McCourty signs with Patriots

Football Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots have signed first-round draft pick Devin McCourty.

Terms of the deal for the former Rutgers cornerback were not disclosed, but the Boston Globe reported it to be a five-year pact.

The Patriots selected McCourty with the 27th overall pick in April's draft. All of New England's draft choices have now agreed to contracts.

McCourty was a First-Team All-Big East choice in 2009, finishing second on the Rutgers defense with 80 tackles to go along with 10 pass breakups and one interception. The 5-foot-10, 193-pound McCourty finished his career with the Scarlet Knights recording 238 stops and five fumble recoveries.

He had six picks during his career and also blocked seven kicks while adding a kickoff return for a touchdown on special teams.

The Patriots also released linebacker Shawn Crable, who they selected in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

Crable was inactive for the first half of the 2008 season and finished the year on injured reserve, where he spent all of last season.

Wwwworldwidegamble Football Betting News

<< Young powers offense as Twins complete sweep of Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delmon Young hit a three-run homer and Jason Repko added a solo shot, as the Twins completed a three-game sweep of the Royals with a 6-4 win. It wasn't the same result as the past two days, when M

<< Ducks sign first-round choice Fowler
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman Cam Fowler, their first-round draft choice, to a three-year entry-level contract. Per team policy, no financial details of the deal were released. The 18-year-old

<< Bengals sign Dunlap
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Bengals have reportedly signed rookie defensive end Carlos Dunlap. The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that Cincinnati's second round pick has signed for four years. Last season w

<< Cardinals option P Salas, promote P MacDougal
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have optioned pitcher Fernando Salas to Triple-A Memphis and recalled pitcher Mike MacDougal from the same club. Salas has bounced back and forth between the major and minor league

<< USA Basketball names 15 finalists for 2010 World Championship squad
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - USA Basketball announced Wednesday the 15 finalists for its 2010 USA World Championship Team. USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo selected the finalists from a group that assembled in Las Vega

Lee, Norris help Astros take series against Cubs >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Lee slugged a pair of two-run home runs to back the solid pitching of Bud Norris in Houston's 8-1 win over Chicago to close a three-game set. Lee had his 19th career multi-homer game for the Astros,

Hendrick Motorsports >>
Promoted Marshall Carlson to president and COO.

Formula One >>
Agreed on a 10-year contract to continue the Monaco Grand Prix.

Saints sign TE Graham, QB Ramsey >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints signed tight end Jimmy Graham and quarterback Patrick Ramsey on Wednesday. Graham, a third-round pick out of Miami-Florida, played in 13 games for the Hurricanes last season

Clippers re-sign Butler >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers have re-signed forward Rasual Butler, the team announced Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Butler, 31, averaged a career-best 11.9 points in 82 games for th

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.