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Capital One Bowl pits Penn State against LSU

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01/01/2010 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 11th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are set to tangle with the 13th-ranked LSU Tigers in the Capital One Bowl from Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando.

The Nittany Lions were beaten by USC in last year's Rose Bowl. They had BCS aspirations entering this season, but those hopes were squashed when Ohio State handed the Nittany Lions their second loss of the season in early- November. Penn State has not beaten a ranked opponent all year, and the players have pointed to that as one of the motivating factors in this matchup.

"Well, there's a lot being said about us not being able to win the big game or something like that," Penn State senior quarterback Darryll Clark said at media day. "We've asked for a big game and we've asked for a worthy opponent, a really good opponent and we found one in LSU."

Clark won't find anyone to argue that point as LSU has won its last four bowl games, including the BCS National Championship two seasons ago. The Tigers are returning to the Capital One Bowl for the first time since a last-second loss to Iowa in 2005. However, this year's squad has stumbled through its past four games, with two losses and a pair of narrow victories over Louisiana Tech and Arkansas. Still, the Tigers finished second in the SEC's Western Division and have been ranked in the Top-25 all season, even as high as No. 4 at one point.

"I know our players wanted to play in the best bowl, against a quality opponent in the greatest bowl destination and Orlando was the pick," LSU head coach Les Miles said upon learning of his opponent. "Anytime the Big Ten and the SEC get together it is an exciting game."

LSU and Penn State have faced each other only one other time, with that meeting in the 1974 Orange Bowl going to the Nittany Lions in a 16-9 final.

Behind running backs Evan Royster and Stephfon Green, Penn State has no problem playing a smashmouth-style of football. Royster rushed for 1,128 yards this season and averaged 5.9 yards per carry, while the speedster Green provides an effective change of pace when called upon. Then again, having eclipsed 500 total yards on four occasions this season, the Nittany Lions can also hold their own in a shootout. Clark has been Penn State's unquestioned offensive leader over the past two seasons. He enters this matchup as the Big Ten leader in passing efficiency and has thrown a school-record 23 touchdown passes on the year. One of the reasons Clark has felt so comfortable in the pocket is because of left tackle Dennis Landolt. Before the season, Landolt switched from right tackle to left in order to protect Clark's blind side, and the transition was seamless, as Landolt was named a First Team All-Big Ten selection. Landolt and the rest of the offensive line is tied for second in the conference in fewest sacks allowed.

Once again, the Nittany Lions boast one of the nation's elite defensive units, as they rank fourth in the country in scoring defense (11.83 ppg) and eighth in total defense (277.08 ypg). Senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick is a three-time All-American and an absolute force in the trenches. Despite facing constant double teams, Odrick made enough of an impact to garner 2009 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors after notching six sacks, 10 tackles for loss and a blocked field goal. All-American linebacker Navarro Bowman helped the Nittany Lions finish strong and was the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Week for each of the final two weeks. Despite missing nearly three full games to injury early in the season, Bowman still managed to lead the team with 15.5 TFLs, and his per-game average (1.55) ranks second nationally. He is flanked by fellow standout linebacker Sean Lee, who recorded 80 tackles (10.5 TFL) and seven pass break-ups during the regular season.

LSU enters the game with the nation's 108th-ranked offense, averaging a mere 309.7 ypg. But don't be fooled, this unit has a propensity for making plays when needed. Senior wideout Brandon LaFell is a solid red-zone target for sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson. LaFell caught 10 touchdown passes on the season and finished with 705 yards on 52 receptions. His 24 career touchdown grabs are two shy of Dwayne Bowe's school record. Jefferson has had a promising first season as the full-time starter under center. He is completing 62.1 percent of his passes and has thrown 16 touchdowns with only six interceptions. The passing game features mostly short and intermediate routes, as Jefferson averages only 178.5 passing yards per game. All-SEC First Teamer Ciron Black is a road-grader on the offensive line, although the Tigers rank 11th in the SEC in rushing offense (129.6 ypg).

Defensively, LSU is a lot like Penn State. The Tigers rank 12th in the nation in scoring defense (16.0 ppg) despite playing the likes of Georgia, Florida and Auburn. All-SEC cornerback Patrick Peterson had 15 passes defended this season, which ranked third in the league. Recognized as one of the nation's elite cover guys, Peterson often makes opposing quarterbacks think twice before throwing his way. He is complemented in the secondary by junior safety Chad Jones, a Second Team All-SEC pick who registered 66 tackles, three interceptions and long punt return touchdown against Mississippi State. Junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard leads the team with 103 tackles, which ranks fourth in the SEC. Senior linebacker Perry Riley is next in line with 92 tackles.

Under Les Miles, LSU has gone 4-0 in bowl games and will be making its fifth straight bowl appearance, two of those being BCS bowls. Meanwhile, Penn State is playing in its fourth New Year's bowl game in the last five years. Obviously, these two programs have been among the nation's elite over the latter part of the decade, and now they'll finally get to square off against one another. One of the many storylines here will be how well the Nittany Lions respond to a long layoff, as they haven't played since November 21st.

"That's the problem you have when you go to a bowl game nowadays when you're a Big Ten team," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said at media day. "Everybody else has played a couple of games (more recently)."

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

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Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

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To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

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