Ohio State vs Michigan

Ohio State Buckeyes (9-2) @ Michigan Wolverines (5-6)
Game Time: 12:00pm EDT Saturday November 21st, 2009
Lines at time of blog post: Ohio State (-12) Over/Under (47.5)

As high noon strikes this Saturday, two teams will renew their great rivalry. Ohio State visits Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines in what is arguable one of the greatest rivalry's in all of college sports. Personally I place this right up there with Duke vs North Carolina in basketball. However, this great rivalry has been pretty lop sided the past 5 years, as the Buckeyes look for their 6th straight victory in this series between two teams rich in tradition and prestige, that absolutely hate each other.

Last season at the Horse-Shoe in Columbus Ohio, the Buckeyes were 20.5 point favorites, a line that was unheard of in this rivalry until last year. All Ohio State did was cover the spread with ease, embarrassing Michigan in a 42-7 win. The game played tomorrow will have a more conservative line compared to last seasons. Some books have the line as high as 12.5 and as low as 11.5, but mostly they are settled around the 12 mark (at the time of this blog). Ohio State brings with them the 65th ranked offense in the nation, averaging 369.1 yards per game. The Ohio State offense is averaging 194.8 yards rushing and 174.3 yards passing per game, so far this season. Ohio State's offense mainly flows around the play of their terrific young sophomore QB from Jeannetter, Pennsylvania, Terrelle Pryor. This game will be no different than all the others this season. The game will go, as Pryor goes and in such a big rivalry game, Terrelle Pryor will want to be electrifying. Pryor is not having the best of seasons thus far, but has gotten the job done. He has 15 passing touchdowns, but has thrown 9 interceptions this season and has completed only 55.8% of his passes. Terrelle Pryor's mistakes have not come back to haunt him thanks to the Buckeye's fantastic defense. So far this season the Buckeye defense ranks 5th in the nation in total yards, 4th in the nation in rushing yards, and an incredible 6th in the nation in points allowed, giving up an average of 12.4 points per game.

Despite Michigan's overall record, the Wolverines are 5-2 at home this season. Michigan's 56th overall ranked offense is averaging 37 points per game at home this season. The Wolverines are putting up on average 441.9 yards per game at home, compared to 378.4 on the road. The Wolverines can expect the house to be rocking for this rivalry game, with over 107,000 dressed in the Maize and Blue hoping for nothing short of a miracle to happen. Despite losing 4 games in a row and 6 of their last 7, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has asked his team to stay focused, mentioning that this is their biggest game of the year. A win on Saturday will mean a lot to Michigan. A win on Saturday against Ohio State will end the 5 game win streak OSU has in this series, it will assure Michigan of a bowl berth, and give the Wolverines their first win against an FBS opponent since Sept. 26th against Indiana. For Michigan to at least keep this game close they need to try and keep Terrelle Pryor from running around. If the Wolverine defense can keep Pryor in the pocket, it should allow them to frustrate Pryor which can lead to some interceptions for the Michigan defense. If the Wolverine defense can keep Pryor in check, the rest of the game falls completely on the shoulders and arm of their freshman QB Tate Forcier. So far this season Forcier has thrown 12 touchdown passes and 6 interceptions, sporting a 58.4% completion percentage. Forcier will need to play smart and have a great game for Michigan to have a realistic change to keep this game close, however he has to face one of the toughest defenses in the nation.

Suggested Lean: Michigan +12 (The defense for Michigan will step up with the help of the crowd and keep Pryor contained in the pocket leading to some turnover opportunities that the Wolverines will need to keep this game close. There is a lot riding on this game for Michigan and I expect them to play like this is their championship game).

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Kansas State @ Nebraska

Kansas State Wildcats (6-5) @ Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-3)
Game Time: 7:45pm EDT Saturday November 21st, 2009
Lines at time of blog post: Nebraska (-16.5) Over/Under (44.5)

The weather conditions should be perfect for this HUGE Big 12 North football game at Memorial Stadium, in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday when Kansas State comes to town to face off against the Cornhuskers. The winner of this game will control their own destiny in the Big 12 North for the right to face Texas in the Big 12 Championship game in December. Many people feel that if Nebraska can win this game, they match up very well on both sides of the ball against the team from Austin, Texas. However, time will tell and Nebraska better not look past the challenge that lies in front of them on Saturday.

