Friday News and Notes

Friday, November 10, 20006

 

Here are news and notes from OffshoreInsiders.com  private clipboard.  They are compiled from hometown newspapers and the team’s own press releases.

CFB

Western Michigan-Central Michigan

Michigan Live

Two years ago, Western Michigan and Central Michigan had three conference wins between them. Times have changed. Much more than usual will be at stake when the rivals meet Friday night at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, including first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division and a spot in the Nov. 30 MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit. Central has won all five of its conference games this season and is 6-3 overall, making the Chippewas bowl-eligible for the second consecutive year. The Broncos (7-2, 5-1) also are bowl-eligible for the second straight season. Ryan Cubit has thrown for 1,449 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he may not be Central’s biggest worry — that would be Western linebacker Ameer Ismail, who leads the nation in sacks with 15, one shy of the MAC single-season record. While Western has the league’s top defense, Central has the conference’s top scoring offense, averaging 28.7 points and 385 yards per game.

Central’s freshman quarterback, Dan LeFevour, has thrown a MAC-leading 17 touchdowns. Joe Duffy’s sports betting selections are at www.GodsTips.com

  

 

UTEP-UAB

El Paso Times

The University of Alabama-Birmingham may be 3-6 overall and 2-3 in Conference USA. And it may be a little down. But if there are any doubts about whether the Blazers will be ready to play UTEP on Saturday in a nationally-televised game from Legion Field, head coach Watson Brown erased them this week. “We are late in the year and both UAB and UTEP still have something to play for,” said Brown, who has been at UAB for 12 seasons. “Our backs are against the wall, and I have told the team that we are in a playoff system right now. If we win, we still have a chance. If we lose, we are going to be playing the rest of the games for pride.” Throw in the fact that the Blazers are participating in their final home game of the season against the Miners, and have a reputation for being an athletic, hard-hitting club, and UTEP (4-5, 2-3 in league play) has quite the challenge if it hopes to win out the remainder of the season and make an appearance in its third straight bowl game. Further, UAB has held a time of possession advantage in 7 of their 9 games this season—something that proved the difference last week in the Miners’ loss to Rice. Primarily a rushing team in the post-Hackney era, quarterbacks Chris Williams and Sam Hunt have been efficient. Williams is 91 of 162 on the season for 1,069 yards (118.8 per game), 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Hunt, who is expected to return from an injury this week and split time with Williams, is 35 of 55 for 414 yards (82.8 yards a game), 2 touchdowns and one pick. Further, UAB is 66^th in the nation in total defense, as opponents have averaged 336.9 yards a game. It is 78^th in the nation in rushing defense, limiting opponents to 149.2 yards a game—which may not spell good things for the Miners’ struggling running game. MasterLockLine.com has the top plays from the top sports service in their highest ranked sports.    

CBB

San Jose State-Cal Santa Barbara

Press Notes

UC Santa Barbara posted a 2-0 record in the exhibition season. The Gauchos recorded wins over UC San Diego (62-51) and Westmont College (76-68). UCSB finished the 2005-06 season with an overall record of 15-14 and a Big West mark of 6-8. The Gauchos finished fifth-place in the league. UCSB won eight of its final 11 games in 2005-06 to finish over the .500 mark for the fourth time in five seasons. Friday’s home game against San Jose State will be the only Thunderdome appearance that the Gauchos will make prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Following the game against the Spartans, UCSB will hit the road for contests at Montana State (Nov. 13), UNLV (Nov. 17) and Pepperdine (Nov. 21). When the Gauchos return home they will have no small task as they host San Diego State, the defending Mountain West Conference champion, on Saturday, Nov. 25. By the time November comes to and end, UCSB will have played six regular season games, the most ever for the month. UCSB enters the 2006-07 season with a vastly different roster than it finished the 2005-06 season. Gone are eight of the 13 players from last season’s team. In their place are two redshirt freshmen, a transfer from a four-year school, two junior college transfers and four true freshmen. In fact, due to injuries, the Gauchos had only three returnees play in the two exhibition games. Of the 400 minutes logged by UCSB players in the games against UC San Diego and Westmont, 237 (59.2%) was racked-up by newcomers. UCSB went 9-4 in home games during the 2005-06 season. The Gauchos were a perfect 6-0 in non-conference home games last season. Since Bob Williams became head coach in 1998-99, Santa Barbara has gone 73-30 in home games overall and 29-11 in non-conference home games. Since the 2000-01 season, UCSB has gone 21-5 in non-conference games at the Thunderdome. The Gauchos went 8-4 in home games in 2004-05, but in each of the three years before that, they finished 10-2 in home games. Stevie Vincent’s BetOnSports360.com is pioneer in forensic handicapping and part of OffshoreInsiders.com    

Eastern Washington-Gonzaga

Seattle Times

The Zags, who open Friday night against Eastern Washington, lost Morrison and J.P. Batista, who combined were worth 47.5 points and 14.9 rebounds per game. But after four Sweet 16 appearances in eight seasons, the bar has been set. Nobody really believes Gonzaga is ever rebuilding. Truth is, they’re undergoing the next thing to it. Take the loss of Morrison and Batista and a non-league schedule that can only be termed frightful, and the Zags appear to be in for a season in which some lumps are coming. Gonzaga returns its Nos. 3-8 scorers — Derek Raivio, Sean Mallon, Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, Josh Heytvelt, David Pendergraft and Pargo.Throw in three promising additions — hustling 6-foot-9 JC product Abdullahi Kuso and swingmen Matt Bouldin and Micah Downs (ineligible until well into December) — and the Zags will bother a lot of people, if not beat them. Approved sportsbooks are at www.linetrackers.com   

 

Samford-Florida

Press Notes

Last season, the Bulldogs played at No. 2-ranked Texas in what was the program’s highest-ranked opponent. Samford (0-0) heads into the 2006-07 campaign as the preseason favorite to win the Ohio Valley Conference. The Bulldogs return four starters from last season’s squad that finished with a 20-11 record and advanced to the championship game of the OVC Tournament. It was the first time in school history that Samford was picked to win the OVC.

Florida (0-0) finished last season with a 33-6 overall record and won its last 11 games of the year en route to the national championship title. The Gators head into this season as the first defending national champion since Arizona in 1998 to bring back all five of its starters from the previous year. Florida concluded 2005-06 Southeastern Conference play with a 10-6 record. Earlier this week, Samford played host to North Georgia in its lone exhibition contest of the preseason and cruised to a 76-45 victory. JoeDuffy.net 

 

Denver-Colorado

Press Notes

DU went 1-1 in exhibition play, defeating Colorado Christian 72-59 and falling to CSU-Pueblo, 84-46. DU returns six letterwinners and three starters from last season’s team that finished 16-15 overall, 7-8 in the Sun Belt Conference. Gone is one of the best players to ever don a Pioneer uniform and its 2005-06 leading scorer and rebounder in Yemi Nicholson. The Pioneers have five newcomers, including two freshmen and three junior college transfers. DU was picked to finish fourth in the West Division in a vote of the conference’s 13 head coaches at the annual Sun Belt Conference Media Days. The Pioneers will be without the services of a pair of players expected to contribute this season. Junior guard Myke Lattimore (Morristown, N.J.) and junior center Adam Tanner (Melbourne, Australia) will miss at least the first four contests but are expected to be cleared to practice on Nov. 21. MasterLockLine.com has the top plays from the top sports service in their highest ranked sports.