Mid-American Conference Tournament Recaps

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03/07/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Boudreau scored 18 points off the bench to lead the fifth-seeded Buffalo Bulls to a 72-54 victory over the 12th-seeded Toledo Rockets in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Calvin Betts netted 13 points for Buffalo (18-11), which moves on to battle fourth-seeded Miami-Ohio in the quarterfinals. The Bulls also got 12 points from Sean Smiley.

Justin Anyijong tallied 14 points in defeat for Toledo (4-28), which closed out its season with losses in 21 of the last 22 outings. The Rockets also received 13 points and nine rebounds from Jake Barnett, as well as 12 points from Malcolm Griffin.

Buffalo shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the first half and led 35-22 at intermission.

The Bulls registered more field goals in the second half (15) than the first stanza (14), enabling them to cruise to victory.

Buffalo earned a 39-26 rebounding advantage in the clash and finished with 19 assists against only eight turnovers.

Final Score: Western Michigan 75, Bowling Green 73

Kalamazoo, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Kool racked up 20 points, six rebounds and five assists to lift the seventh-seeded Western Michigan Broncos over the 10th-seeded Bowling Green Falcons by a 75-73 final in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Flenard Whitfield added 19 points off the bench for Western Michigan (17-14), which will battle second-seeded Central Michigan in Thursday's quarterfinal round. The Broncos also got 12 points from Martelle McLemore.

Scott Thomas scored 23 points in defeat for Bowling Green (14-16). Marc Larson posted 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Falcons, who received 11 points and seven assists from Joe Jakubowski.

Bowling Green led 39-38 at halftime after shooting a stellar 17-of-25 from the floor over the opening 20 minutes.

Over the final 20 minutes, the Falcons shot 50 percent from the floor, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Still, Western Michigan was able to prevail because it earned a 10-4 edge in points from the foul line in the second half.

The Broncos finished the tilt with 17 assists against only six turnovers, impressive by any standards.

Final Score: Eastern Michigan 65, Northern Illinois 59

Ypsilanti, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Bowdry posted 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the sixth-seeded Eastern Michigan Eagles to a 65-59 victory over the 11th-seeded Northern Illinois Huskies in the first round of the Mid- American Conference Tournament.

Justin Dobbins tallied 13 points for Eastern Michigan (17-14), which will attempt to upset the third-seeded Akron Zips in the quarterfinal round. Carlos Medlock added 11 points for the Eagles, who got 10 points from Jay Higgins.

Xavier Silas poured in 20 points in the narrow defeat for Northern Illinois (10-20), which received 15 points and 11 rebounds from Sean Kowal.

Northern Illinois led by a 22-8 margin early on, but the Huskies slowed down an owned less impressive 29-23 lead at halftime

Over the final 20 minutes, the Eagles connected on 54.2 percent of their field goal attempts and held the Huskies to 30.8 percent shooting.

Northern Illinois finished the game with 18 turnovers, overshadowing a 39-27 rebounding advantage.

Final Score: Ohio University 85, Ball State 77 (OT)

Muncie, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armon Bassett poured in 25 points to lead the ninth-seeded Ohio University Bobcats to a hard-fought 85-77 overtime victory over the eighth-seeded Ball State Cardinals in the first round of the Mid- American Conference Tournament.

DeVaughn Washington and Tommy Freeman both scored 15 points for Ohio (18-14), which moves on to the quarterfinal round to do battle with the top-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes. D.J. Cooper contributed 12 points. nine rebounds and eight assists for the Bobcats.

Randy Davis scored 21 points in the heart-breaking loss for Ball State (15-15). Jauwan Scaife tallied 17 points, Terrence Watson added 14 points and Jarrod Jones pitched in 12 points.

Neither team was able to build a double-digit lead in the first half, and Ball State owned a narrow 36-33 edge at intermission.

Bassett hit a layup for Ohio with 54 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 69-69. Bassett was fouled on the play and could have given the Bobcats the lead with a free throw, but his attempt missed its mark. Neither team was able to score again down the stretch, and an extra session was needed to decide the outcome.

Ball State scored the first two points of overtime, but Ohio closed the game on a 16-6 run.

A 27-11 advantage in points from the foul line was key to the victory for the Bobcats.

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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