Shea Matthews of ScoresOddsPicks.com previews the Pac 10.

There is probably no tougher conference to understand in betting secrets of the pros this season than the Pac-10. Thanks to a recruiting violation, USC has been deemed ineligible for postseason and bowl-game play for 2010. That makes things pretty confusing considering that USC will probably have the conference’s top record.

USC isn’t available for bets at any sportsbook because it can’t win the Pac-10 no matter how well it plays. So let’s sort through the rubble and see which remaining team will benefit most from USC’s boo-boo.

ARIZONA (5 to 1)

Here’s another team that may not be complete but has several difference makers that could make things interesting in the Pac-10. Nike Foles is no sleeper behind center and Nate Grigsby is very dangerous with the football. The Wildcats also have a good pass rush with Rick Elmore and Brooks Reed as the focal points.

OREGON (5 to 2)

The Oregon Ducks aren’t safe from the NCAA’s iron fist either. In fact, their starting quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli, is suspended for the entire season. But they still bring plenty of other weapons to the table. Nine starters return to the offense and all indications around camp are that Masoli’s replacement, Nate Costa, is more than ready to make an impact. The Ducks’ defense returns eight starters and has a very speedy defensive line.

OREGON STATE (5 to 2)

Beavers fans have their hopes very high in 2010 after Oregon State had a solid 2009 season. It’s true that it has two of the most exciting players in the conference with the Rodgers brothers. Halfback Jacquizz may be the Pac-10’s top playmaker and James is a good receiver. But the betting advice is still to avoid Oregon State. Ryan Katz isn’t the answer at quarterback and stud defensive tackle Stephen Paea doesn’t have enough help on “D.”

STANFORD  (8 to 1)

Anyone who supports Oregon State has to give Stanford a look. Andrew Luck joins Jake Locker as the other NFL-caliber quarterback ready to make noise in the Pac-10 this year. He has plenty of veteran wideouts surrounding him too. But defense will be Stanford’s downfall. Even though the secondary is just fine, the “D” is undergoing the dreaded 3-4 transition, which almost always creates a temporary regression.

WASHINGTON (5 to 1)

Do you or don’t you believe the hype? I’m on board – and not just because Washington has one of the nation’s top prospects in quarterback Jake Locker. The offense returns all its starters at the skill positions and, while the “D” isn’t elite, it has a real playmaker leading the way in Mason Foster.

Today’s free pick

I still think Oregon is the most complete team in the Pac-10 besides USC, so I expect the Beavers to play for the conference title. In the end, though, I think Jake Locker’s star power wins out. He’ll lead Washington over Oregon in a tight battle.

The Miami Hurricanes and the Florida State Seminoles are essentially co-favorites to win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship is 2010. The Virginia Tech Hokies are third. More details below.

The sports handicapping empire will never crumble like a Nap Nanny or Lynnewood Hall. With the drive of a 2011 Ford Explorer, the top betting experts are making large amount of money this season.

Courtesy of OddsShark.com: Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Yankees begin a series in Cleveland against the Indians, and the Marlins head to San Francisco for a road series against the Giants.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The American League schedule for Monday has Baltimore at Toronto, Detroit at Tampa Bay, Minnesota at Kansas City, Seattle at the White Sox, Boston at the Angels, and the Yankees at Cleveland. New York will send Javier Vazquez (8-7, 4.68 ERA) to the mound in that last contest, while the Indians counter with Jake Westbrook (6-6, 4.74 ERA). Righthander Vazquez got support from his team in his win over the Angels last time out; he surrendered five runs on nine hits over just five innings of work in that game. Righthander Westbrook is coming off a loss to the Twins in which he gave up four runs on six hits over six innings. Cleveland is 5-5 over Westbrook’s last 10 outings.

Meanwhile, the National League has just four games on its Monday schedule, with Colorado at Philadelphia, the Cubs at Houston, Cincinnati at Milwaukee, and Florida at San Francisco. Ricky Nolasco (10-7, 4.50 ERA) is slated to get the ball for the Marlins on Monday, with Barry Zito (8-5, 3.45 ERA) taking the hill for the Giants. Righthander Nolasco took care of the Rockies in his most recent start, giving up just two runs on four hits over his eight innings of work in that game, and fanning eight. Lefthander Zito was the hard-luck loser in a start against the Dodgers last time out, surrendering two runs on six hits in his 7 1-3 innings pitched. San Francisco is 3-1 in Zito’s last four mound trips. Odds to win ACC Conference….