In front of a home crowd that should exceed 81,000, Bo Pelini will have to have his Blackshirts charged up and ready for this game. The Nebraska offense, which is ranked 77th in the nation and averaging 353.4 yards per game, takes a very balanced approach. The Cornhuskers offense is averaging 152.4 yards on the ground and 201 yards passing per game. It is this potent balanced offense that should keep a suspect Kansas State defense on its heels especially late in the game. At home this season Nebraska is averaging around 28.2 points per game, while the Kansas State defense is giving up around 37 points per game on the road. The defense for Nebraska is a different story. Nebraska's overall 10th ranked defense has been down right nasty this season and even more so at home. Kansas States 76th ranked offense may find it very difficult to move the ball on this stingy Cornhusker defense. Nebraska's defense is only giving up 9.2 points per game at home and only giving up 11 points per game overall this season.

Kansas State staggers into Lincoln with a (1-4) away record this season and having just come off a home loss to Missouri (12-38). Playing on the road has not been very kind to the Wildcats thus far this season. Their offense which scores around 24.8 points per game, has found points hard to come by on the road, only scoring around 17 points in opponents stadiums. Their offense will have to be in great form, if they expect to keep up with Nebraska in this game. For Kansas State to keep this game close, and keep themselves in the football game, they will need a big day from their junior running back, Daniel Thomas. Daniel Thomas is averaging around 5.1 yards per carry this season and has 11 rushing touchdowns. He is currently the leading rusher and currently leading the team in touchdowns as well. Kansas State will need him to have a monster game against a pretty good rush defense in Nebraska. Nebraska is giving up on average 94.7 rushing yards per game, making them the 11th ranked rush defense in the nation.

We do feel that in a game of such high emotions with lots on the line, perhaps risking 16.5 points with Nebraska may not be the best pick for this game, of course given everything above taking the 16.5 points with Kansas State is certainly no gimmie ither. If the Nebraska offense can play at a high tempo against a vulnerable Kansas State defense, and the Kansas State offense moves the ball well with Daniel Thomas leading to a few points, we think that the best bet here may be on the total.

Suggested Lean: Over 44.5 (Over is 10-1 in the last 11 meetings between K-State & Nebraska. Also the O/U opened up at 43 at some books, and has jumped up to 44.5 suggesting that money has already begun to come in on the Over.)

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A Key Match-Up In Group F

On Wednesday November 4th, FC Internazionale Milano will travel to FC Dynamo Kiev for a very important match in the Champions League Group F. Right now Inter sits in last place in Group F, but only 1 point out of 1st place. Group F seems to be, at least during the first 3 match days a very evenly matched group, however the two powerhouses that would normally be penciled in to advance are struggling. Barcelona is in a 3 way tie for first place (on points) with 4, while Inter has only 3. In the first 3 matches in this group Inter has managed just 3 draws, while everyone else in the group is 1-1-1. Is it time now for Inter to get their first win, in Group F against a very focused Dynamo Kiev squad ?

To say this is a must win for Inter is not exactly true. The truth is that any of the 4 teams in the group can win tomorrow and no-one will have clinched a spot in the second round. However, in my opinion Inter Milan cannot afford to lose or draw this next match against Dynamo Kiev, because Inter will have to travel to Camp Nou to take on Barcelona on November 24th. I do not think that Inter Milan wants to go into Camp Nou knowing that a loss could mean a possible early exit in this years Champions League.

The last time these two squared off was on match day 3, October 20th. The game ended in a 2-2 draw and was a match were Inter Milan had to come from behind twice just to earn a point. Watching this game Inter seemed to have no interest and for almost the entire first half played sluggish football, while Dynamo Kiev came out flying and controlled much of the first half. To Inters credit they did play that game without some of their key attackers such as Mario Balotelli and Diego Milito. Also, striker Samuel Eto'o was recovering from injury. This time around Inter Milan will have the help of Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito, but Mario Balotelli is currently listed as doubtful with an illness. Most current team news is listed below:

Dynamo
Out: Badr El Kaddouri (ankle), Olexandr Shovkovskiy (stomach), Pape Diakhate (knee)
Doubtful: Andriy Nesmachniy (knee)
Misses next match if booked: Leandro Almeida, Gérson Magrão, Artem Milevskiy

Inter
Out: none
Doubtful: Thiago Motta (thigh), Wesley Sneijder (thigh), Sulley Muntari (heel), Cristian Chivu thigh), Mario Balotelli (illness)
Misses next match if booked: Chivu, Maicon

The weather will be cold in the Ukraine, but I do not expect that to be much of a factor or slow Inter down. To win this game Inter needs to control the beginning of the half and keep an eye on Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukrainian former World Player of the Year. If Inter plays with the passion that they need to start to show in this tournament, their forwards should be too much for the Dynamo defense.

Suggestions:
Inter Milan to win @ +110 (Bookmaker)

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Florida State Squares Off Against BYU, in Provo Showdown

Florida State (1-1) @ #7 BYU (2-0) - September 19th (7:00pm EDT)
Spread: (BYU - 8) Over/Under: (54.5)

LaVell Edwards Stadium will be packed with over 64,000 fans ready to help extend BYU's home winning streak to 19 straight games on Saturday when the Florida State Seminoles come to Provo, UT for a huge game for both teams.

The weather for Saturday's game is said to be perfect for BYU's first home game of the 2009 college football season. Florida State has looked awful so far this season but perhaps a trip out of the state of Florida will be exactly what this team needs to get back to form.

The BYU Cougars have looked unstoppable so far this season and are 2-0 ATS while the Florida State Seminoles have looked like a train wreck, and are 0-2 ATS this season. While Florida State brings with them great team speed, BYU is a team that is very disciplined and will be focused on continuing their winning ways at home.

Max Hall's 638 yards passing and 71.4% completion percentage plus BYU's staggering defensive play has helped lead them to a 2-0 start with wins over Oklahoma (14-13) and Tulane (54-3), both games featured BYU as the visiting team. This is a big game for BYU and their fans who can taste a real chance at a BCS title game if they win on September 19th. BYU's schedule following the Florida State game is very favorable all the way down to the game on November 28th against Utah (a game that is going to be a home game for BYU).

BYU has the 30th ranked offense in the nation, averaging 442 yards per game. It will be up to the speed of the Florida State defense to try and control this seemingly uncontrollable Cougar offense.

Florida State so far this 2009 season is 1-1, after a close loss to the Miami Hurricanes (34-38), (who after last nights beat down of Georgia Tech, has a lot of people around the nation paying very close attention), and a struggling win over Jacksonville St (19-9) has to turn things around and in a hurry. Florida State does have the fire power to hang around BYU in a shoot out, (FSU has the 50th ranked offense in the nation, 401.5 yards per game)m but to win this game they will need their defense to step up big and try to find a way to keep Max Hall in check.

Bobby Bowden has expressed some concern however about his secondary keeping up with Max Hall and the BYU passing attack: "Their quarterback can throw the heck out of the ball," Bowden said. "He can thread it."

Greg Reid (#5) the talented 5'9 175lbs DB from Valdosta, Georgia already has 1 INT on the season and may be counted on to come in and at least grab one more INT in Provo on Saturday night; where turnovers may be the key to who wins this game.

Interesting Trends:
The Under is 8-3 in BYU's last 11 home games (Current O/U line 54.5).
Florida State is 2-0 all time vs BYU (both games road games for BYU)

*** Not sure to pick this weekend? You can purchase all of our NCAAF and NFL football picks for the entire '09-10 season, from the moment of purchase through ALL the bowl games, the National Championship Game, the NFL Playoffs & even the Super Bowl, with our "Football Pass"! ***

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My NCAAF Preseason Top 25 ...

Welcome to the month of August. I know its crazy, the steamy summer months of June and July, Which were not so steamy here in New Jersey, have flown by. That is perfectly fine with me, as I fancy myself more of a fall kind of guy. With eight days until the Hall of Fame Game between the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans [8pm EDT, NBC], and only 26 days until the start of college football, our minds are shifting away from baseball slightly. With all the upcoming football excitement, there are unofficial pre-season top 25 NCAAF polls all around the internet, so I have created my own. Enjoy!

1. Florida


2. Texas


3. Southern California


4. Oklahoma


5. Virginia Tech


6. Penn State


7. Oregon


8. Mississippi


9. Ohio State


10. Alabama


11. Boise State


12. Texas Tech


13. LSU


14. Oklahoma State


15. California


16. Iowa


17. TCU


18. Utah


19. Brigham Young


20. Oregon State


21. Nebraska


22. Georgia Tech


23. Notre Dame


24. Cincinnati


25. Florida State

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Big Ben .. May Be In Big Trouble

It came out last night, I believe courtesy of profootballtalk, that Ben Roethlisberger has been served a civil suit which alleges that he sexually assaulted a Harrah's casino employee in 2008. The plaintiff, Andrea McNulty, has said that the incident occurred on Friday July 11th, 2008 during the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship.

Allegedly McNulty says that Roethlisberger summoned her to his hotel room to fix his TV, which he reported as not working properly. McNulty said that upon her arrival into Roethlisbergers hotel room, he was wearing just a t-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts, and showed her the TV that was not working, which happened to be located in Roethlisbergers suites bedroom.

McNulty says that after checking the TV which was working properly, she tried to leave the room, but Roethlisberger was blocking her path and he then grabbed her and began to kiss her. McNulty admits that she didn't try to fight off Roethlisberger due to his size and strength, although she does admit to having communicated her lack of consent to him, however he continued to sexually assault her. McNulty then claims that Roethlisberger pushed her on the bed and began to penetrate her

Afterwards, once realizing that there are cameras throughout the hotel that would show her entering his room, McNulty claims that he told her "If anyone asks you, you fixed my television[...] Now go!"


These are only allegations in a civil suit. From what I understand there is no criminal case and Roethlisberger through lawyer David Cornwell has strongly denied the allegations. There are two things that I think are kind of fishy, one is why did McNulty not involve the police after it happened, and second why wait an entire year before going forward with pressing charges? This may or may not have happened, but how many times must people (especially professional athletes and celebrities) be told that you cannot allow a member of the opposite sex or anyone be alone with you in your bedroom or really anywhere else. I even know this and I am just a common person. This has the potential to become a really ugly situation for Roethlisberger.

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What Money Can Buy ...

Donte' Stallworth took full responsibility for killing 59-year-old Mario Reyes, while driving drunk (1.2 blood alcohol level). Stallworth on June 16th pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter after killing Mario Reyes with his car after a night of heavy drinking at a hotel bar. Mario Reyes was a construction crane operator who was rushing to catch a bus after finishing his shift at about 7:15 a.m. Stallworth was drunk at 7:15 a.m. How drunk must you be to not see someone crossing the street in daylight ?? Stallworth told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy the following:

"I accept full responsibility for this horrible tragedy.
I will bear this burden for the rest of my life."

Stallworth was going to face up to 15 years in prison, but according to a plea agreement he will only have to serve 24 days of his reduced 30 day sentence. 30 days, thats right its not a typo, 30 days !! After he is released from jail he will have to serve two years of house arrest and 8 years on probation, however he will be allowed to play football during those 2 years of house arrest. He also has to perform 1,000 hours of community service and will have his driver's license suspended for life. This does not count whatever disciplinary action Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner) decides to hand down on Stallworth. I just hope that it is something that will match the crime. Stallworth according to reports reached a "financial" settlement with the Reyes family. I am sure that Mario Reyes is happy to know to his family he was worth just a lump sum of money rather than justice. The family could have sued Stallworth anyway in a civil suit after he was convicted. It would have taken them a longer time to get their money but they would have gotten it and still be able to get justice for the killing of their father/husband Mario Reyes. Reports have said that the Reyes family, particularly the victim's 15-year-old daughter, wanted the case resolved to avoid any more pain.

What kind of sleaze bag lawyer was the Reyes family listening to ? What is wrong with this judge ? How do you let someone get away with 30 days in prison for the killing of another human being ? I remember another high profile court case in the news recently involving another NFL athlete, Michael Vick. Michael Vick was sentenced to prison, for running a dogfighting operation, for up to 23 months. So you get 30 days for killing a person and two years for killing a dog, does this make sense to anyone ???



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Weekend Recap ... June 12th - 14th 2009

The weekend of June 12th through June 14th of 2009 was a defining moment in different sports history. For starters there were two sports championships decided within the aforementioned time span and many exciting major league baseball interleague games, including a finish that should not have been and that's where we will start.

Friday June 12th, began another season of the hallowed Subway Series between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees. This game was the first Subway Series in the new Yankee Stadium and the city of New York was primed and ready for what would be a great weekend series. After a not so stellar starting pitching match-up, David Wright put the Mets ahead 8-7 with an RBI double in the eighth inning. So it was time for closer Francisco Rodriguez to come in the game in the 9th and close it out. However, he got into some trouble in the ninth. He gave up a single to Derek Jeter, who went on to steal second, then struck out pinch hitter Johnny Damon for the second out. After falling behind 3-0 to Mark Teixeira, K-Rod intentionally walked Teixeira, which brought up A-Rod. The intentional walk was called by Jerry Manuel from the dug-out. It appeared to be a bad idea as K-Rod fell behind A-Rod 3-0 before bringing the count to 3-1. It was on his next pitch that A-Rod popped the ball up to short right field. A-Rod in disgust throw his bat and I myself shouted many names towards him through my TV screen for once again not coming through in a big spot. It was then that I noticed Louis Casillo seemed to be moving sideways and never got set to catch the ball. I never really thought it would happen, but for a brief second my mind went "oh wow he's still drifting", then the unthinkable happened. The ball pops out of Louis Castillo's glove and to the grass. The Stadium erupted with cheers as Teixeira came across the plate to score the winning run in a 9-8 stunner. Much of the credit I think has to go to Mark Teixeira who could have just gave up on the play but instead continue to motor around the bases at full speed, never giving up and doing what a player is taught to do. After the game Castillo said, "I have to catch that ball. I have to make that play. I feel so bad. I feel like, you know, I don't feel good." One of the funnier moments in that play was when K-Rod started doing his fist pump celebration before the game was even over. That even got some laughs out of the Phillies announcers during their broadcast that night.

While all of that was going on Friday in New York, there was a pretty important game being played in Detroit, Michigan. This was not baseball but Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. In all of the different sport playoffs, there are not many more exciting than the NHL Playoffs and not many more exciting than a Game 7. In this series the home team managed to win every game, and the Penguins came in as sizeable underdogs. Most people did not think the series would even go 7 games, let a long give the Penguins any shot at winning the seventh game, but that is exactly what they did. They did it without one of their young stars, Sidney Crosby, playing any minutes in the 3rd period due to an injury suffered earlier in the game. They also were able to hold off the Red Wings while having little to no shots on goal the entire 3rd period. The pivotal moment came on a Marc-Andre Fleury save on a breakaway chance by the Red Wings late in the 3rd period. After Pavel Dastyuk returned to the Red Wings and the Red Wings chased Fleury out of the game early in a 5-0 Game 5 it seemed impossible for the Penguins to come back, but they did. Winning the game by a score of 2-1, Sidney Crosby became the youngest captain to win the Stanley Cup. It was the most watched NHL game in 36 years.

Sunday June 14th saw the crowning of the 2009 NBA Champion LA Lakers. They clinched their 15th NBA Championship in Game 5 at Orlando. They started out of the gates with a mission to close out the series and they never really looked back. The Lakers cruised to a 99-86 victory on Sunday as 3-point underdogs. LA Lakers +3 was omalleyandgoldstein's Guaranteed Pick of the day and they did not disappoint. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points in the game on his way to finals MVP trophy honors and Phil Jackson notched his record 10th NBA championship, cementing him in as perhaps the greatest NBA coach of all time. Kobe Bryant also finally proved to his doubters that he does not need Shaquille O'Neal to win a NBA championship.

Saturday June 13th and Sunday June 14th were also kind to us at omalleyandgoldstein.com as we went 9-1 (90%) overall.

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Is Pay-Per-View the Future of the NFL and NCAA ?

While listening this morning to a sports talk show broadcast online from a major network, a topic was brought up. The topic was the possible (and seemingly imminent) idea for college football and the NFL to begin doing a Pay-Per-View service to watch the games. The host suggested that anyone who is a fan of the SEC would gladly pay $40+ to watch their team every weekend. He also went on to say that most fans of NFL teams around the league would be more than happy to pay upwards of about $80 per game to watch their favorite NFL team play or to watch any other game that may interest them.

These numbers are not per season for a league, conference, or even your favorite team, but per game. For some reason I feel I need to express that over and over in hopes that it will eventually make sense, but so far it still seems stupid. Examples where given for NCAAF such as paying to see USC play Ohio State, and Florida play Ole Miss and so on. At first I thought to myself that people would probably pay this amount, however I was thinking that it was per big game. So you have your regular games during the day that you can watch but then have to pay money for any big key match-up game. However the idea involves every game being paid for, not just big games. I have think that this would be a terrible idea, granted the NCAA and NFL would make money for sure people would pay, but during a recession when people are struggling to pay their bills on time I think this would be a disastrous idea and highly irresponsible of the NFL and NCAA to sanction such things.

Maybe you get together with some buddies and order the game and split the price, but even that would get expensive after a while. The host brought up that people are willing to spend around $1000 a ticket to go to some game, and that may be true, but I just cannot imagine people who can't make their bill payments laying out that kind of cash to watch one football game.

Now of course this was just an idea by the host of the talk show program, the NFL and NCAA have not said anything about doing such a thing in the future. I know that advertising revenues are probably going down, just because businesses are disappearing right and left, but if the NFL and/or NCAA ever gave this serious thought, they should attempt to find another solution first. One that would be a little more responsible in this current economic state.

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Paterno wants a 12th in the Big Ten

Joe Paterno has expressed his interest for the Big Ten conference to expand to 12 teams. He has several reasons for doing this and he is 100% right on all of them. One of his main reasons is that for numerous weeks at the end of the season the Big Ten goes into "hiding" because they are doing nothing while other conferences are playing conference championship games on national tv. He also mentioned that a 12th team should come from the east coast a place with a big media market such as New York.

In a meeting with boosters, Joe Pa gave his three teams that he would like to see join the Big Ten conference to become the 12th team. He mentioned the follwing schools; Pitt, Syracuse, or Rutgers. While many people have suggested that Notre Dame join the Big Ten for many years now, Paterno said, "There's some pressure, I would suppose, to maybe go back to Notre Dame and ask again, which I would not be happy with. I think they've had their chance." Referring to the time about a decade ago where Notre Dame was asked to join the Big Ten but turned it down.

I think that out of the choices Paterno has suggested be the 12th team in the Big Team, I think that the best team might be Notre Dame. I doubt if asked Notre Dame would say yes anyway, I think that they love being not associated with any conference and making up their schedule however they want to.

A few years ago I would have supported Rutgers joining the Big Ten, but it seems that they are a couple year wonders and I am not sure that they would make any real impact in the Conference. Its the same feeling I have for Syracuse. Sure Syracuse is a team from New York and could bring about more media coverage to the Big Ten, but when the reports all season long are "and Syracuse loses yet another game", I think that they would have a negative impact on the Big Ten. With all that said I guess Pitt would be the best choice (if Notre Dame says no again). Pitt has a good enough defense year in and year out to compete with most of the Big Ten teams and it would re-establish a nice older in state rivalry between Pitt and Penn State. However, even though they were not mentioned I would give my full support to West Virginia joining the Big Ten to become the 12th team as well.

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Sports Gambling - Delaware & Beyond

Do you know what bothers me about this whole sports betting issue in Delaware. The fact that everyone is making a big deal about it. Las Vegas can do it, right ? I know the NFL doesn't want it and people are up in arms about the possibility of it leading to fixed games. Correct me if I am wrong but aren't there lots of other places besides Vegas where people can bet on sports if they want to. Sure, they are called offshore bookie venues, or a guy named Vito who hangs out down the street.

People are going to bet on sports whether its legal or not whether they can do it conveniently online or not. The government should smarten up, pass it for every state and start taxing the winnings. I do not know a single person who bets on sports offshore or not, who wouldn't mind paying a little bit of tax on their winnings if it meant that it would be legalized in the states. Bettors are going to bet regardless, they will find a way, they need the action. Sports gambling being overseen by the government and being online or at a casino is safer than the alternative of betting with your local bookie down the street. The government if they were smart would tax it and make all sorts of money and use that money to; i don't know fix the economy or on education or things that are important. There would be a load of money to make. Also it would make sports gamblers feel safer that the government can then oversee the sports gambling industry and make sure everything goes smooth, like making sure sports books send payouts in a timely manner.

I hope that other states follow Delaware in pushing to make sports gambling legal in their state,and I hope that the NFL loses its lawsuit against Delaware. Atlantic City would love to have something like that added to their recession struggling casino businesses. In a poll, 63 percent of New Jerseyans said they support making sports betting legal in the state. In a time where states are struggling to make budgets and find money, legalizing and taxing sports gambling is the best way to help.

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NFL Week 1 Spreads ... Now Available !

I was logging into a sports book site to check the line on the UEFA Cup game between Hamburg SV and Werder Bremen, scheduled for today. It is then that I noticed on the top of the screen an icon that said NFL. Not sure what it would be about (perhaps pre-season or maybe maybe even futures) I clicked it and much to my surprise it was a listing of all the spreads and over / unders for the first week of the NFL regular season. So I wanted to share them all with you: Enjoy as it is never to early to talk football !!

Thursday - September 10th;    Tennessee @ Pittsburgh;  –  Pitt -5.5  O/U [35]

Sunday - September 13th;    Miami @ Atlanta;  –  Atlanta -4  O/U [43]

Sunday - September 13th;    Kansas City @ Baltimore;  –  Baltimore -8.5  O/U [37.5]

Sunday - September 13th;    Philadelphia @ Carolina;  –  Carolina -1  O/U [44.5]

Sunday - September 13th;    Denver @ Cincinnati;  –  Cincinnati -2  O/U [44.5]

Sunday - September 13th;    Minnesota @ Clevland;  –  Minnesota -2.5  O/U [39.5]

Sunday - September 13th;    NY Jets @ Houston;  –  Houston -4  O/U [43]

Sunday - September 13th;    Jacksonville @ Indianapolis;  –  Indy -7.5  O/U [45]

Sunday - September 13th;    Detroit @ New Orleans;  –  New Orleans -12  O/U [48.5]

Sunday - September 13th;    Dallas @ Tampa Bay;  –  Dallas -3  O/U [42]

Sunday - September 13th;    San Francisco @ Arizona;  –  Arizona -6.5  O/U [47]

Sunday - September 13th;    Washington @ NY Giants;  –  NY Giants -6  O/U [39.5]

Sunday - September 13th;    St. Louis @ Seattle;  –  Seattle -7  O/U [43]

Sunday - September 13th;    Chicago @ Green Bay;  –  Green Bay -3  O/U [44]

Monday - September 14th;    Buffalo @ New England;  –  New England -10  O/U [46.5]

Monday - September 14th;    San Diego @ Oakland;  –  San Diego -7  O/U [44]

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Where The Bookies Don't Stand A Chance !

Ohio State Spring Game Draws Record Crowd of 95,722

On April 25th, while many people were focused on the NFL draft, "The" Ohio State Buckeyes (10-3 Overall; 7-1 Big 10 in 2008) played their annual Scarlet vs Gray spring game in front of a record 95,722 people.

