Purdue excited about receiving corps
NCAA Football Betting Lines
08/14/2010 -
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -Purdue is excited about new quarterback Robert Marve, and nearly as thrilled with the players he'll be throwing to.
Marve, a transfer from Miami, said Friday that this is the best group of receivers he has been around.
Keith Smith leads the returnees after catching 91 passes, the third-best single-season total in school history, for 1,100 yards last season.
``That's over with and done with,'' Smith said. ``It happened, but this is an entirely different team, an entirely different group of people that I'm around and a different group of teams that we're going to play. Now, it's onto this upcoming season.''
Smith already has left an impression on Marve. Instead of being content with last year's success, Smith became leaner and faster in the offseason, adding improved physical skills to his smarts.
``He's a special guy because he's a quarterback in the receiver position,'' Marve said. ``He can read coverages, he knows the game and he's proven himself.''
Tight end Kyle Adams caught 29 passes last year. Keith Carlos, who has moved to running back, caught 21 passes in 2009. Cortez Smith, a projected starter, caught 17. Justin Siller, who has moved from quarterback to wide receiver, is one of the team's most athletic players and is listed as a starter.
``He's a natural talent,'' Marve said of Siller. ``He can catch, he can run, and he played quarterback. When you've got guys who have played quarterback, they know what's going on.''
Coach Danny Hope said Siller is learning his new position quickly.
``He's getting a lot better,'' Hope said. ``If you just went out there, didn't have any plays called, and drew it up in the dirt and played sandlot football, he's unbelievable. Any time you're teaching a guy a position, that can muddy the water a little bit. Over a period of time, he'll become much more polished. He has big play ability, and he gets better every time he steps on the practice field.''
Keith Smith said he, Siller and Cortez Smith form the ``thunder package.'' Keith Smith is 6-foot-2 and 226 pounds, Siller is 6-4 and 220 pounds,and Cortez Smith is 6-2 and 180 pounds.
``We all have great size, good speed, and we'll be able to outmuscle some guys,'' Keith Smith said.
Then, there's the lightning package, with speedsters O.J. Ross, Antavian Edison and Gary Bush.
``You've got a lot of guys,'' Marve said. ``My job is to get the ball out of my hand as fast as possible and let those guys do their thing.''
Hope also expects running back Al-Terek McBurse to be a receiving threat. McBurse, who averaged 24.6 yards on 19 kickoff returns last season, will likely start because last year's breakout star, Ralph Bolden, tore the ACL in his right knee in March and had surgery in May.
``He's fast, he makes people miss, he catches the ball great,'' Hope said of McBurse. ``He'll take some pride in being a starter. He is a player, and he will rise to the occasion.''
Marve is the guy who makes it all go. He took over as the starting quarterback at Miami in the second game of the 2008 season. He made 11 consecutive starts and helped guide Miami to five straight wins from Oct. 11 to Nov. 13. He threw for 1,293 yards and nine touchdowns that season, but he was held out of the Emerald Bowl as a punishment for missing class.
Jacory Harris started in the 24-17 loss to California. Harris was selected the starter entering 2009, and on Dec. 30, Marve told The Associated Press he was leaving Miami.
Marve recovered from an ACL injury and has quickly earned the respect of his receivers.
``He's a great player,'' Smith said. ``He's elusive in the backfield, he can step up and throw the ball. He can throw any ball on the field, no matter where you are. He's a great leader for us. He's been that all-around guy that we needed back there.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards
Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
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.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.