<< Hornets make themselves at home in blowout win over Thunder
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West scored 19 points and Chris Paul scored 17 to go with six assists and six rebounds as the New Orleans Hornets returned to a familiar venue for a 105-80 blowout over the Thunder. The Hor

<< Harangody and Irish fight off Lions
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Harangody posted 27 points and 17 rebounds as the eighth-ranked Fighting Irish pulled out a surprisingly tough 65-54 decision over the Loyola-Marymount Lions. Tory Jackson logged 16 points an

<< Hansbrough returns for UNC in win over UCSB
Santa Barbara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Hansbrough made his season debut and scored 13 points and added seven rebounds as the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels downed UC Santa Barbara, 84-67, at the Thunderdome. Hansbrough, the rei

<< Stempniak leads Blues to OT win over Ducks
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lee Stempniak's goal 2:39 into overtime lifted St. Louis over Anaheim, 3-2, at Scottrade Center. Stempniak gained control of the puck near center ice, and once over the Ducks' blue line, crossed to th

Kobe shines, 'Melo struggles as Lakers clobber Nuggets >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 29 points to pace the Lakers to their 10th win in 11 games this season, a 104-90 triumph over the Denver Nuggets. Andrew Bynum contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds as Los Angeles

Wild continue homestand with visit from Blues >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild will continue a five-game homestand this evening, as they welcome the St. Louis Blues to Xcel Energy Center. The Wild bring a solid 5-2-1 home mark into tonight's test despite losing the opener of this r

Streaking Bruins try to halt eight-game slide in Montreal >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Bruins ended their epic losing streak against the Canadiens in the last matchup between the two Northeast Division rivals. Boston will now try to end its skid in Montreal, where the two teams meet tonight at the Bell Cent

Coppin State faces daunting task in clash with No. 11 Purdue >>
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 11th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers have a ton of returning talent on the roster, and they are clearly favored in tonight's non-conference clash with the Coppin State Eagles. Coppin State has only played

Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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