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07/30/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They are free to roam the middle of the field, looking to lay the lumber on the ball-carriers and receivers that dare to enter their domain. The job of the linebacker is to be instinctual, to be in the right place at the right time and deliver punishing hits.
Here are the top linebackers in the FBS heading into the 2010 season.
INSIDE LBS:
GREG JONES, MICHIGAN STATE
While this Spartan looks a little small for a linebacker (6-1, 228), there is no denying that he plays much bigger and is regarded among the best in the country. Jones has earned All-American honors in each of his first three seasons at MSU, including being named a consensus first-team member in 2009. The 2009 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year finished third in the nation in tackles (154), with 13.5 TFLs and nine sacks. The ultimate defensive playmaker Jones heads into his senior season ranked eighth on the school's all-time tackles list (359). The Spartans may not be lifting the Big Ten trophy at the end of the season, but that won't stop the accolades from raining down on Jones.
QUAN STURDIVANT, NORTH CAROLINA
On one of the best defenses in the entire country, Sturdivant stands out as the leader. Perhaps the most NFL-ready LB heading into the 2010 campaign, this Tar Heel has the ability to do it all. The 6-2, 230-pound senior can make plays all over the field and is rarely caught out of position. He earned First-Team All-ACC honors in 2009, finishing with 79 total tackles and 12 TFLs. UNC's offense definitely plays second-fiddle to the defense, which is chock-full of All-American talent throughout. The Tar Heels aren't ready to win the ACC, but opponents will definitely know they are in a fight week-in and week-out.
CHRIS GALIPPO, USC
Following in a long line of stellar LBs at USC, Galippo had a strong sophomore season in 2009, earning some All-American honors, while being a semifinalist for the Butkus Award. The 6-2, 250-pound middle linebacker finished last year with 70 total tackles, eight TFLs, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. The Trojans are under new management and will begin serving a postseason ban this year, but that shouldn't prevent Galippo from once again putting up big numbers, as the team's defensive leader.
MIKE MOHAMED, CALIFORNIA
Mohamed is a veteran LB who has played in all 39 games for the Golden Bears over the last three seasons. The 6-3, 245-pounder came into his own last year, becoming a full-time starter, earning All-Pac-10 First-Team honors, leading the conference with 112 total tackles, with 8.5 TFLs, two sacks and three INTs. On quite a few preseason All-American lists, expect big things from Mohamed in 2010. The Golden Bears are always in the mix when talking about the Pac-10 title, and this senior LB will do everything in his power to keep that going.
ALEX WUJCIAK, MARYLAND
A throwback type of LB, this Maryland Terrapin just keeps getting better. Regarded as one of the top playmakers at his position in the entire country, the 6-3, 245-pound Wujciak followed up Second-Team All-ACC honors in 2008, with First-Team honors in 2009. As a junior last season, he ranked second in the ACC with a team-high 131 tackles (eighth nationally), with 8.5 TFLs and two interceptions. The Terps are not in a position to return to the top of the ACC standings, but expect to hear Wujciak's name mentioned often regardless of where Maryland finishes up.
OTHERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON: Kelvin Sheppard (LSU), Casey Matthews (Oregon), Josh Bynes (Auburn), Tank Carder (TCU), Mario Harvey (Marshall).
OUTSIDE LBS:
MARK HERZLICH, BOSTON COLLEGE
The legend of Herzlich will follow him forever, as the standout LB, who was the ACC Player of the Year, an All-American and a finalist for the Butkus Award in 2008, missed the entire 2009 season while battling and beating a rare form of bone cancer. In 2008, he amassed 110 total tackles and led all LBs nationally with six interceptions, two of which he returned for TDs. While Herzlich is expected to play this season, it remains to be seen if he can return to form. At less than 100-percent, he will still be a driving force on the BC defense. If he makes it all the way back, he will stockpile most of the defensive awards by season's end.
