Up-to-date sports handicapping and sports analysis articles from our top handicappers. Directory of recent and past professional and college sports articles. Pro and college article archive also available. Sports betting from a Vegas perspective in articles from your favorite handicappers on the SportsMemo.com team. Listing of articles related to sports and/or gambling or betting. Wager on sports? Checkout our free articles. http://www.sportsmemo.com/ en-us Copyright 2010, Sportsmemo.com rss_feed_admin@sportsmemo.com (Web Master) Sports Articles http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech One of the most important components in the process of handicapping opening week college football games is staying grounded. The anxiety felt by everyone who cant wait for the season to open has been compounded over the past few years by the incredibly early arrivals of major preseason annuals. Around Memorial Day we are flooded with magazine pages with opinions of teams and projections for the upcoming college football season. All of this early information creates what I feel are faster http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2655 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2655 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:52:23 PST NCAA Football On paper, Texas A&M is poised for another year of improvement under third-year head coach Mike Sherman. In Shermans first season, the Aggies returned 10 starters, averaged 25 ppg, allowed 37.4 ppg and went 4-8. In 2009, 16 starters returned, scoring jumped to 32.8 ppg, the defense improved slightly to 33.5 ppg and they ended up 6-7 after a loss to Georgia in the Independence Bowl. This year, 16 starters are back in College Station and any improvement on the defensive end should have them in the hunt for an eight-win regular season. Sherman brought in former Air Force defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter and they expect to move to a 3-4 defense. Even http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2654 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2654 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:27:29 PST NCAA Football There is absolutely no way to debate the overwhelming opinion that hiring Mike Shanahan as head coach instantly makes Washington a better team. There will now be stability and leadership that simply did not exist last year under fired HC Jim Zorn. While Shanahans presence is a definitive plus, I see three areas that are large enough weaknesses to easily override the positive and keep the Redskins a sub .500 team this season. http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2653 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2653 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:26:18 PST NFL Football But there is one strong advantage to sticking around in Vegas during the hot summer months first crack at opening numbers. One such opportunity presented itself this past week, as the Venetian posted their 2010 NFL regular season player props. Well see a handful of offshore books following suit in the next few weeks, but the Venetian posted the first true virgin numbers, sending wiseguys scurrying to get their bets down. http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2652 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2652 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:15:22 PST NFL Football Last year I found myself betting against the Buccaneers early and often. Right from Week 1 in their home loss to Dallas, the Bucs rewarded us and built our bankroll early. In producing our fourth straight winning NFL season for our clients, Fairways Forecast and selection service went 48-33 on NFL side plays including preseason, regular season and playoffs. Part of our strong success early in the season (10-0 in Week 2) was isolating struggling teams. Tampa Bay clearly fit the bill, losing its first seven games and losing the money (ATS) in six of those. The oddsmaker of course adjusted but still could not make the lines high enough at times with the Bucs brutal offense. Following http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2651 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2651 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:23:57 PST NFL Football Cincinnati Season Over/Under Wins Recommendation: Over 8.5 +140 @ The Greek Picking up where Teddy Covers left off yesterday with his discussion on How to Handicap NFL Futures, Im going to zero in specifically on the Cincinnati Bengals. Obviously the season win totals are set on a scale of about 20 percent team personnel and 80 percent schedule which open up an abundance of variables. Seasons rarely play out as cut and dry as glancing down a schedule in late June and saying they should win this game and they should lose that game. Im a proponent of three http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2650 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2650 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:31:39 PST NFL Football The NFL season win total market is maturing, with one book after the next posting numbers over the past few weeks. Well see that market continue to mature over the next few weeks. By the start of the preseason, NFL season win totals will be posted just about everywhere, giving savvy bettors an opportunity to shop around for the best number on whatever team they are looking to fade or support. Today, Im going to take a look at where http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2649 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2649 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:06:29 PST NFL Football The Open Championship returns to the home of golf and St. Andrews as the Old Course plays host to the 139th British Open. For the 28th time, the worlds oldest and most revered course will challenge todays top players where golf has been played for over 600 years. I have provided some online site links throughout this article to better assist you in your search for information throughout the Open Championship. You can check http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2648 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2648 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:47:15 PST Golf Over the last two years weve seen two absolute extremes in the Big XII when it comes to totals. Like the steroid era in baseball, 2008 saw an explosion of offense as team averaged 33.6 ppg in conference play which led to 65% of games landing over the total. In 2009, offenses dramatically regressed, so much so that 59% of league games went under the total. Familiarity had a lot to do with it as the spread offense because less challenging to prepare for. Teams likely dedicated more time in the offseason to defense and recruited heavier on that side of the ball. Laws of averages also http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2647 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2647 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:38:41 PST NCAA Football Yesterday, I played in Event #49 at the World Series of Poker, a $1500 buy-in no limit hold em tournament. I didnt survive for long my entire tournament life lasted less than an hour. Heres what happened. I got to the tournament nearly half an hour late. That was fully intentional, as I agreed to do a live radio gig as the tournament was just starting, to give the listeners a feel for the excitement and drama of a bracelet event. I was http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2646 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2646 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:48:01 PST Poker Looking at the MAC heading into 2010, there seems to be a big shortage in proven offensive weapons, most notably at the quarterback position. Six of 2009s top eight passer ratings have departed including Central Michigans Dan LeFevour arguably the greatest signal caller in conference history. Departures at wide receiver will also be felt as five of the top seven in terms of yard per game have moved on. Your top three returning quarterbacks are Miami s Zac Dysert, Northern Illinois Chandler Harnish and Kent States Spencer Keith. Dysert (12 TDs, 16 INTs) has upside but plays for a team that went 1-11. Harnish didnt practice in the spring due to a knee injury and hasnt even fully secured the position. Keith had a decent http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2645 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2645 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:10:18 PST NCAA Football Strength of schedule is always an interesting topic come college football season. Formulas, power ratings, past results, projections they are all used to uncover each teams level of competition for the upcoming season. Most of the time, it doesnt take a genius to spot out those who will be up against it and those who might as well be playing in the Sun Belt. One theory that gets tossed around the Sportsmemo office is that when it comes to non-conference games, what is the difference between playing Rice or Idaho State at home if you are Texas? Rice may look better on paper because they are from C-USA whereas Idaho State is I-AA, but sure wins are still sure wins in our book. Next is the question of whether the actual team factors in on its strength of schedule. Texas for http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2644 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2644 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:01:33 PST NCAA Football When I got out of college, I worked for a national publication that put out preseason previews. It was a wonderful experience being able to surround myself with sports on a daily basis and I learned a lot about all that goes into these publications. Using my experience, Id like to share a couple of thoughts as you start to pick up your previews and prepare for another season of football handicapping. While the some of the information provided in preseason annuals can be of great use (see: returning starters, coaching changes, switches in offensive philosophy) there are certain things you should be aware of. http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2643 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2643 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:26:43 PST Other Football Part I of II Last week, I took a first look at the upcoming NFL campaign in an effort to get an early gauge on the season win totals that have started to pop up at Vegas sportsbooks over the last few weeks. Today, well pick up right where we left off. Heres how I closed the last piece: Next time, well take a look at some more stats that dont tend to carry over from year to year red zone efficiency, offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency in our effort to gauge which teams are under and overvalued at their current season win total numbers. Lets start in the red zone, looking at teams that converted chances into touchdowns last year. The Arizona Cardinals led the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage, converting at a better than 70% clip. Indianapolis, Minnesota and Miami all had http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2642 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2642 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:17:53 PST NFL Football Submitted by Andrew Lange Before the NCAA threw the book at USC, virtually every prognosticator had the Trojans in the top 10 and favored to win the PAC-10 title. But with no longer being able to compete for a conference title, national championship or play in the postseason and \\get out of jail free\\ transfer rules for junior and senior few will expect USC to do much of anything this season. But when cataclysmic events such as this go down, I immediately look for ways to cash in. I see potentially four reasons why USC could be a bet on team in 2010. 1. The poop hit the fan - No matter how sharp or square a handicapper you are, you\\d be right to assume USC will struggle in some capacity. Scholarship reductions, lack of motivation, no Pete Carroll, no longer invincible...those are all very REAL factors that could affect the outcome of their season. The question though is how much? As of now it doesn\\t look as if the cupboard will be left bare due to excess transfers. I think that http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2641 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2641 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:37:31 PST NCAA Football U.S. Open Betting Preview Pebble Beach 7,040-yard, Par 71 Here are some of my thoughts, projections and Fairway Forecasts for this years 110th U.S. Open. This years U.S. Open championship at Pebble Beach will play to par 71 and 7,040 yards. Check out the fly over video, but understand that the golf course plays much different this week for the U.S. Open than in February when Pebble Beach is the host course for the AT&T National Pro-Am Tour event. As you watch the action, know that http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2640 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2640 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:17:44 PST Golf Submitted by Andrew Lange Prior to 2009, USC won or shared the PAC-10 title seven straight years. Last season, Oregon won the conference crown at 8-1. This past offseason, USC was put on probation and unable to compete for a league title or participate in the postseason. Their games still count but heading into the campaign, it is obvious that the Trojans are no longer the class of the league. But who is? We skimmed through every team and schedule and found it very difficult to locate many sizable advantages heading into the 2010 season. The of course wont keep us from trying to seek out who has the best betting value to win the conference crown. http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2639 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2639 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:53:25 PST NCAA Football My long term NFL track record for betting season win totals is truly outstanding. Ive gone 56-22 (72%) since releasing my very first season win total report back in 2002. That includes a 6-1 mark last year (the lone loser coming by ½ of a game), with a Big Ticket best bet winner on Carolina Under 8.5 wins. These results dont come by accident. The time for NFL prep is right now, here in the hot summer months. Today, Ill be writing about the very first steps that I take when gauging an NFL teams potential performance heading into the 2010 regular http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2638 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2638 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:28:36 PST NFL Football Felipe Paulino Paulino is someone weve had our eye on for quite awhile at the big league level in part because his stuff can be so electric. The 26-year old is loaded with potential but for whatever reason has found it difficult to put it all together. Last year his peripheral numbers were very strong: 93 strikeouts, 37 walks, 98 innings. Those are certainly better numbers than youd expect for someone with a 6.27 ERA. Paulino started 2010 off slow allowing 25 earned runs in his first seven starts. At that point the Astros had lost 17 of his last 18 trips to the hill. Paulino was not only struggling but also http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2637 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2637 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:52:49 PST Baseball St. Jude Classic TPC Southwind, Memphis, TN 7,244 Yards, Par 70 The TPC Southwind went through a major renovation back in 2004 and the scores have dropped ever since. Fairway improvements (narrowed, re-contoured) and completely redone greens with new Bermuda grass were a major part of the project. More sand bunkers were added with a total of 96 along with 10 water hazards. The new design offers players more options, however approach shots are more difficult and better quality shots are required to get the ball close to the flagsticks. In 2009, 11 holes played over par, with Nos. 17 and 18 ranking among the top-100 toughest holes http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2636 http://www.sportsmemo.com/articles/view/?article_id=2636 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:03:43 PST Golf