Liverpool adds defender Konchesky from Fulham

Soccer Betting Lines

08/31/2010 - Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defender Paul Konchesky completed his transfer from Fulham to Liverpool on Tuesday.

Konchesky, 29, signed a four-year deal with Liverpool. Fulham acquired Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic from Liverpool's reserve team as part of the deal.

Konchesky was a regular starter at Fulham since joining the club from West Ham in 2007, making nearly 100 appearances for the London club. He played two times for England earlier in his career, making his debut in 2003 and his last appearance in 2005.

Footbll Soccer Betting News

<< Ingram to miss Alabama's opener
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram will miss Alabama's opener this Saturday against San Jose State after undergoing surgery on Tuesday morning to repair knee damage. Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said

<< Hoffenheim signs Icelandic midfielder Sigurdsson
Sinsheim, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoffenheim acquired Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson from English Championship side Reading on Tuesday and signed him to a four-year contract. Sigurdsson, 20, scored 16 goals in 32 matches for Read

<< Chelios ends stellar career; joins Red Wings front office
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran defenseman Chris Chelios has officially called it a career and will move into a front office role with the Detroit Red Wings. Chelios played in a record-tying 26th NHL season last year, a brief seven-ga

<< Alabama's Ingram to miss opener with knee injury
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram of Alabama will miss the season opener after injuring his left knee during practice.He was hurt Monday and coach Nick Saban said in a statement the star tailback had an arthroscopic procedure

<< Stuttgart signs Italian midfielder Camoranesi
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart acquired Italian midfielder Mauro Camoranesi from Juventus on Tuesday and signed him to a one-year deal. Camoranesi helped Italy win the 2006 World Cup and has played 54 times for his countr

In the FCS Huddle: Playoffs turn 20, but not of age yet >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are plenty of intriguing storylines as the Football Championship Subdivision season gets set to kick off the 2010 season week, but the biggest is the expansion of the playoffs from 16 to 20 schools.

New York Giants 2010 Season Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Memories are short in New York, and the city's sports figures and teams are often judged more on present performance than on past accomplishments. It's a train of thought Tom Coughlin can certainly relate to. Despite havin

Tottenham acquires goalie Pletikosa on loan >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham acquired Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa on a season-long loan from Spartak Moscow on Tuesday. Pletikosa, 31, has played 80 matches for Croatia. He was on Croatia's 2002 and 2006 World Cup team

Jags place rookie D'Anthony Smith on IR >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars placed rookie defensive tackle D'Anthony Smith on injured reserve Tuesday. Smith, a third-round pick out of Louisiana Tech, will miss the entire 2010 season because of an A

Quail Hollow gets 2017 PGA Championship >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte has been awarded the 2017 PGA Championship. The course, featuring one of the toughest three-hole finishes in golf, has hosted a popular PGA Tour event since 2003. I

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook betting credit cards