The controversies swirling around the North Carolina football program have not yet drawn specific punishments, but they’re likely to be substantial in advance of Saturday’s game against LSU.   North Carolina Tar Heels vs.

The NFL’s final week of the preseason is essentially worthless at this point for starters, as most coaches choose to play the guys still fighting for those final roster spots – final cuts come this weekend. Thus starters might play a series at most and some lines are a bit odd – Miami a 1-point favorite on Bodog’s NFL odds at Dallas, for example.

But some coaches choose not to even tempt fate at all and sit their starters completely, so that means you will have to wait to see a few of the NFL’s star quarterbacks until Week 1. For sure out tonight is Minnesota’s Brett Favre, as Brad Childress plans to rest all of his starters. That means plenty of backup Tarvaris Jackson, Sage Rosenfels and rookie Joe Webb.

The Indianapolis Colts are traditionally the worst preseason team in football, having lost 22 of their past 26 exhibition games. And Indy almost never plays its starters in the preseason finale. For example, QB Peyton Manning hasn't played in a preseason finale since 2004, when he directed one series.

"If you look at our history," coach Jim Caldwell said to reporters, "don't expect anything to deviate much from the norm."

Because of injuries, Indy’s projected starting offense has yet to be play one snap together in three preseason games. That has to give hope to Houston in Week 1.

The Bears offense hasn’t looked very good this preseason but quarterback Jay Cutler won’t play in the final tonight at Cleveland. The first-team Chicago offense has just two TDs in 16 drives this preseason. Cutler is 19 of 37 (51.4 percent) for 275 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. His passer rating was 62.4 and he was sacked 10 times.

The Dallas Cowboys also plan to sit pretty much all their starters, and Tony Romo won’t get on the field. Neither will rookie WR Dez Bryant even though he has been cleared to play from an ankle sprain that caused him to miss all of camp and every preseason game so far. Dallas has an even better reason for sitting its main guys because this is actually its fifth preseason game (as it will be the Bengals’). In four preseason games, Romo completed 26-of-46 passes for 287 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He had a passer rating of 64.3.

Bet on the final NFL preseason games at Bodog

Those who love to engage in proposition betting on the college football front will invariably make comparisons between players, and one of them might be between two of the better quarterbacks in the nation, and the question of who will throw for more yards in the Sunshine State between Florida State' Christian Ponder and Miami's Jacory Harris is going to be the subject of much barroom...

BetUS Sportsbook is back with another fantastic football betting line analysis in the Week 4 NFL preseason duel between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants from New Meadowlands Stadium. Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 2nd, 7:00 ET Game Location: New Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ [Off topic: by the way, do you want to get a 60% bonus on your first deposit here at...

Friday will be a very important day in the NHL because that could determine whether some of the biggest names in hockey could potentially become free agents.

Why? Friday is the deadline for the NHL to approve or reject Ilya Kovalchuk's reworked $100 million, 15-year contract with the New Jersey Devils. But Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo's $64 million, 12-year deal signed last offseason could also be voided unless the union agrees to a set of conditions. The league could also take action on Marian Hossa's 12-year, $63.3 million deal that was signed with Chicago before last season.

The conditions the NHL is demanding from the union include that the salary cap hit on future multi-year contracts be calculated on the average of the salary up through age 40 only. And that the cap hit on future contracts longer than five years will be calculated under a formula granting additional weight to the five years with the highest salary. Those three deals listed above all have very limited backloaded money to keep the yearly cap hit lower.

Before the Luongo deal was signed, the NHL advised Vancouver to take two years off of the negotiated term, making the for 10 years. The Canucks chose to keep it a 12-year deal and the NHL only conditionally accepted the contract. As part of the condition, the Canucks were investigated by a third party law firm. One argument the Canucks would have is that while forwards like Kovalchuk don’t really play into their 40s, goalies can and have.

If the NHLPA doesn’t agree to the demands by 5 p.m. ET on Friday and there’s not a deadline extension, it’s likely that Kovalchuk’s contract will be rejected again and Luongo’s voided. Hossa’s contract would then get a harder look. It would seem harder to void Hossa’s because he has played a year under the contract. Luongo signed his last year but it takes affect this season.

Certainly the NHLPA would likely appeal any of these decisions, sending the issue back to an independent arbitrator. The original 17-year, $102-million contract the Devils gave to Kovalchuk was rejected by the league, and then again by arbitrator Richard Bloch on Aug. 9.