TRAVIS LEWIS, OKLAHOMA
After breaking Brian Bosworth's school record for tackles by a freshman in 2008 (144 stops), the 6-2, 232-pound Lewis once again picked up All-Big 12 First-Team honors with 109 total tackles as a sophomore in 2009. As instinctual as they come at the linebacker position, the third-year Sooner might not remain in school after the 2009 campaign, as he has everything needed to excel at the next level. The Sooners took it on the chin in 2009, but expect Lewis to be one of the main reasons the team returns to form among the Big 12 elite in 2010.
BRUCE CARTER, NORTH CAROLINA
Another extremely gifted Tar Heel, the 6-3, 235-pound Carter has a complete skill set. With above-average strength, speed and athleticism, this senior will surely be mentioned among the best OLBs in the country. Carter has started 33 career games, including all 13 as a junior in 2009, where he racked up 65 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, two sacks and an interception returned for a TD, en route to All-ACC Second-Team honors. If he stays healthy, it will be difficult to keep him off the First Team this season.
VON MILLER, TEXAS A&M
The first Aggie to be tabbed a First-Team All-American since cornerback Jason Webster in 1999, the 6-3, 240-pound Miller led the nation in sacks (17), while amassing 21 TFLs. Miller is regarded as a hybrid player, who can also line up along the defensive front with his hand on the ground. He projects to be a big- time pass rushing threat in a 3-4 system in the NFL. The Aggies aren't exactly stacked with All-American talent throughout the roster, but Miller is as good as it gets at his position.
ROSS HOMAN, OHIO STATE
The linebacker position at Ohio State has become a launching pad for many a talented player of late, and this year may be no different. Compared favorably to 2007 Butkus Award winner James Laurinaitis, the 6-0, 227-pound Homan may just carve out an award-winning career in Columbus as well. As a junior in 2009, Homan was a Second-Team All-Big Ten member, racking up a team-high 108 total tackles. With above-average speed and playmaking ability, the sky is the limit for this Buckeye, as he should be a driving force in Ohio State's run toward a Big Ten title and perhaps much more.
OTHERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON: Akeem Ayers (UCLA), Michael Morgan (USC), Chris Walker (Tennessee), Wayne Daniels (TCU), Lawrence Wilson (UConn).
<< Twins return home to face Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a wildly successful road trip, the surging
Minnesota Twins return to Target Field this evening to play the first of three
consecutive matchups with the Seattle Mariners.
The Twins are back home after going 6-1 on
<< Royals continue set with Orioles in Kansas City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles hope a flurry of changes can help
lead to more results like the team produced on Thursday.
The revamped club will set its sights on a second straight victory over the
Kansas City Royals, who'll be out
<< With trade rumors swirling, ChiSox start set with Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have been an awfully tough team to
beat over the past two months, and the current American League Central leaders
have been virtually invincible at U.S. Cellular Field during that time period.
Chicago
<< Giants send Lincecum to the hill versus Dodgers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum goes after win No. 11 this evening when the
San Francisco Giants open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers
at AT&T Park.
Lincecum has not received a decision in either of his last two outing
Oswalt to make debut as red-hot Phils head to Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second straight season, the Philadelphia Phillies
have acquired one of the top available pitchers prior to the non-waiver trade
deadline. The timing couldn't be better, as the club has used a season-high
winning strea
Astros to unveil Happ in opener with Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nobody expects new Houston Astros starter J.A. Happ to
replace the traded Roy Oswalt, yet that is what the young left-hander must do
tonight.
One day after getting dealt to the Astros in a deal that sent Oswalt to the
Phi
Cards hope for boost from Carpenter in battle with Bucs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis' bats have failed the Cardinals on more than one
occasion over the club's current funk. With Chris Carpenter set to take the
hill tonight versus Pittsburgh, those struggles might be forgiven tonight.
Carpenter wi
Angels try to gain some ground on Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After struggling badly during one of their most
challenging stretches of the season, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim now
find themselves faced with what could be a make-or-break three-game series
with the Texas Rangers that
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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