Alabama-PSU rivalry has produced classic moments
NCAA Football Betting Lines
09/09/2010 -
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Barrett Jones was 5 months, 2 days old the last time Alabama and Penn State played.
He doesn't remember the game, but the top-ranked Crimson Tide's guard has become fairly well versed on a rivalry that has featured memorable kicks, great defenses and a goal line stand that is a significant part of 'Bama lore.
``I can't speak for everybody on the team, but I really feel like I appreciate the history of the game,'' said Jones, born on May 25, 1990. ``I feel like this is really something special. You go into an old Alabama restaurant - which there are many of them across the state - and you see old games playing. And a lot of times you see Alabama-Penn State, and it's great to be a part of that rivalry.
``Maybe one day they'll be showing our Alabama-Penn State (game) on the TVs.''
Saturday night's showdown will be televised.
The Tide and 19th-ranked Nittany Lions face off at Bryant-Denny Stadium in their first meeting since 1990, renewing a rivalry that has produced some classic moments and monumental games.
Jones knows about the biggest of them all. ``The goal line stand in '79.''
In a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2, Alabama's Barry Krauss upended running back Mike Guman at the goal line to preserve the Tide's 14-7 win in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1979. It gave second-ranked 'Bama a national title.
Defensive back Don McNeal had knocked Scott Fitzkee out of bounds about a foot from the goal line on the second-and-goal play before that.
``Can I ever forget it? I don't want to ever forget it, I really don't,'' said McNeal, a great uncle of current Penn State quarterback Rob Bolden. ``I had covered my guy in the end zone on that play, I saw he made the throw and just reacted. I hit him and took him out of bounds. My roommate Curtis McGriff said, `Don, that's one heck of a play you just made.' I didn't realize that. I was just playing football.''
Krauss was the one immortalized. Penn State assistant athletic director Fran Ganter, running backs coach for that '79 team, knows that from his last Tuscaloosa trip.
``We went into the building, and the first thing we saw was a mural of Barry Krauss stopping Mike Guman,'' Ganter recalls.
The first four meetings included Hall of Fame coaches Bear Bryant of Alabama and Penn State's Joe Paterno - an assistant in the 1959 game.
Much has changed in the two decades since the teams last met, when Penn State's defense dominated the game. The Nittany Lions picked off five passes and recovered a fumble in a 9-0 win in 1990. Alabama managed just 6 yards rushing, nearly 200 below its season average.
Paterno recalls Alabama agreeing to play a home-and-home series, something other Southeastern Conference teams were reluctant to do.
``It's a great experience to take a bunch of kids down to the stadium such as the one we're going to play in with that many people and the kind of enthusiasm,'' he said. ``And they'll learn from it. They'll be better, they'll remember.''
The two teams played eight times in the 1980s, producing a bounty of memories.
If the '79 Sugar Bowl is the biggest one for Alabama fans, there are a few more pleasing to the Nittany Lions (though the Tide leads the series 8-5).
-Oct. 12, 1985. National title contender Penn State set up Matt Knizner's 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Brian Siverling with Michael Timpson's 29-yard reverse. Eventual Tide coach Mike Shula threw for a 14-yard score to Thornton Chandler with 14 seconds left, but the onside kick failed. Penn State 19-17.
-Oct. 8, 1983. Alabama quarterback Walter Lewis' pass to Preston Gothard in the end zone was ruled out of bounds in Penn State's 34-28 win. The Nittany Lions then stopped Kerry Goode short from the 2 as time expired.
Happier memories for the Tide:
-Oct. 13, 1984: Van Tiffin's 53-yard field goal set a then-school record in a 6-0 Alabama win. Penn State missed two first-half kicks, then couldn't cross Alabama's 45.
-Oct. 28, 1989. Defensive lineman Thomas Rayam blocked Ray Tarasi's last-second 17-yard field goal attempt after a high snap. Alabama wins 17-16.
The average score of the first 13 meetings was appropriate for two programs known for defense: Alabama 12.4, Penn State 11.8.
All that history is ancient for the current players on both sides.
``I'm sure to our fans it probably means something,'' Tide coach Nick Saban said. ``To most of our players, I think they have a tremendous amount of respect for Penn State based on the great program that they've had in their lifetime, whether they've played Alabama or not. I really don't think it means a lot to the players, and it's not something that we emphasize with the players.
``We're looking forward, not in the rear-view mirror.''
Penn State guard Stefen Wisniewski knows more than most of his teammates about the history with Alabama. His father, Leo, played for the Nittany Lions from 1979-81.
``I think most people my age probably don't appreciate the whole Bear Bryant-JoePa thing as much,'' the younger Wisniewski said. ``Personally I have a little more of an appreciation for it because of my father's connection to the program. My dad played in the '79 Sugar Bowl and played against Alabama, so I have a little bit a sense of the history, and how cool of a rivalry this is.''
Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower is only vaguely familiar with the stand in the '79 game, but he can picture making a game-saving stop like Krauss.
``I'd be speechless,'' Hightower said. ``You got a vision going in my head. I don't even know how to explain that feeling. That would be something that'd go down in history.''
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AP Sports Writer Genaro C. Armas in State College, Pa., contributed to this report.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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March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
Field 100-1
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2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds
The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.
Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”
“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”
MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:
Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:
Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1
Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17
Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1
Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1
Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1
Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1
Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1
Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1
Best Animated Feature Film:
"Cars": 1/3
"Happy Feet": 2/1
"Monster House": 20/1
Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:
"Water" – Canada: 22/1
"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2
"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1
"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10
Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5
"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2
"Helmer & Son": 5/2
"The Saviour": 6/1
"West Bank Story": 7/2
Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:
"Babel": 7/4
"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1
"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20
"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4
"The Queen": 5/4
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
"Babel": 11/4
"The Departed": 1/2
"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2
"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10
"The Queen": 20/1
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1
Film To Win Most Oscars:
Dreamgirls: 2/3
Pans Labyrinth: 6/5
The Departed: 6/1
The Queen: 11/1
Babel: 15/1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1
Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1
Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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