Friday, November 10, 20006
Here are news and notes from OffshoreInsiders.com
private clipboard. They are compiled from hometown newspapers
and the team’s own press releases.
CFB
Western Michigan-Central Michigan
Michigan
Two years ago,
Times have changed. Much more than usual will be at stake when the rivals meet
Friday night at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, including first place in the Mid-American
Conference West Division and a spot in the Nov. 30 MAC Championship Game at
Ford Field in Detroit. Central has won all five of its conference games this
season and is 6-3 overall, making the Chippewas bowl-eligible for the second
consecutive year. The Broncos (7-2, 5-1) also are bowl-eligible for the second
straight season. Ryan Cubit has thrown for 1,449 yards and 11 touchdowns, but
he may not be Central’s biggest worry — that would be Western linebacker Ameer Ismail, who leads the nation
in sacks with 15, one shy of the MAC single-season record. While Western has
the league’s top defense, Central has the conference’s top scoring offense,
averaging 28.7 points and 385 yards per game.
Central’s freshman quarterback, Dan LeFevour,
has thrown a MAC-leading 17 touchdowns. Joe Duffy’s sports betting selections
are at www.GodsTips.com
UTEP-UAB
El Paso
The University of Alabama-Birmingham may be 3-6 overall
and 2-3 in Conference
And it may be a little down. But if there are any doubts about whether the
Blazers will be ready to play UTEP on Saturday in a
nationally-televised game from Legion Field, head coach Watson Brown erased
them this week. “We are late in the year and both UAB
and UTEP still have something to play for,” said
Brown, who has been at UAB for 12 seasons. “Our backs
are against the wall, and I have told the team that we are in a playoff system
right now. If we win, we still have a chance. If we lose, we are going to be
playing the rest of the games for pride.” Throw in the fact that the Blazers
are participating in their final home game of the season against the Miners,
and have a reputation for being an athletic, hard-hitting club, and UTEP (4-5, 2-3 in league play) has quite the challenge if
it hopes to win out the remainder of the season and make an appearance in its
third straight bowl game. Further, UAB has held a
time of possession advantage in 7 of their 9 games this season—something that
proved the difference last week in the Miners’ loss to Rice. Primarily a rushing team in the post-Hackney era, quarterbacks
Chris Williams and Sam Hunt have been efficient. Williams is 91 of 162
on the season for 1,069 yards (118.8 per game), 8 touchdowns and 7
interceptions. Hunt, who is expected to return from an injury this week and
split time with Williams, is 35 of 55 for 414 yards (82.8 yards a game), 2
touchdowns and one pick. Further, UAB is 66th
in the nation in total defense, as opponents have averaged 336.9 yards a game.
It is 78th in the nation in rushing defense, limiting opponents to
149.2 yards a game—which may not spell good things for the Miners’ struggling
running game. MasterLockLine.com
has the top plays from the top sports service in their highest ranked
sports.
CBB
San Jose State-Cal Santa Barbara
Press Notes
UC Santa Barbara posted a 2-0
record in the exhibition season. The Gauchos recorded wins over UC San Diego (62-51) and
with an overall record of 15-14 and a Big West mark of 6-8. The Gauchos
finished fifth-place in the league. UCSB won eight of
its final 11 games in 2005-06 to finish over the .500 mark for the fourth time
in five seasons. Friday’s home game against
the Thanksgiving holiday. Following the game against the Spartans, UCSB will hit the road for contests at
(Nov. 21). When the Gauchos return home they will have no small task as they
host
the defending Mountain West Conference champion, on Saturday, Nov. 25. By the
time November comes to and end, UCSB will have played
six regular season games, the most ever for the month. UCSB
enters the 2006-07 season with a vastly different
roster than it finished the 2005-06 season. Gone are eight of the 13 players
from last season’s team. In their place are two redshirt freshmen, a transfer
from a four-year school, two junior college transfers and four true freshmen.
In fact, due to injuries, the Gauchos had only three returnees
play in the two exhibition games. Of the 400 minutes logged by UCSB players in the games against UC
San Diego and
newcomers. UCSB went 9-4 in home games during the
2005-06 season. The Gauchos were a perfect 6-0 in
non-conference home games last season. Since Bob Williams became head coach in
1998-99,
73-30 in home games overall and 29-11 in non-conference home games. Since the
2000-01 season, UCSB has
gone 21-5 in non-conference games at the Thunderdome.
The Gauchos went 8-4 in home games in 2004-05, but in each of the three years
before that, they finished 10-2 in home games. Stevie Vincent’s BetOnSports360.com is pioneer in forensic
handicapping and part of OffshoreInsiders.com
Eastern Washington-Gonzaga
Seattle
The Zags, who open Friday night
against
Batista, who combined were worth 47.5 points and 14.9 rebounds per game. But
after four Sweet 16 appearances in eight seasons, the bar has been set. Nobody
really believes Gonzaga is ever rebuilding. Truth is,
they’re undergoing the next thing to it. Take the loss of Morrison and Batista
and a non-league schedule that can only be termed frightful, and the Zags appear to be in for a season in which some lumps are
coming. Gonzaga returns its Nos. 3-8 scorers — Derek Raivio,
Sean Mallon, Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes,
Josh Heytvelt, David Pendergraft
and Pargo.Throw in three promising additions —
hustling 6-foot-9 JC product Abdullahi
Kuso and swingmen Matt Bouldin
and Micah Downs (ineligible until well into December) — and the Zags will bother a lot of people, if not beat them. Approved
sportsbooks are at www.linetrackers.com
Samford-Florida
Press Notes
Last season, the Bulldogs played at No. 2-ranked
in what was the program’s highest-ranked opponent. Samford (0-0) heads into the 2006-07 campaign as the preseason favorite
to win the Ohio Valley Conference. The Bulldogs return four starters from last
season’s squad that finished with a 20-11 record and advanced to the
championship game of the OVC Tournament. It was the
first time in school history that Samford was picked
to win the OVC.
last 11 games of the year en route to the national championship title. The
Gators head into this season as the first defending national champion since
in 1998 to bring back all five of its starters from the previous year.
concluded 2005-06 Southeastern Conference play with a 10-6 record. Earlier this
week, Samford played host to
in its lone exhibition contest of the preseason and cruised to a 76-45 victory.
JoeDuffy.net
Denver-Colorado
Press Notes
DU went 1-1 in exhibition play,
defeating Colorado Christian 72-59 and falling to CSU-Pueblo, 84-46. DU returns six letterwinners and
three starters from last season’s team that finished 16-15 overall, 7-8 in the
Sun Belt Conference. Gone is one of the best players to ever don a Pioneer
uniform and its 2005-06 leading scorer and rebounder
in Yemi Nicholson. The Pioneers have five newcomers,
including two freshmen and three junior college transfers. DU
was picked to finish fourth in the West Division in a vote of the conference’s
13 head coaches at the annual Sun Belt Conference Media Days. The Pioneers will
be without the services of a pair of players expected to contribute this
season. Junior guard Myke Lattimore
(
and junior center Adam Tanner (
will miss at least the first four contests but are expected to be cleared to
practice on Nov. 21. MasterLockLine.com
has the top plays from the top sports service in their highest ranked
sports.