Sabathia wins 12th, Yankees rough up M’s (AP)
Tags: Nascar
US has strong UConn presence for game against WNBA (AP)
US has strong UConn presence for game against WNBA (AP)
Geno Auriemma looked around the court during the U.S. national team’s practice and saw a lot of familiar faces. The University of Connecticut coach has seven former and current players at the team’s four-day training camp to help prepare for the world championships in October. Six of them will be on the roster that will face a WNBA All-Star team Saturday in this year’s version of the…
Busch wins Nationwide race at Chicagoland (AP)
Even Kyle Busch acknowledged that his landmark victory in Friday’s NASCAR Nationwide series race at Chicagoland Speedway probably wouldn’t have happened if not for Brad Keselowski’s costly mistake.
NZ & SA set for Tri-Nations clash
New Zealand aim to avenge last year’s three defeats to defending champions South Africa in Saturday’s Tri-Nations opener at Eden Park.
The Road to Lombardi: Pierre Thomas
The Road to Lombardi: Pierre Thomas
If you’re familiar with Football Outsiders’ DVOA rankings
you know that DVOA ranks every play in a season on a baseline of average effectiveness
and then rates players and teams by efficiency and productiveness depending on situation and opponent. Would it surprise you to know that of all the qualifying running backs in the 2009 NFL season
2009′s DVOA leader is a former undrafted free agent on a reputedly pass-heavy team? If you’ve been following New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas(notes) since he came out of Illinois in 2007
it might not. In FO’s running back rankings
there’s Thomas at the top of DVOA
and third in Success Rate
which measures the consistency of a back’s performance on a play-by-play basis. So
we know that Thomas is valuable per play
and play after play. What makes him special
and an asset for the Saints in the Super Bowl? Thomas has great short-area speed to be sure
and that’s a big deal against an Indianapolis Colts front seven that plays as quickly as any in the NFL. Against Minnesota’s quick and brutally physical defense in the NFC Championship game
Thomas gained 61 yards on the ground against the NFL’s best run defense and 38 receiving yards (one pass
five great moves
one touchdown) to top it off. When Drew Brees(notes) and Sean Payton throw all those three- and four-wise sets at enemy defenses
it’s generally Thomas in the backfield
forcing defenses away from committing entirely to the aerial attack. As much as he benefits from those defenses backing off and playing pass
he also averaged 4.9 yards per carry on 50 carries in formations with only two wide receivers. And that’s the myth of the Saints — people assume that because Brees is among the best quarterbacks in the game and the offense scores so often
the Saints aren’t a physical team. Thomas ran behind two-tight end sets 60 times and averaged six yards per carry. Keep in mind also that only the Miami Dolphins ranked higher in Adjusted Line Yards. It isn’t just the aerial attack
or the tight ends making the tough catches underneath
or Reggie Bush(notes) doing everything everywhere all of a sudden. It’s also about a little-known guy
rising up from the ranks of the undrafted
and making things happen for his offense.
Super Bowl prop bets
for your cash-burning considerations
The wait for the actual game to begin can be maddening. If you’re tired of hour number 22 of the Super Bowl pregame show
and you’d like to poke around and gamble on ridiculous things
here’s a primer on some of the more ridiculous options out there. From betED.com: Here
you can gamble on which company’s commercial will be the highest-rated in USA Today’s ad meter. The favorites are Anheuser-Busch at 2.5-to-1
and Frito-Lay at 3-to-1. The longest shot is the U.S. Census Bureau at 22-to-1
and even at those odds
I think the people at betED.com are overrating the comedic potential of the Census folks. From Sportsbook.com: You can bet on the total of Kim Kardashian’s lovely measurements: 34-26-39
-38.5 vs. Reggie Bush’s(notes) total rushing and receiving yards. Essentially
you’re gambling on whether or not Reggie Bush will have more than 60.5 rushing and receiving yards
but it’s always more fun if we can objectify a Kardashian in the process. You can also bet on Pete Townshend of The Who going over or under 5.5 windmill maneuvers while playing the guitar. At the conclusion of the game
someone will get the MVP trophy
and he will most likely thank somebody. You can bet on who he’ll thank first. The best bet is God at 4-to-5
followed by his teammates at 2-to-1. The longest shot is the coach at 9-1. This one’s becoming a yearly staple: When the winning team dumps a cooler of ice-cold Gatorade on their coach at the conclusion of the game
what color will it be? Clear or water is the most likely at 3-to-2
with yellow right behind at 5-to-6. If it’s blue or red
cha-ching
! Those pay 12-to-1. From Bodog.com: Carrie Underwood’s rendition of the national anthem can be a money-making venture for you. The over/under on how long it takes her is one minute and 42 seconds. Because sideline reporters always make such great gambling outlets
you can bet on which sideline reporter will appear on camera first
after the opening kickoff: Solomon Wilcots or Steve Tasker. My advice here is to consider the Freeney factor. Find out which guy is on the Colts sideline
and put your money there. Let’s tie America’s favorite legal gambling operation
the stock market
to America’s favorite illegal gambling activity
betting on the NFL. Here’s what that looks like: Saints win
Market up: 7-to-2 Saints win
Market down: 17-to-4 Colts win
Market up: 3-to-2 Colts win
Market down: 19-to-10 If you’d like to bet on someone else’s misfortune
here’s one for you. If any member of The Who smashes their guitar
you can bet on what the guitar will hit first. The floor is the odds-on favorite at 1-to-5
followed by a speaker or a microphone. If it’s the drummer or a fan
you get paid 200-to-1. From BetUS.com: I love the cross sports bets here
and this one’s my favorite. The winning car number of NASCAR’s Bud Shootout against the total number of points scored in the first half. Well done with that one
oddsmaker. This is a good one
too. Notre Dame center Luke Harangody went up against South Florida earlier today
and you can bet on his total points + total rebounds -0.5 vs. the distance of first field goal made in Super Bowl XLIV. As it happened
Harangody had a nice day
with 19 points and 15 boards. And finally
you could’ve bet on the number of touchdown passes by Peyton Manning(notes) vs. the number of birdies carded by Phil Mickelson in the final round of the Northern Trust Open. Through 13 holes
Mickelson’s made only two birdies.
