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
03/03/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first college basketball tournament I covered was so long ago that many basketball fans wouldn't even remember the name of the conference.
I spent the first weekend of March, 1979 covering the Pacific Coast Athletic Association tournament in the shadow of Disneyland at the Anaheim Convention Center. I wasn't quite prepared for 12 hours of basketball, watching four quarterfinal-round matchups from 12 noon to 12 midnight, but over the years the concept has grown on me.
Eventually, the University of the Pacific, led by a 6-10 center named Ron Cornelius, held off Utah State to earn an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament - an event that had just expanded to 48 teams that year. UOP's tournament experience would last just one game, as the Tigers were waxed in the opening round.
Years later, the PCAA changed their name to the Big West Conference, so that ESPN could promote something called "Big Monday," with games from the Big East, the Big 10 and the Big West. The PCAA moniker slipped into the dark recesses of history.
Thirty years after my first tourney experience, the concept of the postseason basketball tournament - first started by the Southern Conference in 1922 - is still going strong.
The next two weeks of the college basketball season are among my favorites in the entire sports calendar. Like most college basketball fans, I love having the chance to see teams you seldom see on national television battle their way into the NCAA field.
If it were up to me, I'd make the conference tournaments a do-or-die proposition for every league, with only regular-season conference champions immune from the sudden death of the tournament format.
Three conference tournaments tip off on Tuesday night at campus sites with first round action - the Big South, the Horizon and the Ohio Valley, as March Madness commences.
The Big South will have seven teams trying to end Winthrop's four-year stranglehold on the league's automatic bid, though it might be asking too much for the Eagles to repeat in 2009.
Winthrop, which has offered up some memorable March moments in recent NCAA tournaments, has been rebuilding this year with an 11-18 record and will be on the road at UNC Asheville, and in every subsequent game, if it hopes to unleash some postseason magic.
A year ago, that matchup had an NCAA bid attached to it in the Big South championship game, with Winthrop winning 66-48 at UNCA. This year, the Eagles and the Bulldogs will just be trying to extend their seasons until Thursday.
Radford (18-11) comes in as the top seed in the Big South and will host beleaguered High Point (9-20) in the quarterfinals. The Highlanders could get pushed by two other stalwart teams from No. 2 seed VMI (22-7) and No. 3 Liberty (21-10). VMI entertains Coastal Carolina and Liberty meets Gardner- Webb in the first round.
Few people probably remember VMI making back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16 in 1976-77, with future-NBA performer Ron Carter leading the way. The Keydets haven't been back to the NCAA tournament since.
The Big South's semifinals and final will be televised on Thursday night and Saturday by ESPNU and ESPN2, respectively.
The Horizon League, another loop that has pulled off some inspiring NCAA upsets in recent years, also gets started on Tuesday night with its 10-team event. Former giant killer Cleveland State, the third seed at 21-10, is the highest-seeded team in action in the first round.
Many people probably still remember Cleveland State marching to the Sweet 16 in 1986 with wins over Indiana and St. Joseph's before David Robinson and Navy knocked them off, 71-70.
The top two seeds, Butler (25-4) and Wisconsin-Green Bay (22-9) will wait until Saturday to get started in the semifinals, which are on ESPNU. The championship game will be played at Butler's historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 10 and televised by ESPN.
The OVC gets into the swing of things on Tuesday with quarterfinal action at campus sites before moving to Nashville's Sommet Center for the semifinals and final. Top-seeded Tennessee-Martin has put together a sparkling 21-8 campaign, but the Skyhawks will need three more wins to get their first NCAA bid.
UTM opens play by hosting Tennessee Tech (12-17), but will likely receive bigger challenges from defending champion and No. 2 seed Austin Peay (17-12), or No. 3 Murray State (18-11) - a 13-time OVC tournament champion.
One of my earliest memories of watching the NCAA tournament was seeing a colorful player named Fly Williams leading Austin Peay in the early 1970s. And I nearly witnessed a No. 16 seed beat a No. 1 in the 1990 Southeast Regional in Knoxville, TN, when Popeye Jones and Murray State pushed Michigan State to overtime before losing 75-71.
The OVC will have its semifinals and final televised on Friday and Saturday by ESPNU and ESPN2 as the first conference to conclude its tournament.
Tournament play will kick off on Wednesday in the Atlantic Sun and the Patriot League, on Thursday in the Northeast Conference and the Missouri Valley, on Friday in the American East, the Colonial Athletic Association, the Southern and the West Coast and on Saturday in the Big Sky.
For a college basketball fan, whether at the arena or watching on television, it's hoop nirvana.
<< Juve's Ranieri taking cup seriously
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri has promised to
take the Coppa Italia seriously, despite Wednesday's meeting with Lazio adding
to his club's current fixture congestion.
The Turin club are in semifinal firs
<< Hull's Geovanni apologizes to Brown
Hull, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hull City midfielder Geovanni has apologized
to Tigers boss Phil Brown for his petulant reaction to being substituted during
Sunday's 2-1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
The Brazilian was furious with Bro
<< John returns to Cottagers
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Striker Collins John has returned to Fulham
after enduring an unhappy loan spell with NEC Nijmegen.
The Cottagers had hoped that the 23-year-old would make a permanent move to the
Netherlands in the summe
<< Wright's late goal helps Dons draw Mirren
Paisley, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Wright scored in the 90th minute and
Aberdeen tied St. Mirren 1-1 on Tuesday.
Craig Dargo scored in the 78th minute at St. Mirren park, but his side lost the
lead in the closing seconds. Wright plac
Jets ink free agent S Leonhard, re-sign FB Richardson >>
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets agreed to terms with
unrestricted free agent safety Jim Leonhard and re-signed fullback Tony
Richardson to a one-year deal on Tuesday.
Terms of Leonhard's contract were not
Jags re-sign DE Wyche >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars re-signed oft-
injured defensive end James Wyche to a new contract on Tuesday. Per club
policy, length and terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 26-year-old Wyche has
Ottawa stadium agreement deadline extended >>
Hamilton, Ontario (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canadian Football League has
extended a deadline imposed to reach a stadium agreement with the city of
Ottawa in the continued effort to bring a CFL franchise back to the country's
capital
This Week in Auto Racing March 6 - 8 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After two weeks on the West Coast, the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns east to one of the fastest tracks on the
circuit, Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series kicks off the
Atlanta
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting 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