01/31/2012 -
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn beat the deadline Tuesday to
make its third January addition, as Bradley Orr was acquired from QPR on a 2
1/2-year deal.
Blackburn previously signed Anthony Modeste and Marcus Olsson, and Orr follows
them to the Rovers. Orr started his career with Newcastle, and he later played
over 250 times for Bristol City.
He joined QPR in 2010, but played just eight games for the club this season.
<< Padres avoid arbitration with Moseley
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres have agreed to a one-
year contract with pitcher Dustin Moseley, avoiding arbitration in the process.
Moseley, 30, went 3-10 last season with a 3.30 earned run average and 64
s
<< Astros sign Hernandez to minor league deal
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros signed veteran pitcher Livan
Hernandez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training
Tuesday.
The 36-year-old spent the last season with the Washington Nationals, recor
<< Arsenal completes deal for Eisfeld
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal completed the signing of midfielder
Thomas Eisfeld from German side Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
Eisfeld, 19, had six goals and six assists for Dortmund's Under-19 squad this
season. He has been i
<< Benfica signs forward Djalo
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Benfica signed forward Yannick Djalo on a
4 1/2-year deal Tuesday.
Djalo, 25, had been out of contract since the summer, but joins the Portuguese
leaders for the second half of the season. He played for S
<< FC Porto acquires Lucho, Janko
Porto, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Porto acquired Lucho Gonzalez and Marc
Janko on Tuesday, as the Portuguese giants added a pair of reinforcements just
days after its first loss of the season.
Lucho, 31, previously spent four seasons a
West Brom adds Andrews from Blackburn >>
West Bromwich, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Bromwich acquired midfielder
Keith Andrews from Blackburn on Tuesday on a free transfer and signed him to
a deal through the end of the current season.
Andrews, 31, made 76 appearances an
Sunderland snaps up Kyrgiakos from Wolfsburg >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland signed defender Sotirios
Kyrgiakos from Wolfsburg on Tuesday on loan for the rest of the season.
Kyrgiakos, 32, previously played with Liverpool and made 30 appearances in the
Premier Lea
Crosby has soft tissue damage in neck >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
has a soft tissue injury in his neck, but an independent specialist found no
evidence of a past or present neck fracture, the team said Tuesday.
The news came
Pienaar returns to Everton on loan >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Pienaar returned to Everton on loan
Tuesday, one year after he left the Toffees to sign a four-year contract with
Tottenham.
Pienaar, 29, made more than 100 appearances for Everton from 2008-11. H
Blackhawks activate Toews and Sharp >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks activated forwards
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp from injured reserve on Tuesday.
Toews suffered a wrist injury in a 5-2 loss at Nashville on January 21 and was
placed on IR on
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.
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.
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