Fan of Baseball

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow shook off the effects of a concussion suffered against Kentucky two weeks ago and returned to lead the #1 ranked Gators to a hard fought 13-3 victory over #4 ranked LSU. Tebow got a good deal of help from a nasty Florida defense, and the largest crowd in LSU history (93,129) left disappointed as the Bayou Bengals offense was almost completely shut down.

College football betting enthusiasts who backed Florida as a -9 road favorite weren’t able to breathe easy until the final whistle, but eventually enjoyed a payday with the narrowest of pointspread covers. The Gators improved their ATS record over the past three years to a glossy 22-7 and they’ve covered 8 of their last 9 on the road. The combined 16 points scored went well UNDER the posted total of 45. The Gators have played UNDER in 2 of their 3 games with a posted total this season, while LSU has gone UNDER in 3 of 5.

After the game, Tebow explained that he tried to play smart but without fear:

“I tried to play smart. I told him, I said, when we were talking to Coach [Urban] Meyer, I said, ‘I’m not going to go out there and play tentative or scared. That’s not me.’ I did try to play smart but I wasn’t scared or timid at all.”

Tebow was not the least bit intimidated by the huge crowd of LSU partisans:

“This place is one of my favorite stadiums to play in. It just gets your adrenaline going, then to play against a great defense like that.”

Tebow returned to practice earlier this week, but wasn’t medically cleared to play until a few hours before gametime. Even then, he was listed as a game time decision. Coach Urban Meyer talked about the difficult decision he had to make:

“It was a tough deal and I kept saying, ‘Would I play my son?’ You know Tim,” Meyer said. “It was, ‘Let me play. Let me play.’ Nonstop.”

Gators safety Will Hill said that the defense knew that they’d have to play well regardless of their quarterbacks status:

We knew Tim would suit up but we didn’t know if he would play, but we didn’t care. The defense knew what we had to do to come out and win this game.”

LSU receiver Brandon LaFell blamed his teams mistakes for the loss:

Those guys have a pretty good defense. We had a ton of chances, then we would get a mistake … Too many mistakes.”

Florida has now won 15 games dating back to last season. They’ll try to keep that winning streak going next weekend as they host the University of Arkansas. LSU will take a bye weekend before returning to action against Auburn on October 24.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The 2009 college football season is already two weeks old and so far its looked almost too easy for defending national champions Florida. That was expected last week, as they destroyed overmatched FCS opponent Charleston Southern 62-3, but it wasn’t much harder today against a better class of opposition. QB Tim Tebow threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth as the Gators demolished Troy State 56-6. The Gators led only 7-3 at the end of the first quarter before scoring seven unanswered touchdowns. Florida is now 2-0 on the season, while Troy dropped to 0-2. The Gators have outscored their first two opponents by an outlandish aggregate score of 118-9.

Despite a generous head start from the pointspread, Troy State lost against the money as well. Florida covered as -37 home favorites”their third straight ATS cover as a favorite of 31 or more. The Gators also won and covered the last time the two teams met, cashing tickets for college football betting enthusiasts as a -26 favorite in 2007. The 65 points scored just barely made it OVER the generous total of 61. Florida has now gone OVER the total in 18 of their last 26 lined contests.

After the contest, Florida coach Urban Meyer gave most of the praise to a defense that limited Troy to 139 yards of total offense and took the ball away three times:

“Defense is the name of the game today, and that defense was dominating.

Troy State played tough against Ohio State and LSU last season, but this time coach Larry Blakney was just glad the game was over:

“We just close our eyes and pretend we never came here. But hopefully since we’ve seen the biggest, seen the best, we will learn from this experience.”

The Gators now turn their attention to their SEC opener next week against Tennessee. As if the rebuilding Vols didnt have enough problems facing the best team in college football next week, theyve gone and made Florida mad. Specifically, a quote by new Vols coach Lane Kiffin which was is now taped to the Gators locker room wall. In the incendiary quote, Kiffin talked about Tennessee tradition as follows:

“I’m really looking forward to embracing some of the great traditions at the University of Tennessee, for instance the Vol Walk, running through the T, singing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida next year. It will be a blast.”

So having lost the past two games by a combined 89-26 margin, the Vols have managed to make it personal.

After hosting Tennessee next weekend in The Swamp, Florida will hit the SEC road the following week against the University of Kentucky. Theyll be back on the road for a tough contest against LSU on October 10th. Troy State will host UAB next weekend and play at Arkansas State on Saturday, September 26.

Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer specializing in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

The South Carolina Gamecocks used a nasty defensive effort, combined with an efficient and mistake free performance from quarterback Steven Garcia to upset #4 Mississippi 16-10 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC. The Gamecocks ended a 22 game losing streak against top 5 ranked teams, while Ole Miss saw their eight game winning streak come to an end. The Rebels dropped their sixth straight SEC opener.

College football betting enthusiasts who took the Gamecocks as +4 home underdogs were financially rewarded with South Carolina’s outright victory. After falling behind 3-0 after the first quarter, South Carolina led 6-3 at halftime and never trailed again.

The last time South Carolina had defeated a top five opponent was back in 1981, when they upended North Carolina. After the game, Gamecocks QB Garcia said that while it may not have been a game full of highlight reel plays, the victory was the important thing:

“It was a pretty ugly win, but a win and we’ll take it every time.”

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier agreed:

“It was good to get a win when everybody watches. It was good for all Gamecocks. We thought we could beat them. Thought it was a toss-up game. But the way it turned out, the way our defense played, 16 points was enough.”

In particular, the defense completely shut down highly touted Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead. Snead finished with a mere 107 yards and made no excuses after the game:

“We really hurt ourselves and we continued to do it all throughout the game, into the last series. It’s tough.

Ole Miss entered the game with their highest national ranking since 1970, when Archie Manning prowled the Rebel backfield. Despite that, head coach Houston Nutt didnt sense any undue pressure on his team before the game:

“I never did sense that we were feeling a lot of pressure. Now it is what it is. You’ve lost your first conference game. You’ve got to work hard and win the next conference game.”

Rebel offensive lineman Bradley Sowell, meanwhile, contradicted his coachs observation with his clearly relieved postgame comment:

“I’m glad it’s over with so everyone can just stop talking about it.

The Gamecocks improved their 2009 college football record to 3-1 (1-0 SEC). Theyll host FCS opponent South Carolina State in Columbia next weekend before resuming their SEC schedule the following week against the University of Kentucky. Ole Miss is right back into SEC play next week, facing Vanderbilt on the road in Nashville, Tennessee. Theyll then return home for their next two games beginning with Alabama on October 10th. Theyll play the University of Alabama-Birmingham the following weekend.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Bowling Green played Boise State tough on their home field this weekend–at least for one quarter. Things looked good for the host Falcons at the end of the first quarter, as they’d held the #6 ranked Broncos scoreless and were right in the thick of things in a scoreless game. It was all downhill from that point for Bowling Green, as Boise State exploded for 29 unanswered second quarter points. The Broncos would eventually win 49-14, improving to 4-0 on the season. Bowling Green dropped to 1-3 as Boise improved their record against the MAC to 6-2 all time.

The Broncos easily covered as -16 road favorites. The 63 combined points went OVER the posted total of 51. Boise State needed four plays or less on their first six scoring drives, and amassed a season high 529 yards of total offense. Their defense also forced the Falcons into three costly turnovers.

Boise State coach Chris Petersen had insisted on more quick strike scoring drives. They most definitely delivered, and the coach commented to their performance after the contest:

“On offense, that’s always the name of the game. It makes it a lot easier when you don’t have those 15- and 17-play drives.”

Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore threw 17 completions in 21 pass attempts for a total of 247 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. 195 of his total yards came during the 2nd quarter onslaught, where he completed 8 consecutive passes during one stretch. After the game, Moore indicated that his team wasnt resting on their impressive season to date performance:

“There’s a lot of football to go and a lot of things to work on.

Coach Petersen concurred with his quarterbacks mindset:

“These guys are a fairly mature bunch and if not, we have a staff of mature coaches to keep them focused.

Bowling Green head coach Dave Clawson sounded somewhat in awe of the Broncos ‘quick strike’ scoring ability:

“That’s what they do. When they have 500 yards of offense, it will always be 10 to 12 plays where half their offense came from.”

The Broncos, who are enjoying their highest regular season ranking in school history, looked sharp all around on offense despite the absence of second leading rusher DJ Harper. Harper is likely out for the year after a knee injury.

