More questions for UNC football as probe widens

NCAA Football Betting Lines

08/27/2010 -

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -The probe into North Carolina's football program added another prong. Along with it came another batch of question marks to cloud a promising season.

The school's announcement that the investigation of the Tar Heels' program has expanded into possible academic misconduct - one involving players and a woman who coach Butch Davis previously hired to tutor his son - seemed to raise as many questions as it attempted to answer.

How many players may have been involved? Which ones? What were the possible acts of misconduct? And what effect will this uncertainty have on a team expected to challenge for Atlantic Coast Conference supremacy?

``We are looking into improprieties that existed outside the classroom,'' athletic director Dick Baddour said Thursday night when asked about the specific actions that led to the probe. ``That's about as close to that as I can get.''

Baddour would not identify the players or even estimate any numbers, saying ``to put a bracket around it could be misleading.'' He declined to get into many specifics, saying only that they involved ``a student tutor and student-athletes on the football team.''

The announcement came nine days before the 18th-ranked Tar Heels' opener against No. 21 LSU in Atlanta, and roughly two months after the NCAA began an investigation into whether two key players - defensive tackle Marvin Austin and receiver Greg Little - received improper benefits from agents.

Defensive line coach John Blake's longtime friendship with California-based agent Gary Wichard also has drawn the NCAA's interest.

Joint interviews conducted by NCAA and school investigators during that probe led them to a player who ``raised an issue that we felt like deserved further consideration on our part.

``It led us down a road that brought us to what we're talking about,'' Baddour said.

While the investigation is centered on the football program, Baddour said that ``we will certainly use the opportunity to take a complete look at everything that we're doing in the academic support program.''

Davis declined to identify the tutor in question except to say she was one of the handful his family had hired since their 2007 arrival in Chapel Hill to serve as an academic coach and adviser for his teenage son.

``This is someone that obviously worked with our son,'' Davis said. ``To be honest with you, I think we're really surprised and possibly disappointed, but there's been no revelation as to exactly the extent or what has actually transpired.''

Baddour declined to provide additional details about the tutor, except to say that ``the person was in (the university's) employ. When we found out about the issues, the tutor was not in our employ.''

Baddour said the university has assembled a team to investigate the academic questions. While there is no timetable to resolve that aspect of the probe, ``it is likely that the review would extend beyond the start of the season,'' he said.

If that happens, he said the school will decide if those players will play against LSU, and Baddour said that decision could come as late as gameday.

``The investigation now has two prongs, so I want to caution you against making assumptions if student-athletes don't play,'' Baddour said.

Davis did acknowledge that starting on Monday, he moved some players around the depth chart as part of a contingency plan in case they aren't permitted to play. He did not specify which players have risen or fallen.

Chancellor Holden Thorp began the news conference by saying ``to everyone who loves this university, I'm sorry about what I have to tell you,'' then vowed that administrators are taking the probe seriously but expressed hope that its scope ultimately would be limited.

``We will find out what happened. We will do everything we can to keep it from happening again,'' he said. ``And we will not let these mistakes define our university and what we stand for.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Gambling-internet-gambling NCAA Football Betting News

<< Pujols slugs 400th HR, but Cards fall to Nats in 13th
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pujols became the fastest player in number of seasons to hit 400 home runs, but Ian Desmond's single in the bottom of the 13th inning lifted Washington over St. Louis, 11-10, in the opener of a four-ga

<< Liriano strong, Lee falters as Twins down Rangers
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Francisco Liriano pitched seven innings to win his sixth consecutive decision as the Twins pounded Cliff Lee early and held off Texas, 6-4, to avoid a four-game sweep in a battle of division leaders

<< Packers lay waste to Colts
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Rodgers threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns, as Green Bay flexed its offensive muscle in a 59-24 rout of Indianapolis at Lambeau Field. Rodgers completed 21-of-29 passes to increase his p

<< Stakhovsky stuns Baghdatis to reach New Haven semifinals
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ninth-seeded Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky won a pair of matches Thursday, including stunning top-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in three sets to reach the semifinals at the $750,000 Pilot Pen Tennis

<< Jackson stellar again as Sox shut out Orioles
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Jackson continued to shine in a White Sox uniform, leading Chicago to an 8-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles in the rubber match of a three-game series. Jackson, acquired from Arizona at the trade dead

No. 9 Iowa hoping it won't kick away 2010 >>
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -Iowa has become known for nail-biting finishes, which often leaves the Hawkeyes in need of a kicker they can trust in the clutch.Coach Kirk Ferentz isn't sure he's got a reliable leg to lean on. He used terms like ``underwhelmi

NY gov could face charge over World Series tickets >>
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gov. David Paterson could face a criminal charge over his testimony surrounding tickets he secured last year from the New York Yankees for the opening game of the World Series.The state's former chief judge, acting as a special c

Hurricanes get a surprise visit from LeBron >>
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - LeBron James went back to school Thursday, working out against the Miami Hurricanes.The NBA's two-time reigning MVP and some of his new Miami Heat teammates made a surprise stop at the university's basketball facility for s

FCS Season Preview: Pioneer Football League >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pioneer Football League might be renamed the Parity Football League if its hierarchy of programs isn't careful. There's been a different champion in each of the last four seasons, from San Diego in 20

Delaware, Pittsburgh announce 2014, '19 games >>
Newark, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Delaware and the University of Pittsburgh have announced they will meet in non-league games during the 2014 and 2019 seasons. The two teams have never met before in football. Delaware's Foot

FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."

NFL Betting Lines

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

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.