Wednesday, October 4,
2006

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free as well as the latest sports betting news, including the “To Bet a Man
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CFB

Central Florida-Marshall

Sun Sentinel

Before joining Conference USA
a year ago, UCF and Marshall were together for three
seasons in the MAC. Marshall was
3-0 against UCF before the Knights broke through with
a 23-13 victory last season in its first C-USA
game. In addition, that victory snapped UCF’s overall
17-game losing streak. Marshall has
one of the best home-field advantages in the league, and there is expected to
be some added emotion. Actor Matthew McConaughey—star
of the movie We Are Marshall, about the 1970 crash of the team charter that
claimed 75 lives in the worst air disaster in American sports history—will be
at Wednesday’s game. UCF’s game at Marshall
will mark its second consecutive road trip in which it will play on a non-grass
surface. The Knights practiced for part of the week inside their indoor
facility to get reacquainted with the artificial surface. Including the Sept. 9
game it played at Florida, UCF will play four regular-season games on Field Turf in
2006.

Daily Mail

Both the Herd and Golden Knights have seen enough
fireworks, thank you. Marshall players still are talking about the fireworks Tennessee
let off over Neyland Stadium when the Volunteers
scored. MU defenders clearly were irritated by the
fireworks display. As for UCF, the Knights’ defense
has seen pyrotechnics of a different kind—bombs bursting in air. UCF has given up so many long pass plays,
its pass defense ranks a dismal No. 117 out of 119 Division I-A schools. UCF is allowing 297.75 yards per game passing. Marshall
isn’t much better, yielding 239.0 yards per game passing for a ranking of No.
100. Although both teams’ rushing defense is respectable (UCF
No. 51, MU No. 78), the porous pass defense drags the
total defense rankings into the basement. Marshall
is only No. 99, allowing 384.5 yards per game, and UCF
is No. 109, yielding 416.25 yards.

MLB

As first reported on JoeDuffy.net Orlando Hernandez
may be scratched for the Mets.  However
he is still listed in the box by most sportsbooks, so we will include his
stats.  Check out JoeDuffy.net for the latest
late breaking information.

·       
LA Dodgers Lowe 16-8 personal record

·       
Oakland
Loaiza under 17-9

·       
Minnesota
Bonser under 11-6

·       
Detroit Verlander 17-9 personal record

·       
NY Yanks Mussina 15-7 personal record

Personal record is a pitcher’s record in his decisions
including relief appearances.  Team record
is how the team did in his starts whether or not he was involved in the
decision.

By Rich Carlson

WagerWeb.com Contribruting Writer

2005 record: 35-43-4 (74 points)

2005 offense rank: 27^th (2.62 goals per game)

2005 defense rank: 26^th (3.37 goals allowed per
game)

Key Additions: LW Fredrik Modin, G Ty Conklin, G Fredrik Norrena, C Gilbert Brule

Key Losses: D Radoslav Suchy, G Marc Denis, C Jan Hrdina,
RW Trevor Letowski

Overview: With the league’s 27^th-ranked offense
and 26^th-ranked defense, many hockey fans are wondering how Columbus
didn’t finish in last place in the Central Division last season. Simple—the
Blue Jackets had the fortune of being in the same division as St.
Louis and Chicago. Columbus
made a concerted effort to increase its scoring punch by acquiring Fredrik Modin from Tampa Bay
in the offseason. Modin scored 33 goals and had 31
assists for the Lightning last year and will make an immediate impact on
offense. Many Blue Jacket fans were disappointed that the team did virtually
nothing in the offseason to improve its porous defense, which allowed 3.37
goals per game last season. Other than veteran Adam Foote, the Blue Jackets are
young and inexperienced on the blue line. The Blue Jackets’ defenders are not
the most physically imposing group in the league, and they could get pushed
around this season. Veteran G Denis was traded to Tampa
Bay in the deal for Modin, which means Pascal Leclaire
is the new No. 1 netminder. However, Leclaire only has 35 NHL games under his belt and has a
history of injuries. Columbus
signed veteran G Conklin and European G Norrena to
backup Leclaire, and they could get significant
playing time if Leclaire’s injury woes surface again.

