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09/08/2010 -
JoePa visits the Bear's house. The 'Canes blow into the Horseshoe for a rematch of the 2002 national championship game. Florida State's first big game post-Bowden takes place in Norman, Okla., a rematch of the 2000 national title game.
The second week of the college football season is so jammed pack with intriguing games that Brian Kelly's first foray into the Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry can't even crack the top three.
Hey, neither the Fighting Irish nor the Wolverines is ranked.
Joe Paterno, who broke Bear Bryant's record on the way to becoming the winningest coach in the history of major college football, brings Penn State to Tuscaloosa to face No. 1 Alabama.
The Nittany Lions and Crimson Tide routinely squared off in the 1970s and early '80s, when Bear Bryant was stalking Alabama's sideline. The Bear is gone now, but the Tide's stadium is named after him. Meanwhile, the 83-year-old Paterno has 395 victories.
Even if Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram (knee) can't play Saturday, beating Nick Saban's defending national champions would rank as one of Paterno's most surprising victories.
The last time Ohio State played Miami, it was the Buckeyes pulling off the upset.
Ohio State's 31-24 double-overtime victory in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl kept the Hurricanes from repeating as national champions and made the Buckeyes champs for the first time in more than three decades. It was also the night official Terry Porter became famous for throwing a flag for pass interference on Miami that is debated to this day.
``It's like everyone is making sure that we remember what happened,'' said current Miami quarterback Jacory Harris, who are the underdogs this time to the second-ranked Buckeyes.
Since Bob Stoops took over at Oklahoma in 1999, the Sooners have been perennial contenders. But they haven't won a national championship since Stoops' second season, when the Sooners beat Bobby Bowden's Seminoles 13-2 in the 2001 Orange Bowl.
That turned out to be Bowden's last shot at a national title. Florida State had some good teams after that, but Bowden's long run of excellence ended that night in Miami.
Stoops is still cranking out wins in Norman, but Bowden's time at Florida State is over. It's now Jimbo Fisher's job to return the 17th-ranked Seminoles to elite status and beating No. 10 Oklahoma would be a giant step in the right direction.
The picks:
Thursday
No. 21 Auburn (minus 2) at Mississippi State.
Matchup of spread offenses and promising QBs ... MISSISSIPPI STATE 31-24.
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Friday
No. 23 West Virginia (minus 13) at Marshall.
Mountaineers 9-0 in Friends of the Coal Bowl ... WEST VIRGINIA 31-14.
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Saturday
No. 18 Penn State (plus 11 1/2) at No. 1 Alabama.
Saban on one side, frosh QB playing first road game on the other ... ALABAMA 24-10.
No. 12 Miami (plus 9 1/2) at No. 2 Ohio State.
Can Jacory Harris avoid the big mistake? ... OHIO STATE 20-14.
Tennessee Tech (no line) at No. 4 TCU.
Tennessee Tech goes from Razorbacks to Horned Frogs ... TCU 50-10.
Wyoming (plus 29) at No. 5 Texas.
These Cowboys won't fare well in Texas ... TEXAS 45-14.
Idaho (plus 28 1/2) at No. 6 Nebraska.
Huskers redshirt freshman QB Taylor Martinez ran for 127 yards in debut ... NEBRASKA 42-10.
No. 7 Oregon (minus 13) at Tennessee.
After 72-point opener, Ducks get back star TB LaMichael James ... OREGON 35-20.
South Florida (plus 15 1/2) at No. 8 Florida.
Gators problems should be a snap to fix ... FLORIDA 28-10.
Iowa State (plus 13 1/2) at No. 9 Iowa.
Cyclones haven't scored TD vs. Hawkeyes in last 14 quarters ... IOWA 21-10.
No. 17 Florida State (plus 8 1/2) at No. 10 Oklahoma.
Sooners need to fix secondary quick with Christian Ponder coming to town ... OKLAHOMA 37-21.
San Jose State (plus 38) at No. 11 Wisconsin.
Badgers have won 14 straight home openers ... WISCONSIN 45-14.
James Madison (no line) at No. 13 Virginia Tech.
Hokies dealing with annual early season disappointment ... VIRGINIA TECH 35-17.
Louisiana-Monroe (plus 34) vs. No. 14 Arkansas at Little Rock, Ark.
It's officially a ULM home game ... ARKANSAS 48-21.
No. 15 Georgia Tech (minus 13 1/2) at Kansas.
It doesn't get any easier for Turner Gill at KU ... GEORGIA TECH 31-21.
Virginia (plus 19 1/2) at No. 16 Southern California.
Trojans are 12-6 against ACC teams ... USC 38-17.
No. 19 LSU (minus 10) at Vanderbilt.
Tigers have won six straight vs. Commodores ... LSU 28-14.
UNLV (plus 23 1/2) at No. 20 Utah.
Utes home winning streak is at 18 ... UTAH 45-16.
No. 22 Georgia (plus 2 1/2) at No. 24 South Carolina.
Bulldogs have won seven of last eight and four in a row at USC ... GEORGIA 24-21.
No. 25 Stanford (minus 6 1/2) at UCLA.
Bruins offense is a mess ... STANFORD 30-17.
Michigan (plus 3 1/2) at Notre Dame.
Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez needs it more than Kelly ... MICHIGAN 27-21.
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Last week: 21-1 (straight); 9-5-1 (vs. points).Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Before Ohio State trip, Shannon takes a field trip
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -When No. 12 Miami visits No. 2 Ohio State in a long-hyped matchup this Saturday, the Hurricanes know they won't see many friendly faces in the stands.Maybe that's why Miami coach Randy Shannon surrounded himself with a ro
<< Redskins' Doughty thriving despite hearing loss
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - ``Reed!'' ``Reed!'' ``REEEEEEED!''Jim Haslett kept yelling Reed Doughty's name, trying to get the safety's attention at a Washington Redskins practice this week.Doughty didn't respond because Doughty couldn't hear. Finally, sever
<< Marson slams Indians past Angels
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lou Marson's first career grand slam
highlighted a five-run sixth inning, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 6-1
victory over the struggling Los Angeles Angels in the middle test of a three-
game se
<< Nadal cruises into QFs; Verdasco rallies to shock Ferrer
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal breezed in three sets
over fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez Tuesday and moved into the quarterfinals
at the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam tournament the current world No. 1 has
yet to
Marlins to skip Johnson's next start >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida Marlins ace Josh Johnson will miss
his next scheduled start because of shoulder and back pain.
Johnson was slated to pitch Friday against Washington, but the Marlins now
plan to start Alex Sana
A's hope to build a win streak versus Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At seven games off the pace in the American League West
Division, time is running out on the Oakland Athletics and their hopes for a
postseason berth. The A's will try to get a winning streak going tonight in
the finale of a
Als seek return to win column in clash with Tiger-Cats >>
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes continue to compete
without the services of quarterback Anthony Calvillo as the team challenges
the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this weekend at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Calvillo, who suffered a chest
Familiar foes do battle in Winnipeg >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in as many weeks the
Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers find themselves pitted
against each other on the gridiron, this time at Canad Inns Stadium on Sunday
afternoon.
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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