Bet on NHL futures at Bodog

Continuation betting is one of the most overused moves in poker.  C-bets involve making a bet after the flop (even if the flop didn’t help you) when you already bet big before the flop. Unfortunately, players don’t always pay attention to the situation when they make c-bets, which hurts more than they know.  That being said, here are a few situations where you want to...

Southern Miss and South Carolina meet for the first time ever in football tonight with the Gamecocks as 14-point favorites. And with this game being shown on ESPN, there will be live betting available on Bodog’s NCAA football odds.

It’s hard to bet against Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier tonight. South Carolina is undefeated in season openers under Spurrier, and the Ol’ Ball Coach is 19-1 in openers in his career. The Gamecocks also have won six straight non-conference home games dating back to the 2008 season opener.

South Carolina could be a bit short-handed tonight, however. For sure suspended senior tight end Weslye Saunders will not play. Saunders was interviewed earlier this summer by NCAA investigators regarding a trip he took to Miami and whether it was funded by agents. He's also one of at least nine South Carolina players who was living at a hotel, which has come under NCAA scrutiny. Spurrier said Saunders was suspended for violating team rules, adding that his suspension was not tied to the NCAA investigation. But the Gamecocks may sit those eight other players who are still being looked at by the NCAA, including starting safety Akeem Auguste, starting offensive tackle Jarriel King, starting offensive guard Terrence Campbell and starting defensive tackle Ladi Ajiboy.

Spurrier is back to his normal ways with quarterbacks as well. He has been riding presumed starter Stephen Garcia all summer, and while Garcia will start tonight true freshman Connor Shaw also will play. Spurrier said Shaw has outperformed Garcia, the Gamecocks' starter last season, in team scrimmages and that both would play in the first quarter and then he’d go from there. Sophomore running back Kenny Miles will start over true freshman Marcus Lattimore, arguably the nation’s top recruit in the Class of 2010.

Meanwhile, Southern Miss is 2-0 in openers under coach Larry Fedora. The Golden Eagles have opened against an SEC team 15 times and have won just three of those – all 15 have come on the road. Southern Miss has lost eight in a row overall against SEC clubs. USM’s star is WR DeAndre Brown, who helped lead the team to the Conference USA title game last year by finishing with 785 yards receiving and nine touchdowns to lead the team. Those numbers are even more impressive considering he was slowed by recovering from a broken leg.

Be a player and bet at Bodog on whether Spurrier can win yet another season opener.

The Tennessee Titans close out their preseason against the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints Thursday night in Nashville. The football betting public has made some money on both teams this season with both teams going 2-1 against the spread. The NFL Odds opened the football betting line favoring the Titans by -7 points and early action has pushed Tennessee to -7½ point favorites over...

The Ohio State Buckeyes are big 28-point favorites on Bodog’s NCAA odds for tonight’s season opener against Marshall, but a few factors might point to the Thundering Herd being able to cover the spread. This game will be shown on the Big Ten Network.

First off, OSU has struggled in season openers against fellow Division I teams in recent years. For example, in last year's opener, the Buckeyes struggled with Navy's option in a win that went down to the final minutes. In 2008, OSU beat MAC team Ohio by only a score of 26-14. And in 2007 the Buckeyes won an ugly 20-2 affair against Akron. Still, OSU is 9-0 in season openers under Coach Jim Tressel. OSU has not lost a home opener in 32 years.

Secondly, Ohio State plans to be a bit vanilla tonight because the Buckeyes have a huge date with Miami (Fla.) next weekend. Still, the Buckeyes are the preseason favorites to win the Big Ten, are ranked No. 2 in the major polls and feature one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Terrell Pryor, who remains the Bodog betting favorite to win the 2010 Heisman.

The second-ranked are the second-highest ranked team Marshall has ever played at the FBS level. Marshall has faced 14 Top 25 opponents since moving to the FBS level in 1997 and has an overall record of 2-12 in those games. Marshall is 0-13 against BCS opponents since 2005. Tonight’s game marks the debut of new coach Doc Holliday. Returning starting QB Brian Anderson struggled with inconsistency last season. He threw for 2,646 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, but he also threw 13 interceptions. And he’ll face a Buckeye defense that was one of the best in the nation in 2009.

Ohio State and Marshall have met just once before on Sept. 11, 2004, with the Buckeyes prevailing, 24-21, on a last-second field goal. OSU has lost just once in its history to current Conference USA teams.

