Wooden 'resting comfortably' in hospital

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

06/04/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Legendary basketball coach John Wooden is resting comfortably at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, according to a release from the UCLA athletics department.

The medical update said Wooden, 99, spent a peaceful night, and added he was admitted to the hospital May 26 because of dehydration. However, no other information was released at the request of the family.

On Thursday, a report from CBS-2 in Los Angeles said Wooden was in "grave" condition and hadn't eaten for several days.

The Hall of Famer coached the Bruins from 1948-1975 and claimed 10 national championships over a 12-season stretch, including a record seven straight from 1967 to 1973. The Bruins also put together an incredible streak of 88 straight victories from 1971-1974. He also had four perfect 30-0 seasons and at one point won 38 consecutive games in the NCAA Tournament.

Freefootballgamble NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Stosur, Schiavone will decide French Open champ on Saturday
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventh-seeded Aussie Samantha Stosur and 17th-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone will be the surprising combatants in Saturday's ladies' final at the 2010 French Open. Stosur and Schia

<< Mihajlovic named new Fiorentina manager
Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fiorentina have named Sinisa Mihajlovic as their new coach after Cesare Prandelli confirmed that he will be succeeding Marcello Lippi as Italy's manager. The Serbian resigned from his position as Ca

<< England's Ferdinand suffers training injury
Rustenburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England captain Rio Ferdinand left a South Africa hospital on crutches after picking up a knee injury in training on Friday. Fabio Capello's team was taking part in its first training session

<< Williams sisters capture French doubles title
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The mighty Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are the 2010 French Open women's doubles champions. The top-seeded sisters blew past a 12th-seeded duo of Czech Kveta Peschke and Slovenian Katarina Sreb

<< Drogba injured in friendly for Ivory Coast
Sion, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba could miss the 2010 World Cup after he reportedly suffered a broken arm in a 2-0 friendly win over Japan on Friday. Drogba left the field in the 15th minute after a

Fletcher completes Wolves move >>
Wolverhampton, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scotland international striker Steven Fletcher has completed his switch from Burnley to Wolverhampton. The 23-year-old scored 12 goals in 38 appearances for the Clarets last season although hi

Schieber joins Nurnberg on loan >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stuttgart have allowed striker Julien Schieber to join fellow Bundesliga side Nurnberg on loan for a year in order to aid his development. The 21-year-old made 19 appearances last term but fail

Hoeness hopes Ballack will retire from Germany >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has pleaded with Germany captain Michael Ballack to retire from international football. The Chelsea man has been ruled out of this summer's World Cup after picki

Big 12 commish hopeful league remains intact >>
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The head of the Big 12 Conference says he is ``comfortable'' that the league will remain intact amid rumors of a breakup.Commissioner Don Beebe spoke Friday after a week of meetings in Kansas City. He says the Big 12 is in a

TV ratings up 17 percent for NBA finals Game 1 >>
NEW YORK (AP) -The opener of the Celtics-Lakers NBA finals matched the teams' meeting two years ago for the highest preliminary rating for a Game 1 since 2004.Los Angeles' 102-89 win Thursday night on ABC earned a 10.4 overnight rating, up 17 percen

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.