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03/17/2010 -
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -New Mexico has one of the most famous arenas in college basketball and a devoted legion of hoops-crazy fans.
Something the Lobos have never had? Two straight victories in the NCAA tournament.
``Never gotten out of the second round?'' Mountain West player of the year Darington Hobson asked.
Correct.
Going into Thursday's opener, New Mexico is 6-12 in 11 previous NCAA appearances. The Lobos (29-4) are seeded No. 3 in the East Region against No. 14 Montana (22-9) in San Jose, Calif., and coach Steve Alford said the only game that matters is the next one.
``What we've done in the NCAA tournament, whether it be good, bad or indifferent, I don't think it has any impact on what these guys are going to do,'' he said. ``I don't know if any of these guys would even know what teams in the past have done in the NCAA tournament.''
Good thing, because it's not exactly bragging material.
In the 1974 tournament, the Lobos went 2-1 after winning their opener, losing in the second round at a regional site and then winning the regional consolation game.
Consolations are no longer played, not that it matters now.
``We don't look at the past too much,'' said All-Mountain West point guard Dairese Gary. ``We had great teams before us but we're a new generation, a new time. We just want to focus on the present, try to do what we can do and try to set new records and make new goals.''
It's not just that the Lobos have never sustained an NCAA run. It's the way some previous teams have lost that spawned horror stories.
What's the most infamous example?
Sorry, but it's difficult to choose just one.
How about the storied 1978 team that included Michael Cooper and held a No. 12 national ranking? After winning the Western Athletic Conference with a 13-1 record, the Lobos - in the days of the first-round bye - played in the NCAAs at nearby Tempe, Ariz.
One win would have returned them to The Pit for the regional semifinals. But Cal State Fullerton spoiled the fiesta with a shocking 90-85 upset.
And check out what happened in 1994. The Lobos won the WAC tournament, earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAAs and went to Tucson, Ariz., to face No. 12 George Washington.
They were finished before leaving the hotel. On the eve of that game, several players dined on the most notorious snack in New Mexico basketball history - the dreaded chili cheese fries that had them up most of the night and ill the next day. George Washington won 82-68.
The Lobos have also missed opportunities against big-time programs in the NCAA tournament.
In 1996, New Mexico ended a 22-year drought of NCAA wins by beating Kansas State, then faced Georgetown. The Lobos led 35-32 at halftime, but Allen Iverson scored 19 of his 25 points after the break and New Mexico's Kenny Thomas got into foul trouble as the Hoyas won 73-62.
The next year, the Lobos had a No. 3 seed - highest in school history until this year's team matched it. After beating Old Dominion in the opener, the Lobos faced Louisville and came within a basket of reaching the Round of 16.
Trailing 64-63, New Mexico forced a turnover with 16 seconds remaining, but Charles Smith - still the school's career scoring leader - passed up a jumper from the wing and tossed the ball to David Gibson, who missed an off-balance shot at the horn.
After that came second-round losses to Syracuse and Connecticut, which went on to win the 1999 title.
In 2005, the Danny Granger-led Lobos won the Mountain West tournament. But against Villanova in the NCAAs, they shot 18 percent and scored 11 first-half points. New Mexico rallied and got within 52-47 with 29 seconds left before losing 55-47.
This year's Lobos are eager to write a new chapter.
They've punctured many of the old syndromes that plagued New Mexico through the years by notching a school-record 29 wins, including 10 road victories and 12 wins overall away from The Pit while assembling 12- and 15-game winning streaks.
``Why not one more run for this team?'' said the only senior, Roman Martinez. ``We're athletic. We're young and inexperienced, but we have great leadership in Coach Alford. We have the conference MVP and a first-team all-league player. We're just trying to stretch this thing 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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It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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