Football Betting

NFL Capsule: Minnesota at New Orleans

Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 -

MINNESOTA (13-5) At NEW ORLEANS (16-3)

8:30 p.m. ET, NBC

OPENING LINE - Saints by 4 1/2

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Minnesota 11-6-1; New Orleans 10-9

SERIES RECORD - Vikings lead 20-8

LAST MEETING - Saints beat Vikings 31-28, Jan. 24, 2010

VIKINGS OFFENSE - OVERALL (5), RUSH (13), PASS (8)

VIKINGS DEFENSE - OVERALL (6), RUSH (2), PASS (19)

SAINTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (1), RUSH (6), PASS (4)

SAINTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (25), RUSH (21), PASS (26)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Game is rematch of the 2009 NFC championship. ... Vikings beginning their 50th NFL season; Saints beginning their 44th. ... Vikings QB Brett Favre returns for his 20th season. ... Favre needs 3 TD passes to become first ever to reach 500. ... Favre had career-high 107.2 passer rating in 2009. ... RB Adrian Peterson rushed for 1,383 yards, 18 TDs last season. ... Peterson had 122 yards rushing and 3 TDs but fumbled twice vs. Saints in NFC title game. ... Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe's 11 TD catches ranked second among TEs in 2009. ... Vikings DE Jarred Allen had 14 1/2 sacks in 2009. ... Saints won first Super Bowl in franchise history last season. ... Saints led NFL with 510 points, ninth most in single season history, and led NFL in total offense with 403.8 yards per game. ... Saints QB Drew Brees set NFL record with 70.62 completion percentage in 2009 and led NFL with career-high and franchise-high 109.6 passer rating. Was voted Super Bowl MVP. ... RB Pierre Thomas led Saints with career-high 793 yards rushing in 2009. ... RB Reggie Bush is only player in Saints history to score TDs rushing, receiving and on punt returns. ... WR Marques Colston led Saints with 70 catches for 1,074 yards in 2009, his third 1,000-yard season since joining NFL in 2006. ... Saints had 39 takeaways last season (26 INT, 13 fumble recoveries), second in NFL. ... S Roman Harper had career-high 127 tackles in 2009, second highest on Saints behind Jon Vilma's 130. ... All-Pro S Darren Sharper out six weeks after left knee surgery.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.


<< Pass-happy Big 12 boasts nation's top 3 rushers
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -The Big 12 is ready to run again.The pass-happy league that's been known in recent years for producing Heisman Trophy finalists at quarterback is now the home of the nation's top three rushers.Oklahoma State's Kendall Hunter,

<< Alabama's Ingram likely to miss Penn State game
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alabama junior running back Mark Ingram will likely miss Saturday's game against Penn State as he continues to recover from knee surgery performed last week. Ingram was hurt during practice on August 30

<< Is the wild card hurting the division races?
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before I get started here, let me state that I was a big proponent of the wild card when it was implemented back in 1995, and I am still in favor of it today. In fact, I am on the side of those who wish to expand the playoffs

<< Star QBs dot Pac-10 landscape
PHOENIX (AP) -The Pac-10 has always been known as the quarterback conference, churning out stars such as John Elway, Troy Aikman and Drew Bledsoe.After a few down years under center, the Pac is back.Led by four potential first-round NFL draft picks,

<< In the FCS Huddle: Coaches at dropped programs regroup
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's unusual for a 59-year-old man who has spent more than four decades in football to be calling himself an "apprentice" at what he is doing, but Rocky Hager is joking about it today. This time last year,

Irish must contain QB Robinson >>
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -Notre Dame will have to buckle down on defense this weekend.Gap assignments, containment and sure tackling will all be essential when the Irish face Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson.Irish defensive back Darrin Walls says R

Red Wings bring back Maltby >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings have signed veteran forward Kirk Maltby to a one-year, two-way contract. No terms of the deal were announced. The 37-year-old Maltby totaled four goals and six points over 52

Predators ink Franson >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators signed defenseman Cody Franson to a two-year contract worth $1.6 million on Wednesday. The 23-year-old compiled six goals and 21 points in 61 games during his

Line of Scrimmage: Week 1 - Conspicuous absences >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When confronted with a media inquiry regarding a team member who is absent due to holdout, injury or suspension, NFL coaches are fond of saying they'd rather talk about the "players that are here." It's s

Hamilton QB Glenn among CFL Players of the Week >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamilton quarterback Kevin Glenn, Calgary Stampeders defensive back Brandon Smith and Tiger-Cats linebacker Markeith Knowlton were chosen as the CFL's Players of the Week. Glenn led the Tiger-Cats t

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards