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03/03/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 28th annual Northeast Conference Tournament gets underway on Thursday, March 5th with four quarterfinal-round games to be played on the home court of the higher seeds. After the opening round, the teams will be reseeded so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals.
Mount St. Mary's is the defending NEC Tournament champion, and the team earned the No. 2 seed in this year's event following a season in which it went 17-12, 12-6 in conference. The top seed is Robert Morris as the Colonials logged a 21-10 overall mark, including a 15-3 ledger in NEC play, en route to their second straight NEC regular season title. Sacred Heart and Long Island both finished with 12-6 league ledgers to tie Mount St. Mary's, and while the Mountaineers were awarded the second seed, the Pioneers claimed the third seed and the Blackbirds settled for the fourth.
All games will start at 7:00 pm (et) on Thursday, with top-seeded Robert Morris facing eighth-seeded St. Francis-NY. The Colonials have performed well at both ends of the floor this season, ranking second in the NEC in both scoring offense (71.3 ppg) and scoring defense (66.4 ppg). They are led by Jeremy Chappel and his 16.6 ppg (third-best in the conference), and Rob Robinson adds 11.6 ppg while Jimmy Langhurst chips in with 10.1 ppg. Chappel is also the team's leader on the boards, coming up with 6.3 rpg, while pacing the league in steals (2.55 per game). Robert Morris is the league's top three- point shooting team (.397), but its worst at defending the long-range shot (.377).
As for St. Francis-NY (10-19, 7-11 NEC), it is averaging a mere 65.9 ppg despite being in the top half of the conference in three-point shooting (.365). Ricky Cadell is the Terriers' top point producer, checking in at 15.1 ppg behind 47 percent field goal efficiency. SFNY was the only NEC team to beat RMU on its home floor this season, taking an 87-79 decision on December 4, 2008. No eight seed has ever knocked off the No. 1 seed in the history of this event.
No. 2 seed Mount St. Mary's gets a crack at seventh-seeded Wagner in the quarterfinals, and the defending NEC Tournament champs boast three double- digit scorers, led by Jeremy Goode and his 15.8 ppg. One of the top playmakers in the conference, Goode has dished out 120 assists and is shooting nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc. The team, which leads the league in scoring defense (63.3 ppg), owns a scoring advantage of 5.5 points, as well as positive differentials in both rebounding (+1.4) and turnovers (+1.6).
Wagner (16-13, 8-10 NEC) is a middle-of-the-pack team in most statistical categories, netting 67.6 ppg while allowing 68.2 ppg. The Seahawks rank third in the conference in both three-point shooting (.381) and turnover margin (+0.28). The team is led offensively by Joey Mundweiler (14.0 ppg), Jamal Smith (11.9 ppg), Llewchean Radford (11.2 ppg) and Justin Drummond (10.5 ppg). Mundweiler is coming off a record-setting performance as he drained 11 three- pointers in the regular-season finale against Monmouth, helping Wagner win for the fourth straight time.
Third-seeded Sacred Heart, the league's top scoring team during the regular season (73.7 ppg), opens the tournament by hosting Central Connecticut State (13-16, 8-10 NEC), which was awarded the sixth seed after losing a tie-breaker with Wagner. The Pioneers, who have won five straight coming into the postseason by an average of nearly 21 ppg, knocked down 48.3 percent of their field goal attempts this season, which includes a 39.3 percent showing from downtown. As good as Sacred Heart is beyond the arc, the team is also effective in thwarting the long-range aspirations of the opposition, yielding just a 32.9 percent success rate through 29 games. The Pioneers are the NEC's top team in assists (17.07 per outing) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.05), while ranking second in steals (7.86 per game). Joey Henley (15.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg) is the club's top man both in scoring and on the glass, while Corey Hassan (11.2 ppg) contributes as well.
CCSU is averaging just 64.8 ppg despite a solid showing both from the field (.446) as well as the foul line (.724). The Blue Devils, however, are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the conference (.318, 4.17 three-point FGs made per contest). Ken Horton finished the regular season as the NEC's second-leading scorer at 16.6 ppg.
The fourth-seeded Long Island Blackbirds kick off tournament play at home against No. 5 seed Quinnipiac. Even though Long Island is the worst shooting team in the conference (.409), it ranks third in scoring offense (70.4 ppg). The Blackbirds are led by Jaytornah Wisseh and his 15.3 ppg, and Kyle Johnson and Julian Boyd average double digits as well with 13.7 and 10.3 ppg, respectively. Ron Manigault ranks second in the NEC in rebounding (8.7 rpg), less than a board per game behind Quinnipiac's Justin Rutty (9.5 rpg).
Rutty, a 60.3 percent shooter from the field, ranks second on the Bobcats (14-15, 10-8 NEC) with his 14.9 ppg, while James Feldeine paces the team and the conference with 16.8 ppg. Quinnipiac finished the regular season ranked atop the league in rebounding margin (+5.6) and third in scoring defense (66.7 ppg). Free-throw shooting has really been a problem for the 'Cats this season, as they rank dead last in the NEC at a mere 62.0 percent. LIU was a league- best 12-2 at home this season, although one of those losses came against Quinnipiac, which swept the season series from the Blackbirds.
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In the NBA
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and a .97
Derrick Ward signs with Bucs >>
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AC Milan still hopes to keep Beckham >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani is
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Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
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