NCAA Betting

The clock is ticking for several schools who are hell bent on getting that V.I.P. in the mail from the NCAA Selection Committee that will have the task of selecting just 65 teams for the big dance in a few weeks.
Having watched hundreds of games this winter I can tell you that Connecticut and Duke are going to be there when the dust settles at the end of March, but there are at least two other schools that will be headed to the final four. Who will it be!
The ACC is a very topsy-turvy conference once you get past Duke, with Boston College and North Carolina State, the two schools who are very capable. BC is a former resident of the Big East, so it can bang on the boards and has now got the ACC up tempo look to their game. Seven of BC’s ten ACC games have been decided by four points or less and they are a horrible free throw team, so if you pick them, they are going to make you sweat at the end of games.
North Carolina State can shoot the rock and the constant flow offense causes problems for big teams. They are a very unselfish team and if they get a lead, their free throw shooting will bury teams. Their Achilles heel is the bad habit of giving up big leads, but they will go far in March.
The Atlantic 10 has George Washington at 22-1 and 12-0 in Conference play. The Colonials just need to keep following the script that's worked so well for them thus far — balanced scoring, willingly sharing the ball, intense on-the-ball pressure — and they'll beat two of the A-10's bigger surprise teams (La Salle, Fordham) this week. La Salle and Fordham both feature frontcourt studs (La Salle's Steven Smith, Fordham's Bryant Dunston), but not nearly the frontcourt depth of GW. A sleeper could be Xavier, but they will need huge efforts from several players and win their conference tournament. Xavier senior Brian Thornton their leading scorer and rebounder with 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game suffered a college career-ending fractured ankle against La Salle on Feb. 11. He's undergone successful surgery and will attempt to come back and play pro ball somewhere, most likely overseas.
When No. 1 UConn lost to Villanova on Monday, the national discussion about which team should take over the top spot surrounded No. 2 Duke and No. 4 Villanova, with very little mention of No. 3 Memphis. Certainly, playing in Conference USA hasn't helped the Tigers' reputation in recent weeks, but the Tigers are still making something of a case for the top spot in the polls and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. For example, Memphis' 24 victories are tied with Duke for the nation's highest total; the Tigers' current 13-game winning streak is the nation's second-longest, trailing only George Washington's 14-game streak; Memphis is 10-0 on the road this season, making the Tigers the nation's only unbeaten road team. Their road wins include wins at Providence, Cincinnati, Alabama and Ole Miss. Also, Memphis has played more games (four) against teams currently rated in the RPI Top-10 than any other team in the nation and owns a 7-2 record vs. Top-50 RPI teams and a 10-2 mark against the Top-100 RPI.
Michigan State is always visible come tournament time and they bring experience and great coaching with them. They have frustrated me to death when playing on the road and their 11-0 home record indicates where they are most comfortable. Fortunately the dance is at neutral sites, so they should go very deep, but their center Davis needs to get nasty once in a while. The 6-11 senior has 85 career double-doubles. His 18 points moved him into ninth all-time at MSU with 1,592 career points.

