The Staples Center will come alive on Jan 11th when the Miami Heat competes with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Miami Heat comes in with one of the better records in the NBA bolstered by an amazing lineup of stars. The Miami Heat lead the league as a squad in points won and assists. The sportsbook has the Miami Heat favored by 8 points and with the backcourt they possess, it is apparently a sure bet. Let’s have a closer look at the Miami Heat this year and what they bring to the table.
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Miami brings non-stop scoring with celeb SF LeBron James guiding the way. SG Dwyane Wade additionally brings powerful scoring at the 2 slot with PF Chris Bosh’s dependable play at the 3. PF Udonis Haslem and PG Mario Chalmers bring up the rear with a dependable source of assists and rebounds to bolster the Miami Heat attack. The Miami Heat look to go deep in the playoffs this year after almost winning it all a year ago.
NFL betting
The LA Clippers have a long history of mediocrity under the ownership of Donald Sterling. But things have adjusted in the last couple of seasons with large stars such as Blake Griffin transforming the landscape for Los Angeles’ “other team”. The Clippers seem to be content for a playoff placement this year in the always-challenging Pacific Division. L . A . is directed by star PF Blake Griffin who has remained a menace to the basket as well as the boards. Free Agent additions SG Chauncey Billups and star PF Chris Paul supplies veteran leadership which was sorely missing with the departures of Baron Davis and Chris Kaman. The LA Clippers are additionally helped by the outstanding play of SF Caron Butler and C DeAndre Jordan. Watch for this to be an amazing match between the established stars of Miami vs the young guns of the LA Clippers Staples Center will be electrified for this match.
While this specific game may not have the same depth that its football version does, the Jan 9 – Oklahoma at Oklahoma State game still has its own type of excitement. With the conference basketball year just under way, both the Oklahoma Sooners and Cowboys will try to established the tone for the remainder of their year with this match. In Oklahoma’s case, they will be looking to continue what has been a solid start as they concluded the non-conference slate with a 10-2 record.
Super Bowl betting
Oklahoma State, on the flip side has fought mightily against their out of conference schedule, putting up a meager 7-6 record so far. It does not mean their victory is a foregone conclusion just due to the fact the Oklahoma Sooners appear to be rather a bit better than the Cowboys at the moment. When you check out this match through a gambler’s eye, forecasting who will win and by simply how much becomes even harder. Neither Oklahoma nor Oklahoma State has precisely set the world on fire with regards to competing against the spread. In fact, when you look at the two squad’s records against the spread, the one point that is obvious is that neither squad will probably play in addition to those laying cash on the game would wish.
College football odds
Offensively, the Oklahoma Sooners have relied seriously on junior guard Steven Pledger. Pledger has averaged 18.8 ppg so far this year and is shooting a whopping 48.4 percent from three-point land. It is not surprising that in Oklahoma’s two non-conference losses, Pledger had trouble, shooting 33 percent, and averaging only 11 points in those matches.
For the Cowboys, the offensive attack has depended on several competitors, with Keiton Page being the principal go-to guy. Page has average 13.6 ppg in the non-conference slate. Oklahoma State’s number two scorer, Le’Bryan Nash is scoring an average of 11.7 points per competition. Both competitors will have to step up in order to have a chance at the Oklahoma Sooners.
On January 8th, postseason ncaa football comes to Mobile, AL when the Arkansas State Red Wolves face the Northern Illinois Huskies at the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Both teams come into play with rookie head coaches with the Huskies headed by first-year head coach Dave Doeren. Temporary head coach David Gunn who’s been the running backs coach all year heads the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Gus Malzahn, who will take control after the year ends, has been appointed by Arkansas State. The take from the sportsbook is Arkansas State (-1 ½) with an over-under set at 63 points.
College football odds
The Northern Illinois Huskies come into play with a 10-3 record and a 7-1 record in the MAC. The Huskies average 31.1 points on defense and 38.3 points per game on offense. They also average 247.6 Rushing Yards per game, which is 9th in the nation. They’ve lost to #7 Wisconsin 49-7 on September 17th in their only game versus a rated opponent this year. Dual-threat senior Qb Chandler Harnish who has 2,942 Passing Yards and 1,382 Rushing Yards leads the Huskies offense. Harnish also has 26 passing Touchdowns and 11 rushing Touchdowns with a passer rating of 155.7. Senior Running back Jasmin Hopkins comes into competition with 932 Rushing Yards and 15 Touchdowns.
