11/20/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Roethlisberger didn't let a bitter, snowy night bother his throwing or running, totaling 243 yards passing with a passing and rushing touchdown, as Pittsburgh methodically wore down Cincinnati, 27-10, at Heinz Field.
Roethlisberger completed 17-of-30 passes, with five of those passes going to Santonio Holmes, who was shaken up on a a helmet-to-helmet hit and did not return after amassing 84 receiving yards.
Willie Parker found little running room with 37 yards on 14 carries, but Mewelde Moore had more success with 56 yards on 15 carries to go along with four catches for 41 yards. Heath Miller caught four passes for 44 yards and a score for the Steelers (8-3), who won their fifth straight in the series for the first time since 1993.
Pittsburgh now leads the AFC North by 1 1/2 games over Baltimore, which plays Philadelphia on Sunday.
"It is what is," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said about his team's position in the division and AFC playoff picture. "We are not over-evaluating at this point. We are living week to week. As long as we continue to live in a tunnel, we will be fine."
Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 20-of-37 passes for 168 yards with one touchdown and one interception in defeat. Cedric Benson ran for 35 yards and Glenn Holt caught a touchdown pass for the Bengals (1-9-1), who played without star wideout Chad Johnson, who was suspended earlier in the day Thursday for violating team rules.
"We need to be able to run the football more effectively. We need to be able to convert. It's disappointing," stated Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.
After a late game in the snow last Sunday, it took awhile for the Steelers to get into game action on a early winter night at half-full Heinz Field.
After two Pittsburgh punts and one on the Bengals side, Cincinnati marched down the field to take the lead. Third down conversions were the key, as the Bengals were successful on three third downs, including the 10-yard slant for a score from Fitzpatrick to the little-used kick returner Holt.
Each team punted before the Steelers offense finally gained traction in the light snow. Roethlisberger found his tight end Miller on a hot read for 14 yards and zipped a strike across the middle to Hines Ward, who weaved his way across the field for 37 yards to the Bengals 13-yard line. Later in the march, Roethlisberger's eight-yard pass to rookie Limas Sweed ended a yard short of the marker. Mike Tomlin rolled the dice, and Gary Russell's second effort picked up the first down. The gamble proved genius as Roethlisberger located Miller in the flat for a three-yard score and a tie game.
Pittsburgh then rode Jeff Reed's right leg to the lead. A 27-yard strike followed by a 22-yard dart to Holmes highlighted a march that ended with Reed's 37-yard field goal.
The Steelers defense stiffened late in the half after a Bengals punt hit off the hand of Sweed, giving Cincinnati the football inside the Pittsburgh 40-yard line. It didn't manage any points, however, before intermission.
Reed's second field goal of the game, a 38-yard boot that hugged the right upright, pushed the lead to 13-7 in the third quarter. Roethlisberger's 19- yard third-down conversion to Holmes was the big play on the possession.
The Steelers added a little more cushion to their edge late in the third stanza. The seven-play march included plenty of Moore, who ran for five and 15 yards before taking a screen pass 22 yards down the right sideline. Roethlisberger's 19-yard pass to Miller preceded Russell's two-yard touchdown walk into the end zone out wide to the right.
During the fourth quarter, Cincinnati put together an 11-play marathon that knocked on the doorstep of the Steelers end zone before stalling inside the 10-yard line. Fitzpatrick's 15-yard completion to Andre Caldwell kick started a drive that ended with Shayne Graham's 26-yard field goal.
Roethlisberger converted a big 3rd-and-10 on the next series, breaking out of a would-be sack deep in the backfield, slipping to the left and firing across his body to Sweed for 17 yards. Moore then handled the bulk of the work until Roethlisberger barreled his way into the end zone from eight yards out for a 27-10 edge with 2:22 to go.
Game Notes
Troy Polamalu's fifth interception of the season ended a late fourth- quarter Bengals drive into the Steelers red zone...LaMarr Woodley registered the lone Pittsburgh sack...Chris Kirkpatrick, of N'Sync fame and a Pennsylvania native, sang the national anthem...The Bengals converted just 4- of-15 third downs, while Pittsburgh was successful on 6-of-14 third-down tries...The Steelers outgained the Bengals, 364-208.
<< Gators power past Southern Utah
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Calathes scored 18 points, grabbed
seven rebounds and dished out four assists to lead 18th-ranked Florida over
Southern Utah, 64-50, at the O'Connell Center.
Dan Werner added nine points for the
<< Dwyer leads Georgia Tech past Miami
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 128 yards and a pair
of touchdowns, and Georgia Tech rolled up 472 yards on the ground in a 41-23
romp of 23rd-ranked Miami-Florida.
Quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran for 93 yards and
<< Kane scores twice as Chicago downs Stars
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Kane scored twice to pace the Blackhawks
to a 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars as Chicago continued its successful
six-game road trip.
Kris Versteeg had a goal and two assists, while Brian Campbel
<< Rondo, Celtics cruise past Pistons
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rajon Rondo had 18 points and doled out eight
assists to help the Celtics to a 98-80 victory over the Pistons in a rematch
of last season's Eastern Conference Finals.
Kevin Garnett added 15 points in his
MSG shocker! Michigan upsets UCLA >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Harris scored 15 points, hit two big
free throws in the waning seconds and blocked the potential tying shot at the
end as Michigan upset fourth-ranked UCLA, 55-52, to reach the championship
game of
Lakers roll past Suns >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Lamar Odom
filled the stat sheet with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench, as the
red-hot Lakers rolled past Phoenix, 105-92.
Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 15 po
Kings cool off Capitals >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Brown and Michal Handzus each had a
goal and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings beat Washington, 5-2, handing the
Capitals their first regular loss since November 1.
Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar an
Four share lead at Hong Kong Open >>
Hong Kong (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louis Oosthuizen fired an eight-under 62 on
Friday to spotlight a four-way tie for the lead after the second round of the
Hong Kong Open.
Oliver Fisher (65), Chawalit Plaphol (66) and European Ryder Cup
American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6
The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.
Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com. "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis. It's like Week 1 of the NFL. Pre-season means nada!
We do know the 24 finalists however.
Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24. He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway. He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien.
Brandon Rogers - Who?
Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition. He should go a good distance.
Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was. And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition. He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice! People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way.
"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks. He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes. But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.
A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”
Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes.
"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate. "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past. He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far. Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."
Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts)
And the others:
Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter
The girls
"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis. "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has. The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive. I think she will go far."
Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.
"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams. Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth. "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.
Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.
Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.
Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan
MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with).
Last two contestants will be?
1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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