This Week in Sports Betting, A-Z
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 3/21/2012
A – Adam Schefter and Chris Mortenson. The ESPN tag team of Adam Schefter and Chris Mortenson broke the Peyton Manning to Denver news with a simple tweet around 11:30 a.m. EST on Monday morning. Kind of like how the LeBron James to Miami Heat story broke minus a one-hour ESPN primetime special with Jim Gray.
B – Big Ten. The Big Ten has four teams in the Sweet 16: Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. They are 9-2 overall in the tournament. Plenty of props have been given to the Big Ten, so let’s roast the Mountain West instead. Its four representatives somehow managed to win only one tournament game (and against a No. 12 seed at that).
C- Championship ring. Antoine Walker, a former NBA champion and now a dead broke NBA D-Leaguer, auctioned off his 2006 NBA Championship ring he won with the Miami Heat. The ring fetched $21,500, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the $12 million in debt Walker somehow racked up. Walker now plays for the Idaho Stampede of the D-League. The championship ring was bought by Andres Garcia, who probably had to outbid LeBron James for it.
D – Dolphins. Miami has apparently found its man to play quarterback. Who needs Peyton Manning or Alex Smith or Tim Tebow or anyone else, for that matter, when you can sign David Garrard out of the unemployment line?
E – Early Payday. Xavier has reached the Sweet 16 four out of the past five seasons, a remarkable feat for an Atlantic-10 school. But the oddsmakers weren’t buying it earlier this month. They set the odds for Xavier to make the Sweet 16 at +500.
F- Free Tebow. The only thing that can overshadow Peyton Manning being traded is Tim Tebow being traded. On Bovada the Jaguars were the favorite to land the Mile High Messiah at +125. His odds of staying put in Denver were +175. Other options included Miami (+250), New England (+450) and Cleveland (+1000), but the New York Jets, his ultimate landing spot, were nowhere to be found. The Jets didn’t have to give up much for Tebow, so when fans meant “Free Tebow,” the Jets ended up getting a Free Tebow.
G – Grizzlies. The Memphis Grizzlies are doing their best to sabotage their playoff chances by signing free agent Gilbert Arenas. The former all-star has not played in the NBA since December when the Orlando Magic released him.
H – Hockey. The Devils and Rangers hockey game on Monday night climaxed three seconds in. Three fights began immediately after the opening faceoff. Seven penalties for 40 minutes were handed out. It was all downhill from there because, unfortunately for the fans, the remaining 57 minutes and 57 seconds was all hockey.
I – Iverson, Allen. Tawanna Iverson wants to know who her husband has been sleeping with. In the midst of an ugly divorce, Tawanna Iverson is demanding that A.I. provide the name and even telephone number of every person A.I. had "sexual relations and/or intimate physical contact" since the day they were married up to the trial. These divorce proceedings all of a sudden have major entertainment potential.
J – Joe Lacob. A ceremony to retire former Golden State Warrior Chris Mullins' jersey turned into a made-for-TV spectacle when the Golden State crowd turned on Owner Joe Lacob. He was showered with boos and derogatory chants. The Golden State fans have not been that loud since the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The ceremony took a turn for the worse when former player Rick Barry came to Lacob's defense and scolded the crowd for booing Lacob, which, of course, resulted in more booing.
K – Kentucky. Kentucky is an overwhelming favorite to win the NCAA Tournament with updated college basketball future odds of 9-5. The next closest team is a No. 2 seed Ohio State at 5-1, who is getting more love than other No. 1 seeds Michigan State (6-1), Kansas (8-1) and Syracuse (12-1). The long shots are Ohio (75-1) and NC State (60-1). The odds of John Calipari and Kentucky winning the championship and then vacating it are also 9-5.
L – Longshot. Denver Broncos fans were not the only ones happy to see Peyton Manning land in the Mile High City. When NFL future odds on Manning's landing spot first came out, the Broncos opened as 25-1 longshots. A few Tim Tebow haters probably cashed in big.
M – Matt Flynn. The Seattle Seahawks handed out a three-year $26 million contract to career backup quarterback Matt Flynn. The former seventh-round pick has only started two games ever. The best part about this contract is that the worst quarterback in the NFL is now making more a year than the NHL's top player, Sidney Crosby.
