March Madness 2010

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Jan. 2, 2010. 5:30 pm - ESPN

Memphis, Tenn., Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium

Arkansas 20 - East Carolina 17

The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year since 1959. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003. Since 2004, the game has been sponsored by Memphis-based auto parts retailer AutoZone, and is now called the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

The bowl game was first played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at John F. Kennedy Stadium (originally Municipal Stadium) until 1963. Initially, the game, the only cold-weather bowl game of its time, was plagued by poor attendance (the 1963 game drew only 8,309 spectators), so the 1964 game was the first bowl game ever played indoors in Atlantic City, New Jersey at Convention Hall before 6,059 fans.

Since 1965, the game has made its home in Memphis, Tennessee in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to much larger crowds and has established itself as one of the oldest non-BCS bowls. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Liberty Bowl offered an automatic invitation to the winner of the Commander in Chief's Trophy, if that team was bowl eligible.[1] From 1997-2004, the regular season champion of Conference USA served as the host team. Since 2005, the winner of the C-USA Championship game has received the berth.

From 1998 to 2005, the opponent for the C-USA champion was the Mountain West Conference champion. There were two exceptions:

In 2004, Mountain West Champion Utah qualified for the BCS. In their place, the Liberty Bowl chose WAC champion Boise State.

In 2005, Mountain West Champion TCU chose to play in the Houston Bowl instead of the Liberty Bowl. At-large WAC team Fresno State took their place.

Since the 2006 football season, the game matches the Conference USA champion with a team from the SEC.

The game airs nationally on ESPN, and is carried nationwide by ESPN Radio.

Football Betting News

NBA Friday/Saturday Outlook

Posted on 3/17/2010 12:00:00 AMby Getchalk

Need a break from the madness of March? The NBA has plenty of wagering options this weekend starting with a busy schedule Friday night. Here's a look at the best bets in pro hoops this weekend:

Friday - Washington Wizards at Portland Trail Blazers

For a few brief moments the Washington Wizards were the best bet in the NBA. After shipping out their top two stars during the trade deadline, while also suffering through the suspension of Gilbert Arenas, oddsmakers pitied the Wizards to the point where you couldn't bet against them.

However, things are back to normal in D.C. - which means Washington is losing and failing to cover the spread. The Wizards have lost nine games in a row, going just 3-6 ATS in that span and conclude their current four-game road trip in Portland and Los Angeles.

Washington comes into Friday's game off a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. The Wizards actually led by six points after the first quarter but were overwhelmed by the Nuggets on both ends of the floor. They gave up 32 points in the fourth quarter but managed to stay within the 14.5-point spread, losing 97-87. Andray Blatche, who led Washington with 23 points, tweaked his ankle in the loss but is expected to play Friday night.

The Blazers are heading in the opposite direction, winning four straight games and improving to 8-2 in their last 10 outings. Portland has covered the spread in six of those contests including its two most recent wins over Sacramento and Toronto.

The Trail Blazers face the Wizards before taking to the road for a one-game swing to Phoenix on Sunday. They are 22-13 at the Rose Garden this season but books have sucked most of the value out of their home court, leaving backers to go 16-18-1 ATS in those games.

Portland got a great all-around effort from their starting five against the Raptors on Sunday. All five starters scored in double figures while Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Nicolas Batum each scored 20 or more points.

The Blazers' offense is on fire, averaging almost 110 points per game in their last three outings while playing over the betting total in all three games. On the season, Portland scores 98.4 points a night and boasts a 38-31 over/under record.

Saturday - Boston Celtics at Dallas Mavericks

Boston heads west for three games, starting with Houston on Friday then visiting the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. The Celtics are solid on the road, posting a 22-12 record away from Beantown heading into Friday.

They are 17-16-1 against the spread in opposing gyms and have gone 2-1-1 ATS in their four most recent away games. Dallas knocked off Boston inside the Garden back in January, winning 99-90 as a 4.5-point road underdog.

The Celtics are under a lot of scrutiny in the past week after losing three of their last five games heading into Wednesday's meeting with the New York Knicks. Former teammate Leon Powe, who now plays for the rival Cleveland Cavaliers, told the media he thinks Boston looks old. These comments came after the Cavaliers beat Boston 104-93 last weekend.

However, the Celtics' Big 5 continue to produce, including veterans Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Heading into Wednesday, Boston's offense had averaged more than 104 points per game in the past four outings – playing over the total in each of those contests.

Dallas is enjoying a four-game homestand which wraps against the Celtics on Saturday. The Mavericks welcome the Chicago Bulls to the American Airlines Center on Wednesday before getting the rest of the week to prepare for Boston.

Dallas will be trying to put a loss to the Knicks behind them after giving up 128 points to New York on Saturday. They hope to have high-scoring shooting guard Jason Terry back this week after he missed most of the month with a broken orbital bone in his face.