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The Arkansas Red Wolves get to Mobile with a 10-2 record plus an 8-0 record in the Sun Belt. They lost to #13 Virginia Tech 26-7 on September 17th in the one game versus a rated opponent they have performed this year. The Arkansas State Red Wolves have a solid balance with 33.5 points per game on offense and 19.3 points per game on defense. With junior Qb Ryan Aplin rushing for 605 yards and 9 rushing Touchdowns, the Arkansas State Red Wolves also have a two-pronged thread behind center. Aplin also has 3,235 Passing Yards, 18 Passing Touchdowns, and a passer rating of 138.5. Senior Running back Derek Lawson is continual behind the snap with 459 Rushing Yards and 3 Touchdowns. Senior Wide receiver Dwayne Frampton has had a great year with 90 receptions and 1,125 receiving yards with 6 touchdowns. Fellow Wide receiver junior Josh Jarboe is a viable 2nd option for Aplin with 52 receptions plus 707 receiving yards.
It’s not simply the Division I-A universities getting face time on ESPN, on January 7th the NCAA Division I-AA Tournament game is played at Pizza Hut Park in Fricso, TX. The North Dakota State Bison take on the Sam Houston Bearkats in a fight of the two best small colleges in the country. Both the Sam Houston Bearkats and the Bison have steamrolled their rivals all season long and both are also coming into play with comparable styles on offense. Anticipate lots of running and lots of first downs by each squad as the defenses are going to get a work out. The sports book is having a tough time with this one as the line currently is currently at North Dakota State (-1) with the over-under scheduled at 46.
College football betting
The Bison have set the stage all season coming into competition with a 13-1 record and a 7-1 record in the MVC. They put the hurt on St. Francis on September ninth with a 56-3 defeat, which saw a 95-yard td run by Sam Ojuri. The Bison average 13.6 ppg on defense and 32.4 ppg on offense. NDSU is steadied behind center by sophomore Quarterback Brock Jensen who enters into play with a 146.35 passer efficiency rating with 2,404 passing yards. The Bison are stacked on the run with sophomore Sam Ojuri who has received 1,078 rushing yards. Fellow RB senior DJ McNorton is also nearing the 100 mark in rushing yards with 981. With 75 receptions and 988 yards, Senior Wide receiver Warren Holloway has had an amazing year.
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Sam Houston State comes in the match with an undefeated record at 14-0 and 7-0 in the Southland Conference. The Sam Houston Bearkats average 39.1 ppg on offense and 14.8 ppg on defense. This offensive juggernaut put on an explosive display on October 29th in a complete destruction of Lamar University winning 66-0. The Sam Houston Bearkats put up 382 rushing yards with 559 yards of total offense in that contest. Sophomore Quarterback Brian Bell has had a regular year with 1,954 passing yards and an efficiency rating of 165.6. Sophomore RB Tim Flanders has had a phenomenal season with 1,560 rushing yards and 22 Touchdowns. Sophomore Wide receiver Richard Sincere is deadly down field and in the backfield with 965 rushing yards and 449 receiving yards.
The Steelers are matched up versus the Broncos in the nfl post-season. The Steelers finished as a wild card with an outstanding record of 12-4 in the AFC North division, whereas the Broncos concluded up with an 8-8 record narrowly claiming champs of the AFC West. The Steelers will be visiting Denver to compete versus them at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Sports betting
Denver has enjoyed some success this year and a lot of media hype surrounding qb Tim Tebow after he took over the starting position with the loss of Kyle Orton. His play along with their strong defense has kept them in contention in plenty of games this year and they were able to pull out some exciting comeback wins.
College football betting
Tebow must have confidence and keep calm under pressure to move forward in the playoffs and possibly cement himself as the franchise qb for the Denver Broncos. Former Denver Broncos qb and current VP of operations John Elway has given Tim Tebow some words of encouragement for the forthcoming game. It’ll be pretty tough to turn it around versus the strong defense of the Steelers if the Denver Broncos find themselves falling behind early in this playoff match up. Both squads will count on their defense to keep themselves in the game and offer their offense a possibility to step up and perform. Steelers qb Ben Roethlisberger has done well this year and wants to carry on that success in the 1st round of the playoffs. As Rashard Mendenhall is looking after a knee injury, furthermore watch for running back Isaac Redman to step up.
