05/15/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - EX-LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux is in search of team. And Jacksonville State is in need of a quarterback.
So who cares about the suspensions, legal issues and failed drug tests in this mercurial athlete's past? Just grab your shotgun and proceed to a marriage of convenience.
Jacksonville State offered the former national high school player of the year a scholarship during his visit to the Alabama campus on Tuesday, and Perrilloux announced he had accepted that offer on Wednesday.
The Gamecocks were one of a multitude of FCS programs that lined up to court the talented but troubled player.
LSU coach Les Miles has already granted Perrilloux, who has two years of eligibility left, and Jacksonville State the release needed to complete the transaction.
JSU dismissed talented senior starter Cedric Johnson a couple of months back for "violating team rules," but now coach Jack Crowe and his staff are willing to jump from the frying pan and into the fire with Perrilloux.
When Johnson was kicked off of the team, the Gamecocks were left without a scholarship player at quarterback, so the presence of Perrilloux stands to greatly improve JSU's chances of winning an Ohio Valley Conference title, or reaching the NCAA playoffs.
If Perrilloux doesn't ruin his new team's chemistry first.
Even if Crowe had reconsidered the scholarship offer, there were as many as 25 FCS teams waiting in line for a chance to woo the signal-caller.
Perrilloux had originally planned a trip to Mississippi next week to visit Jackson State, another school in desperate straits at quarterback. He had already taken a trip to Alabama A&M, and it seems that just about all of the SWAC is lining up to wine and dine a player who once boasted he would be the first player to win FOUR Heisman Trophies.
Someone should have told him that Ohio State running back Archie Griffin was the only player to win that prestigious award more than once. Now Perrilloux will cast his eyes on the Walter Payton Award, an honor that no one has won more than once.
Sam Houston State raised eyebrows a couple of years back when it brought in quarterback Rhett Bomar, the centerpiece of an extra benefits scandal at Oklahoma, along with offensive lineman J.D. Quinn (now at Montana). But Bomar's mistakes paled in comparison to Perrilloux's background, and Bomar has shown himself to be genuinely contrite and regretful for his past failings.
I'm all for giving a youngster a fresh start and a second chance, but at what point do you throw away good sense and proceed with a win-at-all-costs attitude?
It is easy to find this type of attitude every day at the FBS level. But when you start to see FCS teams lowering their standards, someone needs to stop and take notice.
Perrilloux is a kid that was expected to star for the defending BCS champion, but got into so much trouble that those Bayou Tigers felt it was best to separate themselves from him. If a team at LSU's level gets rid of a kid like this, what does that say about the baggage he will bring to another program?
I remember a few years back when Marshall, never the most integrous of programs, brought in a troubled athlete who even Notre Dame and Florida State didn't want. Randy Moss spurred the Thundering Herd to the 1996 I-AA national championship, but not without his share of off-field incidents.
No one is expecting Perrilloux to lead Jacksonville State or some other FCS squad to those kind of heights, but the risk of damaging his new team is definitely something to worry about.
Still, there are obviously coaches throughout the subdivision that will roll those loaded dice and pray they don't come up snake eyes. Such is the temptation of winning.
THE NUMBERS GAME
Die-hard FCS fans can tell you that San Diego quarterback Josh Johnson threw 43 touchdown passes with just one interception. They can tell you that Georgia Southern has a record six championship flags hanging in Paulson Stadium, and that Alcorn State's Steve McNair passed for 14,496 yards.
But I learned some other stats recently that caused me to step up and take notice. The chances of someone finding a perfect match for a blood marrow donor are just one in 80,000. Only about 250 matches are made in a given year.
A couple of weeks back, I participated in the blood marrow donor program at Villanova University. It was as simple as filling out a few forms and having a swab of my cheek taken.
Over the past 16 years, Villanova football coach Andy Talley has hosted bone marrow testing drives, resulting in several thousand potential donors being tested and entered into the national bone marrow registry.
This year, Talley expanded his efforts by partnering with the Fox Chase Bone Marrow Transplant program. Calling their partnership the First and Goal Program, Talley and Fox Chase were able to talk eight other football programs into holding testing during their spring football games.
Other schools to get involved included Penn, Harvard, Massachusetts, Northeastern, New Hampshire, Maine and Wagner from the FCS ranks and one FBS program - Temple. Talley is hopeful that more schools, particularly ones from other regions of the country, will get involved in this simple but important program in the future.
In 2006, Villanova kicker Joe Marcoux learned he was a perfect match for a cancer victim. That December, Marcoux donated some of his blood marrow to help extend the life of the woman.
Hopefully, there will be plenty more stories like this, as Talley continues his work in promoting this much-needed program.
<< Nationals' Johnson heads to DL again
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have placed oft-
injured first baseman Nick Johnson on the 15-day disabled list with a torn
tendon in his right wrist, the team announced Thursday.
Johnson, who missed the
<< Brewers P Riske lands on DL
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher David Riske
has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a hyperextended right elbow,
the team announced Thursday.
Riske left Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles
<< Brewers ink Braun to record-setting extension
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers have signed outfielder
Ryan Braun to a record-setting eight-year contract that sets the bar for
players with three years or less of major league experience.
The deal, worth a re
<< Phils send out Hamels in hopes of gaining series win from Braves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lefty Cole Hamels will try for a fourth straight start
without a loss tonight, when the Philadelphia Phillies host the Atlanta Braves
in the finale of a three-game set between National League East Division rivals
at Citi
Dodgers 3B DeWitt scratched from lineup >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Blake
DeWitt was a late scratch from the lineup for Thursday's game against the
Milwaukee Brewers after experiencing lower back pain.
Everyday catcher Russell Ma
Barcelona and MLS establish multi-year partnership >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Soccer announced Thursday it has
entered into a multi-year partnership with Barcelona, one of the world's most
popular and celebrated professional soccer clubs.
The new, five-year partnership -
Coburn, Roberts out for Game 4 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia defenseman Braydon Coburn and
Pittsburgh forward Gary Roberts will miss tonight's Game 4 of the Eastern
Conference finals at the Wachovia Center.
Coburn took a puck to the face early
Queen Justine bids farewell >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of tennis' greatest champions abruptly
called it a career this week, as Justine Henin decided she'd had enough of the
tennis lifestyle at only 25 years of age.
Much like Bjorn Borg in the early 1980s,
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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