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Vikings vs Niners Betting Preview

Now that the drama is finally over for the Minnesota Vikings (1-0) after QB Brett Favre reported to training camp earlier this week following yet another premature retirement announcement, they can now focus on getting ready for the 2010 regular-season opener at New Orleans and keeping their players as healthy as possible.  Favre is expected to play on Sunday and start against the San Francisco 49ers (1-0), who are small home favorites on the nfl betting odds at -3.

Minnesota head coach Brad Childress confirmed that Favre will likely play a series or two at San Francisco before giving way to backup Tavaris Jackson, Sage Rosenfels and possibly Joe Webb.  Rosenfels was the star in a 28-7 over the St. Louis Rams last week, completing 23-of-34 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns.  However, none of them will have wide receivers Sidney Rice (hip injury) or Percy Harvin (migraines) to throw to against the 49ers.
The Vikings will also be without starting center John Sullivan, who is still dealing with a calf injury that he originally suffered on July 31.  Starting running back Adrian Peterson (hamstring) and middle linebacker E.J. Henderson (leg) are expected to play most of the first quarter though after missing the win over the Rams.
Maddux Sports might possibly have a play on this game.  Be sure to get signed up for our NFL football picks package whether it be daily, monthly, or seasonal.
The 49ers realize everybody will be talking about Favre on Sunday and plan on blitzing him for the limited time he is in the game to test his surgically repaired ankle.  While that is their plan on defense, the offense will be short-handed playing without tight end Vernon Davis (knee), wide receiver Michael Crabtree (neck) and running back Frank Gore (rest).
San Francisco signed veteran RB Brian Westbrook on Monday, and he could see some playing time even though head coach Mike Singletary has ruled him a game-time decision.  Westbrook figures to battle Anthony Dixon for the backup job behind Gore after the rookie carried the ball 21 times for 103 yards and scored a touchdown in a 37-17 rout of the Indianapolis Colts last week.  Glen Coffee was expected to be the backup before he abruptly retired two weeks ago.
Singletary also confirmed second-year player Nate Davis will either immediately follow starter Alex Smith in the quarterback rotation or play right after a brief appearance from backup David Carr so he can see how Davis performs against Minnesota’s second-team defense.  Carr and Davis combined to complete 14-of-17 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown at Indy after Smith was ineffective, connecting on 3-of-9 for 37 yards with an interception.
The 49ers and Vikings last met in Week 3 of the regular season a year ago, with Favre completing a 32-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis in the final seconds of a thrilling 27-24 come-from-behind victory.  San Francisco led 14-13 at halftime and 17-13 in the third quarter before a 101-yard kickoff return by Harvin gave Minnesota the momentum back.  Former 49ers QB Shaun Hill then connected with Davis on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 8:12 remaining before the dramatic ending won the game for the Vikings.  San Francisco had done a solid job defensively, holding Peterson to 85 yards, picking off Favre once and sacking him twice.

originally posted by Maddux Sports

Gambling Industry hires Gamblers?

Good article here on the tendency of the online gaming industry to hire from within its own ranks, unlike other industries that often bring in outsiders with fresh perspectives. Of course, this ‘keep it in the family’ phenomenon may have less to do with hide-bound traditionalism than with the fact that some countries’ governments have effectively smeared our industry with the stain of impropriety, and this tends to make a lot of potential hires from outside the industry a bit skittish about joining our ranks. Regardless, we take heart in the knowledge that a new crop of online gaming’s young turks is coming of age, who will see to the continued growth and acceptance of the world’s most exciting industry. Read more

Post orginates from www.CalvinAyre.com

Maddux's Sports Top 31 CFB teams

These guy's have been around forever and this is a great chart to start your power ratings for the CFB season from, personally I don't have too many arguments with this chart and in the right hands it is very valuable when looking at early season match-ups

Visit them here Madduxsports


With July being a slow sports month and College football right around the corner what better time then now to unveil our top college football teams for the upcoming season.  Because there are 31 days in July and we want to do 1 team a day we are calling this our top 31 teams in 31 days.

