Dallas Sports Roundup – December 10

Dallas Sports Roundup – December 10

Dallas sports betting fans have a tough decision to make this weekend with their beloved Cowboys. Can they beat the red-hot Chargers? Maybe we’ll get some clarity if we check in with our other favorite Dallas sports teams in the meantime.

Dallas Mavericks (15-7, 1^st Southwest)

The Mavs still have first place in the Southwest and, while they’re not dominating, they’re humming along competitively. After an ugly end to last week in which they lost two straight games, they bounced back with an important win over Phoenix at home on Tuesday night. Offseason acquisitions continue to pay dividends. While Josh Howard was out, Shawn Marion showed real toughness, playing through an ankle injury to grind out minutes and points.

Josh Howard returned from ankle rehab for the Suns game and was instrumental to Dallas’ one-point victory, chipping in 20 points off the bench. As he eases his way back into the lineup, the Mavs can scale back Marion’s minutes and get him healthy again. Any die-hard sportsbook bettor will tell you that the next few weeks will tell us a lot about the Mavs, as they face Miami, Cleveland, Portland and Denver before the month is up.

Dallas Stars (13-8-9, 4^th Pacific)

It’s more of the same for the Dallas Stars of late. After two more overtime losses in their last two games they’re thanking the current standings format, as they’ve lost more in overtime than in regulation, earning many “overtime loss” points in the process. Sophomore James Neal’s hockey odds of avoiding the jinx are trending upward again. After a six-game pointless drought, he has two goals and two assists over his last four games. Meanwhile, Brad Richards continues to turn heads. He now has 35 points in just 26 games this season and is starting to earn consideration for a coveted spot on the Canadian Olympic team.

Texas Rangers (Offseason)

Finally, the Rangers’ offseason has truly begun. Texas was as busy as any team over Winter Meetings week. First, the Rangers shipped No. 1 starter Kevin Millwood and $3 million to the Baltimore Orioles for reliever Chris Ray and Baltimore’s rule-five draft pick. After bolstering their bullpen, the Rangers then signed starter Rich Harden to one-year deal worth $7.5 million in guaranteed money. It remains to be seen if Harden can stay healthy and avoid the long ball in Texas but there’s no denying his elite stuff and ridiculously high strikeout rate. The Rangers still aren’t done (Unlike the Bears’ NFL odds if they lose on Sunday). They’re reportedly close to sending catcher Max Ramirez to Boston for Mike Lowell. The veteran Lowell would provide better contact hitting and superior defense to the departing Hank Blalock.

BCS National Championship Betting Information

Water coolers and sports talk radio hosts can rejoice once again this year, as the BCS system has people bemoaning the lack of a true playoff system in college ball.

The Alabama Crimson Tide pulled off a tidy upset of the #1 Florida Gators last Saturday, moving into the Championship game. Listed anywhere from as 5.5-point underdogs up to +7, ‘Bama was getting only about 30% of all the betting action by kick-off, according to online sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com. Bettors took a hit when the Tide defense did a number on Gator QB Tim Tebow enroute to a 32-13 win.

Now Nick Saban and his team will prepare to play the Texas Longhorns, who were much less convincing in their BCS title berth showcase.

Coming into last week ranked No. 3 by the BCS, Texas were set for one of the national championship spots, facing the No. 22 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big 12 title game. Texas was in a “win and you’re in” scenario, kicking off as 14-point favorites.

It was hardly a convincing win, as Texas struggled throughout, but they did manage to eke out a 13-12 win to claim the conference championship. Texas bettors were never really in a spot to cover the two touchdowns all game and moneyline bettors were fortunate to get even the straight up win.

The near-loss to the ‘Huskers didn’t matter to the BCS selection committee though as the Longhorns were given a berth to the college football championship game in Pasadena to face the Crimson Tide.

Sunday night sportsbook opened Alabama as a 3.5-point fave. Money immediately flowed in on the Tide and by Monday morning the number moved to -5. It has since gone up to -5.5 as ‘Bama money continues to show up.

The total sites at 44.5, with about 65% of the action so far favoring a play on the “Under”. Bettors have clearly been impressed by this team’s defensive performance all year, but particularly in that matchup with the Gators in the SEC Championship game.

Let’s look at a few numbers for the big game.

Bowl Game Trends

– In the Crimson Tide’s last 10 games when favored by 6-points or less, they are 6-3-1 against the spread.

