Siena captures third straight MAA title
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/08/2010 - Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Ubiles recorded a game-high 27 points along with seven rebounds to help the Sienna Saints past the Fairfield Stags in overtime, 72-65, to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.
Alex Franklin and Ryan Rossiter had double-doubles as Franklin scored 22, Rossiter scored 10, and they both grabbed 12 rebounds for the Saints (27-6), who will head into the NCAA Tournament having won their last five games.
This will mark Sienna's third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and third straight MAAC Tournament title.
Derek Needham led Fairfield (22-10) with 16 points as Anthony Johnson added 14 and 13 rebounds. The Stags were looking for their fifth tournament crown.
In the extra period, Sienna took a four-point lead at 64-60 after a Franklin and Rossiter bucket, with Rossiter's bucket coming with 3:44 left. Fairfield got within two at 64-62, but was unable to recapture the lead as the Saints scored six straight to extend the advantage to 70-64, including two Ubiles free throws with 30 seconds remaining to cement the win.
Down 11 at halftime, Sienna fought back to tie the game at 53 with 7:46 to go and took its first lead since early in the game on a Ronald Moore three- pointer with 2:07 remaining. Sienna had a 60-58 edge at that point, but Fairfield's Colin Nickerson converted on a fastbreak layup with 55 second left to tie the game at 60-60.
With the game tied at 11, Fairfield mounted a 21-8 run that gave the Stags a 32-19 lead with 6:30 left in the opening half. Sienna then scored five straight, but couldn't get within 10 as Fairfield went into halftime leading 39-28.
Game Notes
Sienna has won 38 straight games at home...Siena shot 44.1 percent over the course of the game while Fairfield made 41.5 percent of its shots.
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Loui Eriksson scored in the fifth round of the shootout and Marty Turco stopped a career-high 49 shots as Dallas rallied in the third and ended Washington's 13-game home-winning streak with a 4-3 win at Veri
<< Raiders release injury-prone Walker; Ellis let go as well
Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders released wide receiver
Javon Walker on Monday, as well as veteran defensive end Greg Ellis.
Walker inked a six-year, $55-million contract with Oakland prior to the 2008
campaign but
<< Old Dominion takes down William & Mary for CAA title
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Darius scored 12 points and Kent
Bazemore added 10 points and five assists, as Old Dominion held on to claim
the Colonial Athletic Association tournament title with a 60-53 win over
William
<< Cavs edge Spurs without LeBron
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mo Williams had 17 points, eight rebounds and
eight assists, as the Cleveland Cavaliers edged the San Antonio Spurs, 97-95,
in a matchup between shorthanded teams.
The Cavaliers rested LeBron James for a se
<< Grizzlies recall Thabeet after short stint in D-League
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies recalled center Hasheem
Thabeet from the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League on Monday.
Thabeet, who was drafted second overall in 2009, became the highest-ever draft
pick to be
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Marion posted 29 points to go with 14 rebounds, pacing the Mavericks to their 12th straight victory in a 125-112 decision over the lowly Timberwolves. Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler added 24 a
Nets still searching for winning streak, fall to Grizzlies >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay and Mike Conley each scored 21 points
to push the Memphis Grizzlies past the New Jersey Nets, 107-101, at the FedEx
Forum.
Gay grabbed 10 rebounds, while Marc Gasol also tallied a double-double wi
Gallinari and Knicks squeak past Atlanta >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danilo Gallinari made four three-pointers and
finished with a game-high 27 points, as the New York Knicks escaped with a
99-98 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden.
David Lee contributed a
Hornets hold off Warriors >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West and Marcus Thornton each scored
28 points, as the New Orleans Hornets held on for a 135-131 win over the
Golden State Warriors.
Rookie Darren Collison finished with 16 points and a caree
Siena captures third straight MAAC title >>
Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Ubiles recorded a game-high 27 points
along with seven rebounds to help the Siena Saints past the Fairfield Stags
in overtime, 72-65, to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament
Champio
Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
Football Betting
NFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .