Ranked Big 12 foes meet in Columbia

NCAA Football Betting Lines

10/17/2007 - Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders bring their high-flying act to Columbia to take on the 15th-ranked Missouri Tigers in what should be a thrilling Big 12 Conference affair.

Texas Tech has won three straight to move to 6-1 on the year. Last week's 35-7 pasting of rival Texas A&M earned the Red Raiders their first national ranking since late 2005, and marks the team's 15th straight season in which it will participate in a bowl game. Tech is 2-1 in conference play and its only loss of the season came on the road at Oklahoma State on September 22nd.

As for Missouri, it suffered its first loss of the campaign last weekend, falling to Big 12 bully Oklahoma, 41-31, in Norman. The setback means the Tigers are now 1-1 in conference. They are however, unbeaten at home this season (3-0) and are a stellar 22-6 in Columbia since the 2003 season. Texas Tech is the third straight ranked foe Mizzou has faced.

The Red Raiders and Tigers have met just six times previously, with the latter holding a 4-2 series advantage. Missouri has won four of the five meetings since the formation of the Big 12, including a 38-21 decision in Lubbock last season.

Boasting the nation's most prolific passing attack, the Red Raiders come into this contest looking to make a statement. Led by QB Graham Harrell, Texas Tech is averaging 50 points and 582 yards of total offense per game. Harrell has completed an eye-popping 74.4 percent of his passes and is averaging 450 ypg through the air. He has 31 TD passes against only three INTs -- all remarkable stats considering how often coach Mike Leach has Harrell looking downfield. As a result of Harrell's exploits, Michael Crabtree has taken his game to another level as evidenced by his 78 receptions, 1,244 yards and 17 TDs in just seven games. Danny Amendola has also benefitted from the pass-happy attack, hauling in 60 balls for 755 yards and five scores. When Tech decides to keep the ball on the ground, it is Shannon Woods who gets the call most often, and he has responded with 409 yards and eight TDs, averaging a robust 5.5 ypc along the way. Harrell threw for 425 yards and three TDs while rushing for another score in last week's dismantling of Texas A&M. Crabtree finished with eight receptions for 170 yards, but was held without a TD catch for the first time this season. Helping the cause, Woods rumbled his way to 93 yards and a score.

Texas A&M gained 366 yards in last week's clash, including 233 on the ground. The Aggies averaged 5.4 yards per rushing attempt, clearly taking advantage of Texas Tech's front line. Still, the Red Raiders allowed just 133 yards passing and held TAMU to just a 5-of-13 success rate on third down. Joe Garcia led the Tech stand with 11 tackles, while Darcel McBath was hot on his heels with 10. The Red Raiders failed to log a sack in the game and came up with just one turnover. So far this season, opponents have been rather balanced in their approach to attacking the Texas Tech defense, rushing for 163.3 ypg and passing for 178.6 ypg. Garcia is the team's top tackler, having logged 43 stops to this point, while Marlon Williams and Paul Williams are just off the pace with 42 and 41 stops, respectively. With just 15 sacks and 12 takeaways, the Tech defense is rather average in terms of big-play ability. Jamar Wall has three of the team's six interceptions.

While Harrell is arguably the nation's top signal caller, Missouri's Chase Daniel can certainly hold his own. Daniel comes into this contest ranked fifth in the country in total offense (376.7 ypg), and he is hitting 68.9 percent of his passes for 345.5 ypg with 16 TDs against just six INTs. Martin Rucker is the team's leading pass catcher (44 receptions, 474 yards, three TDs), and Chase Coffman (34 receptions, 341 yards, three TDs) is enjoying a solid season as well despite starting just once in six games. The Tigers held a narrow lead over Oklahoma in the fourth quarter of last week's Big 12 tilt, but a costly turnover gave the Sooners the momentum they would need to post the 10-point victory. Daniel was highly efficient in completing 37-of-47 passes for 361 yards and a TD, but two picks proved costly. Coffman led all receivers with 10 grabs for 102 yards, and the Mizzou ground assault managed just 57 net yards, with Jeremy Maclin leading the way with 32 yards on just four totes. He did score a pair of TDs, however, to help keep the Tigers in contention.

The Missouri defense held the Sooners to 118 yards rushing last week, but three TDs on the ground helped power Oklahoma to victory. Mizzou defenders pounced on two fumbles, but the Sooners were successful on 10 of their 14 third-down conversion attempts and scored on all five trips to the red zone. Mizzou's Brock Christopher and Sean Weatherspoon both tallied double-digit stops in the contest with 12 and 10, respectively, and the two currently rank sit atop the team's tackles chart for the season. Christopher is tied for the club lead in TFLs with five, while Weatherspoon has posted 57 total stops and has broken up four passes. Foes are putting up 24.5 ppg behind 403.2 total ypg this year, with the pass being their most productive mode of attack (265.3 ypg).

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.

Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA		 4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich		 9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson		 5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

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