WagerWeb.com odds: +7500 to win the Stanley
Cup

Players to Watch: RW Nikolai Zherdev had 27 goals and 27 assists last season but was
called out by Sergei Fedorov
to contribute even more. It will be interesting to watch how Zherdev reacts to Fedorov’s
criticisms. Fedorov, incidentally, is out another
month or so with a
shoulder injury. C Brule is considered by many hockey fans to be a legitimate
Calder Trophy candidate. LW Rick Nash scored 31 goals
last season but needs to stay healthy. Rugged defenseman Bryan Berard underwent surgery on his back late last season, and
his health is in question heading into the season.

Outlook: It’s a good bet that Columbus
will definitely score more goals this season with the addition of Modin and Brule. However, the Jackets could allow even more
goals than they did last season. Many sportsbooks project the Blue Jackets
finishing in third place in the Central Division behind powerhouses Detroit
and Nashville. If G Leclaire can stay healthy and if the young defensemen come
together as a unit, the Blue Jackets might be able to slip into the playoffs.

Rich Carlson

Author Bio: Received MBA from University of Florida in
1996 (Management & Sports Administration) Worked for 3 ½ years as freelance
sportswriter covering professional and minor league baseball, professional
& college basketball, professional & college football, hockey, soccer,
tennis and golf. Active in local softball, basketball, tennis
and bowling leagues. Married for 15 years – one
daughter.

By Tom Brew

WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

The golf world swings back to regular old stroke-play
events this week, so you can figure Tiger Woods will be back on top again.

Woods and the gang tee off Thursday in the World Golf
Championship series American Express Championship at The Grove in Hertfordshire,
England. Woods has won
the event four times on four different courses and is ready to see if he can
keep his winning streak going. Prior to the Ryder Cup and HSBC
Match Play, Woods had won five straight medal-play tournaments.

Can six be next? Maybe. But what about seven and eight and beyond? Can anyone win 11
in a row like the great Byron Nelson, who just passed away Tuesday at the age
of 94?

No way, says Woods, and he rarely says no to anything.

“The competition is so much deeper now,” said Woods, who
has won six in a row before, from 1999-2000. “I mean, back in [Nelson’s] day—I
actually talked to him about this—he said he had to beat four or five guys
every week, and when you’re hot that’s not that hard to do. That’s not the case
anymore. It’s 40 or 50 now, so it’s a lot different.”

Woods says he barely notices his winning streak, being so
focused on one shot at a time, one round at a time, one tournament at a time.

“I thought about one tournament at a time,” Woods said of
the current streak. “When you win one, you can move on to the next one, try and
win that one. You win the next, then move on to the
next.

“[Nelson’s] record is still remarkable that particular
year, his 12^th event he finished second and then he won the very
next one, so it’s 12 out of 13, and the worst finish was second. So that’s
pretty good. And 18 (wins) in a year—I don’t play that many tournaments, so I
can’t get 18.”

Woods expects a birdie-fest this weekend.

“You’re going to have to make a bunch of birdies,” Woods
said. “The golf course is ample wide off the tee, but if you miss the fairways,
you’re going to have a hard time getting to the green. The greens are somewhat
undulating, but they’re really smooth. So with them being smooth, you figured
guys are going to make some putts.

“So that being said, if there’s no wind at all, expect the
scores to be really low this week.”

Woods has won 11 of his 21 World Golf Championships
starts, and he has successfully defended a title 15 times, so you’ve got to
consider him a huge favorite here. With the devastating Ryder Cup loss behind
him, he’s ready to move forward.

“I’m starting to hit the ball a little bit better now,”
said Woods, who was the Americans’ leading point-getter with three. “I didn’t
play well on Saturday morning. I played really well Saturday afternoon, then played well again on Sunday. So I just had one bad day
out of five.

“So that being said, at least I started turning it around,
started hitting the ball better and started putting better, which is nice,
which gave me a little bit of confidence going into this week.”