Do you dare be a player and bet on Marshall to cover the spread tonight? Bet on college football at Bodog

Los campeones del Súper Bowl, New Orleans Saints, se preparan para iniciar la defensa su corona el próximo 9 de setiembre pero antes deberán pasar por Tennessee para jugar el último encuentro de preparación ante los Titans, este jueves a las 8 PM hora del Este. Líneas de Apuestas NFL: New Orleans Saints +7.5 Tennessee Titans -7.5 O/U...

Only in the preseason would the Football Lines favor the St. Louis Rams over the Baltimore Ravens! St. Louis has looked OK in the preseason and will look to finish the Preseason with a winning record. The only problem – they face the Baltimore Ravens in their finale. BALTIMORE RAVENS (3-0) vs. ST.

Tennis odds continue Thursday as the field at the U.S. Open begins thinning out a little bit. There is plenty of action to keep track of on both the men’s and women’s sides.

Kim Clijsters advanced after topping Sally Peers 6-2, 6-1. Clijsters is attempting to become the first back-to-back U.S. Open champ on the ladies’ side since Venus Williams did it in 2001. Clijsters draws Petra Kvitova on Thursday and is a massive favorite.

Speaking of Venus Williams, she advanced despite some early struggles against Rebecca Marino. Marino, ranked just 193rd in the world, pushed Williams in the 7-6 (3), 6-3 win but couldn’t do enough to secure the upset.

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki (-5000) will be in action Thursday when she faces Kai-Chen Chang (+1200) in the second round. Another high seed, No. 4 Jelena Jankovic (-600), will also hit the court; Jankovic faces Mirjana Lucic (+375).

In the men’s draw, two of the world’s best will be in action Thursday when No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic each hit the court. Federer is facing German Andreas Beck. As a -10000 favorite, Federer is expected to wipe the floor with Beck (+1600).

Djokovic, meanwhile, is paired up with another German — Philipp Petzschner. Bodog doesn’t expect this match to be quite so lopsided, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be ugly; Djokovic is a -750 favorite to Petzscher’s +450 underdog.

The story of the day, though, is American teen Ryan Harrison. He upset 15th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4. Just 18 years old, Harrison is going to gain attention in U.S. tennis circles very fast.

Thursday’s most interesting men’s match is probably between Ukrainian Nikolay Davydenko and Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Davydenko — the U.S. Open’s sixth-seeded player — has -300 Bodog tennis odds to beat Gasquet. The Frenchman is a +220 underdog.

Get all your U.S. Open odds and props at Bodog

Football odds resume up north this weekend, with games on Friday, Saturday, and a pair of Labor Day Classics on Monday. This is your CFL weekend glance.

First, the B.C. Lions will visit the Alouettes on Friday. The Als are trying to fend off Toronto in the East Division, while B.C. merely wants to escape the cellar in the West. Montreal had a bye last week but topped Winnipeg 39-17 in Week 8. The Lions are coming off a 48-35 shootout loss to Calgary. Because of a rash of injuries, Montreal will be forced to start Chris Leak under center; he looked sharp in relief of Anthony Calvillo in the win over Winnipeg.

On Sunday, the Roughriders host the Blue Bombers. Saskatchewan has fallen two games behind Calgary in the West after an embarrassing 17-14 loss to the two-win Eskimos. Quarterback Darian Durant struggled mightily, tossing three picks. Winnipeg had a bye last week but was on the wrong end of 39-17 loss to Montreal in Week 8.

Toronto and Hamilton meet in the first of two Labor Day Classics on Monday afternoon. The Argos have revenge on the brain; they dropped from a first-place tie with Montreal after losing 16-12 to Hamilton two weeks ago. The Hamilton defense did a great job limiting big plays while the offense ground out 127 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Finally, it’s first versus worst when the Eskimos visit the Stampeders. The Stamps rolled in a 48-35 win over B.C. in their last outing, largely thanks to 215 yards on the ground. Edmonton is hoping to capitalize on the momentum from last week’s 17-14 upset over Saskatchewan, which doubled the Eskimos’ win total to two games.

Get all your CFL odds and props at Bodog

Joe Soto and Joe Warren will clash on Bodog’s MMA odds this week as the third season of the Bellator Fighting Championship continues with a featherweight championship match.