Rot	To Win the ACC Conference	Moneyline
201	Boston College	+800
202	Clemson	+700
203	Duke	+5000
204	Florida State	+250
205	Georgia Tech	+900
206	Maryland	+5000
207	Miami	+240
208	North Carolina State	+1500
209	North Carolina	+475
210	Virginia	+2000
211	Virginia Tech	+400
212	Wake Forest	+2500

Source: BetUs

With NFL picks previews hotter than Vanessa Branch, here is another Bodog NFL preseason picks preview. A former and a current Dallas Cowboys receiver are each grabbing headlines.

First, where will T.O. wind up?

He used to be the baddest receiver on the planet. It used to be a debate on who was better, Owens or Randy Moss. Now it’s about a week before training camp begins for a lot of squads and T.O. can’t seem to get work from anyone. Except, according to ESPN, the St. Louis Rams.

According to ESPN a source has told them that the Rams asked Owens through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, if he would consider a serious contract proposal, even though they are not considered a playoff contender.

Rosenhaus told the team Owens would definitely consider it.

Considering teams haven’t been exactly lining up for Owens’ services there’s a good chance this deal could happen.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter the Cincinnati Bengals are also kicking the tires on T.O.

Owens has had trouble finding a new job despite his talent because of issues with the coaching staff and the quarterback during his stints in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas.

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No matter where a rookie is drafted in the NFL, they are required to essentially be a slave to the NFL veterans. Carrying pads, doing Krispy Kreme runs, getting taped to the goal post, it’s all in good fun and it’s part of your first year playing professional football.

But Dallas Cowboys rookie Dez Bryant isn’t playing ball.

He refuses to carry anyone’s pads in the NFL, especially the guy he trying to get ahead of on the depth chart, Roy Williams.

“I’m not doing it,” Bryant said. “I feel like I was drafted to play football, not carry another player’s pads.”

“If I was a free agent, it would still be the same thing. I just feel like I’m here to play football. I’m here to try to help win a championship, not carry someone’s pads. I’m saying that out of no disrespect to [anyone].”

Obviously Williams doesn’t agree. Not only is he in jeopardy of losing his job to the rook, but he can’t even get the kid to submit to standard NFL hazing.

“Everybody has to go through it,” Williams said. “I had to go through it. No matter if you’re a No. 1 pick or the 7,000^th pick, you’ve still got to do something when you’re a rookie.

“I carried pads. I paid for dinners. I paid for lunches. I did everything I was supposed to do, because I didn’t want to be that guy.”

Williams went on to threaten more severe hazing in the future if Bryant’s stance continues. Bryant has been shinning in practice but he won’t make many friends in the locker room if he continues to rub them the wrong way.

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Will Dez Bryant be an asset or baggage to the Dallas Pokes this season? Fantastic online bookmaker Bodog looks at that question.

Today’s 2010 training camp outlook begins with the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have 10/1 odds to win the Super Bowl this season.

Dallas doesn’t have many holes heading into the season. The offense is loaded at the skill positions. Tony Romo enjoyed the best year of his career last season, and he could have an improved receiving corps to work with. Dez Bryant was drafted in the first round, and he was one of the best players in the entire draft. The ground game, led by a trio of backs, will also be dominant.

The biggest question mark, though, is the offensive line. Dallas was destroyed in the playoffs by Minnesota and the biggest culprit was a caving o-line. Alex Barron was brought in to replace Flozell Adams at left tackle, but Barron has been a major flop thus far in his career.

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Josh Johnson (10-3) vs. Matt Cain (8-8)

Johnson vs. Giants Hitting

With the recent slump exhibited by Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson has taken the mantle of most dominating pitcher of 2010. A 10-3 record with a 1.61 ERA will do that; a stretch of starts in which 12 of 13 outings you allowed one run or less (the 13^th start was an enormous two runs) will do that as well. Since allowing four runs on opening day, he’s never allowed more than three in a game. He’s thrown 18-straight quality starts. Simply put, Johnson has been incredible.

It really doesn’t matter who bats for San Francisco in this game, I’m betting it’ll be massively difficult for anyone to produce any kind of offense against Johnson. Aubrey Huff, who leads the Giants in batting average, home runs and RBI’s, has limited success against Johnson (4-for-9), and will be relied on for sparking any offense. Rookie Buster Posey (.358, 8 HR, 32 RBI in 47 games) will also be leaned on to produce. Good luck with that.

Cain vs. Marlins Hitting

A string of two strong starts for Matt Cain has erased a poor-stretch of games where Cain lost four straight decisions and allowed more than seven runs in two separate games. His most recent start was much more Matt Cain-like; he threw eight scoreless innings and struck out nine in a win over Arizona. Overall this season has been a strong one for Cain, pitching as one of three aces in a strong San Francisco rotation. Odds are he’ll continue to recover nicely from his slump earlier in the year.