– In Texas’ last eight games when underdogs of 6-points or less, they are 6-2 straight up and ATS.

We’ll be breaking this game down and all the bowl games over the next few weeks, plus tracking all the betting action on the games.

The bowl lines are up and the betting has begun for what should be another exciting December and January of NCAA football action.

Big 12 Championship | Texas vs Nebraska

This year the Big 12 Championship will be played at Cowboys Stadium where the Texas Longhorns and the Nebraska Huskers will square off to see who is King in the Big 12. Texas is ranked #3 in the nation and is expected to move up to #2 after Florida and Alabama play for the SEC Championship. This will give the Longhorns a chance at the National Title, but first they must face one more hurdle the Huskers.

The Nebraska Huskers are ranked #22 in the BCS standings with a record of 9 wins and 3 losses. The Huskers offense ranks #92 in the nation averaging 334.75 yards per game this season. The Huskers staple has been their defense which ranks #11 this year, only allowing opposing teams 291.42 yards a game.

The Texas Longhorns are ranked #3 in the BCS standings with a undefeated 12 – 0 record. The Longhorns offense is ranked #11 in the nation averaging 451.58 yards per game. The defense of the Longhorns ranks much higher than I thought at #5 in the nation allowing only 263.17 yards per game.

Big 12 Championship | #3 Texas Longhorns vs #22 Nebraska Huskers | Gameday Information
Texas-Nebraska Day / Date: Saturday – December 5 2009
Texas-Nebraska Location: Cowboys Stadium – Arlington TX
Texas-Nebraska Kickoff Time: 7:00 PM Central Time
Texas-Nebraska TV Channel: ABC
Texas-Nebraska Point Spread: Texas -13.5
Texas-Nebraska Parking: Cowboys Stadium Parking Information
Texas-Nebraska Tickets: Big 12 Championship Tickets are still available on StubHub.com!

Source: Big 12 & NCAA

Big 12 TV Schedule Week 10

Five Conference games will take place this week, and (2) Texas will play Central Florida outside of the Big 12 conference. Central Florida will be the last game outside the Big 12 conference scheduled for 2009. Texas Tech has does not have a game on their schedule for week 10 and 5 of the Big 12 Conference games will be televised.

Central Florida at Texas (2)

Texas leads series 1 – 0 – 0
Texas – Central Florida Day / Date: Saturday – November 7 2009
Texas – Central Florida Time: 11:00 AM Central Time
Texas – Central Florida TV Channel: FSN
Texas – Central Florida Location: Darrel K. Royal – Memorial Stadium | Austin, TX
Texas – Central Florida Tickets:

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Kansas at Kansas State

Kansas leads series ( 65 – 36 – 5 )
Kansas – Kansas State Day / Date: Saturday – November 7 2009
Kansas – Kansas State Time: 11:30 AM Central Time
Kansas – Kansas State TV Channel: Versus
Kansas – Kansas State Location: Bill Snyder Family Stadium | Manhattan, KS
Kansas – Kansas State Tickets:

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Texas A&M at Colorado

Colorado leads series ( 5 – 3 – 0 )
Texas A&M – Colorado Day / Date: Saturday – November 7 2009
Texas A&M – Colorado Time: 12:30 PM Central Time
Texas A&M – Colorado TV Channel: FCS
Texas A&M – Colorado Location: Folsom Field | Boulder, CO
Texas A&M – Colorado Tickets:

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Oklahoma State (19) at Iowa State

Oklahoma State leads series ( 25 – 16 – 3 )
Oklahoma State – Iowa State Day / Date: Saturday – November 7 2009
Oklahoma State – Iowa State Time: 2:30PM Central Time
Oklahoma State – Iowa State TV Channel: ABC
Oklahoma State – Iowa State Location: Jack Trice Stadium | Ames, IA
Oklahoma State – Iowa State Tickets:

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Oklahoma (24) at Nebraska

Oklahoma leads series ( 44 – 37 – 3 )
Oklahoma – Nebraska Day / Date: Saturday – November 7 2009
Oklahoma – Nebraska Time: 7:00PM
Oklahoma – Nebraska TV Channel: ABC
Oklahoma – Nebraska Location: Memorial Stadium | Lincoln, NE
Oklahoma – Nebraska Tickets:

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Source: Big 12 Conference

THE RANGERS REPORT – September 22 2009

NFL Week 3 matchups look more tempting every week for Dallas Sports fans, as the book is pretty much closed on the Texas Rangers’ season. Even though a playoff berth is highly unlikely now – the Rangers are seven games back of Boston – 2009 was a success for Texas, as some good young arms finally emerged to complement the big bats. Lets’ catch up with our boys.

Current record: 82-67
AL West rank: 2
World Series odds: 200 to 1

THE LINEUP

It’s tough for Texas to stay in the playoff hunt when two of its key contributors are sitting out September. Josh Hamilton is on the verge of being shut down for the year with a pinched nerve in his back. After an MVP-caliber 2008, Hamilton looks like he’ll finish 2009 with a .270 average, 10 homers and 49 RBI in 326 at-bats. The numbers are disappointing but the Rangers hope he can carry his strong August, in which he hit .342, into next season.

Michael Young remains shelved and his career year is on hold. Overall, the Rangers can hang their hat on Nelson Cruz this season. The RBI total isn’t there but he’s shown legit big-league power with 32 homers so far this year.

THE ROTATION

In his win Monday night – just his second since July 20 – Kevin Millwood surpassed the 180-inning mark for the year, triggering a vesting option in his contract that will give him $12 million next season. Thanks to the emergence of Scott Feldman and Tommy Hunter and the promise flashed by Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz, the Rangers may wish they hadn’t structured Millwood’s deal that way.

THE BULLPEN

Like the Cowboys’ Week 3 NFL betting line now that Marion Barber is out, Neftali Feliz looks shaky of late. The flamethrowing rookie is finally allowing runs and may simply be tiring from his first Major-League work. Perhaps the Rangers will shut him down for the season.

Frank Francisco has a good shot to remain Texas’ closer next season. He’s saved 23 of 27 games, struck out 50 batters in 45.2 innings and held opponents to a .215 average. He’s a legit stopper.

OVERALL OUTLOOK

The Rangers are inching toward “nothing left to play for” territory and I’m betting management may shut down several of their young arms as they prepare for the winter. Chins up, Rangers – better times lie ahead.

Michael Young Injury Update

Michael young suffered a hamstring injury the other night, and he will miss a few weeks for sure. I will keep updating this post with injury notes as they come out.

The Texas Rangers are in the middle of a playoff race, battling the Angels for the first spot in the AL West, and the Red Sox for the wild card spot. Michael Young’s injury is a definite blow to the Texas Ranger’s chances to make the playoffs, he has brought steady offense to the lineup all season long. Michael Young’s stats for the 2009 season so far:

Batting Avg: .322
Home Runs: 22
Runs Batted: In 67
Runs: 76
Stolen Bases: 8

Injury Update September 4th, 2009:
On September 3rd Michael Young received blood platelet injections to help speed the recovery from his hamstring injury.
Expected Date of Return:
Mlb.com has him out indefinitely, but Evan Grant interviewed injury expert Will Carroll on his D-Magazine blog – Inside Corner, and this is what he had to say about Michael Young’s injury:

The best case has him back in two weeks, just in time for a big series with the Angels. The more realistic case has him out until about the end of the month. Some people caught that my ERD for Young was very optimistic yesterday, spotting him at the 12th.

So what should Texas Rangers expect from this? That the Rangers third baseman will be out until at least September 12th, 2009. In his absence it is likely that 1B Cris Davis will move over to 3B and 1B / DH Hank Blalock will play at first base.

Big 12 TV Schedule – Preview – Game Tickets

The College Football season kicks off this week, and all of the Big 12 teams will be in action. Iowa State will kick off the season on Thursday night against North Dakota State. The Opening week of the Big 12 Football season will actually have some interesting matchups. The rivalry game of the week will no doubt be between Colorado and Colorado State, which will take place in Boulder, CO. Two of this weeks games are top 25 matchups. Oklahoma State (9 – AP Poll) vs Georgia (13 – AP Poll) will face off in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Brigham Young University (20 – AP Poll) will square up with Oklahoma (3 – AP Poll) in Arlington, TX at the new home of the Dallas Cowboys, Cowboys Stadium. Texas and Oklahoma, the two juggernauts of the Big 12, are both returning their starting quarterbacks. Colt McCoy (Texas) and Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) were both Heisman candidates last year. The schedule of Big 12 Games for this week can be found below.

Thursday – September 3rd 2009

Iowa State vs North Dakota State
• Location: Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa
• Time: 7:00PM Central Time
• Tickets: Iowa State Tickets on StubHub.com!
  

