Robert Morris wins second straight Northeast Conference title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Hamden, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karon Abraham scored 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and Robert Morris secured its second straight Northeast Conference Tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 52-50 win over Quinnipiac.

Abraham added three steals for the second-seeded Colonials (23-11), who won their seventh conference championship in school history. Dallas Green and Russell Johnson each provided nine points in the exciting victory.

James Feldeine scored 17 points to lead the top-seeded Bobcats (23-9), who were denied their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since becoming a Division I program in 1998-99. Justin Rutty contributed 12 points and 10 boards in defeat.

This game was played on Quinnipiac's home floor, where the team had been 14-0 this season entering the game.

Feldeine missed a deep two-point jumper with 51 seconds left that would have tied the game, but instead Robert Morris maintained a 50-48 advantage.

Abraham went to dribble up the court but slipped and was called out of bounds with 19.3 ticks on the clock, giving the Colonials another chance. Feldeine again tried a deep jumper, but the shot was blocked and knocked out of bounds by a Quinnipiac player with 9.3 seconds left.

Green and James Johnson traded a pair of free throws, leading to a trip to the line for Abraham with 2.8 seconds left. Normally an 87 percent free throw shooter, Abraham missed both, but a desperation heave from beyond half court fell well short of the basket.

Quinnipiac put together an 11-0 run over about five minutes in the first half to take a 15-10 lead on a pair of Jeremy Baker free throws, but Robert Morris was able to trim that deficit to 25-23 at halftime.

Neither team held more than a four-point lead at any time in the second half, and that margin last came with 16 minutes left on a Feldeine jumper. Robert Morris went back ahead by three, 44-41, on a Rob Robinson basket with 6:12 to play, but Rutty came back to tie the game at 48-all for the Bobcats on a pair from the line with 1:41 on the clock.

Velton Jones followed with a made shot for the Colonials for a 50-48 contest.

Game Notes

Robert Morris beat seventh-seeded Central Connecticut State in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Mount St. Mary's in the semifinals...Quinnipiac defeated eighth-seeded Monmouth in the quarters and fourth-seeded Long Island in the semis...The Bobcats took the lone season meeting, but Robert Morris leads the all-time series, 15-8...Both teams went 15-3 in conference play during the regular season...By virtue of Quinnipiac's regular season conference title, the Bobcats are guaranteed a bid into the National Invitation Tournament if not selected for the NCAA Tournament.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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