9-3-11

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Benjamin lee Eckstein "Mr Chalk"
"Mr Chalk" 2011 MLB Regular Season

Week 23

Ben lee lost on Friday with the Rays -$210/Orioles.

For Saturday "Mr Chalk" likes the Padres -$148/Rockies.

"Mr Chalk" is 89-55 -$69 for the 2011 MLB regular season.

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Rick Needham


Boise State (-3½) at Georgia in Atlanta Saturday Sept. 3, 8:00 PM EST - ESPN

Here’s The Deal … Despite all the big moments, and even with all the double-digit win seasons, and through all the prove-it games, Boise State still can’t get any semblance of love. The Broncos are being lied to time and again, and because of their schedule, and because no one wants to give them a real, honest shot to play for the national title, they’re being led again to think that it’ll matter if they win the big game against the name team. The conventional wisdom was that if Boise State beat Virginia Tech in last year’s season opener – a home game for the Hokies in Landover, Maryland – the respect would come. Tech went on to win the ACC title and played in the Orange Bowl, while college football couldn’t have celebrated more when Nevada pulled off the upset over the Broncos in late November. Did the Broncos improve their stature and standing in any way after dominating and destroying a 2009 Oregon team that went on to win the Rose Bowl? No. Did anyone care a lick after the win over Oregon at Oregon in 2008? No. Oh, sure, during the idle time of a few offseasons, the media paid lip-service to the idea of Boise State really and truly being a top five team after beating TCU in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl to finish 14-0 and after shocking the world in the win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, but that didn’t last long. And this year, it doesn’t matter if Boise State pulls off the win over Georgia, because once again, no one around any BCS conference will buy into the idea that the team could last against a real week-in-and-week-out schedule. It doesn’t matter that the program has proven itself over and over and over and over again. It doesn’t matter that Toledo could be one of the best teams in the MAC and it doesn’t matter that Tulsa could win the Conference USA title. It doesn’t matter that Nevada, Air Force, and TCU are all going to be strong – and all three have to go to Boise. All that matters is that BCS-league fans are going to notice that this game against Georgia is the only one against a BCS conference team. Even if Boise State does go 12-0, it’s going to take the Alabamas, Oregons, and Ohio States of the world to royally screw up for a Mountain West team to end up in New Orleans on January 9th. And if the Broncos lose, then that’s it for the national relevance until BCS at-large time – fair or not – even at 11-1. It’s a far different situation for Georgia, who has as bizarre a situation as any team going into this season. After going 6-7 last year, head coach Mark Richt is on a double-secret hot seat that can’t go up even one more degree. If he and his Dawgs beat Boise State – showing how times have changed when an SEC has to prove itself against a Mountain West squad – and follow it up with a win over South Carolina to kick off SEC play, the “this year’s Auburn” tag will start to get thrown out. Making the scenario even more wild, Georgia could lose its first two games, deal with the “Georgia’s next coach will be … “ articles, and still go on to win the conference title with as light and breezy an SEC schedule as anyone could dream of. Alabama, Arkansas, and LSU are the three best teams in the SEC, and possibly three of the five best teams in America, and Georgia misses them all. Considering the Boise State and Georgia Tech games are in Atlanta, and with the Florida showdown always in neutral territory, the Dawgs have just three true road games: at Ole Miss, at Tennessee, at Vanderbilt. Yes, Boise State could win this game, go 12-0, and it still won’t be given the respect of the credit that Georgia will receive if it goes 10-2 and ends up winning the SEC championship. In the running narrative that is the college football season, this will be a key chapter. If you don’t want another year like last one, when 37% of the time and energy went to discussing the worthiness of Boise State, get your Georgia pom-poms out. If you want to see the SEC get knocked down a peg, hope for the Broncos to pull out the win. Either way, no matter what the outcome, this will turn out to be one of the most important games of the season.

Why Boise State Might Win: At some point, Boise State will be recognized for having a hard-nosed football team that stuffs running games cold. Nevada ran for 269 yards and three touchdowns against the Broncos, and Utah State rolled up 250 yards in a 50-14 loss, but the run defense held Virginia Tech to just 128 yards, allowed a mere 78 against Oregon State, kept Fresno State to 45, and allowed just 107 against Utah on the way to finishing seventh in the nation against the run and second in total D and scoring D. That wasn’t an aberration, allowing just 120 rushing yards per game in 2009, 118 in 2008 and 131 in 2007. Ryan Winterswyck is gone to the NFL, but everyone else is back on the defensive front including most of the key backups. The line is so good that it’ll overshadow Byron Hout and the tremendous linebacking corps all year long, and the front seven isn’t going to allow much of anything against the Georgia ground game. The Dawg offensive line got hit with injuries again, the stable of running backs went from deep and talented to injured and questionable with Caleb King and Washaun Ealey gone and Richard Samuel and Isaiah Crowell both limping. No, Georgia won’t be able to power the ball on the Broncos.

