It's in the Cards: Arizona edges Atlanta in Wild Card play
Football Betting Lines
01/03/2009 - Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kurt Warner threw two touchdowns and the Arizona defense came up with two big plays as the Cardinals downed the Atlanta Falcons, 30-24, in NFC Wild Card play.
Warner went 19-for-32 with 271 yards and an interception while Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald each had a touchdown catch for the NFC West-champion Cardinals (10-7), who played their first home playoff game since the team relocated from St. Louis to Phoenix in 1988 and the franchises first home playoff game overall since 1947, when the team was playing in Chicago.
Edgerrin James had 16 carries for 73 yards while the defense came up with a fumble return for a touchdown and a safety for Arizona, which was making its first postseason appearance in 10 years. Tim Hightower had a rushing touchdown in the win.
Arizona will now take to the road for its next playoff game as the team will play either Carolina or the New York Giants. Should the Minnesota Vikings prevail in tomorrow's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona will take on New York, but if the Eagles win the Cardinals will face Carolina.
Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan was impressive at times, but threw two costly interceptions and finished the game 26-for-40 with 199 yards and two scores for the Falcons (11-6), who made their first postseason appearance since the 2004 season.
Michael Turner had a sub-par game as he finished with just 42 yards on 18 carries with a score while Roddy White had 11 catches for 84 yards and a score for Atlanta, which bounced back from a 4-12 2007 season which saw star signal- caller Michael Vick incarcerated for his involvement in a dogfighting ring and previous head coach Bobby Petrino walk away from the mess with three games still to play.
Trailing by four points to start the second half, Arizona had to start the half on defense, but the defense came up with a big play as Turner was hit in the backfield as soon as he took a handoff, the ball popped into the air, Antrelle Rolle came down with it and raced into the end zone from 27 yards out for a 21-17 lead.
Later in the third, Arizona had a chance to put more points on the board as the team started a drive with the ball at the Atlanta 38 after an interference call on an Atlanta punt, but Neil Rackers missed a 51-yard field goal attempt to the left.
However, after forcing a three-and-out by Atlanta, the Cardinals put together a 14-play, 76-yard drive that ate up almost eight minutes of the clock and was capped on a four-yard touchdown run by Hightower for a 28-17 lead with just 2:48 left in the third quarter. The team converted four third downs in the drive.
The Arizona defense again came up with a big play after the punting unit pinned the Falcons at thier own three-yard line. On the first play, Antonio Smith was able to wrap up Ryan in the end zone for the safety and a 30-17 lead with 12:37 left in the game.
The Falcons defense stopped Arizona after the free kick and the team made it a one-score game as Ryan and White hooked up for a five-yard score to complete a nine-play drive and make it a 30-24 contest with 4:15 to play.
The Atlanta defense, though, was unable to come up with a stop as Arizona got the first downs it needed to and after the two-minute warning Warner took knees to kill the clock and end the game.
The Cardinals offense sputtered out of the gate as the team was held to a three-and-out, but the defense came up with a big play as Ralph Brown read a pass play perfectly and picked off Ryan to get the ball back for Arizona.
James carried the ball three consecutive times for 21 yards and was handed the ball for a fourth straight time on 2nd-and-4, but he tossed the ball back to Warner and Warner went deep to Fitzgerald, who made a leaping catch in the left side of the end zone for a 42-yard score and a 7-0 lead with 10:28 to play in the first.
The rest of the first quarter featured little forward movement by either offense as the game evolved into a field position contest.
However, Atlanta ended the frame with the ball and put together an impressive drive to put some points on the board. Starting with the ball at his own eight-yard-line, Ryan went 7-for-7 for 50 yards and Turner added 22 yards on the ground in the 14-play drive that was capped on a 30-yard field goal from Jason Elam to make it a 7-3 game with a bit over 10 minutes to play in the second.
The Cardinals, though, quickly answered to take a 14-3 lead. On the third play of the drive, Warner hit Boldin with a short pass out in the left flat. Boldin then raced to the left sideline and Lawyer Milloy had a chance to tackle him, but he took a bad angle on the play and was only able to get a swipe at the jersey. Boldin easily shrugged that off and raced down the sideline and into the end zone on a 71-yard score.
Ryan showed his poise on the next touch as he marched the team down the field to make it a four-point contest. Facing a 3rd-and-10, Ryan connected with Michael Jenkins for 21 yards to move the chains. He then completed passes on two other third down opportunities, with the second one setting up a 1st-and- goal at the seven-yard line and Turner took it into the end zone untouched around the left tackle to make it a 14-10 game with 2:55 left in the first half.
Arizona started the next drive with the ball at its 20-yard line, but on the third play Warner threw a quick pass to Jerheme Urban, who was unable to make the catch and the ball popped into the air and Chevis Jackson came down with the interception.
Just six plays later, Ryan used the play action, rolled out to the right and hit Justin Peelle in the end zone from two yards out to give the Falcons a 17-14 lead heading into the locker room.
Game Notes
Warner is now 6-2 in eight postseason starts...The Cardinals lead the all-time series with Atlanta, 15-10...Fitzgerald finished the game with six catches for 101 yards while Boldin had two catches for 72 yards...Hightower had only six carries for 23 yards along with the score...Arizona had three sacks in the game...Arizona won the time of possession game, but by just four seconds.
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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds
With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season. What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season. Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all. Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13). Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two. Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury. Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven. Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury. Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons. Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4. Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1). The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this. No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.
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Atlanta Hawks 1000-1
Boston Celtics 5000-1
Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1
Chicago Bulls 20-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1
Dallas Mavericks 2-1
Denver Nuggets 25-1
Detroit Pistons 6-1
Golden State Warriors 250-1
Houston Rockets 12-1
Indiana Pacers 60-1
Los Angeles Clippers 45-1
Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1
Miami Heat 9-1
Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1
Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1
New Jersey Nets 50-1
New Orleans Hornets 150-1
New York Knicks 150-1
Orlando Magic 75-1
Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1
Phoenix Suns 5-2
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Sacramento Kings 250-1
San Antonio Spurs 9-1
Seattle Sonics 5000-1
Toronto Raptors 35-1
Utah Jazz 20-1
Washington Wizards 25-1
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Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.