Report: Raiders hire Dennis Allen as coach

Football Betting Lines

01/24/2012 - Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders have reportedly landed on Dennis Allen as their new head coach.

Allen, who spent this season as defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, has reached an agreement to coach the Raiders, FoxSports.com reported Tuesday night.

The Raiders need a replacement for Hue Jackson, who was fired two weeks ago after just one season as head coach.

Allen was named defensive coordinator of the Broncos on January 24, 2011. He had been with the New Orleans Saints the previous five seasons, serving as assistant defensive line coach from 2006-07 and as the secondary coach from 2008-10.

The Broncos had the NFL's 20th-ranked defense during the regular season and won the AFC West division at 8-8. They beat Pittsburgh in the wild card round but lost to New England in the divisional round of the playoffs.

New Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie fired Jackson soon after he was hired.

Sothevys Football Betting News

<< Kvitova reaches semis at Aussie Open
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova defeated Italian Sara Errani in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at the Australian Open. Kvitova took down Errani 6-4, 6-4 in just under two hours to secu

<< Morgan lifts Michigan over Purdue
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jordan Morgan's dunk with 1:22 remaining in regulation proved to be the game-winner as No. 20 Michigan edged Purdue, 66-64. Lewis Jackson's heave just inside the mid-court line at the buzzer was off t

<< Report: Love, T-Wolves agree on 4-year deal
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All-Star forward Kevin Love will beat a Wednesday night deadline by signing a four-year, $62 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to a report. He is expected to sign the deal Wednesday

<< Grizzlies exercise contract option for Pondexter
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies exercised the third-year contract option on swingman Quincy Pondexter Tuesday, keeping him on the team through the 2012-13 season. Pondexter has appeared in 16 games for Memphis thi

<< Nets' Damion James has season-ending surgery
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey Nets forward Damion James underwent successful right foot surgery on Tuesday. He will miss the remainder of the season. The procedure, which was performed by Dr. David Porter at Indiana

Leafs sweep home-and-home with Islanders >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clarke MacArthur scored two goals, including the game-winner 2:06 into overtime, as the Toronto Maple Leafs skated past the New York Islanders, 4-3, to sweep a home-and-home series. Mikhail Grabovski gained

Knicks top Bobcats >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony's recent offensive struggles hit an all-time low Tuesday, but Tyson Chandler had 20 points and 17 rebounds to help New York snap its six-game losing streak with a 111-78 rout of the Charlot

Gerbe lifts Sabres over Devils in SO >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nathan Gerbe's goal in the fourth round of the shootout gave the Buffalo Sabres a rare road win in a 2-1 decision over the New Jersey Devils. After Jason Pominville's goal in the third round forced the game

Anderson lifts Magic over Indiana >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A night after being held scoreless in a historic loss, Orlando's Ryan Anderson poured in a game-high 24 points in Tuesday's 102-83 win over the Pacers. Anderson went 0-for-8 in Monday's setback a

Perreault stars as Caps top Bruins >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mathieu Perreault notched his first career hat trick, pacing Washington in a 5-3 victory over Boston at Verizon Center. Cody Eakin and Dennis Wideman also scored for the Capitals, who head to the All-St

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.

(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer.  In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. 

MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season.  Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite.  After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.

Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions.  They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals.  The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. 

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.