No spending spree yet in free agency

Football Betting Lines

03/05/2010 -

NEW YORK (AP) -With the salary cap gone the way of the drop kick, NFL teams began the free agency period Friday with lots of moves.

The only thing missing was the megadeal, although the Chicago Bears appeared to be closing in on one with defensive end Julius Peppers.

Otherwise, it was business as usual on a busy day generally lacking in drama, but involving several key players.

Linebacker Gary Brackett, the leader of the Indianapolis defense, re-signed with the Colts. All-Pro fullback Leonard Weaver re-signed with Philadelphia for three years.

Cornerback Antonio Cromartie, a former All-Pro who struggled in coverage last season, was traded to the New York Jets by San Diego.

Detroit, coming off two wins in the last two seasons, upgraded its defense by trading with Cleveland for tackle Corey Williams and agreeing to a four-year deal with end Kyle Vanden Bosch.

Carolina waived longtime starting quarterback Jake Delhomme - in teary fashion.

A year after the Panthers gave Delhomme a lucrative contract extension, the only quarterback to lead them to the Super Bowl was released to make way for new starter Matt Moore. A career-high 18 interceptions in 2009 and 23 in his final 12 games did in Delhomme.

``Six of my seven years playing here have been outstanding. It's been a great run,'' Delhomme said in between sniffles. ``I'm leaving with no animosity whatsoever.''

Nor do the Panthers have any bitterness.

``It's really hard to describe how hard this was,'' a red-faced general manager Marty Hurney said. ``It's hard not to get emotional when you talk about it because he epitomizes everything we want. He's been an excellent player for us.''

Coach John Fox twice welled up with tears in explaining the decision, which came despite the fact Carolina still owes Delhomme more than $12.5 million in guaranteed money.

``He's done some great things for this team. Two (NFC) championship games, a Super Bowl, all those comeback victories,'' Fox said. ``I'm not sure I've had any more respect for an NFL football player than Jake Delhomme.''

Brackett wasn't going anywhere, nor did he want to. The defensive captain signed a five-year deal hours after he officially became an unrestricted free agent. Brackett's new deal is likely to keep the 29-year-old in a Colts uniform the rest of his career.

``Obviously, this is a great place to play and when you get a chance to stay a Colt for life, you usually jump at it,'' Brackett said. ``That's why I wanted to do everything within my power to make this my home.''

Weaver certainly found a home in Philadelphia after playing four years for Seattle. Weaver had a career-high 323 yards rushing, 140 yards receiving and four touchdowns in his first season with the Eagles.

Vanden Bosch was made to feel right at home by Lions coach Jim Schwartz, who previously worked with the defensive end in Tennessee as the Titans' coordinator. Schwartz waited outside Vanden Bosch's Nashville home when free agency began at midnight, and in a few hours they had struck a deal.

A nine-year veteran, Vanden Bosch spent the past five seasons with the Titans, getting all of his 43 1/2 career sacks.

Cromartie should become a starter opposite All-Pro Darelle Revis in the Jets' secondary. New York gave up a conditional draft pick for a former All-Pro who has had off-field issues.

But Jets coach Rex Ryan is known for getting production from such players.

Also Friday:

-Atlanta said it will keep backup quarterback Chris Redman with a contract extension. Redman joined the Falcons in 2007 and went 0-2 as a starter last year filling in for 2008 Offensive Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan. Redman is 4-8 in his career.

-Denver agreed to terms with two veterans, offensive lineman Russ Hochstein and wide receiver Brandon Lloyd. Hochstein played in 15 games, starting 10, in his first season with the Broncos after being acquired from New England in a trade last August.

Lloyd played in two games for Denver in 2009, including a start in the regular season finale.

-Washington, a team expected to make a big splash in the uncapped free agency waters, did little. The Redskins re-signed defensive lineman Phillip Daniels, versatile backup DL Lorenzo Alexander, who could be moved to linebacker, and offensive lineman Mike Williams.

-Carolina, in addition to releasing Delhomme, also released defensive tackles Damione Lewis and Maake Kemoeatu and linebackers Na'il Diggs and Landon Johnson in the start of a youth movement.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wwwherald Football Betting News

<< Three-Year-Olds Regain Spotlight on Saturday
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With last week's cancellation of the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, there will be two graded three-year-old prep races this Saturday as that event joins the Gotham Stakes over in New York. Eight of the 10 ear

<< Celtic surprised over Brown appeal
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic have spoken of their 'amazement' after they failed with an appeal to have Scott Brown's Old Firm red card rescinded. The 24-year-old midfielder was dismissed after clashing with Gers strike

<< Czechs lead host Belgians 2-0 in Davis Cup action
Bree, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek overpowered a pair of Belgians on Friday, as the Czech Republic ran out to a 2-0 lead in a Davis Cup best-of-five first-round affair in Bree. Berdych blitzed Olivier Rochus

<< France takes 2-0 Davis Cup lead against Germany
Toulon, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - France got singles wins from Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday, as the host nation grabbed a commanding 2-0 lead against visiting Germany in a first-round Davis Cup World Group matchup. Monfi

<< Bosingwa to miss remainder of season
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea full-back Jose Bosingwa will miss the climax to the domestic season and the World Cup through injury. Bosingwa has been told he requires further surgery on a knee injury which has already kept hi

Eagles give Weaver three-year pact >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to terms with fullback Leonard Weaver on a three-year contract. Terms were not disclosed by the club, but the Philadelphia Daily News reported it to be worth $11

Grant fined for improper conduct >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth manager Avram Grant has been fined $1,500 and warned about his future conduct after angrily confronting referee Kevin Friend during a Premier League game last month. Grant admitted a Fo

Spain, Switzerland tied at 1-1 in Davis Cup >>
Logrono, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time reigning champion Spain and visiting Switzerland are tied at 1-1 following Friday's opening singles in a first-round Davis Cup battle in Logrono. Stanislas Wawrinka gave the Swiss a

Lions acquire Corey Williams from Cleveland >>
Allen Park, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Lions have acquired defensive lineman Corey Williams in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. In addition to Williams, the Lions also received a seventh-round pick in the 2010 draft and sent th

Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Recaps >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - RaShawn Polk posted 20 points with four rebounds as Towson cruised past UNC-Wilmington, 91-74, in first-round action of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Troy Franklin scored 18 points

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.