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05/05/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Temple University head football coach Al Golden and head men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy received lengthy contract extensions on Wednesday.
For Golden, it is a five-year extension, while Dunphy was the recipient of an eight-year pact.
"We are very pleased to be able to reach new long-term agreements that will keep Fran Dunphy and Al Golden in charge of our most visible programs," said Temple director of athletics Bill Bradshaw.
Golden, 40, has been Temple's head coach since the 2006 season and steadily built up the program. This past season the Owls went 9-4, achieving their first winning season since 1990 and first bowl appearance since 1979 -- the EagleBank Bowl at Washington D.C. in December -- where they fell to UCLA.
"I'm thrilled for our staff, and most especially our student-athletes, for the opportunity to continue our commitment of making our football program a vital component of the Temple community, support the mission of the university and to strengthen the Temple brand on a national scale," Golden stated.
Overall, he has compiled a 19-30 record that includes a 15-9 mark in the Mid American Conference, which Temple joined in 2007.
Prior to joining the Owls, he was the defensive coordinator at Virginia and also held coaching positions at Penn State, his alma mater, as well as Boston College.
The 61-year-old Dunphy finished his fourth season at the helm by guiding the Owls to a 29-6 overall record -- best since John Chaney's 1999-2000 squad finished 27-6 -- that included the school's first regular-season Atlantic 10 title since 2002, a third consecutive conference playoff title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"I am very thankful for the opportunity to continue to serve as the Temple University men's basketball coach," Dunphy said. "The past four years have been special and my staff and I are already looking forward to the 2010-11 season."
Since taking the reins from Chaney for the 2006-07 season, Dunphy has gone 84-49 (42-22 in the A-10) and reached the NCAA tourney three times. This run of success followed his 17-year stint at the University of Pennsylvania, which saw the Quakers win or tie for the Ivy League crown on 10 occasions between 1989-2006.
<< Johnson, Teixeira help Yankees complete sweep of Orioles
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Johnson clubbed a solo home run and walked
twice to spark New York to a 7-5 win over Baltimore in the finale of a three-
game series at Yankee Stadium.
Johnson finished 3-for-3 at the plate, and Mark Teix
<< Cabrera's homer in 10th lifts Reds over Mets
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Orlando Cabrera's solo home run in the
bottom of the 10th inning lifted the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 win over the New
York Mets in the rubber match at Great American Ball Park.
The Mets tied the gam
<< Jays rally past Tribe thanks to error, timely hits
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Lind hit a two-out two-run homer in
the top of the ninth inning, as the Toronto Blue Jays game back to stun the
Cleveland Indians, 5-4, and complete the three-game sweep.
Travis Snider and Jose
<< New species of Shark discovered in '10 playoffs
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It really shouldn't be surprising when a
No. 1 seed emerges as a favorite for the Stanley Cup, but in the case of the
2010 San Jose Sharks, it has caught some of us doubters a little bit off
guard.
But, h
This Week in Auto Racing May 2 - 7 >>
Darlington, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series
teams spend this Mother's Day weekend at Darlington Raceway, while Formula One
competes in Europe for the first time this season with the Spanish Grand Prix
in Barc
Spurs lock up Champions League place >>
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Crouch scored eight minutes from
time to give Tottenham a 1-0 win over Manchester City on Wednesday that
clinches a spot in the Champions League for Harry Redknapp's men.
Both sides create
Hofstra names Cassara new hoops coach >>
Hempstead, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hofstra University named Mo Cassara head
coach of the men's basketball team on Wednesday, just two days after Tim Welsh
resigned following his DWI arrest.
Cassara spent the last four years as an assista
Who will tame Darlington this time? >>
Darlington, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Saturday,
May 8. Race: Showtime Southern 500. Site: Darlington Raceway. Track: 1.366-
mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. (et). Laps: 367. Miles: 501. 2009 winner:
Mark Martin. Tel
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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