Fan of Baseball

In a matchup between two of the worst offenses in the NFL, someone had to win. Despite producing only 9 first downs and’3 yards of total offense, the Cleveland Browns got a late game field goal from Billy Cundiff to defeat the Buffalo Bills 6-3 and win their first game of the season. The Bills had the more productive afternoon statistically, with- first downs and 288 yards of offense but were undone by three costly turnovers. Both teams are now 1-4 on the 2009 NFL season.

To successfully bet on the NFL, one needs to find opportunities to play underdogs”this is particularly true in games where neither team is expected to put many points on the board. Such was the case here, as Cleveland easily covered the pointspread as +6 road underdogs. Both teams are now 2-3 against the number on the season. The Browns have now won and covered the last three head to head matchups between the teams. The 9 points scored came nowhere near the total of 41 for an easy UNDER. The Browns have now gone UNDER in 3 of their 5 games this season, while Buffalo has OVER on three of their five posted NFL totals.

It was a game without many highlights. The Browns got on the board first with a 24 yard Cundiff field goal in the second quarter, and took that 3-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Buffalo would tie the score in third on a Rian Lindell 36 yard field goal. That would set the stage for Cundiff to nail the game winner from’ yards out with: 23 left to play. Despite todays victory, Cleveland is averaging a woeful 11 points per game this season. Buffalo’s PPG numbers are slightly better thanks to decent scoring output in their first two games of the season–theyre averaging just over 15 points per contest. In the Bills last three games, however, theyre averaging a meager 6.6 points per game.

The real loser in Sundays contest may have been Buffalo head coach Dick Jauron. Many were surprised that he was retained after the Bills third straight 7-9 season last year and things have gone from bad to worse so far in the 2009 NFL season. Buffalo has lost to winless teams in back to back weeks, part of a three game losing streak. Overall, the Bills have wound up losers in 12 of their last 15 games. Not that Cleveland has done much better–the win today ended a 10 game losing streak, one short of the all time franchise record.

Cleveland will have a tough road assignment next Sunday, heading to Pittsburgh to face the World Champion Steelers. Theyll return home for a game against the Green Bay Packers on October 25th before playing the Chicago Bears in The Windy City the following week. Buffalo will play the next two on the road, heading to the Meadowlands next Sunday for a game against the New York Jets followed by a trip to Charlotte, NC to take on the Carolina Panthers. Theyll return home on November 1st to face the Houston Texans.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on baseball 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 energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings are undefeated no more. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ used a couple of big plays from their defense in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and defeat the Vikings by a final score of 27-17. Favre put up decent yardage in the loss, throwing for 334 yards but had no touchdowns and an interception. The defending Superbowl Champion Steelers improved to 5-2, while the Vikings are now 6-1.

NFL pointspread players who backed the Steelers as -6 home favorites were rewarded with the cover. Pittsburgh had only covered one of their first six games heading into the contest, and the win improved their record against the number to 2-5. Minnesota dropped to 4-3 against the spread with the setback.

The Steelers largely shut down Minnesota’s rushing game, holding Adrian Peterson to 69 yards. Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark underscored his team’s dominance against the run:

“That’s the biggest point of the game. You have the best running back in the world and you don’t give it to him. They’re saying they can’t beat us running, and that’s a major statement when you have the guy they have back there.”

Favre gave a feeble justification for the loss in his postgame interview:

“There were a lot of what ifs, a lot of reasons we didn’t win. The red zone was one of them. They’re physical, and they were as good as we thought they’d be. … When I came here and looked at our schedule and saw the Steelers game, I went, ‘Oh-h-h.’ ”

Favre has only thrown three interceptions in a Vikings’ uniform, but #3 was a costly one as it was returned by Steelers’ Keyaron Fox for a touchdown to put the game out of reach as Minnesota was driving for a potential game tying field goal. Afterwards, Fox recalled the play:

“Brett tried to force it in there and the running back bobbled it and slipped out of his hands and it fell into my lap. I had just run across the field after Peterson and I was winded, so it felt like it was 100-plus yards.”