Bowling Green will take a step down in class of opposition next weekend as they host the Ohio Bobcats. Theyll play on the road the next two weeks, traveling to Kent State and Ball State. Boise will return home for a game against FCS opponent UC Davis next Saturday. Theyll play on the road at Tulsa the following weekend, before enjoying a bye week.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Well it is that time of the year again, time to dust off the old crystal ball and see what the future of the Atlanta Braves has in store for 2010. I would love to say that America’s team is going to give the fans their money’s worth this season, but in the end it think it will be best if America just finds a new team.

Now if the previous years are an indicator as to what kind of season to expect then there will be a long year ahead of them. Now there is a little bit of hope, that the Braves can try to aspire for in this the final season for Bobby Cox. Now is not a good time to be a fan of the Braves. There are several reasons for this and here they are.

The first item is the lack of a pitching rotation that is capable of making huge plays on the mound, these issues will be part of what leads the team to look at one of the hardest seasons that they have had in a long time.

This lack of leadership will lead to the team not having a starter that can hand off to a closer and rely on them to close the game out. There will be a lot of innings this season that will end with the Braves losing due to a bad pitching game from the mound. Unless something is changed quickly, there will be yet another long season to endure in Atlanta this season.

When it comes to evaluating the outfield, there is not a lot better news on that front as well. The reason for this is due to the fact that there will be a hole that has yet to be filled for an effective player in the outfield position. This in turn will result in the team not being able to make the most out of their opportunities when they are given them. Many teams may suffer from a gap in a certain position, the Braves suffer from a massive hole that will have to be fixed before the team can move forward effectively. Let’s face it, no great outfield play, then the whole thing will be in trouble of falling apart.

In the infield, there will be a lot of issues that have been fixed when it came time to place the Braves in one of the best infields that are out there. This is one of the aspects that the Braves are able to post as being one of their strong points. While there will be a lot of negative aspects to be addressed in the long run, these problems will need to be fixed as soon as possible.

This is the final year for Bobby Cox to coach the Braves, this will either be one of the best years that he has had in the past several years, or it will be a year that many people will be ashamed to even watch on the television. These players as well as the fans are hoping that the final Bobby Cox season will be one that everyone can be proud of. While these hopes are high, it appears that this will be more of the same for the Braves.

Freddie Brister is a big fan of Baseball check out his: West Virginia Watch

The University of Florida campus has been hit hard this fall by the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as swine flu. Now it may have stricken the most high profile student on campus. The Gators football team has been struggling with the flu for several weeks, and sources report that quarterback Tim Tebow and two other players have been suffering from an unspecified respiratory illness and traveled separate from their teammate for precautionary reasons.

Despite the outbreak of the H1N1 virus on campus, University of Florida officials wouldn’t confirm or even intimate that Tebow, cornerback Joe Haden and safety Major Wright were suffering from the flu. University sources have officially termed it a respiratory illness while a source more familiar with the matter wasnt much more disclosing, calling it euphemistically a respiratory condition involving congestion. The source also indicated that Tebow was pretty weak on Friday morning but feeling better than he had earlier in the week.

Head coach Urban Meyer confirmed earlier in the week that the team had suffered approximately 35 cases of the flu in the past few weeks. This week, however, all of the players on the teams travel roster made the trip. Receivers coach Billy Gonzalez was also in the traveling party after missing a few days of practice earlier in the week. He returned to practice on Thursday, wearing gloves and a mask.

Meyer also shot down suggestions that he might rest the sick players:

“That’d be one of the major errors in coaching history to go do that, because you’d go lose. No. Absolutely not. We’re going to bring everything and go as hard as we can. That gets you out of the profession, those kind of thoughts. You go as hard as you can. The good thing is I’ve got a mature group. Not a whole lot of cheerleading going on this week. Got to get better and go play.”

Florida defeated Tennessee last weekend by a final score of 23-13, and many Gators supporters were unhappy with the relative closeness of the game. The war of words between the two schools continued after the game, as Meyer suggested that his teams lackluster performance and conservative game play was due to the flu. Vols’ coach Lane Kiffin countered that Meyer was using the spate of illnesses as an excuse to explain away a substandard performance.

The Gators will face the University of Kentucky on the road on Saturday. After this game, the Gators will have a bye week to help their recuperation before they play a big game at Baton Rouge, Louisiana against LSU on October 10th.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer experienced in travel, casino gambling and NFL football handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Well the Spring brings yet a new opportunity for the Yankees to make a case for them to being World Champions yet again. Now as to whether his will happen is still yet to be determined, the one thing that is known is that there will be a lot of talk about the team and the off season trades and deals that were done.