Sports Betting

Sports Betting
Weekend Wagering PreviewThe New York Knicks debut of Steve Francis, a Big East battle between Villanova and Connecticut, the second Nextel Cup Series race of the season, and a full slate of action in the Arena Football League are all on tap this weekend as the sports world begins to emerge from the shadow of the Winter Olympics. First off, in the NBA, the Knicks should have newly-acquired guard Francis in their lineup on Friday night as they play host to the division-rival New Jersey Nets. New York has lost nine of their past 10 games, and are mired in the basement of the Atlantic Division. Making the postseason would take a miracle this season, so the acquisition of Francis simply acts as a distraction for Knicks fans as their team plays out the string. In a more interesting Friday matchup, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers renew hostilities at the Staples Center, with the Lakers still trailing the Clippers in the Pacific Division and barely hanging on to a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Memphis also hosts San Antonio on Friday, Detroit plays in Chicago, and Washington visits Cleveland. On Saturday, marquee teams meet lesser lights as Dallas hosts Toronto, San Antonio gets a visit from Golden State, Charlotte travels to Phoenix, and Miami has a home game against Seattle. The biggest game of the weekend, though, is likely Sunday's meeting of the Cavaliers and the Pistons in Detroit, as Cleveland looks to knock their division rival for a loss. Make that the biggest NBA game of the weekend, as Big East rivals Villanova and Connecticut meet in college basketball action on Sunday. The No. 2 Wildcats have edged ahead of the No. 3 Huskies in the polls, and will be looking to hold on to that advantage with a win in this contest. Other games involving ranked teams on Sunday include No. 18 Michigan State at Indiana, No. 12 Florida at Alabama, Oregon at No. 19 UCLA, Maryland at No. 21 North Carolina, and California at No. 17 Washington. Top-ranked Duke highlights Saturday's college hoops schedule, as they travel to Temple to play the unranked Owls. There are three games between ranked teams on Saturday, as No. 11 Boston College visits No. 15 N.C. State, No. 8 Illinois hosts No. 20 Iowa, and No. 7 Texas gets a visit from No. 16 Kansas. Elsewhere on Saturday it's Syracuse at No. 23 Georgetown, Arkansas at No. 10 Tennessee, Michigan at No. 13 Ohio State, Louisville at No.14 West Virginia, No. 25 Northern Iowa at Southern Illinois, Kentucky at No. 24 LSU, No. 6 George Washington at Fordham, Kansas State at No. 22 Oklahoma, Providence at No. 9 Pittsburgh, Tulsa at No. 4 Memphis, San Diego at No. 5 Gonzaga, and No. 25 Nevada at Utah State. In the Nextel Cup Series, Jimmie Johnson will be looking to cross the finish line first for the second weekend in a row when he competes in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. Johnson won his first-ever Daytona 500 last weekend despite the absence of suspended crew chief Chad Knaus. Knaus' suspension runs until March 22. Jeff Gordon, who finished a disappointing 26th at Daytona, has won three races at California Speedway in his career. Kyle Busch won the Sony HD 500 at the Fontana track last year, and Greg Biffle is the defending Auto Club 500 champion. Johnson, Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch, Rusty Wallace, Jeremy Mayfield, and Mark Martin have also each picked up one career victory at California Speedway. And finally, in Arena Football League action the unbeaten Austin Wranglers will be looking to improve their record to 5-0 on Saturday by picking up a road win in Tampa Bay. Austin, however, opened as a 4-point underdog in this game, while oddsmakers set the opening total at 104 points. Also on Saturday, it's Grand Rapids at Nashville (-13), Las Vegas at Dallas (-11), and Utah at Los Angeles (pick'em). Sunday features Colorado at Philadelphia (-7), San Jose at Chicago (-5.5), and Orlando at New York (no line). Arizona visits Columbus (no line) and Georgia (-10.5) hosts Kansas City to kick off Week 5 on Friday night.
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NBA Betting

Who will be this year's version of the 2004/05 Denver Nuggets who did so well in the 2nd half last year? Listed below you'll find some teams that will surprise you and some that will not.
As of this point in the 2005/06 NBA season, if you polled 100 people probably 90 of them would tell you that the Houston Rockets suck. While their record may show a meager 22-31 at the break, there's more to their story which will surely play a big role in a huge comeback in the second half.
T-Mac has been banged up. Yao Ming missed a ton of games and Stromile Swift has been nothing more than a bust. All of these players figure to revert back to their normal level of production shortly after the break.
We also like the fact that while these guys were down players like Luther Head were given an opportunity to get some playing time and gain valuable experience that is only gained from being on the floor in a live NBA game.
While we don't expect them to catch fire and make any noise in the playoffs, the general public sees Houston as a "bad team" so early on until the Rockets make some noise on the scoreboard there should be some pretty good value relative to the point spread. Keep your eyes on them and your wallet open. This all assuming that McGrady and Ming stay on the court injury free which McGrady is pretty questionable in our book. Yao is young and resilient and should be fine.
Another team similar to the Rockets are the Sacramento Kings. Bonzi Wells has been absent from the lineup quite a bit this season, Brad Miller has had some nagging injuries, Peja was down (since traded to the Pacers), Shareef Abdur-Rahim has been out a ton as well. These are all excellent roll players that many felt would help the Kings to make a big push in the west this year. At 24-29 it would be said that their season has been a flop.
The acquisition of Ron Artest is an interesting one to say the least and it should be watched closely. Artest has the kind of talent and personality that can either make or break a team. While he wasn't everything that made the Pacers a good team, he was surely an important cog and is a player to be reckoned with by opponents. We'd also like to point out that Mike Bibby is starting to look more like a floor general than a 3 point maniac, so that maturity should make for a better team as well. Keep an eye on them!
Lastly, many are predicting that the Bucks will make some noise in the second half. Sure, they had a tough schedule, maybe the most difficult 1st half schedule in the NBA. Don't buy into the hype though, this team doesn't play defense and also doesn't have what it takes to win on the road.
Until next time, good luck in your action!
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NCAA Betting

The clock is ticking for several schools who are hell bent on getting that V.I.P. in the mail from the NCAA Selection Committee that will have the task of selecting just 65 teams for the big dance in a few weeks.
Having watched hundreds of games this winter I can tell you that Connecticut and Duke are going to be there when the dust settles at the end of March, but there are at least two other schools that will be headed to the final four. Who will it be!
The ACC is a very topsy-turvy conference once you get past Duke, with Boston College and North Carolina State, the two schools who are very capable. BC is a former resident of the Big East, so it can bang on the boards and has now got the ACC up tempo look to their game. Seven of BC’s ten ACC games have been decided by four points or less and they are a horrible free throw team, so if you pick them, they are going to make you sweat at the end of games.