The Vikings now face another big game next week as they head to Favre’s old stomping grounds in Green Bay for a battle with the Packers. It’ll be Favre’s first appearance at his old home in an enemy uniform. The Vikings are a +3 road underdog with the total set at 48. The Vikings will then have a bye weekend before hosting the lowly Detroit Lions on November 15. Pittsburgh will enjoy a bye week this week before returning to action on Monday, November 9th facing the Denver Broncos on the road.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball 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 interior secretary James Watt.

Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo has been plagued by inconsistency over the past two seasons, but on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons he was in top form. Romo threw for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions as Dallas ripped the visiting Falcons by a final score of 37-21. Backup receiver Miles Austin had another solid game in place of injured starter Roy Williams, with 171 yards receiving and two touchdown grabs. Both teams are now 4-2 on the NFL season.

NFL betting enthusiasts who backed Dallas as -5′ home favorite were rewarded with a pointspread victory. The Cowboys evened their mark against the NFL pointspread at 3-3, while Atlanta slipped to 4-2 against the number.

In his postgame comments to the media, Romo gave props to the undrafted Austin for making the best of his opportunity:

“He’s definitely a big part of this offense. I’m glad to see all his hard work and effort is paying off.”

Dallas owner Jerry Jones commended Romo on his performance:

“I think that you’ve got a wiser and you’ve got a more experienced Tony Romo than of old, and I think you see he’s still got some of that instinctive thing that he can make plays and make winning plays.”

The Cowboys’ defense pestered the Falcons’ Matt Ryan into two interceptions, and 34 year old Keith Brooking was a big part of that. Based on his comments after the game, there may be some ’sour grapes’ after he was cut loose by the Falcons after 11 seasons in an Atlanta uniform:

“The last thing I was told by one of the coaches is this is a young man’s game. I guess an old man can still play in this league.”

Patrick Crayton returned a punt for a touchdown and caught a Romo pass for another. Cowboys’ coach Wade Phillips had this praise for him:

“Crayton is the kind of guy you want on your football team. He’s going to make plays when he has opportunities.”

Losing quarterback Matt Ryan had little to say about the defeat:

“It’s frustrating because we feel we can play better.”

Atlanta has a difficult road challenge ahead as they travel south to face the red hot New Orleans Saints next Monday night. The Falcons have been installed as +10 road underdogs with the total set at 54. Dallas will host the Seattle Seahawks this weekend, with the Cowboys a -9′ home favorite and the total set at 45. They’ll play on the road the following two Sundays against the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Houston Texans have won consecutive games for the first time this season by virtue of a hard fought 24-21 victory over the visiting San Francisco 49ers. The Texans led 21-0 at halftime but fought themselves in a ball game after the Niners scored the first 14 points of the second half. The rally fell short, however, and Houston improved to 4-3 on the NFL season. The 49ers evened their record at 3-3.

Players that bet on NFL football found the game completely irrelevant, however, as it landed right on the pointspread for a disappointing push. After covering their first four of the season against the NFL pointspread, the Niners have a loss and a push in their last two games to leave their record at 4-1-1 versus the number. Houston is now 3-3-1 ATS on the season.

Despite losing a big lead, Houston coach Gary Kubiak was pleased with the outcome:

“We get down, they get up and they all of a sudden grabbed the momentum of the game. But we made some big plays late and defensively Eugene made a big play so it was a big, big win.”

Niners’ coach Mike Singletary benched quarterback Shaun Hill after a terrible first half and replaced him with Alex Smith. Smith responded by throwing three touchdown passes and getting San Francisco back in the game. After the contest, Singletary explained his move:

“I just thought it was time to make the switch. It was as simple as that. No long, drawn-out thought process. But let’s make the change.”

Smith explained that he caught the Texans’ defense playing passive football in the second half:

“Starting the second half, down three scores, you’re seeing some stagnant looks from the defense, they’re not throwing as much at you.”

Top draft choice Michael Crabtree finally made his San Francisco debut after a lengthy holdout and described what the experience was like:

“I was kind of calm. I practiced on getting calm and coming into the game, knowing what I was supposed to do and executing my plays. I think I did a good job, but I’ve got some more work to do.”

