Montana to play at Tennessee in 2011
NCAA Football Betting Lines
07/27/2010 - Missoula, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Montana football team will open its 2011 season with a game at the University of Tennessee.
The matchup, scheduled for Sept. 3, is the first between the visitors from the Big Sky Conference and the Southeastern Conference power. Montana, the FCS runner-up in each of the past two seasons, will play an FBS program for the first time since losing 41-7 at the University of Iowa on Sept. 2, 2006.
The Grizzlies, who will receive a $500,000 guarantee for the game, will likely play in front of the largest crowd in school history. The capacity at the Volunteers' Neyland Stadium is 102,038. The largest crowd Montana has played in front of is 70,585 - in the 2006 loss at Iowa.
"This will be one of the biggest games we've played in our history, not to mention that we will be playing in front of the biggest crowd ever to watch a Grizzly football team play," Montana athletic director Jim O'Day said. "Our student-athletes really enjoyed the opportunity to play Oregon (2005) and Iowa the past few years, and this is another chance to get them in front of a big crowd and give them a taste of big-time football.
"This is one of those situations that it just made sense to play an opponent of this caliber, "O'Day continued. "We are going to be compensated well for it. Plus, we have connections down there with our many FCS championship trips to Chattanooga, and our relationship with (head coach) Jeff Fisher and the Tennessee Titans. As most Griz fans know, Jeff's son, Brandon, was an outstanding linebacker for us, plus (former UM All-American) Tim Hauck is on the Titans' coaching staff, and (also a former Griz All-American) Marc Mariani is currently on their roster."
Tennessee was previously scheduled to play North Texas in Knoxville to open its 2011 season, but UNT is opening a new football stadium and wanted to begin the season at home in its Denton, Texas, facility.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Longtime Pittsburgh Penguins public address announcer John Barbero has died of a brain tumor at 65.His family says he died Monday night.Barbero worked Penguins games for more than 30 years, beginning in 1972. His last one was the te
<< Yao says he may quit if foot doesn't fully heal
BEIJING (AP) -Houston Rockets center Yao Ming says he may quit basketball after next season if he doesn't fully recover from his foot injury.In comments to Chinese state media Monday, Yao sounded far from optimistic about his future and also made a
<< Giants rookie safety Chad Jones leaving hospital
NEW YORK (AP) -New York Giants rookie safety Chad Jones is heading home to New Orleans after a nearly monthlong stay in the hospital.The Giants say the third-round draft pick from LSU was scheduled to be released from the Hospital for Special Surger
<< Ivanovic wins, Safina loses in first round in Stanford
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1s Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and
Dinara Safina of Russia had different results in their respective first-round
matches as wild cards Monday at the $700,000 Bank of the West Classic tennis
event.
<< Marlins put Coghlan on DL
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins left fielder Chris
Coghlan went on the 15-day disabled list Monday night due to a torn meniscus
in his right knee.
Coghlan, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, is hit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have been scoring runs in bunches during a current three-game winning streak. With the way Carl Pavano has pitched of late, the American League Central contenders may not need such an offensive outburst wh
Lee goes for Rangers in opener with A's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cliff Lee only has one victory since joining the Rangers by
way of a trade, but the club is expecting many more down the road.
Lee will try to build off that win this evening when Texas begins a three-game
series versus th
Shields and Verlander square off at the Trop >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After being on the receiving end of several no-hitters over
the past year, the Tampa Bay Rays finally got one of their own last night.
Fresh off Matt Garza's pitching gem, the Rays will attempt to pin an eighth
consecutive
Blue Jays try to continue mastery of Orioles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Plenty of teams have given the Baltimore Orioles trouble
over the course of this season, but none has proven to be a tougher opponent
than the Toronto Blue Jays.
Having won all 10 meetings between the American League East
Dodgers hope to gain some ground in San Diego >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After stumbling out of the gate to begin the second half,
the Dodgers have finally started to turn things around. It's a good thing,
because the National League West-leading Padres have had no such troubles
since the All-Star
2007 online football betting Preview
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.
2007 College Football Betting Preview
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.
Las Vegas Sports Lines
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.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.