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09/08/2010 - Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Richt leads his 22nd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs into an SEC battle with Steve Spurrier's 24th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia this weekend.
"Our guys are focused on South Carolina right now," said Richt. "I always think the race in the East is wide open, and everybody will have a decent idea in a few weeks. Everybody is hoping to get that first win in league play and get momentum."
The Bulldogs began their season last weekend with a 55-7 romp over Louisiana. Georgia was 8-5 a year ago, and while many programs would consider their season a success if they garnered that record, Richt made it perfectly clear in the offseason that eight wins at Georgia simply isn't good enough. This year's group is not loaded with returning talent, so it remains to be seen if an improvement on last year's mark is possible.
South Carolina cruised to a 41-13 victory over Southern Miss last weekend to begin the campaign, and the lone touchdown scored by the Golden Eagles came with under one minute remaining in the contest.
"Good win for us," said coach Spurrier after the contest. "We missed a few opportunities (but) we played well and won the game. We'll try to improve for the next game against Georgia."
In his first five years at the helm, Spurrier has compiled a 35-28 record, not exactly what the program had hoped for when it signed the former Florida leader. The Gamecocks, who finished 7-6 a year ago, return more talented players than any of Spurrier's five prior seasons, and that's the reason for optimism in Columbia.
Georgia owns a commanding 46-14-2 series advantage over South Carolina, including wins in seven of the last eight meetings between the programs.
The Bulldogs played the opener shorthanded, as their top receiver and rusher from a year ago in A.J. Green and Washaun Ealey were missing from the lineup. Green was held out as the NCAA investigates his alleged improper interaction with an agent, while Ealey was suspended after being charged in late August with hit and run and driving on a suspended license. While Ealey is expected back this weekend, Green's situation remains uncertain.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray made his debut against Louisiana last week for the Bulldogs, and he completed 17-of-26 passes for 160 yards with three touchdown passes. Murray also ran for a score and was intercepted once, an impressive debut overall. Kris Durham benefited from Murray's big day, catching five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
The Georgia defense played about as well as Richt could have hoped for in the opener, as the group limited Louisiana to 128 total yards, 60 of which came on one play. The Bulldogs surrendered a mere 14 rushing yards on 29 attempts by the Ragin' Cajuns, who also completed just 8-of-24 passes with three interceptions. Georgia had three sacks in the tilt and held Louisiana to 3- of-16 success on third-down conversion attempts. No one player stood out for the defense, as it was clearly a team effort.
"The defense seemed to be locked in mentally, they played extremely hard and had very few mental errors," Richt said. "They were well-prepared, and we didn't have any penalties on defense."
South Carolina achieved tremendous balance offensively against Southern Miss, as the Gamecocks posted 224 rushing yards and 225 passing yards. Stephen Garcia, the team's quarterback, connected on 16-of-23 passes for 193 yards without an interception, and he also ran for two scores.
"We were last in the SEC in rushing the past two years and that's what we need to get going this year is the rushing game," said Garcia after the victory. "We have the talent and strength up front. If we can run the ball, it's hard to beat us with our defense playing the way they're playing."
Marcus Lattimore also ran for two touchdowns for South Carolina, and standout receiver Alshon Jeffery hauled in seven receptions for 106 yards. USC ran far fewer plays than Southern Miss, 19 to be exact, but the Gamecocks averaged 6.9 yards per play compared to 4.8 for the opposition.
Moving to the defensive side of the ball, South Carolina can take pride in the way that it played. Sure, Southern Miss was able to rack up 404 total yards, but the lone touchdown occurred late as mentioned. Also, the Gamecocks surrendered a mere 67 rushing yards, and even the high passing total of USM came on just 8.9 yards per completion. Put simply, South Carolina avoided getting hurt by big plays. Stephon Gilmore had a pair of TFLs in the win.
<< Struggling Braves turn to Lowe in finale with Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates sure have been enjoying their role
of spoiler in this series and are now in position to sweep the Atlanta Braves
for the first time in over 16 years.
To do that they will have to solve Derek Lowe, wh
<< First-place Phils close out hard-fought set with Marlins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't easy, but the Philadelphia Phillies now lead the
National League East for the first time since late May.
Cole Hamels will try to keep his squad there as he aims for a third straight
victory in the finale of a fou
<< FCS championship game tickets to go on sale
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tickets to 2010 Football Championship
Subdivision title game will go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on Monday, Sept. 13.
The championship game will be played Jan. 7, 2011 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco.
Tickets will be av
<< Padres go for sweep of LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres were in serious danger of falling out
of first place in the National League's West Division, but a couple of games
against the fading Los Angeles Dodgers seems to have gotten the surprising
squad back on
Hurricanes blow into Columbus to battle Buckeyes >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A much-anticipated matchup between the second-
ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the 12th-ranked Miami-Florida Hurricanes will
ensue in Columbus on Saturday afternoon.
As expected, Miami cruised to victory over F
Idaho hits road for test against No. 6 Nebraska >>
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a 49-10 thrashing of Western Kentucky
in last week's season opener, the sixth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers figure to
be challenged a bit more this Saturday as they welcome the Idaho Vandals to
Memorial St
Instate rivals clash as ninth-ranked Hawkeyes take on Cyclones >>
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bitter rivals clash at Kinnick Stadium this
weekend, as the ninth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes do battle with the Iowa State
Cyclones.
The Hawkeyes took care of business in their opener last weekend, as they
tallied
13th-ranked Hokies seek quick turnaround against Dukes >>
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a heart-breaking loss, the 13th-
ranked Virginia Tech Hokies now set their sights on the James Madison Dukes
this weekend at Lane Stadium.
In the most anticipated game of the opening week, it was
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies
It's that time of year folks. Betting on American Idol Season 9. And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below. With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.
No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.
Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.
Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.
Odds to Win
There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.
All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.
A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.
Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.
Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol.
Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.
If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.
Elimination Props
Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.
Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.
Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups
The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.
Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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