Raiders make it official with Dennis Allen
Football Betting Lines
01/27/2012 - Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders have made it official and named Dennis Allen as their new head coach.
According to the club's website, Allen will be introduced at a news conference on Monday.
Allen, who spent this past season as defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, reportedly reached an agreement with the Raiders and new general manager Reggie McKenzie earlier this week.
The Raiders needed a replacement for Hue Jackson, who was fired January 10 -- McKenzie's first official day on the job -- after just one season as head coach.
Allen was named defensive coordinator of the Broncos on January 24, 2011. He had been with the New Orleans Saints the previous five seasons, serving as assistant defensive line coach from 2006-07 and as the secondary coach from 2008-10.
The Broncos had the NFL's 20th-ranked defense during the regular season and won the AFC West at 8-8. They edged Oakland for the division title on a tiebreaker, then beat Pittsburgh in the wild card round of the playoffs before losing to New England in the divisional round.
Allen will become Oakland's seventh different head coach since Jon Gruden left after the 2001 season. Bill Callahan spent two years as head coach and guided Oakland to the Super Bowl after the 2002 campaign, losing to Gruden's Buccaneers, but the Raiders haven't had a winning season since.
Inverness, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inverness announced Friday that it has acquired 28-year-old winger Claude Gnakpa on loan from League One side Walsall until the end of the season. Gnakpa, who can also play at left back, has also featu
<< Hughes completes Dons move
Aberdeen, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aberdeen completed the signing of
Stephen Hughes on Friday after the midfielder departed from Scottish Premier
League rivals Motherwell.
Hughes put pen to paper on a contract that will keep h
<< Werder Bremen lands Junuzovic
Bremen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Werder Bremen announced Friday that it has
signed Austrian midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic from FK Austria Vienna on a three-
and-a-half-year deal.
Junuzovic, 24, will undergo a medical on Monday before being
<< A legend is laid to rest
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Few college coaches embody an entire
university and everything that the program, school and community as a whole
stands for. Like Paul "Bear" Bryant in Tuscaloosa and Knute Rockne in South
Bend, Happy Valley
<< PSG signs Brazil defender Alex from Chelsea
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSG signed Brazil defender Alex from Chelsea
on Friday on a 2 1/2-year deal.
Alex, 29, left Brazilian club Santos in 2004 for Chelsea, and remained at the
English Premier League club - with the exception o
Owings Mills, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Ravens elevated linebackers coach Dean Pees to defensive coordinator on Friday. Pees takes over for the departed Chuck Pagano, who was named head coach of the Indianapolis Colts earlier this
No longer doubted, Giants' Thomas finds niche on special teams >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devin Thomas always believed he'd be an impact player in the
National Football League, albeit with another team and in a far different role
than the one he currently occupies with the New York Giants.
Four years ago, the p
Brady's promise weighs about seven pounds >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After what Tom Brady thought would be a private moment with
owner Robert Kraft became public, the world is now aware that the New England
Patriots quarterback vows to play better in Super Bowl XLVI.
Brady admitted on the c
Larranaga receives three-year extension >>
Coral Gables, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami-Florida men's basketball coach Jim
Larranaga has agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep him
with the Hurricanes through the 2018-19 season.
Larranaga is in his first year with
Western Carolina to face Marshall, Alabama in 2012 >>
Cullowhee, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Speir's first season as Western
Carolina's head football coach will include games against FBS opponents
Marshall and Alabama.
Western Carolina also will play five home games in a schedule announced
Frid
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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SPORTS BETTING
NFL Football Betting OnlineIn 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.
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