Fighting Irish hope to calm Red Storm

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/03/2009 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big East Conference foes will collide in New York City this afternoon, as the St. John's Red Storm welcomes the seventh- ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish to town.

Notre Dame carries a four-game win streak into this contest, and the squad is fresh off a 92-82 victory over DePaul on Wednesday in the league opener. The Fighting Irish, who are 10-2 overall, have won their only two true road games to date. Their lone losses have come on neutral courts to top-ranked North Carolina and Ohio State.

As for St. John's, it has suffered three consecutive defeats to fall to 9-4 overall. Clearly, the team has been able to knock off the weak and mediocre opponents on the schedule, but clubs from major conferences have gotten the better of the Red Storm. On Wednesday, they opened conference play with an ugly loss to Providence, 75-54.

Notre Dame owns an 18-14 series lead over St. John's, which includes wins in three of the last four meetings.

Reigning Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody has been dominant as expected for Notre Dame this season. He has led the squad in scoring and rebounding in each of the past five outings and is averaging 23.0 ppg on 51.5 percent shooting from the floor to go along with 12.4 rpg. Harangody doesn't have to carry the scoring load alone, however, as there are other talented performers who have proven to be consistent contributors. Kyle McAlarney is one of the nation's best pure shooters, and he is scoring 16.8 ppg on the strength of his 46.4 percent accuracy from three-point range. Ryan Ayers provides 13.0 ppg, and Tory Jackson checks in with 11.3 ppg and 71 assists. The Fighting Irish are generating 83.9 ppg while holding foes to 66.3 ppg. In the 10-point victory over DePaul last time out, Notre Dame shot 52.2 percent from the field and finished with 20 assists against nine turnovers. The Irish got 26 points and 16 rebounds from Harangody, and all five starters scored in double figures.

St. John's is scoring 71.1 ppg this season while allowing 63.3 ppg to the opposition, but the three straight losses by 14 or more points suggests that the squad isn't nearly as good as the record indicates. The leading scorer for the Red Storm is Anthony Mason Jr., as he is netting 14.0 ppg. Pars Horne checks in with 12.9 ppg, and D.J. Kennedy provides 12.5 ppg. Rounding out a foursome of double-digit scorers is Sean Evans with 10.6 ppg. In the lopsided loss to Providence on Wednesday, St. John's shot 35.4 percent from the field, including 2-of-17 from three-point range. Also, the squad misfired on eight of the 14 free throws it attempts and finished with 16 turnovers and six assists. Horne and Evans tallied 16 points apiece in the setback, and Evans ripped down 10 rebounds. As for Quincy Roberts, he contributed 12 points, although his 6- of-19 showing from the floor was far from impressive.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

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