It’s the holiday edition of stat check, so in keeping with the spirit of the season, here’s an extra goodie to go along with our usual Top 10 football stats and factoids for the weekend: The longest NFL game in history took place on Christmas Day. Miami beat Kansas City 24-21 in double overtime in the 1971 AFC Divisional playoffs. Garo Yepremian booted the winning figgie at 82:40.
Christmas Day is the traditional launching pad for the NBA’s national television coverage in the United States. The advent of cable means that we’ve already seen plenty of basketball this season, but there’s still something special about watching hoops on the holidays. This year is extra-special; we’ve got five games this Xmas Day, including a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals.
For a bowl game being played Christmas Eve night, matching two teams totaling a dozen defeats, this contest has gotten a fair amount of buzz.
With the Notre Dame Fighting Irish listed as 2 ½-point favorites in Hawaii and playing after a nice vacation, this is an intriguing matchup. It will also either symbolize the dawning of a new era for Charlie Weis and Notre Dame or start the slow dance ritual of Weis being shown the door in about 11 months.
The Missouri Tigers have faced a number of big spreads this season – without much success.
As the #21 Tigers enter Monday’s Valero Alamo Bowl against the #23 Northwestern Wildcats as 12 ½-point favorites, bettors should be reminded that Missouri has covered just three of their last 10 games.
The California Golden Bears were picture-perfect at home this season and Sportsbook.com bettors have taken notice heading into Saturday’s Emerald Bowl.
The matchup between California and the Miami Hurricanes will be played on a neutral field, but it may as well be a home game for the Bears as they simply make the 25-minute trek from campus to AT&T Field on Saturday.
The Florida State Seminoles are playing the Champs Sports Bowl in their home state, but don’t discount the chances of the Wisconsin Badgers.
The Badgers have played in Florida bowl games the last five years against tough SEC teams and while they went just 2-3 straight-up, they were 3-2 against the spread and easily could have gone 5-0 against the spread (ATS) with a couple of breaks in games that were close in the fourth quarter.
That bodes well against Florida State who has similar speed of an SEC team even though they play in the ACC.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a huge Christmas matchup with the Boston Celtics and their backers hope they fare better this time around.
Not only did the Lakers get upset in last year’s NBA Finals 4-2, but Boston covered the spread in every game of the series and the two regular season matchups as well. That’s an 0-8 ATS mark in total.
The New York Giants travel to Minnesota this Sunday with nothing to gain in beating the Vikings. The Giants secured home field advantage through-out the playoffs by taking down the Carolina Panthers in their last game. They also suffered some injuries in that game. So, I doubt that coach Tom Coughlin will keep his starters in for very long, if he starts them at all, against a hungry Vikings’ squad.
This is going to be akin to watching an NFL Pre-Season game. The Colts have secured the number five seed in the AFC Playoffs by virtue of their 11 and 4 record. Most sports betting fans should be aware that the Tennessee Titans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday and secured the number one seed in the AFC Playoffs.
The Cleveland Browns (4-11 SU, 6-8-1 ATS, 6-8-1 O/U) have been money in the bank for BetUS NFL sports betting fanatics that have wagered against them five weeks. The dysfunctional Browns look to close out their 2008 regular season on a high note when they visit their longtime division rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4 SU, 8-7 ATS, 8-7 O/U) on Sunday at Heinz Field.
The Carolina Panthers travel to the Big Easy to take on the Saints in a game that Carolina sort of has to win. If the Panthers lose and the Falcons win, then Atlanta gets the number two seed in the NFL Playoffs wagering and a bye next week. That’s a lot for Carolina to play for in this game. They could go from playing for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs to losing the NFC South Division and having to play next week.
Two divisions that aren’t sending teams in to my illustrious Furious Seven – the NFC and AFC West. How brutal are these divisions? I was talking to Chip, who you can chirp with at Account Management by asking for ext. 2327, and we were pondering how good the NFC West could possibly be? If the Seahawks’ wide receiver unit hadn’t been gunned down in malice by the injury bug, and the Niners hadn’t listened to Mike Martz and played Shaun Hill from the get go, would this division be slightly more competitive?
The Tennessee Titans (13-2 SU, 12-3 ATS, 8-7 O/U) are coming off their biggest win of the season as they get prepared fro what they hope will be an extended postseason run. The Indianapolis Colts (11-4 SU, 7-7-1 ATS, 8-7 O/U) have won eight consecutive games in the BetUS Sportsbook, but have been spotty at best in covering the spread for BetUS NFL sports betting buffs.
The New York Giants (12-3 SU, 11-4 ATS, 8-6-1 O/U) rebounded nicely from consecutive defeats in its most important game of the season, covering the spread for BetUS NFL sports betting enthusiasts as an added bonus. The Minnesota Vikings (9-6 SU, 6-9 ATS, 9-6 O/U) on the other hand, failed to win its biggest game of the season last week and blew their chances to reach the postseason with Chicago’s win on Monday night.
The NFL playoffs are starting a little early this year. Our Top 3 NFL betting games for Week 17 feature six teams clawing for a spot in the postseason. There will be no tanking; handicappers won’t have to worry about whether the starters will actually play. Plus, it’ll be some of the best football we’ll see this year. For current lines, visit Bodog Sportsbook.
The only thing that makes NFL betting more interesting is adding a little playoff implication spice to the mix. That’s exactly the case in Week 17, with at least eight games on the board that play a role in determining who goes on and who signs up for early tee times on Monday.
The AFC West division title is on the line in the Sunday nighter, as the surging San Diego Chargers host the Denver Broncos. Oddsmakers like the Chargers to see another week of action, listing San Diego as sizable 8.5-point chalk for the contest.
