It's Darron Thomas time for the No. 11 Ducks

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/03/2010 -

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -Darron Thomas seems to have it easy, making his debut as Oregon's starting quarterback at home and with the No. 11 Ducks heavily favored.

But it's quite the contrary.

When Thomas takes the field on Saturday against New Mexico, all eyes will be on whether the sophomore can lift Oregon out of the Jeremiah Masoli debacle and whether coach Chip Kelly did right in choosing him to start over senior Nate Costa.

Thomas' response? Bring it on.

``It's a good thing, because now you're in the spotlight,'' he said. ``I'm happy for it. It's good not to be in the back. I'm prepared for it and ready to go.''

Thomas played in five games as a true freshman in 2008, completing 16 of 33 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Called upon when Oregon was hit by a slew of injuries, Thomas came close to leading the Ducks on a come-from-behind victory against Boise State that season.

Thomas then redshirted the 2009 season.

Masoli led Oregon to a 10-3 record, the Pac-10 championship and a Rose Bowl berth last season. He was a possible Heisman Trophy candidate before his dramatic fall from grace.

Masoli was accused in the theft of a pair of laptops and a guitar from a campus fraternity house in January. He was suspended for this season after pleading guilty to a burglary charge, but was later stopped by police for a traffic violation and marijuana was found in the car.

As a result, Kelly kicked him off the team.

Masoli appealed to the NCAA to play as a walk-on this season at Mississippi, but he was turned down. The loss left Oregon without a clear starter. Thomas competed for the job against Costa throughout fall camp, before edging him in a scrimmage last week. While Costa is more of a traditional passer, Thomas is more of a threat on the ground, more in the mold of Dennis Dixon.

Adding to the pressure on Saturday will be the absence of running back LaMichael James, who is serving a one-game suspension after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge stemming from an altercation with an ex-girlfriend.

Last season James rushed for a team-high 1,546 yards, setting a new record for freshmen in the Pac-10. He averaged 6.7 yards and added 14 TDs to earn the league's freshman of the year.

Fellow sophomore Kenjon Barner will start in James' place on Saturday. Also a return specialist, Barner had 1,553 all-purpose yards last season.

By all accounts, Barner had a productive fall camp. Oregon coach Chip Kelly says he is ``just scratching the surface of what he can be.''

But even with the few uncertainties - new QB, no star running back - Oregon remains a force, selected to repeat as Pac-10 champions this season.

``It's back in business and we're ready to go for New Mexico,'' Thomas said. ``I'm ready for it to be an exciting day on Saturday.''

In contrast, the Lobos aren't feeling a whole lot of pressure. New Mexico went 1-11 last season as the team dealt with its own off-field troubles, including then-first year coach Mike Locksley's altercation with a former assistant.

Now, like Oregon, the Lobos are eager to move forward.

``When you play a team like Oregon and they're ranked No. 11 in the country, there's really no pressure on us,'' Locksley said. ``I think it's going to be to our benefit to go up there, play loose, have fun, take some opportunities and take advantage of some opportunities against a real good team.''

New Mexico, which has a spread offense similar to Oregon's, will start sophomore B.R. Holbrook at quarterback. He leads a group dominated by fellow sophomores, who lack experience but will likely gain it considerably on Saturday. The Lobos have a 4-3 defense led by Carmen Messina, who led the nation with 162 tackles last season.

New Mexico is 7-43 against ranked opponents. But the last time they played a Pac-10 opponent, they beat Arizona 36-28 in 2008.

``As I told our team, we realize the challenge the reigning Pac-10 champions present us, but we also know that we have to make them beat us,'' Locksley said. ``We need to do the things that we've talked about since January to ensure that we make a Pac-10 champion team like Oregon beat us and not help them.''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.

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American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6  

The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.

Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com.  "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.

It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis.  It's like Week 1 of the NFL.  Pre-season means nada!

We do know the 24 finalists however.

Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24.  He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway.  He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien. 

Brandon Rogers - Who?

Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition.  He should go a good distance.

Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was.  And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition.  He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice!  People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way. 

"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks.  He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes.  But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.

A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”

Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes. 

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Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts) 

And the others:

Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter

The girls

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Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.

"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams.  Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth.  "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.

Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.

Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.

Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan

MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with). 

Last two contestants will be?

1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)

2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)

2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)

MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook accepts Visa Credit Cards and online sportsbook accepts Mastercard Credit Cards for easy American Idol betting lines. 

Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards