week and accumulated 71 first-place tallies and 1,799 points in the nationwide media panel of voters.
North Carolina (10-1) received the only first-place vote that UCLA did not get and remained at No. 2 followed by the Florida Gators, who destroyed Ohio State, 86-60, on Saturday. The Buckeyes, who were the third-ranked team in the country last week, fell three spots to No. 6.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Badgers retained the No. 4 ranking they achieved last week. The Badgers (12-1), who topped Pacific over the weekend, remain at their highest ranking in program history.
Perennial power Duke moved up one spot and rounds out the top five.
Arizona checks in No. 7 with 1,347 points, only four behind the Buckeyes, followed by Alabama, Kansas and Pittsburgh. Pitt was previously ranked seventh in the nation, but lost to then 15th-ranked Oklahoma State.
The next 10 teams consist of Texas A&M and Connecticut followed by the OSU Cowboys (12-1), who moved up to No. 13 due to their aforementioned win over Pitt. Washington, Butler, Wichita State are next with LSU, Marquette, Notre Dame and Oregon rounding out the top 20.
LSU (7-3) had been ranked No. 12, but fell five spots after an 88-72 loss to then No. 17 Washington.
The final five are Tennessee (10-2), which was unranked last week, Memphis, Air Force, Nevada and the Clemson Tigers (12-0), who are one of four undefeated teams in the poll this week. The Bruins, UConn (10-0) and Oregon (11-0) also do not have a loss yet this season.
Gonzaga and Syracuse dropped out of the top 25. The former had been No. 22 but lost to Duke, while the Orange, who were previously the 23rd-ranked squad, dropped an 84-79 decision to unranked Drexel.
Due to the holidays and the semester break, there is only one game between ranked teams this week. That will occur on Sunday, when No. 14 Washington travels to Pauley Pavilion to take on the top-ranked Bruins.
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maryland, North Carolina, and now Duke, hold the top three spots in the latest Associated Press women's college basketball poll as Oklahoma tumbled out of the third spot and all the way down to eight. With
<< Heat, Lakers meet for third straight year on Christmas Day
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers and the defending world champion
Miami Heat hook up for the third straight year on Christmas Day, as the teams
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On Christmas Day in
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NEW YORK (AP) -The 83 remaining free agents:AMERICAN LEAGUEBALTIMORE (4) - Bruce Chen, lhp; Russ Ortiz, rhp; Fernando Tatis, 3b; Chris Widger, c.BOSTON (4) - Keith Foulke, rhp; Gabe Kapler, of; Mark Loretta, 3b; Trot Nixon, of.CHICAGO (3) - Sandy Al
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of the players placed on the inactive squad for this week's NFL games. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT DALLAS COWBOYS, 5:00 P.M. (ET) Eagles - RB Ryan Moats, G Max Jean-Gilles, T Pat McCoy
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Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade had a spectacular Christmas
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Super Bowl 2009 Betting
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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