Categories
NCAA Football Sports

BYU vs. Tulsa Armed Services Bowl Free Pick

Bell Helicopter Armed Services Bowl

BYU’s first season as an independent was a success.  They finished 9-3, which is a nice record, especially given they made a QB change midseason, which was really unexpected given what we saw of highly toued Jake Heaps at the end of last year.  

Categories
NFL

NFL Odds: Ravens vs. Bengals Week 17 Predictions

Baltimore Ravens (11-4) vs Cincinnati Bengals (9-6)

There is a lot on the line this Sunday when the Baltimore Ravens travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. The Bengals need a win to guarantee a playoff spot, while the Ravens need a win to earn home field advantage in the playoffs.

Kyle Hunter
Kyle Hunter

There will be no resting starters here. It will be an all out fight to the end in Cincinnati. This should be one of the best games of the weekend.

**BETONLINE – THE BEST SPORTSBOOK FOR NFL FOOTBALL BETTING! – CLICK HERE NOW + BET TODAY!**

Time/Date: 4:15 PM EST, January 1, 2012
Venue: Paul Brown Stadium
Broadcast: CBS
Ravens vs. Bengals Gambling Odds from Bookmaker
Spread: Ravens -2
Moneyline: Ravens (-130) Bengals (+110)
Over/Under: 37.5

Baltimore is 11-4 on the season, but they are just 3-4 on the road. Clearly, this is a team that definitely needs to get home field advantage in the playoffs. This is a game they badly need to win. Quarterback Joe Flacco has had his worst year as a professional this year. Flacco has been extremely inconsistent, and he is completing just 56.8% of his pass attempts. Can he be trusted to win a big game in the playoffs? Many experts don’t believe he can at this point. Ray Rice has put together a tremendous season in the backfield. Rice leads the team in rushing yards and receptions this year. He is probably the most versatile running back in the NFL.

The reason Baltimore has 11 wins is the spectacular play of their defense. Terrell Suggs leads the team with 13 sacks, and he has had the best year of a highly successful career. Ray Lewis isn’t quite the player he once was, but he leads the team with 67 tackles this season. This is a defense that thrives on forcing turnovers. Haloti Ngata has two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. LaDarius Webb leads an impressive secondary with five interceptions. Baltimore allows just 16.7 points per game. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Andy Dalton came into a difficult situation and Cincinnati, but he has had an amazing first year with the Bengals. Dalton wasn’t picked until the second round, but he’ll get some serious consideration for Rookie of the Year in the NFL this season. Dalton has racked up 20 touchdown passes against just 13 interceptions. It has definitely helped to have star receiver A.J. Green on the outside. Green is only a rookie as well, but he has 63 catches for 1,031 yards. Jermaine Gresham has become a security blanket over the middle of the field for the Bengals. Cedric Benson had some problems with ball security last week. The Bengals must get a good performance out of him this week if they hope to win.

Cincinnati’s defense has suffered some major injuries, but this unit has done a nice job staying together of late. Leon Hall, Pat Sims, and Keith Rivers are out for the year with injuries. Reggie Nelson has revived his career with a strong season at the safety spot for Cincinnati this year. Nelson has 12 pass deflections and four interceptions. Thomas Howard and Rey Maualuga have been leaders at the linebacker position. The Bengals have allowed just 19.9 points per game this year.

I like both defenses a lot, but I think 37.5 is a little bit too low for this one. The last meeting between these two finished at 31-24. Look for this one to get into the 40’s.

Free NFL Pick: Over 37.5

Categories
NBA

N.Y. Knicks vs. L.A. Lakers NBA Preview & Free Pick

NBA Basketball Matchup: New York Knicks vs Los Angeles Lakers

The Knicks haven’t been to the top in a long time, but they do appear to be making some progress with their big acquisitions over the past year.

