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02/14/2012 - Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Virginia and the Big East have agreed to settle their lawsuits, enabling the university to leave the conference and join the Big 12 in July.
West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck would not disclose terms of the settlement, but said in the school's release that no state or taxpayer funds, tuition or academic support money would be used.
The Charleston Daily Mail had reported last week that the Big East will receive about $20 million in exchange for allowing West Virginia to leave prior to the 27-month notification period as required by the conference's bylaws. The paper had indicated that West Virginia would pay $11 million with the Big 12 schools combining to supplement the remainder of the financial transaction.
"This closes a chapter and opens a new one filled with exciting possibilities for WVU's future," Luck said. "I've heard from Mountaineer fans across the country who have made it very clear that they are proud and honored to be heading into the Big 12."
West Virginia announced its decision to defect from the Big East and join the Big 12 in October, making the move about a month after both Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced its departures to the ACC. While Syracuse and Pittsburgh both decided not to challenge the Big East's departure bylaw, West Virginia did.
In filing a lawsuit against the Big East, West Virginia had argued that it wanted to leave immediately because no such 27-month period of notification was needed for TCU, which had agreed to join the Big East for the start of the 2012-13 year and instead decided to join the Big 12.
The Big East countersued in Rhode Island, saying the 27-month rule did not apply to TCU because it had not yet participated in conference play.
While the legal process was playing out, the Big 12 and Big East were unable to finalize football schedules for 2012. The settlement now allows the Big 12 to remain with 10 members, as TCU and West Virginia will replace the outgoing Missouri and Texas A&M -- both departing for the SEC.
"Our membership in the Big 12 offers WVU significant advantages," Luck added. "The Big 12 is a strong and vibrant conference academically and athletically. We look forward to the potential academic and athletic partnerships and financial opportunities that membership in the Big 12 offers."
The Big East will now have just seven schools for football in 2012, unless one of the incoming members announced in its expansion plans can be persuaded to join early.
The new schools slated to join the league -- at different intervals -- are Memphis, Central Florida, SMU and Houston as full members and Boise State, San Diego State and Navy for football only.
<< Sens begin road trip in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After having little success on a recent five-game
homestand, the Ottawa Senators hope to have more luck when they kick off a
road trip tonight by battling the Tampa Bay Lightning at Tampa Times Forum.
The Senators went 1-2
<< Blues roll into Columbus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to extend their winning streak
to a season-high five games when they visit the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets
tonight at Nationwide Arena.
St. Louis is in the midst of its fifth four-game win stre
<< Devils try to bounce back in Buffalo
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils will try to get back in the win
column this evening when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for a clash at First
Niagara Center.
The Devils had won a season-high five straight heading into a two-game
home
<< Hawks commence trek against Lakers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta will kick off a five-game road trip tonight at
Staples Center when they take on a Lakers team returning from its annual
Grammy trek.
The Hawks, who will also visit Phoenix, Portland, Chicago and New
Surging Ducks visit Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks continue to dig themselves out of an
early-season hole that has made reaching the playoffs a difficult task.
They'll try to pick up their latest victory over a Minnesota Wild team that
continues to move sout
Blackhawks try to end lengthy slide in Nashville >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks didn't look like a team ready to
break out of their longest slump in four years the last time they hit the ice.
Doing so against the Nashville Predators may prove difficult as well.
The Blackhawks ho
Sliding Leafs shoot for rare win in Calgary >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Given that Toronto hasn't won in Calgary in over nine
years, the club didn't pick the best time to go on a three-game losing streak.
The Maple Leafs hope to avoid posting their longest skid of the season this
evening and s
Nets waive Bogans; sign Andre Emmett >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have waived guard
Keith Bogans, just a day after he underwent surgery that will keep him
sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Bogans had a torn deltoid ligament re
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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