Saturday College Basketball Betting: Duke at Clemson Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 1/22/2010

Every time Duke shows up in an opponent’s gym they have to know that the crowd will be louder and rowdier and the players will be hungrier and feistier than they are when anyone else comes to town. No matter where they go they are going to catch a team’s best game and they have to be ready to handle it at every turn.

AFC Championship Game Preview: Jets at Colts
by Robert Ferringo - 1/20/2010

I have to admit, I was losing faith. After watching the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs and seeing scores like 51-45, 34-13 and 33-14 I was convinced that football, at least this year, was drifting away and being replaced by seven-on-seven drills. Run the ball and play good defense. That’s what I’m looking for. That’s the tried-and-true method of winning in the NFL playoffs. And as I looked around I didn’t see a whole lot of teams subscribing to that theory.

NFC Championship Game Preview: Vikings at Saints
by Robert Ferringo - 1/20/2010

Jasper Brinkley, come on down. Brinkley, the rookie middle linebacker for Minnesota, is in the eye of the storm in one of the biggest games in the history of either the New Orleans Saints or the Minnesota Vikings. He was thrust into this position due to an injury to Vikings starting MLB and defensive leader E.J. Henderson last month. So now it’s on Brinkley to shore up the heart of a defense facing one of the best offenses in the NFL.

Bad Coaching Dooms Dallas, San Diego
by Robert Ferringo - 1/18/2010

In the least surprising news that I’ve heard since Sarah Palin joining Fox News, Wade Philips and Norv Turner once again humiliated themselves and their teams on Sunday en route to a premature playoff exit. Weird. I’ve been repeating this over and over and over again all season and have said that I was just waiting for their most recent implosion.

College Basketball Handicapping: Mississippi at Tennessee Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 1/15/2010

The Tennessee Volunteers entered the season as a Final Four sleeper and through December, in my opinion, they were casting the largest shadow in the SEC. But, as I’m sure you’ve heard (and if you haven’t, politely move along), that’s when half of the Vols roster started acting out their own scene from “The Wire”. But instead of earning Emmy’s, the four players – Tyler Smith, Cameron Tatum, Brian Williams and Melvin Goins – left the Vols with an empty bench and almost no shot at postseason glory.

NFC Divisional Round Preview: Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
by Robert Ferringo - 1/13/2010

The Cowboys (12-5) will line up to crunch skulls with the Vikings (12-4) at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the Metrodome. This game will match up two of the most physically imposing, most bloodthirsty, most rage-filled teams in the NFL and will be a contest of attrition. With two punishing running games and mountainous offensive lines clashing with a pair of maniacal and abusive defenses this game should be more of a throwback to the type of Playoff Football that we’ve come to expect from the NFL.

College Basketball Handicapping: Injuries Not Always Cut and Dry
by Robert Ferringo - 1/12/2010

Injuries to key players in sports aren’t always what they seem. In NBA it’s been a widely held maxim to always bet on a team that just lost its best player to injury. (Milwaukee covered at Phoenix this week right after losing Michael Redd for the season. That’s just the latest in a long line of examples.) And if you’ve been following the rise of the Volunteers over the last week it would appear that it holds up in college hoops as well.

AFC Divisional Round Preview: Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts
by Robert Ferringo - 1/11/2010

About four years ago the idea of a team, in the playoffs, heading to New England and beating Tom Brady one week and then going to Indianapolis and beating Peyton Manning the next would be about as likely as me sleeping with Alessandra Ambrosio one weekend and Megan Fox the next.

College Basketball Betting: Connecticut at Georgetown Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 1/8/2010

If you threw the numbers "13" and "12" at me in regards to Connecticut and Georgetown basketball this year my Jeopardy-style response would have been, "What is the number of losses that each team has this year?" Nope. The numbers "13" and "12" are the respective rankings for the Huskies and the Hoyas as they enter their marquee matchup at noon on Saturday at Georgetown. Somehow these two teams, despite significant personnel losses in the offseason, have managed to work their way into the Top 15.

College Basketball Handicapping: How to Deal With USC Death Sentence
by Robert Ferringo - 1/6/2010

On Sunday, USC’s administration announced that they were going to self-impose sanctions on the basketball program. The deathblow: no postseason appearances for the Trojans this year. USC will not play in the Pac-10 Tournament and they will not accept an invitation to any postseason tournament.

NFC Wild Card Preview: Eagles at Cowboys
by Robert Ferringo - 1/5/2010

Wade Phillips and the Dallas Cowboys are hosting Philadelphia at 8 p.m. on Saturday in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs. The Cowboys are four-point favorites while searching for their first playoff win since 1996. In that time they have lost six consecutive postseason games, an NFL record, including a home loss to the Giants in 2007 under Phillips.

2010 BCS Championship Game Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 1/4/2010

Run the ball and play good defense. That is what wins in the violent game known as football. And the team that is most capable of accomplishing those seemingly basic goals will be the team that walks out of Pasadena with the BCS National Championship.

NFL Power Rankings Week 17
by Robert Ferringo - 12/31/2009

There is absolutely no betting experience in sports as Week 17 in the NFL. Basically, it’s a freak show. And even though there is a week in between games there is absolutely no certain way of knowing how coaches are going to handle this week’s game plans.

2010 Sugar Bowl Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 12/29/2009

No. 3 Cincinnati (12-0) and No. 5 Florida (12-1) will lock up at 7:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day to play the 76th Annual Sugar Bowl. The game will be played in the Louisiana Superdome and is one of the five jewels of the BCS Bowl Game crown.

2009 Sun Bowl Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 12/28/2009

Last year at this time Oklahoma was prepping for a National Championship Game and ready to go pimping in Miami. Now they are tuning up for the Sun Bowl in sweet El Paso. What a difference a year makes, eh?

NFL Power Rankings Week 16
by Robert Ferringo - 12/23/2009

They’ve been on the ropes for weeks and the Cowboys finally delivered the knockout. The Saints have covered their last three games against Tampa Bay but they are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight games.

College Basketball Handicapping: Key Players Joining Teams
by Robert Ferringo - 12/22/2009

USC lost to the No. 1 team in the country, Kansas, by 19 points on the road back on Dec. 3. Then transfer Mike Gerrity became eligible on Dec. 18 and started for the Trojans the next day against No. 6 Tennessee at home. And wouldn’t you know, the Trojans hammered the Vols by 22 with Gerrity notching 12 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.

College Basketball Handicapping: Top 10 Transfers
by Robert Ferringo - 12/21/2009

To this point in the season there has not been a single addition in college basketball that has had a more dramatic impact on his team than Wesley Johnson. By now you should know that the 6-9 swing forward transferred in from Iowa State and, after sitting out the mandatory year, has burst into the Big East and transformed Syracuse from a team with major question marks brought on by defection to a team that is now one of the favorites for a slot in Indianapolis.

2009 Emerald Bowl Odds and Predictions
by Robert Ferringo - 12/21/2009

USC (8-4) will take on Boston College (8-4) in the 2009 Emerald Bowl, held at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 26. The game, which was formerly called the San Francisco Bowl, will take place at AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco 49ers. The Trojans are currently an 8.0-point favorite and the total for this game rests at 43.5.

Saturday College Basketball Preview: North Carolina-Texas Preview
by Robert Ferringo - 12/18/2009

North Carolina has been struggling to live up to the respect that they have earned as the defending national champions. This weekend Texas is looking to earn a little respect for itself, at UNC’s expense, as they try to make a run at a National Championship