The price for tickets to the game were $5 a piece with most of the proceeds going to charities in the local area. The fans were treated to a lack luster event until late in the first half when they got to see their sophomore quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, throw two deep touchdown passes in 30 seconds. One pass was a 44 yard pass to Taurian Washington while the other was a 42 yard pass to Ray Small; on route to a 23-3 Gray victory.

The record for most attendance in a spring game was held at the University of Alabama for Nick Saban's first year. The attendance for that game was 92,138. Despite losing 7 players to this years NFL draft (including underclassmen Chris "Beanie" Wells), it is safe to say that there is much anticipation for this years Ohio State Buckeye team.

A couple of key weeks that Ohio State fans should keep an eye out for in the upcoming 2009 season are:

September 12th - USC @ Ohio State
November 7th - Ohio State @ Penn State
November 14th - Iowa @ Ohio State
November 21st - Ohio State @ Michigan

November seems like a very difficult month for the Ohio State Buckeyes, one that will make or break their National and Big Ten Championship hopes for sure.


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Where The Bookies Don't Stand A Chance !

NFL Schedule - Big Key Matchups Week 1

The 2009 NFL season is coming upon us soon. First this coming weekend is the NFL draft. However the schedules were released last week for the upcoming season and there are a lot of big time key match-ups starting in Week 1. A couple of the games I (and any other NFL fan regardless of favorite team) should be looking forward to are:

Tennessee Titans @ Pittsburgh Steelers (Thursday September 10th, 8:30 pm NBC) – I don’t know about you, I am not a Steelers or a Titans fan, but ever since the “terrible towel” incident last season I have been sitting and waiting for the Titans to play the Steelers again, and even better come to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers. In the past years the Steelers have not taken kindly to other teams who have disrespected them and their towel, but this time it was on national TV and if I was a Titans player I would be really nervous going into the "steel city" to face the defending super bowl champs who are looking for a little revenge and respect back from the Titans.

Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots (Monday September 14th, 7:00 pm ESPN) – Even though they will not be on the field at the same time, unless there is some strange happenings going on, the battle between Randy Moss and TO will begin. The first of at least two times these times will meet in the 2009 season should shape up to be a gem. The Patriots are such a great team and really strong playing at home, but it will be interesting to see if the Bills can make it into a much more interesting game, than what it would have been if TO did not sign with the Bills.

These are only two marquis matchups in week 1 of the 2009 season. There are plenty more huge matchups throughout the season and probably many more will develop, that may not be thought of right now by anyone. As the season unfolds and new storylines are written OmallyandGoldstein.com will be there with you enjoying every minute of it.

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Where The Bookies Don't Stand A Chance !

C.C. Sabathia Makes Yankee History on Opening Day

Opening Day for the 2009 Major League Baseball season started yesterday. Most of the games were really good back and fourth battles, the weather also had its way with some games as well. The big news however came out of Baltimore were C.C. Sabathia and his 7 year 161 million dollar contract with the Yankees made Yankee history.

C.C. became the first pitcher in Yankee history on opening day to not record a single strike-out. None, not one. Probably not the kind of Yankee history C.C. wants to be a part of but, he can't do anything about that now. C.C. finished up his Yankee debut going four and a third innings giving up six earned runs and 5 walks.

As I sat with much enthusiasm watching the first inning, a shot of nausea came over me as C.C. gave up a lead off hit, he didn't stop their as he also gave up two wild pitches and a walk in the first inning and was lucky to get out of that inning giving up 0 runs. I thought that maybe he is just warming up, then the rest of the game happened and proved me wrong as he stunk up the field.

I know its early, but hey C.C. this is not Cleveland or Milwaukee, this is New York and you are going to realize that very very fast. The only thing C.C. has going for him is he should get at least one more start on the road before coming to make his first start in the new Yankee stadium. Whats important to note is that CC Sabathia started last season 1-5 with the Indians and then from June 10 until September 10 with Cleveland and Milwaukee, he went 12-0 in 18 starts. So This may not be as bad as we think. Perhaps a decent outing will allow Yankee fans to forgive the opening day blunders, but if C.C. has another bad game he could be in for a rude awakening, as only Yankee fans can deliver.



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