The Broncos are not going to have an simple time versus the juggernaut Steelers, which is why the Steelers are slated as 8 point favorites to move forward in the playoffs. The over/under on total points in this match is 35.5.
It all boils down to this as the #1 ranked Tigers take on the #2 ranked Crimson Tide in the BCS National Tournament Game at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA on January ninth. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is no stranger to this game, winning the national tournament in 2009 and also winning it with LSU as a head coach in 2003. LSU head coach Les Miles is also no stranger at this instant as he has won the national tournament in 2007. 2 fantastic teams and head coaches coming together on a collision course in what will certainly be an amazing game. The sportsbooks currently have this at Alabama (-1) with the over-under set at 40 points.
College football odds
The Tigers come into play unbeaten at 13-0 with an 8-0 record in the SEC. They’ve also gone an amazing 8-0 vs ranked teams with wins over number 3 Oregon, #25 Mississippi State, #16 West Virginia, #17 Florida, #20 Auburn, #2 Alabama, #3 Arkansas, and #14 Georgia. This game is a rematch of the classic November fifth game at Alabama with the Tigers winning in overtime over the Tide 9-6. With 38.5 points per game landed, the Tigers have an amazing offense ranked 12th in the nation. LSU’s real weapon is their defense which is ranked 2nd in the nation with just 10.5 points per game allowed. Senior Qb Jarrett Lee with 1,306 passing yards as well as a 152.0 rating mans the Tigers passing attack. With each racking up over 700 yards on the ground, the team of sophomores Michael Ford and Spencer Ware pace the LSU running attack. CB Tyrann Mathieu finished 5th in the Heisman competition whilst nabbing 6 interceptions and getting 173 yards off of those picks which rate 1st in the nation.
College football odds
The Alabama Crimson Tide come into this game trying to get revenge for their loss to LSU back in November. With a 7-1 record in the SEC, the Tide has gone 11-1 total. They’ve gone 4-1 vs the Top 25 this season with wins over #23 Penn State, #14 Arkansas, #12 Florida, and #24 Auburn. Their just loss was the aforementioned game vs LSU in November. The Tide has averaged 36.0 points per game on offense with an outstanding running game. As fantastic as LSU is on defense, the Tide are even better at it standing 1st in the nation just allowing a mindboggling 8.8 points per game. The Tide place the offense in sophomore Qb AJ McCarron’s hands, McCarron has 2,400 passing yards and a 149.8 passer rating. Junior Running back Trent Richardson finished second in the Heisman while getting 1,583 rushing yards and 20 td’s on the ground.
With regards to scheduling, maybe the Detroit Lions just are unlucky. First, they finish their regular season vs their division rival Packers, who additionally possess the league’s best record. They then follow that up by getting the Saints in the 1st round of the playoffs.
Super Bowl odds
The Jan 7 – Lions versus Saints game will be the second meeting of the 2 squads this year. New Orleans won the 1st match in New Orleans 31-17. New Orleans is a 10.5 point fave to defeat Detroit this week, and this is maybe part of the reason.
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Another is that the Saints are on a roll. They have won eight contests consecutively arriving into this week’s meeting with Detroit, beating three other playoff squads during that stretch. Following kicking an rival player with his cleats, defensive celebrity Ndamukong Suh was suspended for 2 contests, but Detroit managed to pull things together. Just losing a tight game to 15-1 Green Bay, they won 3 from their last 4 contests of the year. When they last confronted New Orleans, they were devoid of Suh, and Detroit is hoping the return of his presence to the defensive line could be the change they need to stop Drew Brees and the strong New Orleans offense.
Sadly for Detroit, that Saints offense has been amazing for the second half of the year. They have gone over 40 in four of their last 6 and landed over 40 points in their last three contests. Earlier this year in New Orleans they slipped 62 points on Indianapolis, plus they are 8-0 in their home stadium this year.
Detroit has struggled this year vs higher powered competition, going 1-5 vs playoff squads (only beating Denver). Their offense has the potential to be high-flying, and thus it will likely be up to their defense to keep them in this game. If Suh is going to make up for his two-game suspension, it is now time.
The Atlanta Falcons hope that slipping into the playoffs undetected in 2012 will allow them better results, after finishing with the top record in the league a year ago, and getting sacked in the first round by the Green Bay Packers. Atlanta finished 10-6 this season, earning them a first round wild-card match with the NFC East winning Giants (9-7).