San Francisco will travel east to face the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday, with the 49ers installed as a +11 road underdog and the total set at 45. They’ll return home for their next two games, hosting the Tennessee Titans the following Sunday and facing the Chicago Bears off a short week the next Thursday, November 12. Houston will play their next two on the road, beginning with a game at Buffalo on Sunday. They’ll play at Indianapolis the following week before a bye week.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal 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.

Ben Roethlisberger looked sharp in his return to the Pittsburgh Steelers lineup from injury, while the Buffalo Bills offense continued to sputter as the Steelers topped the visiting Bills 17-0 in NFL preseason action. The victory improved Pittsburgh’s NFL preseason record to 2-1, while Buffalo dropped to 1-3.

NFL football betting enthusiasts who backed the Steelers cashed their tickets as Pittsburgh covered the -6 price as home favorites. The Steelers are now 2-1 against the number in the NFL preseason, while Buffalo dropped to 1-2-1 ATS. The 17 points went UNDER the total of 36 and represented the Steelers third UNDER in three games.

Roethlisberger was happy with his performance, and gave the following observations:

“I was really proud of the way the guys were able to move the ball and … change some plays at the line of scrimmage. We made some mistakes early, but then we drove down the field.”

Bills coach Dick Jauron, on the other hand, didn’t have much to be happy about:

“We’ve got a lot of issues that we’ve got to solve. We’ve got to solve them very quickly.”

Buffalo QB Trent Edwards credited the stout Pittsburgh defense:

“That’s a great defense. They’re very talented. On our side, we didn’t get the job done. We left our defense on the field too long. … It is frustrating, but the thing is we have a lot to learn. We’re still fighting and it’s still early.”

The Bills were without their star free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens who missed his third straight game with a sprained toe. With their receiver corps depleted due to injury, Josh Reed shared much of his QBs frustration:

“Frustrating. I feel like we’re a much better offense than we showed tonight. It’s still the preseason, but we still want to come out and give a better effort than it felt like we gave tonight.”

Still, Reed wasnt about to say his team was in a state of panic:

“I’ll say we have more of a sense of urgency than panic. We’ve got to make sure everyone’s still on the same page and nobody’s down. We’ve got to keep everybody up and keep pushing.”

Buffalo will conclude their NFL preseason by hosting the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. Pittsburgh will travel to Charlotte, NC for a game against the Carolina Panthers on the same evening. The Bills will open the NFL regular season on Monday night, September 14th in Foxboro, Massachusetts against the New England Patriots. The Steelers will get their 2009 NFL regular season underway several days earlier, hosting the Tennessee Titans on Thursday, September 10th.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and NFL football handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh has long been one of the United States most polarizing media figures. He may soon become one of the National Football Leagues most controversial owners. On Tuesday, Limbaugh announced that he is teaming up with David Checketts–who owns the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League”to make a bid to purchase the struggling NFL team. The Rams are a pitiful 5-31 since 2007 and are currently mired in a league high 14 game losing streak.

Limbaugh issued a statement that was short on details due to various confidentiality agreements:

“Dave Checketts and I have made a bid to buy the Rams and we are continuing the process.”

The statement didnt place a value on the Limbaugh/Checketts bid, nor did it specify any other individuals whod be involved in the bid. He did specify that he and Checketts would be responsible for the operation of the team. Recent estimates have pegged the value of the Rams at $750 million.

The team is currently owned by the estate of Georgia Frontiere, specifically her children Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez who inherited 60% of the team upon her death in 2008. The remaining 40% is owned by Stan Kroenke, a Missouri billionaire.

A statement issued by the Frontiere estate to coincide was the Limbaugh statement revealed very little additional information:

“Our strategic review of our ownership of the Rams continues. We will make an announcement upon the completion of the process.”

The other parties to the negotiations–Checketts and the National Football League–both declined comment.

Limbaugh is a native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri and an avid sports fan. He once worked in a sales capacity for the Kansas City Royals baseball team, and had a short stint as a studio analyst on Monday Night Football.

Despite Limbaugh and Checketts ties to the area, the rumor of the sale has raised concern in St. Louis. The city has already lost one NFL team, when the Cardinals moved to Tempe, Arizona in 1987. The NFL passed over St. Louis for an expansion franchise in 1993, awarding it instead to Jacksonville, Florida. In 1995, Frontiere”a St. Louis native”was persuaded to move the team back to her hometown. There is a clause in the Rams lease that would allow the team to relocate without penalty as soon as 2014 if their current home at the Edward Jones Dome is not deemed to be one of the top 25% of NFL stadiums. Its already one of the oldest facilities in the league, and there are no current plans to replace or renovate the structure.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball 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.

The Pittsburgh Steelers used a 17 point fourth quarter outburst to break open a close game and send the Arizona Cardinals to defeat by a 20-10 score in a NFL preseason rematch of this years Superbowl. The two teams traded first half field goals and played a scoreless third quarter before Pittsburgh turned up the offense late in the game.

NFL bettors who favored the defending Superbowl champions in this matchup cashed their tickets as the Steelers covered as -3 home favorites.

The big catalyst for the Steelers offense was undrafted rookie Issac Redman out of Bowie State. Redman, listed as the Steelers #7 depth chart running back scored two rushing touchdowns in the decisive fourth quarter run. The big short yardage back had already impressed the Pittsburgh coaching staff in practice, but he knew that he had to take advantage of the opportunities to demonstrate his skills in a game situation:

“This team prides itself on being able to find those free agents that are capable of playing. Hopefully I can be that next free agent. I knew I had to make an impression, or I might not even make it to the first preseason game.”

Both teams played their starting quarterbacks for only two offensive series. The Steelers Ben Roethlisberger was generally happy about his performance:

“Overall, without looking at film, I think it was OK. I think we had a couple of plays with a few breakdowns, but it just felt good to go against somebody other than your own guys.”

Arizonas Kurt Warner was happy with his performance, but noted that the first preseason game had come up on him quickly:

“I felt like we moved the ball and did what we wanted to. It seems like this game came pretty quick. When we were in the locker room, we were thinking, `Man, it is here already.’ ”

The star receivers for each team also saw limited playing time, with Arizonas Larry Fitzgerald and Pittsburghs Superbowl MVP Santonio Holmes each catching a single pass in a couple of series of action.

Pittsburgh will open the NFL regular season on Thursday, September 10th as they host the Tennessee Titans. Arizona will kick of their campaign on Sunday, September 13th at home against the San Francisco 49ers.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports 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 Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Baltimore defense shut down the Carolina attack, and QB Joe Flacco played a virtually mistake free game as the Ravens built a 14-3 halftime lead before going on to beat the Panthers 17-13. The banged up Panthers scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to make the final score respectable, but were never really in the game.

Both teams played their starters well into the third quarter. Second year QB Joe Flacco looked sharp, throwing for 247 yards and a touchdown on 23 of 28 passing before leaving the game with Baltimore holding a 17-3 advantage. After the game, Flacco said simply:

We were in a groove.

Tight end Todd Heap added:

“Everybody was making plays, and I feel like we’re heading right where we want to be.

Both sides of the ball were clicking on all cylinders, which pleased the Ravens defensive leader Ray Lewis:

“That’s what’s most exciting, the way we are clicking both offensively and defensively. The bottom line is everyone is lining up and playing fast. We’re all playing well right now.

The Panthers played without their starting running back tandem of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, both sidelined with injuries. QB Jake Delhomme had a decent game, throwing for 180 yards on 11 of 16 passing. After the contest, Delhomme gave a mixed assessment of his team’s performance:

“We did some decent things but still they’re a very good defense.

Linebacker Jon Beason got to watch the game from the sidelines while nursing a sore knee, and wasnt pleased with what he saw from the Panthers usually formidable defensive corps:

“Tackling was horrible tonight. I think we’ve got to do a better job in our man-to-man coverage.”

Improving the teams scoring defense is a top priority for Carolina this season. The Panthers allowed 30 or more points in five of their final seven games last year. For a franchise that has long prided itself on defensive tenacity, that put a damper on an otherwise successful 12-4 season.