Why Georgia Might Win: Back up to the Boise State opener last year against Virginia Tech. The Broncos were excellent on special teams, they took advantage of a key fumble early on, D.J. Harper took off for a 71-yard scoring dash, and the defense played lights out. Even with all of that, and even with the Hokies sputtering all night long, it still took a phenomenal late drive and a Heisman-caliber moment from Kellen Moore to pull the game out of the fire. No one will beat Georgia on special teams this year, especially in the kicking game; the Dawgs finished 19th in the nation in turnover margin and will almost certainly be stingier with the ball now that quarterback Aaron Murray has a year of experience, and the defense should be better at getting into the backfield and should be far stronger against the run and should have a huge advantage in the secondary. This might be a no-name defense, but it has the pieces in place to be rock solid, especially against the pass. Georgia might sputter and cough at times on offense, and it’s hardly going to come up with an even performance, but if it can win in the other two phases of the game, it should be able to pull this off. How good is the Georgia secondary? Top safety Bacarri Rambo isn’t assured of a starting spot with several players competing for jobs in the deep group. Considering the defensive front seven is better, the Bronco offense should have consistency problems especially because …

What To Watch Out For: This might come down to which team’s new batch of receivers can make the biggest impact. The Boise State receiving corps might be the biggest question mark of any unit on any top ten team. Titus Young finished his Boise State career with 204 catches for 3,063 yards and 25 touchdowns, along with eight touchdown runs, and Austin Pettis ended his great career with 229 catches for 2,838 yards and 39 touchdowns. Geraldo Boldweijn – the artist formerly known as Geraldo Hiwat – and Tyler Shoemaker are promising, and having a Heisman-caliber quarterback getting them the ball makes things easier, but this isn’t a Georgia secondary that a team can tune-up against. Young and Pettis combined for 141 of the team’s 299 catches last season, while Shoemaker and Boldweijn combined for 43. Can the receivers come through in the clutch? They might have to. Georgia doesn’t have secondary problems, but Boise State does, replacing three key starters. The new Dawg starting receivers have to take advantage of the matchups with all eyes on Tavarres King, Marlon Brown, Malcolm Mitchell, and Rantavious Wooten to try to replace A.J. Green and Kris Durham, who combined to make 89 of the team’s 218 catches. Like Boise State’s situation, the hope will be for the stellar quarterback, Aaron Murray, to make everyone better.

BOTTOM LINE DEPARTMENT: Don’t buy into any sort of abstract idea that Georgia is going to win because it really, really wants to. Oregon went out of its way to declare that it was going to make a statement in the opener two years ago, and it got beaten up and battered in an embarrassing loss. Virginia Tech was going to kick off its big year with a win last year, and didn’t get the job done. The Dawgs will come out smoking, but Kellen Moore will be Kellen Moore as he calmly and coolly spreads the ball around and makes key throw after key throw to keep the Georgia defense on its heels. The Bronco defense will shut down the running game and will get into the backfield just enough to bother Murray into a mediocre game … and it won’t be enough. The Dawgs will get several field goals from Blair Walsh, a few big kick returns, and one great drive to get ahead, and then they’ll hang on for dear life as this year’s Bronco last-gasp first game comeback falls just short with a missed field goal at the end. Don't expect anything pretty. I'll TAKE GEORGIA TO BEAT THE SPREAD!

RICK'S "HOT-SPOT" PLAYS

NAVY (-7.0) OVER DELAWARE
TROY OVER CLEMSON (-17.0)
SOUTH CAROLINA (-19) OVER EAST CAROLINA
TEXAS (-24) OVER RICE

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Alatex
15* top play of day
georgia over total

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OC Dooley

Brigham Young -2.5

We are seeing major change this season across the college football landscape and Brigham Young just happens to be one of the programs in transition. In an effort to gain more national attention Brigham Young has left the Mountain West Conference to become an INDEPENDENT school similar to Notre Dame. Immediately after becoming an independent program the Cougars signed a contract that allows ESPN to telecast selected regular season contests like the one that kicks off late this afternoon. Due to their new independent status the Cougars are faced with a very difficult September schedule that will eventually see them host a pair of established programs in Utah and Central Florida. But before hitting home base Brigham Young opens 2011 on the road against an opponent from the most dominant college conference (SEC) today and next week versus powerhouse Texas who is so strong they just developed in conjunction with ESPN their own 24-hour Longhorn Network. Considering that Brigham Young opened last year with a dismal 2-5 mark, it is a bit shocking that the oddsmakers have cast them as a road favorite this afternoon so the visitors obviously have some promise. The Cougars climbed from a #101 national defensive ranking to #24 down the stretch in a 6-2 finish that saw head coach Bronco Mendenhall take over the play calling duties. According to the coaching staff that Brigham Young defense following spring drills appeared to be the best that the school has seen in more than a decade as they are very active and athletic. Mississippi quickly fell from national grace a year ago and they begin a brand new campaign with quarterback problems as projected starter Randall Mackey was recently arrested following a bar fight. That leaves sophomore transfer Barry Brunetti to make his first-ever college level start this afternoon for an Ole Miss squad that already had to endure a major hit to the defense back in the spring when emotional TEAM LEADER (linebacker D.T. Shackelford) tore up his knee. The Rebels finished last year way down at #12 defensively in the SEC Conference even when Shackelford was healthy. Visiting Brigham Young has an edge in the trenches today as 4 different offensive linemen have returned from 2010 including star tackle Matt Reynolds who passed up early NFL eligibility to return for his senior season. Most reading this analysis will remember two years ago when Brigham Young traveled to the home of the NFL Cowboys in game-one and ended up stunning an Oklahoma contingent that at the time was led by Sam Bradford. According to the oddsmakers it would not come as a shock if BYU won their road opener once again late this afternoon

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sports unlimited 9/3

ball st
lsu
fresno st

Ratings
7* BALL STATE
5* LSU TIGERS
4* FRESNO STATE

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Added Comps:
Winner Line-Stanford
Chris Leon-Louisiana Tech

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The Winning Prescription (Marcus Langdon) CFB

Middle Tenn St +16.5
Houston -2.5
Arkansas St +20
BYU -2.5
Northern Illinois -11
Indiana -6
Boise St -3
Colorado/Hawaii Over 55.5

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Merrell 9/3

By hrc staff
Categories: VIP Access

Rotation: 168
Pick: Stanford
Line: -29

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DOUBLE DRAGON NCAA - Week 1

TOP
OKLAHOMA -25 vs tulsa
SMU +16 at texas a&m (Sunday)

REGULAR
WISKY -35 vs unlv (Thursday) (L)
BAYLOR +6 vs tcu (Friday) (W)
UTAH STATE +22 at auburn (W)
UCLA +3 at houston
STANFORD -29 vs san jose state

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Ultra Sports

northwestern
hawaii
western michigan
fresno st
georgia

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OCAL Sports

(3*) Notre Dame -10 -120: The Irish are loaded at every position. They could be National Championship sleepers similar to Brian Kelly's Cincinatti team of 2009. South Florida has a pretty good team but will have problems stopping Michael Floyd and the experienced potent offense of Notre Dame.

(3*) Houston -2.5: I think Houston is going to have a really good season, 6th yr qb Chase Keenum will lead one of the most explosive offenses in the country. Look for them to avenge a 13-31 loss last season against a UCLA team that should be improved this year, but out gunned this Saturday.

(4*) Ohio -6.5: The best team in the MAC, Ohio should be able to take care of business on the road against a poorest New Mexico State team

(4*) Army @ No. Ill Over 54.5: No. Ill is returning a highly potent offense, but only a couple returning starts on D. Army is improved and a solid offensive team. Expect this game to go over pretty easily.

(3*) Georgia +3: Boise has a really good experienced team and probably the best quarterback in the country, but this is a tough match up for them going up against a underrated Georgia Bulldogs team thats going to be ready to physically beat up boise. Like the Dogs outright in this one

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The Winning Prescription (Marcus Langdon) CFB

Middle Tenn St +16.5
Houston -2.5
Arkansas St +20
BYU -2.5
Northern Illinois -11
Indiana -6
Boise St -3
Colorado/Hawaii Over 55.5

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SHARP MOVE

UNDER 64 - UL Lafayette / Oklahoma State