Categories
NBA

Dallas vs. Oklahoma City NBA Basketball Preview & Free Pick

NBA Basketball Matchup: Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

This isn’t the way the defending champions envisioned their title defense starting out. Dallas was blown out by Miami in a rematch of last year’s title in the season opener.

Categories
NCAA Football

Stanford vs. Oklahoma State 2012 Fiesta Bowl Preview & Prediction

Cardinal vs. Cowboys NCAA Football – 2012 Fiesta Bowl Odds

In what is really a BCS consolation game, two of the top five scoring offenses in the nation will square off for the first time ever, and , it should be a game for the ages.

Categories
NCAA Football

Wisconsin vs. Oregon 2012 Rose Bowl Preview & Prediction

Badgers vs. Ducks NCAA Football – 2012 Rose Bowl Odds

This is a match-up between two teams that have not met each other since the year 2001. The difference is that this time they meet in what many consider to be the Granddaddy of all Bowl Game–the 98th Edition of the Tournament of Roses.

Categories
NFL

Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots Preview & Free Week 17 Pick

NFL Betting Previews – Buffalo Bills vs New England Patriots

The Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots both close-out their regular season this Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in a New Year’s Day battle between two AFC East rivals.

Categories
NCAA Football

Meineke Car Care Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Northwestern Preview & Free Pick

Meineke Care Bowl: Texas A&M (6-6) vs Northwestern (6-6)

Texas A&M came into this season with high hopes, but second half blunders cost this team a chance at a special season. Mike Sherman was replaced by Kevin Sumlin as head coach of the Aggies.

Categories
NCAAB

Mississippi State vs. Baylor NCAA Basketball Preview & Free Pick

NCAA Basketball Matchup: Mississippi State vs. Baylor

Wednesday’s college hoops slate is a pretty big one, but there isn’t a bigger matchup on the card than this one. Two top 15 teams will square off in Waco as Mississippi State takes on the Baylor Bears.

Categories
NFL

NFL Power Rankings – Week 17

NFL Football Power Ratings For Week 16

Each week during the heart of the NFL season, and once or twice during the NFL Preseason, we’ll gather the troops around the roundtable and hash out the NFL Power rankings. We check out the stats, looks at the records, and, most importantly, we take a close, close look at the heart of each team.  

Categories
NFL

NFL Game Capsules – Week 16

NFL Game Summaries – Week 16 Capsule Matchups

Week 16 in the NFL is in the books. The Weisguy takes over for Matt and offers up these recaps for your NFL viewing pleasure.

Categories
NFL

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants Preview & Free Week 17 Pick

NFC East Game Previews – Cowboys vs Giants

The playoffs begin early in the NFC East when the Dallas Cowboys square-off against the New York Giants this Sunday night in a winner-take-all battle for the division title at MetLife Stadium.

Categories
NFL

Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles Preview & Free Week 17 Pick

NFC East Game Previews- Redskins vs Eagles

The Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles both close-out their 2011 campaign when the two NFC East rivals square-off at Lincoln Financial Field on New Year’s Day.

Categories
NCAAB

Wisconsin vs. Nebraska NCAA Basketball Preview & Free Pick

NCAA Basketball Matchup: Wisconsin vs Nebraska

Bo Ryan’s Badgers are right around the top of the Big Ten every single year. Wisconsin’s solid fundamental play is a testament to their coach’s game plan. Nebraska is in its first year in the Big Ten.

Categories
NCAA Football

2012 Outback Bowl: Spartans vs. Bulldogs Odds

Outback Bowl Picks – MSU vs Georgia

The annual classic Big Ten-SEC showdown in the Outback Bowl features Michigan State and Georgia duking it out in south Florida in the New Year.

Categories
NCAA Football

2012 Discover Orange Bowl: Mountaineers vs. Tigers Odds

Orange Bowl Picks – West Virginia vs Clemson

Every college football fan eagerly awaits early January and the BCS bowls. This year’s Orange Bowl features two of the best teams from two rather battered AQ-conferences in the Big East (West Virginia) and the ACC (Clemson).