The 19th Century English author Anthony Trollope was onto something when he said he judged men by their actions with other men, not by what they said to the heavens. Trollope would have made an excellent football handicapper. The following 10 stats and factoids for this weekend’s slate are based on actual events, 100-percent free of bluster.
Miami vs. Buffalo: The average temperature in Buffalo last December was 30.5 degrees Fahrenheit. But Sunday’s game is being played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, and the retractable roof is closed and locked now that baseball season is over. It will be a climate-controlled 72 degrees inside the former SkyDome.
Buffalo vs. Ball State: The over is 20-8 in Buffalo’s last 28 games against MAC opponents. The over is also 3-0 in the last three meetings between the Bulls and Cardinals. Quarterbacks Drew Willy and Nate Davis have combined for 46 touchdown throws and just 12 interceptions this year.
St. Louis at Arizona: Kurt Warner is 4-2 SU and 3-3 ATS against his former employers. Warner is an MVP candidate this year with a 99.3 passer rating; the man who replaced him in St. Louis, Marc Bulger, has a career-low 67.1 rating playing behind a banged-up offensive line.
Navy vs. Army: Army is playing just its second game in four weeks. The Black Knights had a bye in Week 12 and Week 14. Navy’s last game was on Nov. 25, when the Midshipmen (+3) bounced Northern Illinois 16-0. They had Weeks 11 and 13 off.
Minnesota at Detroit: The Lions defense is last in the league at 6.3 yards allowed per play. Detroit is also worst in points allowed (393), rushing touchdowns allowed (22) and interceptions (two). Minnesota is sixth in the NFL with 83 first downs rushing.
Check out the NFL betting in the Bodog Sportsbook.
Western Kentucky at Florida International: FIU is ranked No. 115 out of 120 FBS teams in time of possession at 26:51 per game. WKU is No. 89 at 29:03. The Golden Panthers have allowed opponents to complete 44 percent of their third-down opportunities compared to 43.1 percent for the Hilltoppers.
Cleveland at Tennessee: Ken Dorsey was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist for the Miami Hurricanes. He’s made one brief appearance in each of the last three seasons for the Browns, going a combined 0-for-4 with a sack and a pick. Dorsey starts this week for the injured Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.
USC at UCLA: The Trojans have allowed a total of 39 points in their last seven games. That includes three shutouts and two games (against Notre Dame and Cal) with a lone field goal. UCLA is No. 111 in the nation in offense with 294.5 yards per game.
New England at Seattle: Rosevelt Colvin owns two UPS stores in his hometown of Indianapolis. But he’s swapping brown for Patriots blue, red, silver and white. New England signed its former star linebacker and two-time Super Bowl winner to shore up an injury-plagued defense. Colvin was cut by the Houston Texans in training camp this year.
Alabama vs. Florida: Gators RB/WR Percy Harvin was a high-school champion in track & field. The Virginia native and Heisman candidate set state records in three sprinting events, plus the long jump and triple-jump. Harvin (sprained ankle) is reportedly a game-time decision for this SEC title matchup.
Check out the latest NCAA football odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.
December 5th, 2008
Here’s an interesting item from the team at Bodog Sportsbook if you’re planning a last minute “investment” on this great fight.
The era of big-money boxing matches isn’t over yet. Saturday night’s card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas will be shown live on HBO pay-per-view, and it features one of the biggest attractions ever to set foot in the squared circle: Oscar De La Hoya. His 2007 fight against Floyd Mayweather drew a record 2.2 million PPV buys and $120 million in revenue. Even in today’s economy, De La Hoya’s bout with Manny Pacquiao is expected to be far and away the top money fight of 2008.
What people will see when they tune in remains something of a mystery – which only adds to the intrigue. This is simply not your typical matchup. De La Hoya is a light middleweight whose last two fights were at the 150-pound mark. Pacquiao, the Ring Magazine No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, is the WBC lightweight champion at 135 pounds, taking the strap from David Diaz in June after moving up from the super featherweight class. Saturday’s fight is a non-title bout at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds.
The size advantage De La Hoya is bringing into the ring is enough to make him the –175 favorite at press time (for current lines, visit sports.bodoglife.com). It’s also enough for many insiders – including De La Hoya’s former partner at Golden Boy Productions, noted Mexican boxer Marco Antonio Barrera – to compare this matchup to a circus sideshow. It might not be as obvious a mismatch as, say, Primo Carnera vs. Jack Sharkey, but the extra 20-30 pounds De La Hoya is carrying give him a major advantage in this fight.
Here is the tale of the tape for both men:
De La Hoya
Age: 35
Record: 39-5 (30 KO)
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5-foot-10 1/2
Reach: 73 inches
Pacquiao
Age: 29
Record: 47-3-2 (35 KO)
Stance: Southpaw
Height: 5-foot-6 1/2
Reach: 67 inches
Barrera, a former opponent of Pacquiao’s, thinks that De La Hoya will win by knockout in just two rounds. The over/under for rounds in this 12-round fight is 9.5, with the over priced at –185. The props market has odds of –160 that the fight won’t go the distance. A second-round KO by the Golden Boy would pay out at 20-1; De La Hoya is pegged at 29-20 to win by KO, TKO or DQ and 8-5 to win by decision. Pacquiao is the +145 underdog to win and a –170 chalk to get knocked down or out. It’s easy to see why Pacquiao’s wife and mother were said to be against this fight taking place when negotiations began.
Bet on boxing in the Bodog Sportsbook
Again, this is where the intrigue comes in. Pacquiao carries the respected mantle of best P4P fighter in the world. He’s a southpaw, and De La Hoya hasn’t fought a lefty since beating Hector “Macho” Camacho in 1997, back when the Golden Boy was The Ring’s P4P champion. Pacquiao has won his last eight fights in a row with an improved counterpunching repertoire to go along with his lightning-fast left-right combo. And for a smaller fighter, Pacquiao throws with a lot of power. He knocked out Erik Morales twice to avenge his last loss back in 2005, also at the MGM Grand – Pacquiao is staying at Mandalay Bay this week because of that result.
There’s also the question of desire. This is Pacquiao’s biggest payday ever, easily reaching eight figures. If he wins, they will back up the money truck again for a fight against Ricky Hatton. If he loses, it’s back to the lower weight classes and the lower paydays. De La Hoya is nearing the end of his career and has more money than he can count. He bought Ring Magazine last year. He has his own clothing line. There’s nothing left for De La Hoya to prove.
All of Pacquiao’s positive attributes aren’t enough to keep insiders from treating this fight like it’s a foregone conclusion. That kind of consensus usually comes with shorter odds than De La Hoya is getting in this fight. Mayweather was a –200 favorite against the Golden Boy last year. In comparison, Saturday’s favorite is a compelling value pick in a sport where underdogs take a literal beating.
For more on Bodog Sportsbook:
>>Bodog Sport Review at BookieLabRat.com
>>Review of Bodog Sportsbook at GoonersGuide.com
>>Compare Bodog to JustBet and Bookmaker.com, the other two online sports betting sites that offer safe, secure betting services to bettors from around the world including Americans.
December 5th, 2008