Active Blog entries featuring anything of interest to sports and gambling enthusiasts available for anyone to read. Blog is updated often by SportsMemo.com as relevant news becomes available. Check back regularly for all the content and news. http://www.sportsmemo.com/ en-us Copyright 2010, Sportsmemo.com rss_feed_admin@sportsmemo.com (Web Master) Sports Blogs http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech Earlier in the year we talked about preseason publications (notably magazines such as Phil Steeles College Football Preview) and how they can help handicappers prepare for the upcoming campaign. Sports bettors arent they only ones using the Phil Steele to get ready however. Check out this bit from the Detroit News which details what Central Michigan coach Dan Enos is doing with it: When Enos heard Phil Steeles College Football preseason magazine picked Central Michigan to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conferences West division, he took action. Find this and put it up! Enos said Wednesday, repeating the message he gave a graduate assistant about a month ago. Within minutes, the graduate assistant had Steeles published verdict posted in the teams locker room so the Chippewas could let it marinate. This swift move showed Enos new team he still has the spunky reputation gained as a Michigan State quarterback to inspire, lead and prove doubters wrong. During an interview Wednesday in his office, Enos, a Dearborn native and former Edsel Ford standout, admitted he has no problem fueling players fire with the written word. Oh yeah, there is such a thing as locker room material, Enos said, smiling. Absolutely, absolutely! To be fair to Steeles projection CMU must replace all everything QB Dan LeFevour, two of the conferences all time leading receivers in Antonio Brown and Bryan Anderson and more than half of their starting defense. They also have to learn new schemes on both sides of the ball and they open their MAC schedule at preseason favorite Temple. http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4752 http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4752 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:03:56 PST Blog Submitted by Marty Otto North Carolinas defense is loaded with NFL talent and will once again be the major headline grabber entering the 2010 season. They had a phenomenal 2009 campaign allowing less than 100 yards and 3.0 yards per carry to go along with just 17 points per game allowed. But the offense could be the sleeper unit of the ACC this season. There were some major holes to fill offensively in 2009 which led to a real downturn in production. Last season the offensive line lost three multi year starters to graduation and another three throughout the offseason and fall camp to injury. They lost two of the most productive receivers in school history to the NFL as well as two tight ends who would also go on to be drafted. Even QB TJ Yates was busy coming back from an injury filled 2008 and offseason surgery. This season, however, the Tar Heels return 10 starters and add one of the top offensive line recruits in the country to fill out the final spot. The offensive line is reportedly bigger and stronger with guys ranging from a (solid) 300 to 325 pounds. Yates as a senior says he knows this offense “inside and out” heading into the new season. And he has plenty of confidence in his receivers that may not have been there a year ago with so much inexperience in the group: “Everybody is getting stronger and getting faster,” Yates said. “They know the system better. Everything that a year of experience gets you, is going to help them out dramatically. Just their maturity level of knowing whats going on, knowing how to run routes and knowing how to be coached is really going to help us out a lot.” Perhaps the biggest factor for improvement could be from practicing against their own defense. As Yates so elloquantly puts it: “One of the things that is really going to help our offense this coming year is that weve been going against that defense for a long time now. You cant have much better practice than going against one of the top defenses in the nation day in and day out. When we go against somebody that may not be as good as our defense, its going to seem a lot easier.” Keep in mind Yates completed over 60% of his passes and averaged about 10 yards per completion last season despite the obvious fact he was pressing at times and forcing the ball to receivers he didnt necessarily trust just yet. There is room for improvement and I think well see it. A significant jump where this team averages 30 points per game wouldnt shock me at all. http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4751 http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4751 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:29:21 PST Blog Submitted by Erin Rynning Is this the season that time moves past the Penn State program? Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions just keep on keeping on as clearly shown with double digit wins in each of the last two years. However, dont be surprised if we see some sort of correction and things just dont work out as well for Penn State this season. There continues to be reports of a drop off in recruiting over the last few years with Penn State. This would certainly make sense with their head coach doing next to nothing on the recruiting trail. With Galen Hall still serving as the offensive coordinator, it would not be shocking to learn that this program, to a certain degree, has lost their way with 17 and 18 year old kids. In addition, you wonder if the talent well along the Penn State trail has dried up with time. Over the last few years you could see the erosion speed in the program. Theyll be tested early with a huge trip to Alabama, certainly an out of conference road trip against a big time program Penn State rarely has made. The Lions have big shoes to fill on the defensive side of the football with just five starters returning, and huge losses in Josh Hull and Navorro Bowman. Meanwhile, on offense well see how they replace standout quarterback Daryll Clark after he sparked the scoring unit in a huge way the last two seasons. Four very young signal callers will battle it out in camp for the job, and inexperience will be an issue. Look for cracks in the Penn State armor early. http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4750 http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4750 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:29:28 PST Blog Submitted by Erin Rynning Disappointment is clearly an understatement when summing up the Michigan program under Head Coach Rich Rodriguez. In his two years in Ann Arbor Big Blue has finished 3-9 and 5-7 and that doesnt come close to cutting it. In fact the combined eight wins in two years would be considered “down” for a one year margin if applied to the standard of years past. There is all the pressure in the world on Rodriguez in his third year, he has to produce a strong season. I do feel, however, the program is heading down the right road and expect big time improvement this season. When Rodriguez took over wholesale changes were needed as the program had grown stale. He knew there was a three year blueprint to work within, and I believe fully he was pointing towards this season from the time he arrived. Last season the Wolverines did start the campaign with a 4-0 record, before becoming unhinged. Keep in mind turnovers did sap plenty of energy from the squad; in fact the Wolverines were -14 in turnovers over their final eight games. The schedule for the Wolverines will be intriguing with true tests right out of the gate in a home date against UConn and road tilt in South Bend to face the Irish. Obviously its crucial to get out the box quickly and develop not only momentum, but much needed confidence as well. This is still a young Michigan team and depth could be a concern. Still this team is heading in the right direction, and they could really surprise from a pointspread perspective. http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4749 http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4749 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:26:10 PST Blog Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson apparently likes what he has seen from the MLS teams his Red Devils have faced in their preseason tour of the US: “The progress is obvious,” Ferguson said. “We realized that in the game against Philadelphia and just as much against Kansas City. Theres a massive improvement in the organization and standard of play. That would be the reason I think theyre ready to play the best teams in Europe now.” Tonight Man U faces a group of MLS All Stars in a game being televised on ESPN2. The line sees Manchester favored on the three way wagering with a line of -125. MLS All Stars are currently priced at +325 or higher. The Draw rounds out the three way wagering at +280. One note here, listed from a Yahoo! article previewing the game tonight: Exhibition or not, the MLS players are eager for a chance to validate their league against one of the worlds pre-eminent soccer powers. The All-Stars have won five of six matches against international opponents in previous years, including a 1-0 win over former Premier League champion Chelsea in 2006. http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4748 http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?blog_id=4748 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:21:59 PST Blog