 |
 Basketball Betting |
 |
||||
|
 |
||||
|
||||
Brash Bryant brings dash, deception to NinersFootball Betting Lines08/08/2006 - SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -Antonio Bryant calls it a lullaby. He runs his receiving route with feigned disinterest, keeping his eyes small and his strides short - and just when his defender has relaxed, he sprints away for a catch. The San Francisco 49ers' new No. 1 receiver did it to cornerback Shawntae Spencer last week, grabbing a 60-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith with tantalizing ease. ``That's my thing,'' Bryant said. ``Night-night, right there. I run the route like I'm lazy, like I'm sleeping. I'm rocking them to sleep.'' Bryant is ready to show off all his tricks in his first season in San Francisco. Though burdened by a checkered past and the perception of unfulfilled potential, he's determined to follow in the footsteps of Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens - to reach the spot always reserved for him among the NFL's elite receivers. ``I hate to lose at anything, to fail,'' Bryant said. ``It's just a drive I've had since I was younger. My greatest fear has always been failure.'' But the 49ers are his third NFL team in five seasons - not the track record he expected after winning the Biletnikoff Award as the NCAA's top receiver while a sophomore at Pitt. After posting his first 1,000-yard season with the Cleveland Browns in 2005, he got a hefty free-agent contract from moribund San Francisco, which desperately needed a playmaking receiver. And he has embraced that challenge with the linear work ethic that has struck past employers as disrespect or disregard. Though Bryant is talkative and friendly in the locker room, he doesn't apologize for his on-field methods: He claims he simply needs a focus that precludes certain niceties. ``You know when you're concentrating or doing something, and you've almost got it, and then somebody comes in and bothers you?'' Bryant asked. ``Let's say you're on your phone and you're sending a text (message), and then somebody calls. It's like that feeling. I'm like, 'Let's talk about this later when I'm relaxed and sipping on a soda.'' Other employers haven't always been so understanding: His notorious argument with Cowboys coach Bill Parcells is the biggest black mark on his resume. During a minicamp practice in 2004, Bryant and Parcells got into a heated dispute that ended with Bryant throwing his sweaty jersey at Parcells' face. Bryant, Dallas' second-round draft pick in 2002, was kicked out of practice by security, sent to anger-management counseling and eventually traded to Cleveland. ``That was just a man not understanding another man,'' Bryant said. ``He's an older man, and I respect him for that, but there was a lack of respect for me. I'm a grown man, if not by age, then by experience. ``Nobody can ever say Antonio Bryant is a disrespectful person or a rude person, because I don't come off like that. I treat everybody with respect. I'm a man before I'm a football player. Just respect me in regards to being a man.'' He improved in Cleveland, teaming with new 49ers backup quarterback Trent Dilfer for most of his 1,009 yards last season - but coach Romeo Crennel criticized him for dropping too many passes, and the Browns didn't make much of an attempt to re-sign him. The 49ers, who had the league's most pathetic pass-catching corps last season, inked him to a four-year, $15 million deal with a $5 million signing bonus in March. Coach Mike Nolan worried about Bryant's past, but determined the relationship could work when Bryant's professionalism - he wore a sharp suit throughout his interviews in Santa Clara - and work ethic became obvious. ``He was very candid about the things he had done,'' Nolan said. ``He understood that it was an issue, and he had to do something about it, as opposed to just blaming it on everybody else. I always hate those guys, where it's always everybody else's fault: 'They don't love me, they're not respecting me.' I have not ever heard him say that.'' And nearly two months after Bryant signed with San Francisco, the 49ers acquired Dilfer from the Browns to back up Smith. ``I've never seen him do anything that was over the line,'' Dilfer said. ``He's a competitive guy that encourages you to get better. I love playing with a guy who wants to be great as much as Antonio does. Those guys are cut a certain way, and you've got to know how to relate to them and how to get them the football.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Goodell chosen to succeed Tagliabue as NFL commissioner
NORTHBROOK, Ill. (AP) -Roger Goodell was chosen as the NFL's next commissioner Tuesday, succeeding the man who groomed him for the job, Paul Tagliabue.The 47-year-old Goodell worked his way from a public relations intern to perhaps the most powerful
<< Nebraska hires UTEP's Sadler
<< Tuesday's NHL Transactions
<< Tulsa, UCF from unexpected winners to Conference USA favorites
<< Dave Simmons hired as head basketball coach at McNeese State
Lo Duca denies gambling problem >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca on Tuesday denied he has a gambling problem and expressed sympathy for what his wife is going through after she filed for divorce in June.A report in the Daily News on Tuesday alleged Lo Duca had significant
Leinart last unsigned first-round draft pick >>
UNDATED: the game. >>
UNDATED: the Brewers. >>
AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS (MONTH OF JULY 2006) >>
It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007. As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season. Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises. Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres. Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
What Is the Point Spread?What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other. Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process). If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short). Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet. How to Read Point SpreadsNew England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7) In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds. |
|
