Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
03/03/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2010 Sun Belt Conference Tournament will be held entirely at neutral sites, as Convention Center Court and Summit Arena in Hot Springs, Arkansas will serve as the venues for the event. All 13 teams are set to take part in the tourney, making this one of the more challenging conference championships to win.
Troy, Middle Tennessee and North Texas all tied for the best record in conference at 13-5 and after the tie-breaker scenarios were worked out, the Trojans landed the top seed. The Mean Green took the second seed and the Raiders the third. The top three spots in this event receive a bye directly into the quarterfinals. The rest of the field is forced to play a first-round bout. The winner of this tournament gets the right to represent the Sun Belt in the NCAA Tournament.
The Sun Belt Tournament kicks off on Saturday, as the eighth-seeded Florida Atlantic Owls meet up with the ninth-seeded South Alabama Jaguars. FAU finished fourth in the East Division standings at 10-8, while USA was fifth at 8-10 in the same division. The Owls, who have 14 wins overall, have improved greatly from last season, when they finished just 6-26 and 2-16 in league play. The Jaguars meanwhile, have taken a step back from a 20-win campaign in 2008-09, as they are 16-14 at the moment. USA though, has had good success in this event, winning it five times.
The second game of the opening round features the fourth-seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers against the 13th-seeded New Orleans Privateers. The Toppers came on strong down the stretch, winning six straight games to finish third in the East Division at 12-6. The recent run also pushed the team within a victory of its sixth straight 20-win campaign. WKU is the most decorated team in this event, owning seven titles, including the last two. As for UNO, this will be its last run with the Sun Belt, as the program is expected to drop to the Division III level. The Privateers stumbled to a 3-15 finish, owning the worst record in the conference. UNO, which is 0-3 against WKU in this event, last took home the tourney title in 1996.
First-round action continues with the fifth-seeded Arkansas State Red Wolves taking on the 12th-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans. The Red Wolves placed second in the West Division at 11-7, marking their best league record since the 2006-07 season. ASU, which split a pair of meetings with UALR during the regular season, is out for its first tourney title since 1999. The Trojans, meanwhile, have never won this event despite capturing 16 victories. UALR won the West Division last season at 15-3, but stumbled to a sixth place finish this year at 4-14.
In yet another first round bout, the sixth-seeded Denver Pioneers lock horns with the 11th-seeded FIU Golden Panthers. Denver finished in a three-way tie with UL-Lafayette and FAU, but was awarded the highest seed after the tie- breaker scenario played out. The Pioneers' 17 overall wins are their most since the 2004-05 campaign, and they are 6-9 in the SBC Tournament since joining the league during the 1999-00 campaign. For FIU, it made headlines by hiring Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas to be the head coach. The move certainly brought publicity to the program, but not much else. The Panthers placed last in the East Division at 4-14 and carry an eight-game losing streak into this event.
The first round will wrap up with the seventh-seeded UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns battling the 10th-seeded UL-Monroe Warhawks. The Cajuns went from 7-11 last season to 10-8 in the conference this year. ULL is 18-13 all-time in the Sun Belt Tournament, including three championships. On the opposite side, ULM dropped its final four games of the regular season and finished fifth in the West Division at 6-12. The Warhawks lost both meetings with ULL during the season, but by a total of just seven points. ULM is just 1-3 in this event, losing in the first round each of the past two seasons.
The quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Tournament begins on Sunday and top- seeded Troy will make its first appearance against the winner of the FAU/USA matchup. The Trojans won their final five games of the regular season to earn a share of the conference title and East Division crown. It is the program's first title since winning the Atlantic Sun regular season crown in 2004. Troy, which is 2-4 all-time in this event, earned a bye for the second straight year.
The second game for the quarterfinals will feature the winners of the WKU/UNO and ASU/UALR pairings.
The second-seeded North Texas Mean Green will take the court for the first time in the quarterfinals against either ULL or ULM. The Mean Green won eight straight down the stretch to win its first-ever West Division title at 13-5. The team's No.2 seed is the highest since joining the league in 2000. At 21-8 overall, North Texas has now posted at least 20 wins in four straight seasons for the first time in school history. The Mean Green is 8-8 all-time in this tourney, winning its lone title in 2007.
The quarterfinals conclude with the third-seeded Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders facing the survivor of the Denver/FIU pairing. Winners of their last three games, the Blue Raiders grabbed a share of the East Division title along with Troy. It marks the first time the program has won a share of any league title since 1988-89. The team's 19 wins are also the most since the 2004-05 campaign. Middle Tennessee owns a winning record in this event at 11-9, but has yet to take home the hardware.
<< 2010 Northeast Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The pairings are set for the 2010
Northeast Conference Tournament, which kicks off with four quarterfinal-round
matchups on Thursday, March 4th. The remaining teams will be reseeded for the
semifinals on Sund
<< Mavs try for ninth straight win vs. T'Wolves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Dallas Mavericks aim for a season-high
ninth straight victory Wednesday when they take on the lowly Minnesota
Timberwolves in Big D.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 of his 27 points in the second half
<< Ovechkin, Miller set to return as Caps battle Sabres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's safe to say that Alex Ovechkin didn't get the results
he was looking for in the recent Winter Olympic Games. He'll now get back to
chasing his first Stanley Cup championship.
Ovechkin and the NHL-leading Washington Ca
<< Canucks' epic trek resumes with stop in Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will attempt to win three straight
games for the first time in nearly three months as they take on the Vancouver
Canucks, who continue their NHL-record 14-game trip tonight at Joe Louis
Arena.
The Re
Maple Leafs flip Skoula to Devils for draft pick >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defenseman Martin Skoula is on the move again,
this time from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the New Jersey Devils.
The Maple Leafs acquired Skoula, along with forward prospect Luca Caputi, from
the Penguins late
2010 West Coast Conference Tournament Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the 10th year in a row, the Gonzaga
Bulldogs won the West Coast Conference regular-season title, as they finished
12-2 within the league. The Bulldogs are out to repeat in this tournament
after winning th
Greece moves into top 10 in FIFA Rankings >>
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-
Cola Men's Rankings was released on Wednesday, and for the first time since
June 2008, Greece has returned to the top 10.
The top four teams remain unchanged
Macclesfield's Alexander dies at 53 >>
Macclesfield, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Macclesfield Town manager Keith
Alexander has passed away at the age of 53.
He died after returning to his home following his side's 1-0 League Two defeat
at Notts County on Tuesday evening.
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.
Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting