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09/01/2010 -
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -Jimbo Fisher's last play on a football field was for Samford. His first play as a college coach will be against the same small Alabama school.
After more than two decades as an assistant coach at a handful of southeastern schools, Fisher debuts as Florida State's head coach Saturday when the 20th-ranked Seminoles open their season against the small Baptist-affiliated school in Birmingham where he claims to have enjoyed some of his happiest years.
``That was a great time in my life,'' said Fisher, who played one season for the Bulldogs before joining Terry Bowden's Samford coaching staff. ``Maybe one of the most fun times I've ever had, developing as a person, developing as a coach, building a program. A lot of my roots are there.''
Fisher was the Division III Player of the Year at Samford in 1987 when he threw 34 touchdown passes. He spent the next 11 years on Bowden's staffs at Samford and Auburn, establishing a connection with the coaching family that resulted two decades later in Fisher being the choice to replace Bobby Bowden at Florida State.
Fisher, 44, is not only stepping in behind one of the most successful and revered college coaches of all time, but Saturday marks the first time he'll be in charge of a game as the head coach.
``It's really starting to dawn on me right now,'' Fisher said during Wednesday's Atlantic Coast Conference coaches teleconference, acknowledging he was getting jittery as Saturday's noon kickoff draws nearer. ``Anxious butterflies.''
Fisher, however, can achieve something Bowden failed to do - win his first game at Florida State. Memphis State defeated the Seminoles 21-12 in Bowden's Florida State debut in 1976.
After a 5-6 start in his initial season at Florida State, Bowden finished with a pair of national titles during 33 straight winning seasons.
Samford, which is also Bobby Bowden's alma mater, was known as Howard on its last trip to Tallahassee - 60 years ago with the elder Bowden starting at quarterback.
``It's a banner day for Samford in that it starts off with coach Bowden, playing on a field that's named after a Samford graduate ... a legend,'' Samford coach Pat Sullivan said. ``Then he's been replaced by another Samford graduate. For us to be able to be there, I think it's tremendous for us.''
Fisher knows his Seminoles are a prohibitive favorite against the Football Championship Subdivision school, but he invokes the long-standing coaching standard of saying only nice things about an outgunned opponent.
``You've got to expect a great game,'' he said. ``We've got to stay aggressive.''
After two years as coach in waiting to the iconic Bowden, Fisher was named head coach less than 72 hours after archrival Florida throttled the Seminoles for the sixth straight time, leaving Florida State with a 6-6 regular season record for the second time in four years. A win over West Virginia in the Gator Bowl in Bowden's coaching finale left the Seminoles with a 7-6 record for the third time in the last four years.
Bowden will not attend Fisher's debut Saturday. He has said for years that he wanted to give his successor plenty of space and avoid any second-guessing. Bowden will, however, be in town the previous day for a book signing.
Samford, which is in the Southern Conference, finished 5-6 last year under Sullivan, the former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from Auburn.
Fisher, a West Virginia native, said earlier this week that he'd prayed for years that one day he'd get an opportunity to coach at a major university. Now that day is here.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.
<< Big Ten announces realignment
Park Ridge, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big Ten unveiled its plan for divisional
realignment Wednesday and the controversial split of longtime rivals Michigan
and Ohio State is in place.
There will be two divisions of six teams each startin
<< Penn State names true freshman Bolden starting quarterback
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Penn State head coach Joe Paterno named
true freshman Robert Bolden the starting quarterback for Saturday's season
opener versus Youngstown State.
The news came as a surprise considering Paterno
<< End in sight for Kovalchuk saga...maybe
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's shocking that Ilya Kovalchuk has not
yet found a home for the 2010-11 season, and now it appears the biggest hockey
story of the summer will linger on until at least the end of the week.
The hockey wo
<< Rangers' Lee has treatment for sore back
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers starter Cliff Lee underwent
treatment for a sore back on Wednesday.
Lee had complained of lower back soreness after Tuesday's 10-9 loss to the
Royals, and was sent back to Arlington
Royals activate Meche, Fields from 60-day DL >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals have activated
pitcher Gil Meche and infielder Josh Fields from the 60-day disabled list.
The Royals also recalled catcher Lucas May from Triple-A Omaha.
To make room on th
Allen has smashing 2010 debut as D'Backs top free-falling Padres >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Allen belted his first career grand
slam in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat
San Diego, 5-2, to complete a three-game sweep at Chase Field.
It was quite a 20
Big Ten gives Nebraska no breaks in 2011 schedule >>
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -The Big Ten's welcome gift to Nebraska looks more like a booby prize.The football schedule for 2011-12, the Cornhuskers' first two seasons in the Big Ten, pits Nebraska against a lineup no sane coach would envy.The Cornhuskers open
Venus, Clijsters reach third round at U.S. Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion Venus Williams and
second-seeded Kim Clijsters were among Wednesday's second-round winners at the
U.S. Open.
The third-seeded former world No. 1 Williams got past Rebecca Marin
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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