Falcons get to 53; CB Jackson among cuts
Football Betting Lines
09/04/2010 - Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons have released 21 players as part of their Saturday "cut-down-day" maneuvers.
Atlanta waived or released tight end Robbie Agnone, wide receiver Troy Bergeron, safety Eric Brock, wide receiver Tim Buckley, safety Rafael Bush, safety Eric Brock, cornerback Dominique Daniels, wide receiver Brandyn Harvey (waived-injured), cornerback Chevis Jackson, linebacker Weston Johnson, fullback Dan Klecko, defensive end Maurice Lucas, running back Dimitri Nance, center Brett Romberg, center Blake Schlueter, wide receiver Andy Strickland, defensive end Emmanuel Stephens, guard Jose Valdez, wide receiver Ryan Wolfe, linebacker Bear Woods and tight end Keith Zinger.
Notables among that group include Jackson, a 2008 third-round pick who appeared in all but one of the Falcons' games over the past two seasons and posted an interception in Atlanta's playoff contest against Arizona two years ago. The LSU product fell victim to a numbers crunch at the cornerback position.
Klecko, a six-year veteran and son of ex-Jets star d-lineman Joe Klecko, had his contract terminated. The younger Klecko is a former member of the Patriots (2003-05), Colts (2006-07) and Eagles (2008).
Romberg joins Jackson in the category of players with Falcons experience to released. The Miami-Florida product and former St. Louis Ram (2006-08) appeared in nine contests with Atlanta last season.
The Falcons open their 2010 regular season on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday.
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded 2009 runner-up Caroline Wozniacki and former champion Maria Sharapova were easy third-round winners, while former finalist Jelena Jankovic went by way of the upset Saturday at the U.S. Open.
<< Jankovic exits U.S. Open
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former runner-up Jelena Jankovic was
a third-round upset victim Saturday at the U.S. Open.
Wimbledon quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi stunned the former world No. 1 Jankovic
6-2, 7-6 (7-1) at the USTA Bil
<< Serbia edges Croatia to reach World Championship quarters
Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aleksandar Rasic's free throw with one
second left gave Serbia a 73-72 victory over Croatia and berth in the
quarterfinals of the FIBA World Championship.
The Serbs led by seven during the fou
<< Soderling reaches fourth round in Flushing
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time French Open runner-up
Robin Soderling was an easy third-round winner Saturday at the U.S. Open.
The fifth-seeded Soderling whipped Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 on
Day 6 at the US
<< Woods rebounds nicely with a 65
Norton, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods shot a five-under 65 in the second
round of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Saturday, matching his lowest round
of the season.
More importantly? Woods played well enough to ensure he makes the 36
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - True freshman quarterback Rob Bolden threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut, leading Penn State to a 44-14 rout of Youngstown State in the 2010 opener for both schools. Bold
Rams tab rookie Bradford as Week 1 starter >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams announced on Saturday that
rookie and top overall pick Sam Bradford will be the team's starting
quarterback in Week 1 against Arizona.
Bradford is one of three quarterbacks on th
Robinson rushes for three TDs as Iowa wins opener >>
Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Robinson ran for 109 yards and three
touchdowns, leading ninth-ranked Iowa in a 37-7 rout of Eastern Illinois to
open each school's 2010 season.
Robinson received 24 carries for the Hawkeyes (1-0
Florida begins life after Tebow with win over Miami-Ohio >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Janoris Jenkins returned an interception 67
yards for a touchdown in the first half and Jeffery Demps rumbled 72 yards for
a score in the fourth quarter, as fourth-ranked Florida began life without Tim
Tebow a
Cardinals release Leinart, reduce roster to 53 >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals have officially released
quarterback Matt Leinart, as part of a group of Saturday moves to pare their
roster to the 53-player maximum.
Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner and No.
Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
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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.