This will not be your normal top 25 poll garbage from uneducated writers that have no clue how to rank teams, but a power rating system from sharp gamblers that actually put their money on these teams on a weekly basis.  Coming into the season is a loaded veteran Boise State club better than a Tebowless Florida Gator squad?  After Ohio State who is the next best Big Ten team?  We answer these questions with our preseason rankings of the top 31 schools.
These ratings take no account of the upcoming schedule but are based on if team A played team B who would win more often.  The true way a gambler actually ranks the field.  We will examine their rosters for the 2010 season and look at their potential against the spread.  In addition to the preview of the team we will also give some quality information like returning starters, an outlook of the offense, defense, and special teams, as well as a potential good spot to bet on said team as well as a great spot to fade said team.
Without further ado here are Maddux Sports’ Top 31 college football teams for the 2010 NCAA season:

• 31) Pittsburgh Panthers
• 30) Georgia  Tech Yellow Jackets
• 29) Texas A&M Aggies
• 28) Stanford Cardinal
• 27) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• 26) Arizona Wildcats
• 25) Missouri Tigers
• 24) Clemson Tigers
• 23) South Carolina Gamecocks
• 22) Oregon State Beavers
• 21) Auburn Tigers
• 20) North Carolina Tar Heels
• 19) Florida State Seminoles
• 18) Arkansas Razorbacks
• 17) Wisconsin Badgers
• 16) Penn State Nittany Lions
• 15) LSU Tigers
• 14) USC Trojans
• 13) Georgia Bulldogs
• 12) Oregon Ducks
• 11) Iowa Hawkeyes
• 10) Virginia Tech Hokies
• 9) Miami Hurricanes
• 8 ) Texas Longhorns
• 7) Nebraska Cornhuskers
• 6) TCU Horned Frogs
• 5) Boise State Broncos
• 4) Florida Gators
• 3) Oklahoma Sooners
• 2) Ohio State Buckeyes
• 1) Alabama Crimson Tide

SEC Betting Preview

Alabama Crimson Tide (2009 National Champs)
The Tide are primed to repeat their national championship in 2010 as they bring back their promising star QB Greg McElroy, along with Heisman Trophy winner, Mark Ingram. Alabama also returns some other studs such as sophomore rusher Trent Richardson and WR Julio Jones.

Alabama averaged more than 32 points per game in the nation’s best conference a year ago and I believe those number will be even better. I believe McElroy’s growth will continue as he builds more chemistry with Julio Jones.

The true strength of Alabama is Nick Saban’s defense. The Tide was the nation’s top defensive squad which allowed fewer than 12 points per game in 2009. They lost some talent in Terrence Cody, but still have Marcel Dareus who is a beast against the run and they return Donta Hightower off knee surgery along with some star studded recruits in corners John Fulton and DeMarcus Milliner. There is no reason to believe that Alabama won’t take this conference by storm.

Arkansas Razorbacks (Best Offense?)

Arguably the best offense in the conference behind QB Ryan mallet as they averaged more than 295 yards passing and 36 points per game a year ago. Mallet is back and ready to continue where he left off being 7th in the nation in 30 TD’s and just 7 interceptions.
Much like they can put up points through the air with talented receivers such as Jarius Wright, Joe Adams, and Greg Childs the Razorbacks also get beat through the air. In 2009 they gave up more than 248 yards per game against the pass with 22 TD’s. Coach Bobby Petrino is said to be focusing on a more physical defense which attacks the QB. I don’t have much confidence in much of an improvement from a year ago, but the Razorbacks should be on their way to another 8-5 bowl season.

Auburn Tigers (8-5 in 2009)
Gene Chizik had a quality first year with the Tigers as he led them to an 8-5 year, but still not in the same class that this program is used to. They won the Outback Bowl against the Big Ten’s Northwestern in OT. You will see a new QB this fall in transfer Cameron Newton who is getting a lot of attention this spring. Newton is a mobile passer that will fit in with offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s schemes. They return four of their five starting offensive linemen who are all Seniors.



That won’t be enough to change the outcome though in my opinion. Auburn’s defense was just not that good a year ago. The roster is a little deeper but I just don’t see them making much of an improvement to stop teams.

Florida Gators (No Tebow?)
With Tim Tebow out now what? Arguably the most popular player in Florida’s history is gone and on to the Denver Broncos but this team still is full of talent. Florida lost nine players to the pros, but they continue to bring in some of the best recruiting classes.

QB Jeff Brantley will step into some very big shoes, but proved he could run the Florida offense a year ago. Brantley is a better passer than Tebow, but not the physical runner as Tebow ran for 910 rushing yards on 217 attempts. That’s losing a big part of your offense. Florida was just 6-6-1 ATS and 13-1 overall last year. I expect an up and down year and I would be careful about betting with this team as they will be a big public favorite all year long.

Georgia Bulldogs (8-5, 5-7 ATS in 2009)
Georgia could be the surprise this year that I am picking to have a solid ATS year. They replace Joe Cox 15 interceptions with Aaron Murray along with A.J. Green who finished second in the SEC in receiving yards per game. The offensive line brings back four starters that should pave the way for the Bulldogs.

Georgia brought in a new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. Grantham will import a 3-4 defensive scheme. The hope is to improve the secondary of the defense.

Kentucky Wildcats (7-6 SU, 6-6 ATS in 2009)
Kentucky was 5-1 ATS in their 6 road games and they have a new head coach in Joker Phillips who takes over a team that won at Auburn and Georgia a year ago. Kentucky needs to figure out their QB situation as they have Senior Mike Hartline, and sophomore Morgan Newton and redshirt freshmen Ryan Mossakowski all battling for the starting job. Don’t expect to see Randall Cobb passing the ball as much as he has in the past, but expect plenty from Cobb out of the wildcat formation and RB Derrick Locke who rushed for more than 900 yards and 6 TD’s. The offensive line will struggle as they lost three starting seniors from 2009.

The defense looks like it will improve in 2010 as the defensive line could be one of the team’s bright spots and Linebacker Danny Trevathan is the face of the defense and is due for a breakout year.

LSU Tigers (9-4 in 2009)
The Tigers expected more despite a 9-4 record and Les Miles may be under a lot of pressure this year. LSU will see anything less than an SEC championship as a lost year. The offense is the main problem here as they had just 304 total yards per game which was last in the conference. The rushing game was more of the catalyst for the struggles with just 123 yards per game.

The defense will be a top defense once again in the SEC. The defense will be led by LB Kelvin Sheppard and cornerback Patrick Peterson.

Mississippi Rebels (9-4 SU, 6-5 ATS)
Ole Miss had a disappointing year with Jevan Snead throwing 20 interceptions. They also lose their star running back Dexter Mccluster who averaged 6.5 yards per carry. The replacement for Snead is said to be Nathan Stanley, but insert Oregon Transfer and a candidate for the Heisman Trophy a year ago, Jeremiah Masoli. Masoli, 15 TD 6 INT and 668 yards rushing with 5.5 yards per carry a year ago for Oregon.

Many return on the defense including a JuCo transfer Wayne Dorsey who is highly touted defensive end and a former 5 star recruit. He did not disappoint in the spring league and should be a force along the front of a solid Rebels line.

Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-7)
This will be year #2 under head coach Dan Mullen. Last year they went 5-7 and had key wins over Kentucky and Ole Miss. The defense has improved with the addition of defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. Bulldogs have some talent back on defense with Chris White and K.J. Wright as well as All-SEC defensive end Pernell McPhee.

The offense should struggle as they really do not have any play makers. They are hoping JuCo transfer Vick Ballard can step into that role. Ballard has the speed at halfback to make some big plays, but the offensive line and QB situation won’t help him. I expect a similar season follow this team closely as they were just 3-5 in the conference, but as home dogs they are always a good bet.

South Carolina Gamecocks (7-6, 3-5 conference)
Steve Spurrier is back behind the offense in 2010 as he has announced he’ll be taking over play calling duties. The Gamecocks only scored 20 points per game last season which was second to last in the SEC. Spurrier hopes Stephen Garcia grew up a bit as his freshmen year was up and down, but I’d say 17 TD and 10 INT is not bad for a freshman in the best defensive conference. South Carolina brings in the top ranked running back recruit Marcus Lattimore. The offensive line will be the key to the offense here and in my opinion a flip of the coin as they allowed 37 sacks in 2009 which could have more to do with Garcia’s inability to get rid of the ball fast.

With all that said this could be the best defense in the conference. They have a ball hawking secondary that allowed only 163 yards passing a year ago and that is mainly due to the great pass rush led by Cliff Matthews. This is a team that held Alabama to 20, Florida to 24. When this team is at home at more than a TD underdog, back them!

Tennessee Volunteers (7-6, 4-4 Conference)
With Lane Kiffin out this team will have a brand new face yet again? Many players transferred once Kiffin left including running back Bryce Brown, and starting QB Nick Stephens. The only returning offensive line starter, Aaron Douglas, also left. Derek Dooley takes over the reins and has an uphill battle ahead of him.

The defense is the key. Will they be able to keep them in games? I believe so against the bottom half of the SEC. With defensive ends Chris Walker and Ben Marin as well as tackle Montori Huges, all proven pass rushers returning. The secondary will be a huge question mark as they lost their best player in Eric Berry to the draft.

Vanderbilt (2-10, 0-8 Conference)
This is the one team in the SEC that just does not belong. Most teams at least have a strength, but not the Commodores as they had issues on both sides of the ball going into 2010. They finished second to last in total offense last year with just 16 points per game. Larry Smith will take over the QB and he is said to be showing some promise. He has a solid running game behind him, but will have to keep the defense honest with his arm which may be hard.

On the bright side the defense brings back a ton of experience from a year ago. That could be bright or it could be a cloud over the Commodores. Teams could run all over Vandy a year ago as they allowed nearly 200 yards per game on the ground. I don’t expect a better 5-6 ATS mark from this team unless they can stop the running game and I’m not counting on that.



This article was originally posted by Freddy Wills of Sportsbetcapping,com