Saturday – September 5th 2009

Texas (2) vs ULM
• Location: Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium – Austin, Texas
• Time: 6:00PM Central Time
• TV Channel: FSN PPV
• Tickets: Texas Longhorns Football Tickets Under $50 at StubHub!
  

Oklahoma (3) vs BYU (20)
• Location: Cowboys Stadium – Arlington, Texas
• Time: 6:00PM Central Time
• TV Channel ESPN
• Tickets: Oklahoma – BYU Tickets on StubHub.com
  

Oklahoma State (9) vs Georgia (13)
• Location: Boone Pickens Stadium – Stillwater, Oklahoma
• Time: 2:30PM Central Time
• TV Channel: ABC
• Tickets: Get Great Oklahoma State Tickets on StubHub.com!
  

Nebraska (24) vs Florida Atlantic
• Location: Memorial Stadium / Tom Osborne Field – Lincoln, Nebraska
• Time: 6:00PM Central Time
• TV Channel: FSN PPV
• Tickets: Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Tickets as low as $80
  

Baylor at Wake Forest
• Location: BB&T Field – Winston-Salem, NC
• Time: 2:30PM Central Time
• TV Channel: ABC
• Tickets: Get Great Tickets on StubHub.com!
  

Missouri vs Illinois
• Location: Edward Jones Dome – St. Louis Missouri
• Time: 2:40PM Central Time
• TV Channel: ESPN
• Tickets: Get Great Tickets on StubHub.com!
  

Texas Tech vs North Dakota
• Location: Jones AT&T Stadium – Lubbock, Texas
• Time: 6:00PM Central Time
• Tickets: Get Texas Tech Tickets on StubHub.com!
  

Kansas State vs Massachusetts
• Location: Bill Snyder Family Stadium – Manhattan, Kansas
• Time: 6:00PM Central Time
• Tickets: Get Great Tickets on StubHub.com!
  

Texas A&M vs New Mexico
• Location: Kyle Field – College Station, Texas
• Time: 6:00PM
• Tickets: Get Texas A&M Tickets on StubHub.com!
  

Kansas vs Northern Colorado
• Location: Memorial Stadium – Lawrence, Kansas
• Time: 6:00PM Central Time
• TV Channel: FCS – Central
• Tickets: Kansas Tickets on StubHub.com!
  

Sunday – September 6th 2009

Colorado vs Colorado State
• Location: Folsom Field – Boulder, Colorado
• Time: 6:00PM Central Time
• TV Channel: FSN
• Tickets: Colorado Tickets on StubHub.com!
  

Allen Americans gain grit with signing of forward Huculak

Americans sign forward Liam Huculak

ALLEN, TX – The 6-foot-5, 225-pound winger adds more muscle to the already strong Americans’ lineup. He joins hard hitters Britt Dougherty and Nathan O’Nabigon on the front line.

Head Coach and General Manager Dwight Mullins describes Huculak as “a big, strong forward that plays with an edge and can skate extremely well considering his size.”

Fans can expect the 26-year-old to be a pest on the ice. “My main job is to aggravate the other team,” Huculak said Monday.

Huculak was involved in 20 fights in the 2008-09 season with the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. He had 11 points and 168 penalty minutes in 51 games.

After speaking with the coaching staff, coming to the Americans seemed like a good opportunity for Huculak. “I liked what I heard from [Associate Coach and Director of Player Personnel] Bill McDonald and [Head Coach and GM] Dwight Mullins. It sounded like a really good fit. You get that feeling, you know?”

Not only did the opportunity feel right, but Allen is also a good location to play hockey with its close proximity to three American Hockey League teams located in Austin, Houston and San Antonio.

“I’m looking to move up, and this is a good place for calls to happen,” Huculak said.

Huculak was invited to attend the Texas Stars’ training camp in September. The Texas Stars are the Dallas Stars’ AHL affiliate in Cedar Park near Austin. Huculak will see a familiar face there, as teammate Bruce Graham will be attending as well. Huculak and Graham played together last year for the Condors.

Huculak graduated from Colgate University in 2007, where he played four seasons for the Raiders. The Lethbridge, Alberta, native served as captain during his senior year. Before attending school, Huculak played two seasons in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League.

After graduating he signed with ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads before being traded to the Columbia Inferno. Next season will be his third year playing professional hockey.

