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
04/03/2007 -
It was planned to be a meeting where John Beilein told his West Virginia players how to prepare for offseason workouts. Instead, he told them goodbye.
Beilein, who took the Mountaineers from mediocrity to two NCAA tournaments and an NIT championship, is moving on to Michigan.
``Sometimes good things come to an end,'' Beilein told a news conference in Morgantown, W.Va. ``It's time for me to do new things at a new university.''
Beilein accepted Michigan's offer earlier in the day, and declined to reveal contract specifics. Michigan planned to introduce Beilein at a news conference on Wednesday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Beilein took the job despite not visiting Michigan's campus. He'd never been in Morgantown, either, before leaving Richmond for West Virginia.
``I'm taking a leap of faith - again,'' he said.
The 54-year-old Beilein is the second straight Big East coach to take over at Michigan and is certain to see higher expectations. The Wolverines fired former Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker in mid-March after six seasons without an NCAA appearance.
The Wolverines went to the NIT three times in the past four years. They haven't made the NCAAs since 1998.
``I am excited about this new opportunity at Michigan,'' Beilein said. ``I wouldn't go there if I didn't think they could win a national championship.''
Wherever he's coached, Beilein has been a success, taking teams without great talent to five NCAA tournaments and six NIT appearances in 29 seasons.
When he arrived at West Virginia in April 2002, the Mountaineers were coming off an 8-20 season in which Gale Catlett ended a 24-year career three weeks early in disgust over his team's poor performance and lack of pride.
Beilein went 104-60 at West Virginia, including 27-9 this year despite losing his top four scorers from a year ago. Only one other team in school history won more games - a Jerry West-led team that lost to California in the NCAA championship game in 1959.
Beilein's teams made deep runs in the NCAA tournament the previous two seasons and the Mountaineers beat Clemson 78-73 for the NIT title last week.
He's leaves behind a promising team that loses only top scorer Frank Young and center Rob Summers.
``A lot of guys are really sad and trying to figure out what they're going to do,'' Summers said. ``I told them they're still a team. Even though the coach left, you're still a family.''
It wasn't immediately known whether West Virginia made attempts to keep Beilein. Athletic director Ed Pastilong didn't immediately return a telephone message Tuesday.
In 2005, after taking the Mountaineers to the NCAA regional finals, Beilein received a contract extension to throw off a possible courtship from Virginia. A year ago he was courted heavily by North Carolina State but negotiations broke down over his contract's buyout clause.
It will cost Michigan $2.5 million to buy out Beilein at West Virginia, plus perhaps about $1 million a season in a multiyear contract and $900,000 to Amaker for firing him without cause.
West Virginia has become an attractive fishing ground for coaches lately. In December, Alabama tried to lure football coach Rich Rodriguez before he decided to stay in Morgantown and was given a two-year contract extension. But he lost his offensive line and wide receivers coaches to higher-profile jobs.
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.
<< Championship game ratings up 16 percent from last year
NEW YORK (AP) -Florida's quest to repeat as NCAA champions was a hit with television viewers.Florida's 84-75 win over Ohio State on Monday night was watched by 13.59 million households, up nine percent from last year, when 12.31 million households t
<< Beilein confirms he's leaving WVU for Michigan
Michigan hired John Beilein to coach its men's basketball team, a week after he led West Virginia to the NIT championship.Beilein told his players of the decision Tuesday at a team meeting in Morgantown, W.Va.``It was just the right thing for me to
<< Gore has big goals to go along with big new contract with 49ers
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -Frank Gore has some big goals to go along with his big new contract with the San Francisco 49ers. The Pro Bowl running back hopes to improve on his breakout campaign last season and top 2,000 yards in 2007.Gore finished 2006 as t
<< Mitchell asks union for interviews
NEW YORK (AP) -Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell finally asked to interview active baseball players as part of his steroids investigation and is awaiting a reply from the players' association.Union general counsel Michael Weiner said a M
Heath: South Florida will win - and soon >>
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Stan Heath is undaunted by South Florida's lack of success in basketball. He's been associated with winning programs everywhere he's coached and is confident he can transform the Bulls into one, too.``This is a great opportunity fo
James back in the lineup for Cavs >>
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -King James returns.LeBron James was back in the lineup for Cleveland's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night after missing one game with tendinitis in his right knee.James missed Sunday's loss to the Boston Celti
Former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson hospitalized >>
GRAMBLING, La. (AP) - Former Grambling State University coach Eddie Robinson was hospitalized Tuesday.``He had a setback,'' according to a statement from the family, which added he was in stable condition at Lincoln General Hospital.Robinson, 88, wh
Kapono, NBA's top 3-point shooter, back for Heat >>
MIAMI (AP) -Jason Kapono is finally set to resume his breakout season for the Miami Heat.Kapono, the NBA's leading 3-point shooter and winner of the 3-point contest at All-Star weekend, was active Tuesday night after missing four weeks with a sprain
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.
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