12/01/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the season winding down, there were no changes to the top of the women's world rankings.
Lorena Ochoa remained a solid No. 1 and was followed by Yani Tseng, Annika Sorenstam, Paula Creamer, Suzann Pettersen, Ji-Yai Shin, Cristie Kerr, Helen Alfredsson, Angela Stanford and Karrie Webb to round out the top 10
Seon-Hwa Lee heads the second 10 and she was trailed by Yuri Fudoh, Jeong Jang, Momoko Ueda, Jee Young Lee, Maria Hjorth, Eun-Hee Ji, Hee-Won Han, Morgan Pressel and Karen Stupples.
The only movement in the top 30 was Juli Inkster dropping two places to 26th and In Kyung Kim and Candie Kung inching up one spot apiece to 24 and 25.
<< Ottawa recalls Bass from Binghamton
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators recalled center Cody Bass
from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, it was
announced on Monday.
Bass, who was first called up on Nov. 19, recording five penal
<< Wolves lose Brewer for remainder of season
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Timberwolves forward Corey Brewer
will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate
ligament in his right knee.
Brewer was hurt Saturday against Denver and an MRI e
<< Harris, Roy earn NBA weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey Nets guard Devin Harris and
Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy were named the Eastern and Western
Conference Players of the Week for the period ending November 30.
Harris averaged
<< MLS Philadelphia breaks ground on new soccer-specific stadium
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia's new Major League Soccer team
broke ground on a soccer-specific stadium in Chester, where the team will
begin play in 2010, on Monday. MLS Commissioner Don Garber joined with team,
and lo
James, Paul named NBA Players of the Month >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and
New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul were named Eastern and Western Conference
Players of the Month, respectively, for the games played in November.
James averag
Rose, Mayo earn NBA rookie honors >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose and guard
O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies were named Eastern and Western Conference
rookies of the month, respectively, for games played from the start of the
season
P-Bruins send Nastiuk down to Gwinnett >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Providence Bruins assigned goaltender
Kevin Nastiuk to the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL, the American Hockey
League club announced on Monday.
Nastiuk, 23, was recalled to Providence on Nov. 2
UConn again a unanimous No. 1 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut is again a unanimous choice as the
top-ranked women's basketball team, according to the latest Associated Press
poll.
The Huskies (5-0) received all 45 first-place votes and a total of 1,12
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.
| The Bubble Breakdown | |||
| CONFERENCE | LOCKS | SHOULD BE INS | AT-LARGES TAKEN (assuming no auto bid outlier) |
| ACC Betting Odds | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Big East Betting Odds | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Big Ten Betting Odds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 Betting Odds | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pac-10 Betting Odds | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| SEC Betting Odds | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| MVC Betting Odds | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MWC Betting Odds | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 5 | 25 |
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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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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