Woods will get to play with good friend Darren Clarke on
Thursday, so expect him to be in a good comfort zone. The WagerWeb.com odds on
Woods are short as usual at 2.5 to 1, but how can you bet against him? We’ve
sort of kept that trend through this column the last few months and it’s good logic.

Want some long shots, though?

You know I’ve been on this Sergio Garcia bandwagon for a
while, and he certainly didn’t disappoint during the Ryder Cup. At 14 to 1,
that’s a nice number and worth a gamble.

Another guy playing well who might really have something
to prove this week is England’s
Ian Poulter at 30 to 1. He surprisingly didn’t
qualify for the European Ryder Cup team, and then wasn’t a captain’s pick,
although Clarke and Lee Westwood certainly acquitted themselves well. But Poulter has been playing great and this might be a perfect
time to shine in a world-wide event.

Keep a good eye on him.

By Jeff Zell

WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Big East Notebook

Thirty years ago, the Toronto Blue Jays were created, the
Olympics were in Austria,
Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford to win the presidential race, and the Rutgers
Scarlet Knights were ranked.

The birthplace of college football is ranked again.

“I’m not going to downplay it. It is significant
considering where we started,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano told the Associated Press. “It shows we’re making
progress in the right direction.”

The Knights have benefited from a weak schedule so far—three
I-A opponents with a combined 4-8 record and a I-AA
team, but it wasn’t too long ago that they couldn’t beat anyone.

Much of the success can be credited to Schiano
and RB Ray Rice, who ranks fourth in the nation in
rushing yards per game (151) and T-3^rd in scoring (13.5 ppg).

The opportunistic defense can also be attributed to the
Scarlet Knights’ success. Rutgers has forced turnovers
on 13 different occasions—good for second in the
nation.

Recap: It was another good week for the Big East. The
conference’s teams went 6-2 overall, which has jolted their non-conference
record to 22-7. The only losing team in the conference is Cincinnati
(1-3), which has lost to a pair of ranked teams—Ohio
State and Virginia Tech.

Defensive Cardinals: With Brian Brohm
and Michael Bush going down with injuries, it has been the defense that has
answered the call for Louisville.
Through four games, the Cardinals have allowed an average of 52 yards per game
on the ground—sixth in the nation. The two ranked opponents that remain on
Coach Bobby Petrino’s schedule are run-happy Rutgers
and West Virginia. West
Virginia’s squad ranks No. 3 in rushing offense,
averaging 300 yards per game.

New Beginnings: Syracuse
ended its 11-game losing streak two weeks ago with a 31-21 win over Illinois.
The Orange began a winning streak
Saturday after knocking off Miami of Ohio 34-14. Greg Robinson’s squad has been
stellar putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The Orange
have sacked opponents 19 times, tying them for first
in the nation with Arizona State.

A Look Ahead: Rutgers opens
conference play this week at South Florida (Rutgers
is -4 at WagerWeb.com). The Scarlet Knights look to keep their Top 25 ranking
and seek revenge against a Bulls team that beat the Knights 45-31 last year.
… The Big East and MAC have a pair of matchups as Pittsburgh
and Cincinnati host Toledo
and Miami of Ohio, respectively. … Could Syracuse
win a third straight game, this time against a Wyoming
team that is
1-3? The Orange are
-5 at WagerWeb.com

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11:38:39 AM
Terrell Owens is in uniform and warming up.
Sources tell us he will play

Check out EVERY top service play at OffshoreInsiders.com . It
includes two Wise Guy plays from Joe Duffy’s Godspicks

Dallas: Owens
expected to start

Tennessee: Vince
Young starts at QB

Carolina: Dan
Morgan out

St. Louis: Orlando
Pace out

Seattle: Shaun
Alexander out

Chicago: Desmond
Clark between probable and questionable. Game time decision

Weather

Dal-Ten: 20 percent chance of rain
at kickoff

Ind-NYJ: 30 percent chance of rain
at kickoff, it is raining now

Mia-Hous: 20 chance of rain at
kickoff

Min-Buf: 20 chance of rain at
kickoff

No-Car: 20 chance of rain at kickoff

Jac-Was: 20 chance of rain at
kickoff