No LT? No problem! Sproles leads Bolts past Colts in Wild Card tilt
Football Betting Lines
01/03/2009 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Sproles filled in for an injured LaDainian Tomlinson and carried the Chargers to a dramatic overtime victory over the Indianapolis Colts, as his 22-yard touchdown scamper in the extra session gave San Diego a 23-17 decision in an entertaining AFC Wild Card matchup.
Sproles scored another rushing touchdown while adding 105 yards on the ground, 45 yards on five catches through the air, and 178 combined return yardage for the Chargers (9-8), who are riding a five-game win streak, including a 52-21 thumping over AFC West rival Denver in a regular season finale that played as a de facto playoff clash.
Tomlinson, who was questionable with a groin injury, logged 25 yards and a touchdown on five carries but did not play in the second half. Philip Rivers had 217 yards passing with an interception on 20-of-36 throws, while Antonio Gates, who was also a game-time decision with an ankle injury, hauled in a team-high eight receptions for 87 yards.
Peyton Manning, who picked up his third MVP award earlier this week, threw for 310 yards and a touchdown on 25-of-42 efficiency, but it wasn't enough as the Colts (12-5) had their nine-game winning streak snapped.
Reggie Wayne caught four balls for 129 yards and a touchdown, while Anthony Gonzalez finished with six grabs for 97 yards for Indianapolis, which was ousted by the Chargers in the playoffs for the second straight season.
Joseph Addai led an anemic running game with 44 yards and a score on 16 carries, as the Chargers had a 167-64 advantage on the ground.
San Diego will visit the top-ranked Tennessee Titans or AFC North champion Pittsburgh next weekend, depending on the outcome of Sunday's Baltimore/Miami bout.
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Steen had a goal and two assists while Manny Legace made 20 saves as the St. Louis Blues downed the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-2, at Scottrade Center. Brandon Crombeen had a goal and an assist while
<< Minnesota's late rally leads to win in Chicago
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Foye scored 21 points to lead the
Timberwolves past the Bulls, 102-92.
Al Jefferson chipped in 18 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota, which has won
two in a row and four of six overall. Kevin L
<< Parker's buzzer beater helps Spurs top Sixers
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker's fadeaway baseline jumper off
an offensive rebound just beat the final buzzer, as the San Antonio Spurs
fended off a furious Philadelphia comeback in a 108-106 thriller.
The Spurs watche
<< Wake Forest stays perfect, ends BYU's home win streak at 53
Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Teague poured in a game-high 30 points to
help No. 6 Wake Forest deal BYU its first home loss in over three years with a
94-87 victory over the Cougars.
BYU had won an astounding 53 consecutive games a
<< Datsyuk gets SO winner as Wings top Wild
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pavel Datsyuk posted the lone shootout tally,
and the Detroit Red Wings rallied to top the Minnesota Wild, 3-2.
In the first round of the shootout, Datsyuk faked to his backhand, quickly
went to the foreh
Valparaiso, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Howard had 16 points and Gordon Hayward provided 15 points and 13 rebounds as the 25th-ranked Butler Bulldogs topped Valparaiso, 75-62, in Horizon League action. Willie Veasley also scored 15 and Shel
Pacers edge Kings >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Granger poured in 35 points and was
perfect at the line late in the fourth as the Indiana Pacers held on for a
wild 122-117 win over the Sacramento Kings at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Granger was 10-
Late run lifts Denver over New Orleans >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points and grabbed
seven rebounds to help the Nuggets stave off the Hornets, 105-100.
J.R. Smith had 17 points for the Nuggets, who have won three straight and five
of six overall.
National Football League Playoff Game Capsules >>
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
Souray leads Oilers past Stars >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sheldon Souray had a goal and an assist as the
Edmonton Oilers downed the Dallas Stars, 4-1, at Rexall Place.
Andrew Cogliano, Erik Cole and Dustin Penner each had a goal for the Oilers,
who have won four of
Football Betting Lines
The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.
Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.
Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.
A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.
Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.
Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.
And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.
2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win
Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1
Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1
Donald Brown (IND) 5/1
Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1
Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1
Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1
Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1
Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1
Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1
Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1
Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1
Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1
Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1
Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1
Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1
Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1
LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1
Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1
Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1
Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1
Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1
Jason Smith (STL) 40/1
Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1
Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1
Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1
Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2
Pat White (MIA) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 9/1
To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.
For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.
Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.