Miscellaneous Articles

2009-10 Pittsburgh Panthers Football Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 8/31/2009

Pitt was named the Big East favorite in the preseason coaches’ poll. Senior Bill Stull was recently named the Panthers starting quarterback. Neither accolade came with a ringing endorsement. In a watered down Big East Pitt was named the favorite with 161 points, just ahead of West Virginia’s 151. It received eight first-place votes, the same amount as Cincinnati.

2009-10 West Virginia Mountaineers Football Predictions
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 8/31/2009

For the past four years it was opposing coaches that kept getting asked what they were going to do about Patrick White, the West Virginia quarterback that stirred the drink that was the Mountaineer offense. Now it is Bill Stewart, second year West Virginia coach, who has to answer what he is going to do without White directing the West Virginia attack.

2009-10 New York Jets Predictions
by Justin Johnson - 8/28/2009

The biggest step forward came on the offensive line. Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson both made huge strides in their young careers after both being drafted early in the 2006 NFL Draft. Combining those young up-and-coming stars with veterans Alan Faneca, Brandon Moore, and Damien Woody gave the Jets one of the better offensive lines in the AFC, and gave them hope for 2009-10.

BCS Predictions
by Matt Severance - 8/26/2009

With college football kicking off a week from Thursday, I thought I would save the best college preview for last: predicting who will play in the BCS bowl games. By best I definitely don’t mean best written (that’s up to you), just that it’s obviously every team’s goal to reach one of these five games.

2009-10 Detroit Lions Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/25/2009

There really aren’t enough adjectives to describe the ineptness of the Lions last season as they became the first NFL team ever to finish 0-16. Yet shockingly, Detroit also covered in its final six road games last year. And the Lions probably should have beaten NFC North champ Minnesota not once but twice.

AFC West: Season Win Totals Predictions
by Dave Busk - 8/25/2009

Even though NFL season win totals predictions have been offered here at Doc’s homepage, I am going to break down every team’s season win total division by division, and I have waited two weeks into the preseason to gather some additional information. I will give all my leans, opinions and must bets right here with odds provided by Sportsbook.com.

2009-10 New England Patriots Predictions
by Justin Johnson - 8/24/2009

Despite Tom Brady throwing only 11 passes in 2008 the New England offense was the No. 8 scoring team in the NFL and still in the Top 10 in most statistical categories. After multiple surgeries Brady is back but gone is the Patriots safety net, Matt Cassel. The passing game found themselves in capable hands as Cassel threw for nearly 3,700 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Sports Futures Market Offers Great Return on Investment
by Robert Ferringo - 8/24/2009

Tu Dign has a barren, cookie-cutter office at the local branch of Bank of America. His desk is relatively unimpressive and cluttered with pamphlets and literature on a variety of BOA programs (“Buy Pizza, Save Money!” is the tag line on one). There are no pictures on the wall, save for the knock-off print from The Met that’s framed in glass but still about three sizes too small for the space it struggles to occupy.

NASCAR: Sharpie 500 Odds and Predictions
by Christopher G. Shepard - 8/21/2009

The fact that Mark Martin will start his 1,000th Sprint Cup Series race under the lights Saturday night at historic Bristol Motor Speedway for the Sharpie 500 won’t keep the “bubble boys”, Brian Vickers, Clint Bowyer, and Kyle Busch, from ruining Martin’s dream season by taking the 12th and final spot in the Chase away from the “Old Man.”

Delaware Sports Betting Information
by T.O. Whenham - 8/20/2009

Barring a legal setback, the state of Delaware will be starting to offer single-wager sports betting on football and baseball games starting at the beginning of September. This is a very important move, and it will be watched closely by other states who would like to offer sports betting themselves, and by pretty much everyone involved in the sports betting industry in any way.

NFL Receiving Yards Leader Odds and Predictions
by T.O. Whenham - 8/20/2009

There are a whole lot of extremely good receivers in the league right now. Just think about it - there are more jaw-dropping talents now than there has been in a long time. All you have to do to confirm that is to look at the futures odds for receiving yards. Every time I thought I knew who was the clear choice I saw someone else who seems poised to have a big year. Here's a look at that futures pool, with odds from Bodog:

2009-10 St. Louis Rams Predictions
by Jay Horne - 8/20/2009

The St. Louis Rams expected to see improvements last year after capturing only three victories in 2007. However, the Rams were even worse last season and were unable to produce any success on either side of the football. St. Louis finished the season at 2-14 without any signs of progress. It could be legitimately argued that the winless Detroit Lions have more reasons to look forward to 2009 as opposed to the Rams.

2009-10 Ole Miss Rebels Football Predictions
by Josh Nagel - 8/20/2009

It appears Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt is bound to leave parallel legacies behind whenever he leaves college football. The first will be as one of the most successful and underrated coaches of his generation; the second will be of a coach who made every former employer regret letting him get away.

Delaware Sports Betting Locations and Limits
by T.O. Whenham - 8/19/2009

Pretty much everyone involved in any way with the sports betting business has been playing close attention to what has been going on in Delaware. A 1992 federal law banned betting on sports across the country, but four states were grandfathered in because of previously established activities - Nevada obviously, along with Delaware, Montana, and Oregon.

NFL Passing Yards Leader Betting Odds and Predictions
by T.O. Whenham - 8/19/2009

This is a tough time of year to be an NFL fan. The training camps and preseason play has raised our hunger for football to a whole new level, but the early action just isn't good enough to satisfy that hunger. That's what futures odds are for - they can distract you until the season begins. One of the more interesting futures betting pools is the one for total gross passing yards.

2009-10 Virginia Tech Hokies Football Predictions
by Josh Nagel - 8/19/2009

One of the safest football predictions you can make every season in college football is that the Virginia Tech Hokies will contend for the ACC title and compete in a BCS bowl game. Under venerable coach Frank Beamer, Tech’s patented “Beamer Ball” includes a swarming defense and special-teams units that are just as capable of scoring points as the Tech offense.

Football Betting: Analyzing Line Movement
by Allen Eastman - 8/18/2009

Early in the week bettors only have two options: think about the wagers that they won or lost from the previous weekend or try to plan out their strategy for winning the upcoming weekend. As Tom Petty sang, “The Waiting Is The Hardest Part”.

NFL Handicapping: Quarterback Competitions
by T.O. Whenham - 8/18/2009

As with every NFL Preseason this year's version is marked by serious quarterback competitions going on in several cities. Before today I counted five teams that had wide-open competitions for their starting job (I don't put Detroit on that list because the ascension of Matthew Stafford is inevitable and will probably happen sooner rather than later, and everyone from the team on out seems to see it that way), but the re-emergence of Brett Favre has certainly taken Minnesota off the list.

2009-10 LSU Tigers Football Predictions
by Josh Nagel - 8/18/2009

You get the impression LSU coach Les Miles is the type of guy who, if he had a hot night at the craps table, would simply let his winnings ride with each roll of the dice. He coaches football with this mentality, and the approach has earned the Tigers a national title and Miles legendary status in his short time in Baton Rouge.

Doc’s Sports Big Ten Football Preview
by Doc - 8/16/2009

The run for the Big Ten title is as wide open as I have seen it in several years. I can possibly see five teams that have a legitimate chance to win and having two or three teams tied atop the standings certainly would not surprise me. I give the edge to Michigan State, as they return 15 starters and have a very favorable schedule that includes not playing Ohio State.