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02/02/2012 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts have hired Greg Manusky as defensive coordinator.
The Colts named Bruce Arians offensive coordinator earlier this week.
Manusky was the defensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers last year. He held the same position with the San Francisco 49ers from 2007-10.
This past season, San Diego's defense ranked 22nd in the league in points allowed (23.6) and 16th in yards allowed (346.6).
"I met with Greg yesterday and today with Coach (Pagano). I really feel good about him being a part of this," said general manager Ryan Grigson. "(He is) a great fit. He's versatile within the scheme, 3-4, 4-3. It's part of the philosophy of not trying to put a square peg into a round hole. He lines right up with that. He's a football guy, passionate, fire in his eyes. You know when you sit with him for two seconds he's an intense football coach. He's ready to come in here and do some great things with us."
Manusky started his coaching career as linebackers coach with the Washington Redskins in 2001, then joined San Diego in the same role from 2002-06.
The 45-year-old Manusky was a linebacker and a standout special teams performer during his 12-year playing career with Washington (1988-90), Minnesota (1991-93) and Kansas City (1994-99).
Also on Thursday, Grigson named Roy Anderson secondary/safeties coach and Marwan Maalouf special teams coach.
<< Pletcher goes for another Davis win
Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trainer Todd Pletcher has been dominating the
Sam F. Davis Stakes in recent years and has another opportunity to win the
event with its 32nd renewal on Saturday. The $250,000 stakes, with a field of
11 thre
<< Berdych, Monfils advance in Open Sud
Montpellier, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Tomas Berdych and Frenchman
Gael Monfils were among Thursday's second-round winners at the Open Sud de
France tennis tournament.
Berdych, the Czech Republic native ranked seventh in the
<< In the FCS Huddle: Top recruits not necessarily at top schools
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ever get one of those do-not-open-until-
the-holidays packages in the mail?
Well, let's just say we will need to revisit this column in about three years.
That's because recruiting analysis is so fickle
<< NFL gives 49ers $200 million loan for new stadium
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NFL owners approved a $200 million loan on
Thursday to help the San Francisco 49ers build a new stadium in Santa Clara.
In December, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority unanimously approved an $850
millio
Louisiana Tech RB dies at off-campus apartment >>
Ruston, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Louisiana Tech running back Tyrone Duplessis was
found dead at his off-campus apartment on Thursday morning.
The 21-year-old was in his third year at Louisiana Tech.
The cause of death is not yet known and an
AZ signs coach Verbeek to two-year extension >>
Alkmaar, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AZ Alkmaar gave coach Gertjan Verbeek
a two-year contract extension on Thursday, locking him up through the 2014-15
season.
Verbeek, 49, joined the Dutch side before the 2010-11 season and led the c
Blue Jackets activate Carter >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated
center Jeff Carter off injured reserve.
Carter separated his right shoulder during a game against Anaheim on January
8.
He has posted 10 goals and 17 points
Sundhage names U.S. women's training camp roster >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. women's national team coach Pia Sundhage
named 28 players Thursday for an upcoming training camp, including 19 of the
20 players who were on the recent Olympic team roster.
Ali Krieger, who tore the AC
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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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
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