North Carolina State can shoot the rock and the constant flow offense causes problems for big teams. They are a very unselfish team and if they get a lead, their free throw shooting will bury teams. Their Achilles heel is the bad habit of giving up big leads, but they will go far in March.
The Atlantic 10 has George Washington at 22-1 and 12-0 in Conference play. The Colonials just need to keep following the script that's worked so well for them thus far — balanced scoring, willingly sharing the ball, intense on-the-ball pressure — and they'll beat two of the A-10's bigger surprise teams (La Salle, Fordham) this week. La Salle and Fordham both feature frontcourt studs (La Salle's Steven Smith, Fordham's Bryant Dunston), but not nearly the frontcourt depth of GW. A sleeper could be Xavier, but they will need huge efforts from several players and win their conference tournament. Xavier senior Brian Thornton their leading scorer and rebounder with 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game suffered a college career-ending fractured ankle against La Salle on Feb. 11. He's undergone successful surgery and will attempt to come back and play pro ball somewhere, most likely overseas.
When No. 1 UConn lost to Villanova on Monday, the national discussion about which team should take over the top spot surrounded No. 2 Duke and No. 4 Villanova, with very little mention of No. 3 Memphis. Certainly, playing in Conference USA hasn't helped the Tigers' reputation in recent weeks, but the Tigers are still making something of a case for the top spot in the polls and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. For example, Memphis' 24 victories are tied with Duke for the nation's highest total; the Tigers' current 13-game winning streak is the nation's second-longest, trailing only George Washington's 14-game streak; Memphis is 10-0 on the road this season, making the Tigers the nation's only unbeaten road team. Their road wins include wins at Providence, Cincinnati, Alabama and Ole Miss. Also, Memphis has played more games (four) against teams currently rated in the RPI Top-10 than any other team in the nation and owns a 7-2 record vs. Top-50 RPI teams and a 10-2 mark against the Top-100 RPI.
Michigan State is always visible come tournament time and they bring experience and great coaching with them. They have frustrated me to death when playing on the road and their 11-0 home record indicates where they are most comfortable. Fortunately the dance is at neutral sites, so they should go very deep, but their center Davis needs to get nasty once in a while. The 6-11 senior has 85 career double-doubles. His 18 points moved him into ninth all-time at MSU with 1,592 career points.
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NASCAR Betting

WHY DOES NASCAR TOLERATE CHEATING?If you asked me three years ago to name the top three NASCAR drivers in the world, I would have waived the white flag as I would probably have said A.J. Foyt. Ask me today who the top ten drivers were in the NEXTEL Cup standings last year and I can do it in thirty seconds. Please don’t tell me I’m getting old and I’m becoming a racing fan!
What I do like and respect is sound and aggressive marketing and NASCAR is at the top of the standings when it comes to making their product visible. The other thing that is amazing unlike other professional sports is the fact that drivers and crew chiefs are constantly doing whatever it takes to win and that includes illegal modifications to their cars and interfering with other drivers on the track.
Case in point is last weeks Daytona where Hendrick Motorsports team crew chief Chad Knaus was banished from the track for tinkering with the car 48 which is Jimmie Johnson’s. Did they remove the car from the big race, or suspend Johnson? Not a chance, they simply told Knauss to watch the race on the television and cheer on his driver to victory.
Moments after the victory, Johnson's critics were already wondering if he deserved an asterisk next to his name. Knaus was thrown out last week after NASCAR said he illegally altered Johnson's Chevrolet before his qualifying run.
"This could still be the first opportunity for NASCAR to pull away a victory if the thing is illegal," third-place finisher Ryan Newman said. "It's disappointing. I think a lot of Jimmie Johnson and his talent, but I'm pretty sure at least three of his last four wins have had conflictions with the cars being illegal.
"You know, it's not necessarily good for the sport." His car did pass inspection, and with a bottle of champagne on his lap, Johnson defended his team and his win.
"This is a huge statement and something that I'm very proud of," he said. "We know that there are rules, a set of rules. Chad broke the rules. He's admitted that. He's in Charlotte watching the race. He missed the event. We're serving our penalty."
There's probably more to come. Johnson has indicated the team expects NASCAR to suspend Knaus an additional three races. The team will probably also be docked points, knocking Johnson off the leaderboard. The team has a history of misdeeds and questionable conduct.
NASCAR accused Knaus of cheating following Johnson's win in Las Vegas, Nev., last March when his car failed post-race inspection and Knaus was suspended for two races, but appealed and had the penalty reduced to probation.
Then, following a win in September at Dover, Del., the No. 48 Chevrolet again failed inspection. Only this time NASCAR said Knaus had exploited a loophole in the rule book, and the sanctioning body quickly closed it.
So with Knaus out of commission for the foreseeable future and lead engineer Darian Grubb acting as temporary head coach, the Hendrick Motorsports team will try to work its way out from the dark shadow the crew chief's actions have cast on them.
"There's been a lot of hating on the 48 team over the last year," Johnson said. "I kind of look at it as jealousy and (Ryan Newman) don’t have a crew chief in there working hard enough to get the job done."
No what he really meant was smart enough to cheat and get away with it!
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