Attached picture courtesy of Michael Duffy/Bakersfield Condors.

The Americans, the Dallas Stars’ CHL affiliate, begin play this fall in the newly built Allen Event Center. Season tickets are on sale now, and corporate partnerships are also available. For information, call 972.912.1000 or visit allenamericans.com. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday.
–AMERICANS–

Dallas Sports Offseason Report 8/7/2009

After Saturday’s UFC fight card, the NFL will really take center stage, and few teams face more pressure in 2009 than the Dallas Cowboys. What’s new with America’s team and the other Dallas sports franchises this August?

Dallas Cowboys
The kid gloves are off at camp and plenty of battles are taking place. Former first-round pick Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick are neck and neck for the vacant starting cornerback job. Jenkins has the pedigree but Scandrick outplayed him last season. Jenkins is faster and hasn’t been burned for a long touchdown, but Scandrick has been making big plays.

It looks like surehanded Patrick Crayton has the inside track to start opposite Roy Williams at wide receiver but NFL betting fans shouldn’t forget about Miles Austin. The Cowboys love his explosiveness. Speaking of Williams, he’s reportedly starting to click with Tony Romo and the pair are improving every day in camp.

Tempers are flaring at camp too. Nose tackle Jay Ratliff and right tackle Marc Colombo skirmished at practice on Tuesday – perhaps understandable considering they were practicing for the seventh time since Saturday.

Dallas Mavericks
Nothing too crazy happing for the Mavs this week. They let center Ryan Hollins go after the Minnesota Timberwolves signed him to an offer sheet, but that’s no surprise after they added Drew Gooden. The Mavs’ 2009-10 schedule was released this week and it looks like you may want to avoid picking them in hoops betting early on. Seven of their first 11 games are on the road and their first contest away from Dallas comes against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Dallas Stars
It looks like Mike Modano’s records are safe. With Jeremy Roenick retiring, he won’t be caught for the all-time American-born player points lead any time soon. The Stars bulked up their coaching staff by adding Charlie Huddy this week. Huddy played defense for the Edmonton Oilers’ dynasty, winning five Stanley Cups and recording a 20-goal season in 1982-83. I’m betting management hopes he can augment the power play with Sergei Zubov leaving town.

THE RANGERS REPORT – July 28

If you’re not betting NFL yet, you should turn your attention back to the Texas Rangers. They continue to sizzle in July, having gone 5-1 in the last week, and it’s almost time to wonder if they’ll be buyers before the trade deadline passes. Let’s catch up with the Rangers.

Season record: 55-42
AL West rank: 2
Odds to win World Series: 60 to 1

THE LINEUP

For most of the Texas hitters, the news is very good these days. Nelson Cruz’s power display at the Home Run Derby must’ve lit a fire under him, as he’s up to 24 homers and is hitting .348 since the All-Star Break. Even hotter post-break? Michael Young, who’s now hitting .447 since the break after three straight three-hit games. Another man fueling the Rangers’ increased betting hopes? Hank Blalock. He’s back to fairly regular lineup duty and has responded by hitting .298 with five homers and 17 RBI over 21 games this month.

Unfortunately, the Rangers can’t get Josh Hamilton going. He’s now hitless in 15 at-bats and has been dropped to seventh in the order for now.

THE ROTATION

Could rotation help be on the way? Though they’re not the favorites, the Rangers have reportedly entered the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, dangling a package of good prospects including blue chipper Neftali Feliz. Acquiring Halladay would seriously boost Texas’ chances of competing with the Angels and, heck, Texas could increase the price per head at Rangers Ballpark whenever Doc pitches if they wanted to.

The Tommy Hunter craze continues. The rookie held the Tigers to one run over seven innings for his third major-league win Monday night. He’s allowed one or fewer runs in four straight starts. Baseball predictions experts suggest he’ll continue his success as long as he’s facing lineups for the first time.

THE BULLPEN

Frank Francisco is still working his way back from pneumonia, but he doesn’t have to hurry. C.J. Wilson has converted all four save tries since taking over closing duties. He looks quite comfortable in the role, having saved 11 of 13 attempts overall this season.

OVERALL OUTLOOK

The Angels never seem to slump, but the Rangers deserve lots of credit for hanging in the AL West race. The bats are heating up again and the young pitching is stepping up its game, so the Rangers could compete for the Wild Card or division crown after all.

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