March Madness 2010

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl

Dec. 26, 2010. 1:00 pm - ESPN

Detroit, Ford Field

Marshall 21 - Ohio 17

The Motor City Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played annually since 1997. The first five games (19972001) were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. However, starting in 2002, the game was moved to 65,000-seat Ford Field in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Ford Field is home to the NFL's Detroit Lions, and played host to Super Bowl XL.

The Motor City Bowl was rechristened as the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in 2010, with the Detroit-based pizza chain stepping up to sponsor the college football bowl game as two of the region's beleaguered automakers step down.

The bowl began at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1997 and, since 2002, has been played at Detroit's Ford Field. It tries to pit a team from the Mid-American Conference against a team from the Big Ten and has a television contract with ESPN through the 2014 season.

This year's game will be played Dec. 26 at Ford Field.

The Motor City Bowl features a bowl-eligible team from the Mid-American Conference playing a bowl-eligible team from the Big Ten Conference. If the Big Ten does not have an eligible team, the game will feature a team from the Big East that meets the NCAA requirement of at least six wins. In the event that the Big East does not have an available team, an at-large team can be chosen.

The game is jointly sponsored by the "Big Three" automakers in Detroit: Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.

The Motor City Bowl marked the first bowl game held in the Detroit area since the Cherry Bowl in 19841985. It is the only Division I college bowl game played in the Midwest United States.

The 2007 Motor City Bowl, played December 26, 2007 on ESPN, matched the MAC Champion Central Michigan Chippewas against the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten. After a first half dominated by the Boilermakers, CMU generated a furious comeback, and tied the game late in the fourth quarter. Following two changes of possession, Purdue kicked a field goal as time expired to win. A bowl record crowd of 60,624 fans and a national television audience witnessed the exciting finish to the 11th Motor City Bowl.

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.