Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
12/22/2006 - Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In possibly his last game at Lambeau Field, Brett Favre threw for 285 yards on 26-of-50 passing with no touchdowns and two interceptions as the Green Bay Packers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 9-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Favre, who started his 236th straight game, became the first quarterback in NFL history with 5,000 completions on a fourth-quarter pass to Ahman Green.
Donald Driver caught nine passes for 99 yards and Ruvell Martin hauled in three passes for 69 yards for the Packers (7-8), who have won two straight games.
Tarvaris Jackson made his first NFL start and completed 10-of-20 passes for 50 yards with an interception, while Chester Taylor ran the ball 15 times for 49 yards and made three catches for 18 yards for the Vikings (6-9), who were eliminated from playoff contention.
Fred Smoot intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown for Minnesota, which set a franchise low with just three first downs in the contest.
The Vikings were just 2-of-14 on third downs, gained 104 yards of total offense and were penalized 10 times for 68 yards.
Favre came out passing on the Packers' first possession, including a pair of completions to Driver and a 19-yarder to Bubba Franks before a 38-yard field goal from Dave Rayner gave Green Bay a 3-0 lead.
After Minnesota's fifth three-and-out of the first half, the Packers got the ball at the Minnesota 45 with 1:14 left. Favre threw a 13-yard pass to Martin followed by a two-yard reception from Greg Jennings, and three plays later Rayner booted a 44-yarder as time expired for a 6-0 margin.
Despite the score, the Vikings' offense was overmatched in the first 30 minutes, making only one first down, compared to 14 for the Packers, and gained only 38 total yards of offense while not crossing midfield.
Minnesota finally started moving the ball on its first possession of the third quarter, converting its first third down attempt of the game and making it as far as the Green Bay 33, but Charles Woodson picked off Jackson to halt the drive.
With 5:10 left in the third quarter, the Vikings got on the board, but it came on the defensive side of the ball. Favre dropped back to pass, but with the blitz coming Jennings didn't run the hot route and Smoot was there to pick off the pass, which he ran back 47 yards for the score and a 7-6 lead.
On the Packers' next offensive play Favre grossly overthrew his receiver and was picked off by former Packer Darren Sharper at the Minnesota 29, but the Vikings' offense continued to struggle with another three-and-out, their seventh of the contest.
Green Bay was marching downfield for what seemed like the go-ahead score, but Franks caught a pass and ran down to the one before Napoleon Harris, who was just called for a roughing the passer penalty, knocked the ball loose and Antonio Whitfield came up with it with just over 8 1/2 minutes to play.
The Packers got the ball back with 4:47 remaining and on the second play of the drive Favre hit Martin with a 36-yard pass to the Minnesota 27 with under 3 1/2 minutes on the clock. Two plays later, on 3rd-and-17 at the Vikings 34, Favre threw a scree pass to Green, who ran 30 yards, but Franks was called for offensive holding.
The spot foul put the ball at the Vikings 27. After a one- yard run from Noah Herron, Rayner kicked a 44-yard field goal for a 9-7 advantage with 1:34 left.
Game Notes
Rayner missed a 38-yarder in the first quarter after losing his footing on the muddy, slick field, and missed a 34-yarder in the second when his kick hit the left upright...Favre set a career-high with 33 pass attempts in the first half...Jackson became the 201st quarterback to start a game since Favre's consecutive starts streak began in 1992...Favre recorded his 36th fourth- quarter comeback of his career. He is five interceptions shy of tying George Blanda (277) for the most all time. Favre is 82-27 at Lambeau Field, including 29-5 in December. He (146-90) is one win shy of John Elway (147-93) and two short of Marino (148-82-1) for the most on the all-time quarterback wins list...The Packers lead the all-time series is 46-45-1...Green Bay defensive end Aaron Kampman had three sacks, totaling 15 1/2 for the season...Since 1990 only 2-of-59 teams that have started 6-8 have made the playoffs.
<< McCoy cleared to play in bowl game
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas freshman quarterback Colt McCoy has been
cleared to play in the Alamo Bowl against Iowa on December 30th, Longhorns
athletic trainer Kenny Boyd said Thursday.
McCoy suffered a severe pinched nerve
<< Cowboys corral Panthers in double-OT
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mario Boggan erupted for 30 points to
help 15th-ranked Oklahoma State edge No. 7 Pittsburgh, 95-89, in double
overtime in the All-College Classic at the Ford Center.
JamesOn Curry donated 20
<< Murray beats former club as Blues top Kings
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lee Stempniak and Barrett Jackman each had a
goal and an assist, and the St. Louis Blues defeated the Los Angeles Kings,
5-2, at the Scottrade Center to give new head coach Andy Murray just his
second
<< Pistons push past Cavs
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups had a double-double with 17
points and 10 assists to pace Detroit to an 87-71 win over Cleveland.
Tayshaun Prince scored 16 points and eight rebounds while Richard Hamilton had
11 points fo
Sykora's timely tally lifts Oilers over Coyotes >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petr Sykora scored with a 1:14 left in
regulation to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the Phoenix
Coyotes.
Ales Hemsky added a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who ended a brief
Duke polishes off Zags at the Garden >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Paulus netted a career-best 20 points to
guide sixth-ranked Duke past No. 22 Gonzaga, 61-54, in the Aeropostale Classic
at Madison Square Garden.
Jon Scheyer tallied 14 points while Josh McRoberts h
Turco, Stars blank Sharks >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marty Turco made 20 saves to record his fourth
shutout of the season, as the Dallas Stars blanked the San Jose Sharks, 3-0
at HP Pavilion.
Turco also recorded his 28th-career shutout, moving him past Ed
Wizards surge past Kings >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antawn Jamison, Gilbert Arenas and Caron
Butler combined for 37 of Washington's 44 third-quarter points, as the Wizards
rallied for a 126-119 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Jamison had 33 points, 13 re
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting