No. 7 Sooners seek entry into 800-win club

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/03/2010 -

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -The pictures on the walls and the old videos Bob Stoops shows to his players serve as a reminder that Oklahoma's program has been thriving for decades, since long before any of them were around.

On Saturday night, Oklahoma can add to its storied history with a win against Utah State in the season opener for both teams.

By beating the Aggies, the Sooners can become only the seventh Division I team in college football history to make it to 800 wins. The others are Michigan, Texas, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State.

``It just shows how much tradition we have here and all of the hard work and the blood, sweat and tears that the past players have put into this,'' running back DeMarco Murray said. ``We're trying to continue that tradition.

``It's Oklahoma and we expect to win a lot of games here.''

The Sooners' 560 wins since the end of World War II are the most by any school, though Michigan is far ahead with a Division I-leading 877.

``This is ... one of the more special schools in college football. You look at our tradition and history and you don't go back just a few years, you go back decades. There's not many like it,'' Stoops said. ``We're excited to be here as a team and proud to be a part of that history and tradition. Hopefully, we can keep adding to it.''

To do that, Oklahoma will need to avoid starting a second straight season with an unexpected loss to a Utah team. Last season, BYU beat the Sooners 14-13 in a game best remembered for 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford's shoulder injury.

The shocking loss came only eight months after their appearance in the BCS championship game. Oklahoma wound up 8-5, matching the most losses in Stoops' 11 years as head coach.

``The first game is a big game. You saw what happened in our first game last year,'' tight end Trent Ratterree said. ``We don't want to do something like we did last year. We want to completely change the way we played and in essence become a new team.''

Utah State has tried to reinvent itself since its last visit to Owen Field, a 54-3 Oklahoma blowout in 2007. Gary Andersen put together the 12th-best offense in the nation last season and went 4-8 in his first year in charge of the Aggies, the team's best win total since 2002.

That included giving an early-season scare to Texas A&M, losing 38-30 but having a chance to tie the game after recovering a late onside kick. That's the game that caught Stoops' eye as he told his team not to overlook the Aggies.

``What we have to do is walk in there with a mindset that we can tackle well and we can protect the quarterback,'' Andersen said. ``Those are two big glaring things. Those are two things we have to do to be able to have a chance in this football game.

``If we can't do those two things, it is going to be a long day.''

Unlike last year, the Sooners haven't been ravaged by injuries heading into their opener. Middle linebacker Austin Box (back) is out and defensive linemen Adrian Taylor and Frank Alexander may not play because of ankle injuries. That's nothing compared to the chaos that preceded last year's opener, with a late injury to NFL-bound tight end Jermaine Gresham compounding issues on the offensive line.

``We have something to prove. We didn't play Oklahoma football last year,'' receiver Ryan Broyles said. ``We know we have a tough schedule, but we wouldn't be here at this university if we weren't going to play great teams. We want to play like champions game in and game out.''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.

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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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