Baltimore will wrap up its NFL preseason on the road as they face the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome on Thursday. The Panthers will host the Pittsburgh Steelers in their final exhibition contest.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer experienced 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 deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

In a NFL preseason game characterized by rainy weather, sloppy field conditions and a quick exit for both teams starters, the Miami Dolphins outlasted their in-state rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars by a 12-9 score. Only one touchdown was scored in the game, which was a battle of field goal kickers until the third quarter.

Miami’s Ernest Wilford recently converted to tight end from wide receiver, and gave the football an emphatic spike after his game winning touchdown reception. He talked about the play in his postgame comments:

“There’s a sense of urgency for me. I want to play well this year. It’s a good start. That was a lot of frustration right there. I didn’t play that much last year, so I had to let it out.”

Dolphins QB Henne, who is being groomed as the heir apparent to starter Chad Pennington, was pleased with his first effort of the NFL preseason:

“Overall I thought I played pretty well. I got some points on the board and had us moving.”

Jacksonville QB David Garrard gave a fairly standard assessment of his teams opening game performance:

“We have to get better at some of the protection issues. I have to make sure I get everybody lined up in the right spots.”

Newly acquired Jaguars wide receiver Tory Holt was happy with his only reception of the game:

“I had been anticipating this day for a long time. I enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to many more.”

Despite not scoring a touchdown, Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio was generally upbeat about his teams effort:

“We are going to be physical up front. I liked what we did up front.”

Not surprisingly given the tempo of the game, the most heated battle for a starting spot was between the Dolphins placekickers. Both incumbent Dan Carpenter and challenger Connor Barth were perfect on their kicking attempts.

Jacksonville will host their other NFL rival from the state of Florida on Saturday as they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to town. Miami will remain at home as they take on the Carolina Panthers. The Dolphins will begin the NFL regular season on Sunday, September 13th against the Falcons at Atlanta, while Jacksonville will play the Colts at Indianapolis.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on NFL football 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 interior secretary James Watt.

In a victory for the highlight reels, Brett Favre completed a 32 yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with 2 seconds remaining in the game to lift the Minnesota Vikings to a dramatic 27-24 come from behind victory over the San Francisco 49ers. It was the 43rd time in his career that The Gunslinger had pulled out a victory when his team is tied or trailing in the fourth quarter. The rapidly improving 49ers dropped their first game of the year in heartbreaking fashion, while the Vikings remained undefeated at 3-0.

While the Vikings may have won the game on the scoreboard, the Niners took the decision where it really matters. San Francisco rewarded NFL betting devotees with their third pointspread cover in three games this season, cashing tickets as +6 road underdogs. It was the Vikings first setback to the spread against two victories this season. The 51 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 39.

Favre commented on the victory after the game:

“It’s hard to even recall all of ‘em. This one was pretty special.

Niners cornerback Nate Clemens said this was a hard setback to take:

“I’ve had some hard losses. This is just another one for the list. We just have to keep chopping away.”

Greg Lewis, who caught Favres game winning touchdown pass, said that the entire offense was fired up on the final drive:

“The offensive line was fired up. Adrian was fired up, and the receivers were fired up. And Brett fell right in. He was fired up, too, like: ‘We’re going to get this done And that’s the attitude that we took out there on the field.”

In his postgame comments, Vikings coach Greg Childress commended the cool confidence of his veteran quarterback:

“He’s been in many, many, many, many situations like that so it never hurts you to have a veteran like him going down the field.”

In the Niners locker room, coach Mike Singletary could be heard giving his team a tough love pep talk:

“You have nothing to be looking at the floor for! You didn’t steal anything! You didn’t do anything wrong! OK? We’re going to get better! We’re going to get there! We will see them again in the playoffs, all right? You hold your head up!”

The 49ers will return home to host the St. Louis Rams next Sunday. That game is currently off the board due to the questionable status of Niners running back Frank Gore who left the game with an ankle injury. Theyll host the Atlanta Falcons the following week before a bye week. Minnesota will host the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football next week. The Vikings are a -3 home favorite in that contest. Theyll play at St. Louis the following weekend before returning home to host the Baltimore Ravens on 10/18.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on soccer 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 a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.