There is little doubt that the Yankees will make an impressive case as to why they are on the doorstep of beginning another dynasty run. Few players and fans were optimistic last season when the club played one of the best seasons that had in quite a long while. These fans then were tuned into the fact that it was a new day in Yankee Baseball.

There is a lot of hype when it comes to the teams pitching. This means that the team is in a position that they will be able to dominate the rest of the college baseball world. There has been a number of players that have made a commitment to the Red Raiders to play this season, this as a result will lead to the team having a much better than normal team.

When it comes time for the Yankees to bat, there will be little doubt as to the exact power that this will bring to the plate. Very few fans will be able to make the case that the Yankees lack the potential to hit the ball long and far. If you doubt this then look at the players that are returning to the team, these are the same players that made things difficult for the pitchers they faced.

If the other team does get lucky in the fact of scoring a run, there will need to be a great outfield that will need to be in place in order to ensure that the runners do not advance more than they really should. This great outfield will be a key element in the defense of the Red Raiders team. This as a result will be the one thing that will give a lot of teams a lot of trouble in the way of getting extra bases when at bat.

There will be a lot of power that will allow the Red Raiders to make the most out of their at bat chances this season. These players are going to be a key item that the Red Raiders will need to rely on when they are trying to make the most out of their opportunities. There will be a lot of buzz this season that surrounds the Texas Tech Red Raiders when they are at bat and ready to play their hearts out this season.

No matter what your opinion of the Texas Tech Red Raiders have been in the past, there will need to be a reevaluation on the teams potential this season. There will be a lot of teams that will be surprised this season to see the Red Raiders in the hunt for the CWS title.

Freddie Brister is a big fan of Baseball check out his: Georgia Tech Watch or his Georgia Watch

BYU’s BCS hopes went down hard on Saturday, as the Cougars were no match for the superior team speed of Florida State. Looking nothing like the team that had struggled against FCS Jacksonville State the week before, the Seminoles used 23 second quarter points to blow open the game and went on to defeat BYU 54-28. The opportunistic Florida State defense forced BYU into committing 5 turnovers, and Seminoles QB Christian Ponder threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the blowout victory on the Cougars home field.

College football betting devotees who backed the Seminoles as a +8 road underdog were counting their winnings by halftime, as BYU never led in the game. The Cougars dropped to 11-16 ATS over the past three years, while Florida State improved to 3-4 as an underdog in that same timeframe. The 82 combined points went well OVER the posted total of 54. Florida State has now gone OVER in 7 of their last 8 games as underdogs, while BYU evened their O/U mark at 11-11 when installed as a wagering favorite in the last three years.

After a sloppy victory over FCS Jacksonville State last weekend, the Seminoles looked like a completely different team in Orem, Utah on Saturday. FSU QB Ponder was elated that his team had finally played up to its considerable abilities:

“It shows us what we can do. It’s the first time in a while we played as a whole team. The defense played great. The offense played incredible.”

Seminoles offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher praised the toughness and skills of his quarterback:

“He can beat you with his arm, his legs and his mind. And then he can also beat you with how competitive and tough he is.”

Venerable FSU coach Bobby Bowden was nonplussed by the season opening win on BYU’s tough home field:

“I’ve been through this thing so many times, I knew we had an advantage. We went out there and made some plays, which we hadn’t done lately, and we also forced some crucial turnovers.”

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall gave credit to the Seminoles superior preparation and gameplan:

“I think Florida State was more prepared in general than we were tonight, really from beginning to end. I think their preparation exceeded ours and it showed — especially on third down.”

Cougars running back Harvey Unga displayed considerable class in defeat as FSU broke BYUs 18 game home winning streak:

“Any loss is devastating, regardless of if you’re ranked. Hats off to those guys. They came here ready to play.”

Florida State will return home to face South Florida next weekend. Theyll hit the road the following Saturday, heading to the northeast to take on Boston College. Theyll be back in Florida for a game against Georgia Tech on October 10th. BYU will try to get back on the winning track next weekend as they host Colorado State. Theyll play Utah State on their home field the following week, and then head to Southern Nevada for a game against UNLV on October 10th.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Cub fans all across the country know that when they hear Lou Pinella speak, that there is going to be something interesting that will come out of his mouth. These words of wisdom come in the form of him either saying that the team will have the best season that they have had in a long time, or this will lead to him saying that the team is the worst ever. This is an annual expectation that the loyal fans of the Cubs experience every season.

All of this being said, I am willing to place my bets on the first option. It may sound crazy, but the team has a shot of making some serious noise in the world of baseball. There is a lot that can be said when it comes to the Chicago Cubs.

The first area that these players will need to take a look at is in the area of the pitching that the Cubs will be doing this season. There are is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to the bullpen of the Cubs. These players will need to make sure that they are in the zone when it comes time to pitch against other teams.

The cubs have one thing that will make their season a lot more bright, they finally have a strong pitching rotation that will allow them to compete with some of the more dominant teams like the Cardinals. The Cubs have lacked a strong pitcher for the last several years, and as a result they have not had a season that they really could brag about. The pitching changes are not major in the fact that they will not have any awards this year, but there is the hope that the starting pitchers will allow the team to hold off their opponents.

The Infield is another place that the Cubs will need to make sure that they place a lot of their concentration on when dealing with the opposing team, there will be a lot of plays that can get past the Cubs infield if they are not tight on their defense of the infield. While there is only a little work that will need to be done, the overall goal of the team will be that they are looking for a way to seal up the gaps that there is in the infield.

There will however never be a lack of power that will be driving the ball deep for the Cubs this season, these players have a wide array of power that will allow them to place the ball deep in the stands, it is best this season when you go to watch the Cubs that you bring an umbrella, the reason for this is that it will be raining home runs this season.

This very well will be the year that the Cubs will make the people of the Chicago proud and they will finally put the curse behind them and will be able to finally win the World Series and put all the non believers to rest once and for all.

So if you are a true Cubs fan then you will be able to know that the team is on their way up and as a result they will be on their way to a championship and make you proud to call yourself a Cubs fan once again.

Freddie Brister is a big fan of Baseball check out his: Florida State Watch

For nearly thirty years now, few college football teams have enjoyed more consistent success than the Miami Hurricanes. Not only do they now hold the record for the most consecutive wins at home in college football history – having during one stretch won 58 home games in a row. Things were not always so positive for the Hurricanes, and they spent much of their history without a national championship. That ended in the 1983-84 season when the Miami team won the national title at last. That event would be repeated four more times over the next twenty years, as the Hurricanes posted after a winning season and positioned themselves as one of the most elite teams in the NCAA ranks. Their winning ways have been highlighted by a total of two Heisman Award winners and a series of incredible winning streaks including the aforementioned home victory streak.

Emotionally charged team

Most really successful people soon find that there are plenty of others who resent their hard-won success. The Hurricanes understand that all too well, as there was a lengthy period of time in the last few decades during which the Hurricanes were the Snidely Whiplash of the college football scene – fans of other teams just loved to hate the Hurricanes. Of course, there was also a perception that the Hurricane players had become arrogant and took their success for granted – though they gave little indication of that on the field. Moreover, the Miami players who moved on to the NFL have generally demonstrated the type of teamwork and dedication that belies the notion that they had been prima donnas in college. In truth, the animosity many fans felt toward the Miami teams of those years was in all likelihood simply a reaction to the Hurricane success.

What about that streak?

Miami’s amazing 58 game streak of victories at home represents but one of their many periods of sustained success. The home win streak, lasting from 1985 to 1994, certainly stands out as a testament to the quality of the Miami fan base and the advantage that those fans provide for the team when playing at home in their own stadium. The team’s 2000 through 2003 streak of 34 straight wins, however, encompassed both games played at home and those played in the stadiums of their opponents. That streak, by the way, surpassed the former Miami streak of 29 consecutive victories between 1990 and 1993. Home streaks are one thing – going several years without losing a road game is something else entirely.

Still in the game

With the strength of the SEC over the last few years, there are some who believe that the Hurricanes may be a team in need of rebuilding. The reality is that it has been less than a decade since Miami’s last championship title, and they still remain competitive enough to be ranked the top ten or fifteen teams in the country each year. Given their ability to consistently reload their talent rather than rebuild their program, it is a safe bet that championship football will continue to be a part of Miami Hurricane tradition for some time to come.

Freddie Brister is a big fan of Football check out his: North Carolina Bikini