Despite entering as the challenger, Warren is the narrow favorite with -130 odds. He’s appeared in just six career mixed martial arts matches, winning five of them. One victory came via knockout, but don’t expect Warren to be standing up boxing — he’s an expert wrestler. Warren earned gold medals as a Greco-Roman wrestler at the 2006 Pan-Am Games and the World Championship, and he was a favorite at the Olympics that year before testing positive for THC — a by-product of using marijuana (Warren claimed he was using it for medicinal purposes).

The American made his MMA debut in March 2009, when he earned a TKO (a doctor’s stoppage) over Chase Beebe. Warren’s lone career loss came to Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes courtesy of a first-round arm bar. Since then, Warren has won three straight fights, although his most recent victory — over Brazilian Patricio Freire in June — was a split decision.

Although he doesn’t have the same pedigree on the mat, Soto (even odds) also has a wrestling background. The champ went to Iowa Central Community College where he wrestled (and shared a room) with rising UFC star Jon Jones. “The Hammer” won his first four fights before being picked up by Bellator. The winning ways have continued, largely thanks to a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Soto’s record now stands at 9-0. His most recent win came in May, a TKO (doctor’s stoppage) over Brazilian Diego Saraiva. Of Soto’s nine wins, four have come via knockout and another four by submission. He certainly has a much broader arsenal of tricks than Warren brings to the table.

Bet on every MMA fight at Bodog

There’s action at Pebble Beach this weekend as the Champions Tour First Tee Open gets underway on Thursday. Fred Couples finds himself atop the Bodog golf odds to kick off the tourney but, for the most part, it’s wide open this weekend.

Couples (9/2 odds) ranks second on the Champions Tour this season; he has three wins to his name, though he hasn’t claimed a victory in months — all three wins came in consecutive tournaments in February and March. That said, he’s still been quite solid in his past few outings, earning Top-5 finishes in three of his last four events on the Champions Tour.

Tom Lehman is next in line at 7/2. He has one win on the senior circuit this season — a victory at the Senior PGA Championship in May. He’s been good for several Top-5 finishes this year, including a fourth-place finish in his last outing (at the JELD-WEN Tradition at the Crosswater Club).

Fred Funk and Mark Calcavecchia clock in next, each with 14/1 odds. Funk is fifth in the Champions Tour standings after settling for an eighth-place finish at the Boeing Classic last weekend. Funk did score a victory at the JELD-WEN a few weeks ago, however. Calcavecchia has made just five appearances on the senior circuit this year. He’s been solid if unspectacular, finishing as high as second and notching three finishes among the Top 6.

Tom Watson rounds out the top five. Watson has 16/1 odds but he’s been rarely seen on the links this year, playing in just eight total tournaments (five on the Champions Tour). He placed 15th at the JELD-WEN in his most recent outing and his play has generally been sliding since opening the year with a win at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in January.

Get all your golf odds and props at Bodog

Teasing preseason games in the NFL is always a great way to get an edge on the oddsmakers if a line is tight. They don't get any tighter than in the preseason, so we are set to take advantage. Check out our super NFL teaser of the week for the fourth and final week of the preseason. [Off topic: by the way, do you want to get a 60% bonus on your first deposit here at BetUS? Find out more...

The 1-2 New York Jets take on the 2-1 Philadelphia Eagles in a last tune up game before the regular season with the Football Line reflecting the notion that this could be a close game. With most roster spots already determined, the goal of this game appears to keep the starters healthy. NEW YORK JETS vs.

NFL odds bettors who are interested in preseason games might want to cast their eyes on Ford Field on Thursday, as the Detroit Lions are laying five points to the Buffalo Bills in the preseason finale for both times. This is probably a rare occasion where the Lions are this much of a favorite, unless they can make great strides under coach Jim Schwartz this season.

The AFC features some teams that could sneak up and steal their divisions and now is time to consider some NFL Futures betting. The AFC North, AFC South and AFC East all have underdog teams that could make you a winner in your NFL Futures Betting.

Southern Mississippi vs South Carolina College Football Predictions: Thursday night, with kickoff set for 7:30 pm Eastern, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks will get the 2010 SEC football season started when they host the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles of Conference USA in a non-league game at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. Neither Carolina nor USM are ranked by any of the major college football polls but the Gamecocks are considered heavy favorites in the game, lined at Sportsbook.com as 14-chalk favorites. The games posted total opened at 47 points. (http://affiliates.commissionaccount.com/processing/clickthrgh.asp?btag=a_4061b_843) While the Golden Eagles are...