March Madness 2010

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl

Jan. 1, 2010. 1:00 pm EST - CBS

Jacksonville, Fla., Jacksonville Municipal Stadium

Florida State 33 - West Virginia 21

The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. It is one of the oldest college bowls, held continuously since 1946. Its current full name is the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl after its present sponsor, Konica Minolta.

According to The Big Bowl Football Guide by Anthony C. DiMarco (G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1974, 1976, ISBN 399-11800-4), Charles Hilty, Sr. is given credit for conceiving the idea for the event. He, Ray McCarthy, Maurice Cherry and W.C. Ivey put up $10,000 to underwrite the first game. The event struggled in the early years, drawing only 7,362 to the 1946 match when Wake Forest defeated South Carolina, 2614. It was not until the 1949 match-up of the Clemson Tigers and the Missouri Tigers that the future of the Gator Bowl was assured. The 1948 attendance of 16,666 for a 2020 tie between Maryland and Georgia, was nearly doubled with 32,939 watching Clemson squeak by Missouri, 2423, on a late field goal by Jack Miller. By the 1970s, the attendance regularly reached 60,00070,000. The Gator Bowl Association is the entity behind the game.

Football Betting News

New Orleans Hornets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder 8:00 ET

Posted on 3/10/2010 12:00:00 AMby North Shore Sports, INC

Regular season NBA Betting action is coming down the home stretch, and Wednesday night offers up a doozy of a Western Conference clash when the New Orleans Hornets (32-32, 30-33-1 ATS) invade the Ford Center hoping to sting the Oklahoma City Thunder (38-24, 37-25 ATS).

The Hornets survived a track meet their last time out against Golden State where they triumphed 135-131 but failed to cover the six-point closing NBA odds. The Thunder secured their fifth win in six tries last Sunday after going into Arco Arena and coming out a 108-102 victor against the Kings.

The host Thunder currently sit as 7.5-point home favorites with the game ‘total’ set at 201.5 at Bookmaker Sportsbook.

Monday night’s win against the Warriors snapped the Hornets four-game SU losing streak, but their ATS futility remains intact having failed to cover the pointspread in each of their L/5 games (0-4-1 ATS). Six players registered scoring in double-digits with both F David West and G Marcus Thornton going off for 28-points apiece. The Hornets were scorching hot from the field converting 58.7 percent of their overall shots, which included a 10/22 effort from beyond the arc.

Chris Paul’s absence from the line-up has really started to take a toll on this undermanned club, as the Hornets have managed just four wins and gone 4-5-1 ATS with him riding the pine their L/10 games. The defense is mostly to blame as it’s allowed a whopping 110.2 PPG their L/5 games, which equates to 8+ PPG more than their seasonal average of 101.9 PPG.

The Thunder find themselves in the thick of the Western Conference Playoff chase currently holding down the sixth overall seed out of the Northwest Division; only 2.5-games separate them from holding home court advantage throughout the first round. That’s saying a lot knowing this club managed to scratch the win column just 23 times last season.

This roster is comprised of mostly youngsters with C Nenad Kristic being the only player in the starting five with more than five-years of NBA experience. Don’t tell Kevin Durant and company that experience is necessary to win in this league, as he along with Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, and rookie James Harden are the only double-digit scorers on the team. Where the Thunder’s excelled is at the defensive end of the court where they rank 9th in points allowed (96.5 PPG), and top three in both FG and 3-point percentage allowed.

OK City snapped a 10-game SU losing streak at the hands of the Hornets in these teams last meeting in the Bayou where the Thunder won 103-99 as 2.5-point road chalk; the season series is tied at one game apiece.

The Hornets sit 10-games under .500 on the road (11-21 SU), but they’ve held their own against the pointspread going 16-15-1 ATS. The Thunder have been a solid host going 19-11 SU & 16-14 ATS to date.

Will the Thunder pick up their 20th home victory and take the season series from the Hornets, or will N’awlens go into OK City’s house and win for the fifth straight time? If you got a handle on this NBA betting battle, log into your Bookmaker.com account and stake your claim in the action!