Cain has faced Florida already this year with successful results. The righty pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and striking out six. The Marlins offense this season has been carried by Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, one of whom has past success against Cain while the other does not. Ramirez is hitting .400 (6-for-15) against Cain with a home run; Uggla is hitting just .167 with four strikeouts in 12 at-bats.

Bullpen Comparison

Florida has a nice trio of workhorse reliever that highlights the Marlins bullpen. Clay Hensley has pitched the most innings of any Fish reliever and has a nice 2.95 ERA to go along with it. Brian Sanchez is a solid set-up man himself, with a 2.60 ERA. But the anchor of the group is closer Leo Nunez. Nunez has 23 saves this year and is averaging over a strikeout per inning. Two of the regulars in the ‘pen, Burke Badenhop and Tim Wood, have ERA’s reaching 6.00 and bring the overall quality of the bullpen way down.

The Giants bullpen is also headed by their top-flight closer. Brian Wilson is tied for the MLB-lead in saves with 29, and has a very impressive 1.83 ERA to go along with it. Wilson is also the workhorse of the ‘pen, throwing 43 1/3 innings this year, tops among San Fran relievers. Sergio Romo (2.08 ERA) and Denny Bautista (2.64 ERA) compliment Wilson in a very effective bullpen.

Outlook

Johnson has entered the territory where you’d be downright crazy not to be betting on him to win. His current streak of domination is unlike any other in recent baseball history, and that includes what Jimenez did earlier in the season. Cain is no slouch himself, but he and his offense cannot stack up against what Johnson has been doing this year. He is a just a real special talent.

Pick: Florida Marlins

Even with Tim Tebow, whom many people call the greatest college football player ever, gone from the SEC, it will still probably be the most watched conference in the nation among sports betting fans. It still houses the defending national champion plus some storied programs that always seem to field contending teams. Let’s have a look at the top picks.

ALABAMA (1 to 1)

The theme of 2009 college football betting was saying goodbye to legends. Tebow, Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford – all are NFL bound now. But guess what? The defending national champs haven’t said goodbye to any of their key offensive pieces.

Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram returns to smash people in the running game. He has a nice complementary back in sophomore Trent Richardson. Greg McElroy may be more of a game manager than star quarterback, but who cares? He does the job well. And he has an elite target in Julio Jones when ’Bama wants to air it out.

While Alabama doesn’t return as many defensive starters, some of its younger guys are ready to step up and fill the void. A repeat national title is very possible – and an SEC title is almost a lock if you ask me.

ARKANSAS (8 to 1)

As Ryan Mallett goes, Arkansas will go. There’s no denying that their quarterback is a beast. He topped 3,600 passing yards last year and threw 30 touchdown passes versus only seven picks. But I’m not crazy about Arkansas’ “D.” It forces lots of turnovers but it was 99^th in points allowed last season.

AUBURN (8 to 1)

I’m not sure why anyone could get overly excited about Auburn this year. Even if the conference’s worst scoring defense from a year ago improves, it has a long way to go to stop the elite teams. And Auburn’s offense is nothing special despite its strong offensive line. Get some sports betting secrets now.

FLORIDA (5 to 2)

Before you Florida fans fling yourself from the bandwagon and grieve Tebow....remember that your team still has one of college football’s top programs. Four of five offensive linemen are back and will give new pivot John Brantley plenty of time to make throws. Their speedy defense will also give plenty of teams trouble. Don’t count out Urban Meyer’s boys just yet.

GEORGIA (8 to 1)

If Aaron Murray is the real deal at quarterback, Georgia’s offense could make some noise in the SEC. After all, it has a budding superstar wideout in A.J. Green and an experienced line.

The defense remains inexperienced but the hope is that coaching, not personnel, will cause the biggest improvement for the Bulldogs. The problem is that Todd Grantham (imported from the Dallas Cowboys) will convert the defensive scheme to a 3-4 – and growing pains always come when a defense makes that switch.

LSU (10 to 1)

The LSU Tigers offer decent value at 10 to 1. I think they’ll have one of the best defenses in the conference this year. They have skill at every position – especially the quick defensive line. On offense, Jordan Jefferson will have to be better but only two starters return to his line. I’m not convinced LSU will score enough to win the SEC.

Today’s free pick

On one hand, every team listed above has chance for a good season. On the other, I still see the SEC as Alabama and the rest. Why downgrade the national champs when their stars are back for more?