05/11/2008 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Lakers forward Ronny Turiaf was ejected from Sunday's Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals series with the Utah Jazz for a flagrant foul on Jazz guard Ronnie Price.
Early in the second quarter Price drove towards the basket from the side, and Turiaf moved over to try to block his shot. As Price jumped up towards the net, Turiaf met him in midair, leading with both his arms. The Lakers' forward followed through, and Price slammed against the court, opening up a gash over his right eye that required four stitches.
Price and Turiaf argued for a bit after the play, but were quickly separated. The referees assessed Turiaf with a flagrant 2 foul, drawing an automatic ejection.
The Lakers lead the best-of-seven series, two games to one.
<< Latvia, Switzerland victorious at Worlds
Halifax, Nova Scotia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Herberts Vasiljevs tallied the go-
ahead goal late in the first period, as Latvia cruised to a 4-1 win over
Norway at the 2008 World Hockey Championships.
Lauris Darzins registered a goal a
<< Padres acquire P Corey from BoSox
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres acquired pitcher
Bryan Corey from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday in exchange for a player to be
named later or cash considerations.
Corey, who was outrighted to Triple-A Pawtuc
<< Toronto, Cleveland to play doubleheader Monday after rainout
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunday's game between the Toronto Blue Jays
and the Cleveland Indians has been postponed due to rain.
The game will be made up as a traditional doubleheader on Monday, as the clubs
will play twice to fini
<< Braves/Bucs game rained out
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunday's game between the Atlanta Braves
and Pittsburgh Pirates was postponed due to rain.
The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Monday, with the first
pitch scheduled for 12:35 p.m. (e
Vintage Sorenstam romps in Williamsburg >>
Williamsburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a year filled with injury, Annika
Sorenstam proved she is back to her old form on Sunday.
Sorenstam fired a five-under 66 to cruise to a seven-shot win at the Michelob
Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Sh
Rockies call up prospect Reynolds, option struggling Redman >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies sent scuffling pitcher
Mark Redman to the minor leagues on Sunday, while calling up top prospect Greg
Reynolds to start their game against the San Diego Padres.
Reynolds went 1-2 with
Beltran, Mets blast Reds >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Beltran hit a two-run home run and
an RBI double, and the New York Mets downed the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3, in the
rubber match at Shea Stadium.
Oliver Perez (3-3) went six innings, holding the Re
KC's Bannister shuts down O's >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Bannister was virtually
untouchable through eight innings as the Kansas City Royals avoided a four-
game sweep with a 4-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Bannister (4-4) took th
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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