Angels come to terms with first-round pick

Baseball Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim came to terms on a minor league contract with outfielder Michael Trout, the 25th overall pick in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.

Trout, who played his high school ball in Millville, New Jersey, batted .531 with 18 home runs, 49 runs scored and 45 RBI as a senior. As a pitcher, he was 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA.

Wwgamble Baseball Betting News

<< Holy Cross tabs Kearney to replace Willard
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Holy Cross named Sean Kearney its new head men's basketball coach on Thursday. Kearney, who becomes the 15th head coach in the history of the program, replaces Ralph Willard who resigned last mo

<< Astros swarm Padres; bees delay game
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wandy Rodriguez threw seven strong innings to help the Houston Astros take a 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres in an unusual finale of a four-game set. Rodriguez (7-6) gave up just one run on seven hits w

<< CFL's Bruce fined for Michael Jackson celebration
Mississauga, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Argonauts All-Star wide receiver Arland Bruce III was fined an undisclosed amount for a celebration tribute to Michael Jackson in the team's victory over Hamilton on Wednesday. After scoring a

<< Pressel among Jamie Farr leaders
Sylvania, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morgan Pressel, Laura Diaz and Song-Hee Kim each fired rounds of seven-under 64 on Thursday to share the opening-round lead of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. Suzann Pettersen and Michelle Wie ar

<< Hurricanes retain LaRose for two years
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes agreed to terms with forward Chad LaRose on a two-year contract worth $3.4 million on Thursday. LaRose is set to earn $1.5 million next season and $1.9 million in 2010-11. The 27-y

Report: Artest joining Lakers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Free agent forward Ron Artest is reportedly leaving the Houston Rockets to join the Los Angeles Lakers and will provide the team with more offensive firepower next season, as he'll join Kobe Bryant

Cubs reliever Cotts has Tommy John surgery >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Neal Cotts underwent Tommy John surgery on Thursday and will be sidelined indefinitely. Cotts was 0-2 this season with a 7.36 earned run average before being demoted to Tri

Wellemeyer pitches Cardinals over Giants >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Todd Wellemeyer threw 7 1/3 innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals take a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants and split a four-game series. Wellemeyer (7-7) scattered seven hits and two runs with a

Diaz helps Braves slip past slumping Phils >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Diaz belted a go-ahead RBI double in a three-run eighth, as the Atlanta Braves recorded their first home sweep of the Phillies since 2005 with a 5-2 victory at Turner Field. Garret Anderson added a t

Mayfield a no-show at Daytona >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sprint Cup Series driver and team owner Jeremy Mayfield was not present at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, one day after a federal judge granted him a temporary injunction to race again,

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.