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ESPN the Magazine
Back in the day ESPN was merely space fodder for people with cable subscriptions; back when only the "real" sports fan (me) could sit in front of the tube and bear with the constant rambling of numbers and statistics. Oh it was great. Back before...
Guide to be a successful soccerpunter
Guide to be a successful soccerpunter Why becomes a soccer bettor one may ask? Where it is considered a negative occupation where it is often regarded as non productive, immoral behaviour. well as for every other thing everything there is the pros...
How to Get Certified In Scuba Diving
The first two steps in getting certified in scuba diving is to make sure that you are a reasonably proficient swimmer and you get medical clearance from your doctor to take up the sport. As for the swimming, you don't have to master every type of...
Never Fear Hills Again
Having run cross country in high school and college, I've seen a good number of hills. I'd begin a race in great sprits, but after a few hills I would fantasize about crossing the finish line and resting. Even after many miles of training, and many...
The rising popularity of windsurfing
As with any extreme sport or sport in general, there is only so much one can do on a surfboard. Enter windsurfing, a popular way to gain speed and air by using a sail attached to the surfboard itself. A windsurf setup consists of a bi-directional...
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Odds & Ends (Jan 11)
Super Bowl XL still is nearly a month away and football fans
don't even know who the combatants will be.
Nevertheless, the Las Vegas Hilton -- which attempts to be first
with the most for bettors throughout the valley -- has posted
odds on the NFL's 41st mid-winter extravaganza, to be played
Feb. 4 at Dolphins Stadium in Miami.
SuperBook Race and Sports Book Director Jay Kornegay, Sports
Book Manager Ed Salmons, supervisors Jeff Sherman and Matt
Metcalfe and others with ties to the bookmaking business got
together and hammered out numbers, just as they did with 2007
BCS odds.
Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis, 14-2 and one of eight teams
still in contention for the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit, donned
the favorite's mantle.
The Colts, currently less than even money to cop their first
Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 5, broke from the gate as big 5/2
favorites to win the 2007 NFL title and 3/2 shots to capture the
AFC.
Indy didn't appear in the first 39 Super Bowls.
While the Colts -- who lost two of the regular season's final
three games -- obviously are viewed by oddsmakers as head and
shoulders above the rest of the league, the Pats and Bolts head
a list of second-level AFC clubs and Seattle is still the cream
of the NFC crop.
New England, winner of the past two Super Bowls, and San Diego,
which barely missed this season's playoffs, are 10/1 co-second
choices to cop the 2007 affair.
Both also are 6/1 to dominate the AFC.
Pittsburgh is 12/1 to win the Super Bowl and 7/1 to take the
AFC.
Cincinnati, Denver and Kansas City are 15/1 to rule the loop in
2007 and 8/1 to win the conference.
Bearing out the current NFL pecking order is the fact the
Seahawks, at 14/1, are rated the NFC's best hope of dethroning
their AFC counterparts.
Seattle also is a 9/2 choice to win the conference.
A slew of NFC clubs are 20/1 to win the Miami Super Bowl and 6/1
to bag the NFC title: Carolina, Dallas, Washington,
Chicago,
Philadelphia and the New York Giants.
Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville are 30/1 to snag Super Bowl
rings; the Falcons are 10/1 to win the NFC, the Bucs 13/1 and
Jags 17/1.
Minnesota, Miami and Baltimore went up as 40/1 Super Bowl shots;
the Vikings opened at 15/1 to win the NFC and the Dolphins and
Ravens at 22/1 to master the AFC.
Local favorite Oakland is a 50/1 Super Bowl pick and 27/1 to win
the AFC.
St. Louis opened at 60/1 and 25/1, while Detroit and Arizona
were posted at 75/1 and 30/1.
Grouped at 100/1 to win the Super Bowl and 50/1 to claim an AFC
championship were Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston, Tennessee and the
New York Jets.
Green Bay was a 100/1 Super Bowl selection and 40/1 NFC pick.
Long shots were the Saints, who will be returning to New
Orleans, and the once-mighty 49ers, five-time Super Bowl
champions, at 200-1 to capture the Super Bowl and 75/1 to nab an
NFC crown.
***
Texas, which stunned and dethroned national champion Southern
Cal in the 2006 Rose Bowl, is the Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook's
fifth choice to capture the 2007 BCS Championship, behind the
Trojans and a trio of other traditional national powerhouses.
Opening as the 5/1 favorite to claim the 2007 Fiesta Bowl --
site of the national title game -- in Glendale, Ariz., next Jan.
8 is Ohio State, followed by Oklahoma and Notre Dame at 6/1, USC
at 7/1 and the Longhorns at 10/1.
Among other prominent clubs, Florida opened at 12/1 and Miami
(Fla.) at 15/1.
Grouped at 20/1 were Michigan, West Virginia, Auburn and Florida
State.
Penn State went up at 30/1, UCLA at 40/1, Alabama at 50/1 and
Tennessee and Georgia at 60/1.
UNLV was the listed long shot at 1000/1 and the field opened at
30/1.
About the author:
Lynda Collins is a documented member of the Professional
Handicappers League. Read all of her articles at www.procappers
.com/Lynda_Collins.htm
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