N – No shirt. It's been nearly two months since New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski famously danced shirtless after losing the Super Bowl. However, apparently Gronkowski has been shirtless ever since. Pictures keep popping up of a shirtless Gronk at various spring break locales partying with what appears to be mostly teenagers.
O – Olive Garden. During a pregame meal at the Olive Garden before an Arena Football League game at Orlando, Pittsburgh Power Owner Matt Shaner fired the entire team. The Power players had threatened to go on strike as they demanded more money (and maybe somewhere nicer to eat). So instead of giving in, Shaner fired the entire team right in the restaurant. Many of the players likely began to stuff breadsticks in to-go boxes and the smart ones grabbed applications on the way out.
P – Primetime. It just happens the Denver Broncos are scheduled to play at New England this season. The game screams “primetime rematch” between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Q – Quarterback controversy. During Peyton Manning's introductory press conference he was asked a question about Tim Tebow. Manning said he wanted to work with Tebow to help the Broncos win games and he kept a straight face while saying it. Tebow was sent packing less than 24 hours later.
R – Rodriguez. The Southern Mississippi band members who cleverly chanted "Where's your green card" to Kansas State's Angel Rodriguez during the NCAA Tournament have been kicked out of the band and have had their scholarships taken away by the school. Wow! Who knew you got a scholarship for playing in the band. The best part about the breaking news is the reporter from CNN who first tweeted about the punishment was Janelle Rodriguez. Probably not related, but I bet she was very excited nevertheless.
S – Super Bowl Odds. Immediately after the Super Bowl XLVI, oddsmakers released odds to win Super Bowl XLVII and the Denver Broncos were listed 75-1 at most sportsbooks. After signing Peyton Manning this week those odds shot up to 10-1. The affect on the New York Jets was the exact opposite.
T – Totals. Las Vegas oddsmakers are sending mixed signals in regards to the Peyton Manning signing. The Broncos are listed at +1000 to win the Super Bowl, behind only Green Bay (+600), New England (+700), San Francisco (+700) and New Orleans (+800). But Denver's season win total is only at 8.5. Now, of course, 8.5 wins is usually plenty to win the awful AFC West but something still does not seem right there.
U – UConn. The parity in women's college basketball is incredible. In the second round of the Women's NCAA Tournament (aka “March Sadness”), No. 1 seed UConn beat No. 8 seed Kansas State, 72-26. And to think there were 32 teams seeded BELOW Kansas State and even more teams who didn’t even make the tournament! In the Huskies first-round game it blasted Prairie View A&M, 83-47. Any given Sunday…
V – Valuable Player. Bovada has released just about every Peyton Manning prop bet imaginable. There are totals listed for his passing yards (4,000), touchdown passes (28.5) and completion percentage (65 percent). There are even odds on him to win the 2012 NFL MVP (+700) and Comeback Player of the Year (Even).
W – Women's basketball. This week in sports history in 1893 marked the first women's collegiate basketball game. It was played at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and the freshman class beat the sophomore class, 5-4, much like most low-scoring affairs today. Pat Summit may have coached the freshman class. The game took place behind locked doors and men were prohibited from watching. Nowadays the doors are open and men still don’t watch.
X – Xavier and Cincinnati. Don't look now but Xavier and Cincinnati are both in the Sweet 16 and both on opposite sides of the bracket. Both teams have 40-1 odds to win the NCAA Tournament, but we can dream of a rematch can’t we? If the two teams met for the championship the game could be hosted inside an Octagon with Michael Buffer announcing. All hell broke loose last time the Musketeers and Bearcats played when Cincinnati's Yancy Gates connected with a haymaker to the face of Xavier's Kenny Frease, which set off a fracas. Speaking of which…
Y – Yancy Gates. Cincinnati senior forward Yancy Gates literally punched his team's ticket to the Sweet 16.
Z – Zambia. If you are a soccer coach, whatever you do, do not lose to Zambia. Ghana Coach Goran Stevanovic watched his team lose to Zambia in the semifinals of the African Cup of Nations. It was Ghana's first loss under Stevanovic, who took over in January 2011. Never mind that, the Ghana Football Association immediately fired him.
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