Bucs finish preseason with win over Texans
Football Betting Lines
09/02/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Carpenter threw a pair of touchdowns as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took down the Houston Texans, 24-17, in the preseason finale for both squads.
Carpenter was 15-for-22 for 203 yards for the Buccaneers, who went 2-2 in the preseason and will begin their regular season campaign at home against the Browns on September 12. Arrelious Benn caught both touchdowns and finished the game with three receptions for 33 yards.
John David Booty went 17-for-37 with 209 yards and two scores for the Texans, who managed to win just one of their four preseason games and will open the regular season at home against the reigning AFC-Champion Colts on September 12. James Casey had eight catches for 81 yards in the loss.
It was all Tampa Bay in the first half as the team scored 17 points in the first 30 minutes to take a 17-0 lead into the locker room.
Connor Barth punched a 38-yard field goal for the only points of the first quarter.
In the second, Corey Lynch picked off a Dan Orlovsky pass and returned it 91 yards into the end zone.
Lynch picked off Orlovsky later in the quarter to set up a three-yard touchdown catch by Benn from Carpenter.
Houston got back into the game in the third as Booty threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Williams and Neil Rackers added a 21-yard field goal later in the frame to make it a 17-10 contest.
Carpenter, though, hooked up with Benn again, this time on a 21-yard score for a 24-10 lead in the fourth.
Later in the fourth, Booty tossed a 16-yard score to Derek Fine to make it a 24-17 contest.
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Utley's grand slam to cap a nine-run seventh inning proved to be just enough to hold off the pesky Rockies, as Philadelphia hung on for a wild 12-11 win versus Colorado in a makeup game at Coors F
<< Chiefs edge Packers in preseason finale
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brodie Croyle completed 11-of-16 throws for
119 yards and Jackie Battle carried 10 times for 67 yards and a touchdown to
lead Kansas City to a 17-13 win over Green Bay to conclude the preseason for
both te
<< Rams top Ravens in preseason finale
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Thaddeus Lewis' 26-yard TD pass to
Brandon McRae in the fourth quarter helped the St. Louis Rams beat the
Baltimore Ravens, 27-21, in the preseason finale for both clubs.
Lewis completed 6
<< Dawson's last-moment FG lifts Browns over Bears
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Dawson's 36-yard field goal in the final
seconds lifted Cleveland over Chicago, 13-10, in the final preseason tilt for
both clubs at Browns Stadium.
Colt McCoy took the majority of the snaps and finish
<< Jets down Eagles in preseason finale
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Brunell's 51-yard touchdown throw to
Santonio Holmes shortly into the fourth quarter put the Jets in front, and New
York held on for a 21-17 victory over the Eagles in the team's final preseason
game.
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pearman spearheaded a huge rushing attack with 36 yards and a touchdown and Kerry Collins completed 8-of-17 passes for 89 yards as Tennessee held off New Orleans, 27-24, in the preseason finale
Cowboys end preseason with win over Miami >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Buehler's 31-yard field goal with time
expiring lifted the Dallas Cowboys to a 27-25 victory over the Miami Dolphins
in the teams' preseason finale.
Buehler kicked four field goals in the victory, a
Vikings down Denver in final preseason game >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Javon Walker caught a 63-yard touchdown
pass from Joe Webb in the fourth quarter, helping Minnesota edge Denver,
31-24, in the preseason finale for both teams.
Brett Favre took the night off fo
Utah topples No. 15 Pittsburgh in OT >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Phillips kicked a 21-yard field goal
in overtime, as the Utah Utes edged the 15th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers,
27-24, in a non-conference showdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
After Pittsburgh (0-1
Federer, Djokovic move into third round at the Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer and
third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia were among Thursday's second-round
winners at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded former top-ranked Federer cruised pas
Super Bowl 2009 Betting
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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