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07/22/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - His season over late last fall, University of Maine football coach Jack Cosgrove enjoyed an opportunity to sit down and watch some NFL action on a Sunday afternoon.
Oh, was it ever "must-see TV".
First up, he caught Jovan Belcher, one of his former linebackers at Maine, make seven tackles for the Kansas City Chiefs against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After that game, the New York Jets and the New England Patriots aired on Cosgrove's TV, and he watched for Jets defensive end Mike DeVito and tight end Matt Mulligan, two of his former players, and Pats free safety Brandon McGowan, another of his former standouts.
"It was just like it was yesterday," Cosgrove said of the feeling of watching his former charges.
Schools like Florida, Miami-Florida, Oklahoma and Southern California are well- known for being pipelines to the NFL. Not so well-known is how Maine's smaller-than-12,000-student campus, tucked away in the northeast corner of the United States in Orono - nearly 250 miles north of Boston - holds its own in the Football Championship Subdivision.
No FCS program had more than Maine's seven NFL players last season, and the Black Bears hope to have eight or nine players on rosters this fall. An ESPN tracker of school breakdowns indicates Montana's banner 2010 crop of hopefuls gives it 10 players heading into training camps. Weber State has nine, while Massachusetts and Northern Iowa each has eight.
Considering the weather is often harsh in Maine during the prime recruiting period in December and January, luring NFL talent to Orono isn't easy. Often what players find at the CAA Football school helps to make them better players.
"It's a by-product of hard work and the things that the guys have accomplished here," said Cosgrove, who is 93-101 in 17 seasons at Maine. "Certainly, we're not as high-profile an institution and a football program as a lot of the others, in our league even. There's an environment here that I think is pretty conducive to success and growth. And we've had some young men who've had some ability and been overlooked in the recruiting process that have ended up here. This place has worked for them, the system's worked for them. The results have led them to be able to play this game after college.
"This place is a little bit isolated, a little bit off the beaten path. They say not too many people pass by Maine; you go to Maine, you turn around and go back. So it's worked for us. The guys that have come here have liked the environment."
Maine's NFL contingent includes San Diego Chargers inside linebacker Stephen Cooper, who is entering his eighth season and had 102 tackles and three forced fumbles last season. Maine takes credit for another linebacker, Lofa Tatupu, who spent his freshman year with the Black Bears before transferring to Southern Cal. He averaged 107 tackles in his first four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before an injury limited him to only five games last season.
Jacksonville Jaguars special teams captain Montell Owens, who is entering his fifth season, was a Pro Bowl alternate last season. McGowan, in his sixth season, had 79 tackles and three forced fumbles with the Patriots a year ago, while Belcher was in on 48 stops as a rookie with the Chiefs. DeVito, now in his fourth season, had 28 tackles for the Jets, while Mulligan was mostly a practice squad player in his rookie campaign, although he caught one pass.
Offensive tackle Tyler Eastman went undrafted in April, but is in camp with the Chiefs. Rookie wide receiver Landis Williams was cut by the Denver Broncos, but is getting looks elsewhere.
"In Tyler's situation, it's really going to be interesting to watch," Cosgrove said. "He's going to a place where he has a [Maine] teammate in Jovan Belcher who's there. I'm sure he's already learned a lot about expectations and how to come in and be ready to go.
"Landis is going to have to make the plays that we saw him make at this level, be more competitive and show his skill level."
AROUND THE FCS
- You hear too much about college athletes being on the wrong side of the law. Southern Illinois offensive tackle David Pickard and tight end C.J. Robertson were the antithesis of that notion when they stopped a robbery earlier this summer.
The two were taking the Green Line home from a Chicago Cubs game when they noticed three suspicious people board the train, spread out and gesture to each other. At a stop, one of the youths swiped an older gentleman's iPhone and tried to exit the train. Pickard instinctively pancaked him to the floor, and then he and Robertson restrained him until police arrived at the next stop.
The accomplices got away, but riders cheered for the SIU pair. The thankful man whose iPhone had been taken was so grateful that he paid for the players' cab fare back to their stop.
- Grambling State is still awaiting the NCAA's decision on whether two-year quarterback Greg Dillon will be granted a sixth year of eligibility, a decision that will play a key role in the complexion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference race. Dillon's walk-on status at a university prior to Grambling gives the Tigers hope they he will be able to play again this fall.
"Not knowing is the tough part," head coach Rod Broadway said. "They need to let us know one way or the other, and we can move on. Now we'd love to have Greg back because he's been a tremendous player for us. And a tremendous leader."
- Let's get physical. Gardner-Webb has hired a pair of line coaches, Kris King to coach the offensive linemen and Bobby Godinez to coach the defensive linemen. King was an offensive lineman for the Runnin' Bulldogs and spent the 2007 and '08 seasons as a graduate assistant at Gardner-Webb before spending last season as a video assistant at UAB. Godinez, a former safety at San Jose State, arrived from a coaching stint at Mt. San Antonio College
- Old Dominion lost two starting linebackers to academic ineligibility, Mychael McJunkins and A.T. Aoelua. McJunkins led the Monarchs with 85 tackles last season, while Aoelua was third with 50. The Monarchs are entering their second season of play as an independent and will play in CAA Football in 2011.
<< San Francisco 49ers 2010 Training Camp Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
REPORT DATES: July 30th (Rookies), July 31st (Veterans)
SITE: Marie B. DeBartolo Sports Center, Santa Clara, CA
CAMP OBJECTIVES: The 49ers' 2010 fortunes lie primarily with the continued
development of quarterback Ale
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REPORT DATE: July 30th
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Raheem Mo
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SITE: Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
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<< Defending champ Petkovic ousted in Austria
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Andrea Petkovic of
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tournament.
France's Alize Cornet took out the top seed, 6-2, 7-5, on Thursday and
Pressel shares lead at Evian Masters >>
Evian-les-Bains, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morgan Pressel shot a six-under 66
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British Open champ Oosthuizen in the lead again >>
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Jaguars sign third-round pick Smith >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed
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Smith was selected in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft after a standout
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Reds activate C Hernandez, sign Isringhausen >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds activated catcher Ramon
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Hernandez landed on the DL earlier this month with inflammation in his left
knee, the same knee Hernandez had
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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