College football odds
For the Jan 8 – Falcons vs New York Giants game, nevertheless, New York appears to have the traction proceeding into the playoffs. Sportsbooks have identified this, and made New York a 3-point favorite. This is perhaps a astonishing position for a team that lost 4 contests in a row in November-December. The New York Giants had to depend on colossal errors by their division foe Dallas Cowboys to allow them an chance to reach the playoffs. A victory over Dallas in week 17 secured them the division title.
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New York players might state that their losing streak this season came when starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw was wounded. And this is a legitimate argument, as 3 of 4 losses in that streak came while Bradshaw was on the sideline. Now that he is back the New York Giants have appeared as if a changed team, winning two must-win contests in a row over difficult contest (Jets and Dallas).
Atlanta won 3 of their last 4 contests coming into the playoffs, but Atlanta has struggled all season versus winning teams. Atlanta is only 2-4 versus teams that finished over .500. Just two weeks ago, they were blown out by the Saints, 45-16.
Both teams are headed by quality qbs, the New York Giants by Eli Manning and the Falcons by Matt Ryan. The difference in this game, nevertheless, could be in quarterback pressure. The New York Giants defensive line can get to the quarterback, and recorded 48 sacks this year, good for 3rd in the league. The game will be determined by how well Matt Ryan and the Falcons offensive line can withstand the pressure of the Giants’ defensive front.
The Bengals will be facing off against the Houston Texans in pro football playoffs. The Bengals will travel to Reliant Stadium in Houston for the match up. Cincinnati concluded their season with a record of 9-7 and reached the playoffs this season as a wild card in the AFC North division. Following coming out ahead as the top team in the AFC South this season, Houston concluded with a record of 10-6.
NFL betting
With the Houston Texans having considerable injuries to qbs Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart and the Bengals losing each and every game against playoff quality squads, both squads have still had their fair share of challenges this season. Both qbs were lost for the season with their injuries and rookie T.J. Yates has gotten control. Houston has furthermore seen big injuries to linebacker Mario Williams as well as wide receiver Andre Johnson. The two squads have already faced each other throughout the regular season and the Houston Texans made a last effort comeback try with a game winning td pass captured by wide receiver Kevin Walters with just a few seconds left on the clock.
College football odds
The Bengals extraordinary run game with running backs Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott has been what’s worked for them this year, so they will need to try and stay with that. If they’re able to accomplish this they might have the edge and finally wipe out a playoff team and progress past the 1st round for the 1st time in just over 20 years.
This will likely be a near one and may boil down to the wire yet again. Even with many injuries to plenty of key celebrity competitors, the Houston Texans are minor faves. The over/under for total in total points for this specific game is 38. The line is set with the Texans as 3 point faves at their home turf to the underdog Bengals.
The unpleasant specter of the Lockout had loomed big over the NBA world until earlier this month. With both the players and the owners at last arriving at an agreement, the NBA has effectively tipped off in earnest over Christmas weekend. The NBA welcoming committee visits to the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. when the Boston Celtics (1-3) battle against the Wizards (0-3). Both teams enter the competition with unreliable records and a slow beginning to the season. The sports book seems to have the nod on the better team as the line presently stands – Boston (-7) 184 ½ .
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The Celtics come into the game trying to bounce back from a disappointing season a year ago as their 56-26 record got them bounced out of the Eastern Conference Semifinals 4-1 by the Miami Heat. As Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are in the final year of their respective contracts, this year symbolizes a turning point for the Celtics. It’s not likely that the Celtics will manage to resign both players as the “Big 3″ era could come to a close. In this young season, the Celtics are lead by Ray Allen and his standard long-distance pyrotechnics. Celebrity point guard Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce provide a regular complimentary force behind Allen. The wear and tear of 15 earlier NBA seasons might be catching up with Kevin Garnett, who has gotten off to a slow beginning. Guard Keyon Dooling has provided an amazing shooting spark off of the bench. The Celtics come in averaging 96.3 PPG and giving up 100.8 PPG.
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The Wizards enter the competition trying to right the good ship formerly known as the Bullets. The breakout of superstar shooting guard Nick Young who averaged more than 20 ppg until going down with injury had lifted Washington’s sub-par season a year ago, when they went 23-59. The Wizards this season are averaging 82.7 PPG, which is one of the worst showings in the league. Washington is giving up 97.7 PPG on average, which is somewhat better than the Celtics. Guards Nick Young and John Wall level the balanced Wizards attack.


