Jackson, Kampman and Gould earn NFC's weekly awards

Football Betting Lines

12/27/2006 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson, Green Bay Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman and Chicago kicker Robbie Gould have been selected as the NFC's top players for Week 16 of the season.

Jackson earned the offensive award after racking up 252 yards from scrimmage with a pair of touchdowns in the Rams' 37-31 overtime win over Washington. He had 33 carries for 150 yards and caught six passes for 102 yards.

The Pro Bowl back's 64-yard touchdown reception pulled St. Louis within 28-21 in the third quarter and he scored the winning touchdown in overtime with a 21-yard run to help keep the Rams' playoff hopes alive. It was also his first career Player of the Week honor.

Kampman notched his second career defensive award -- and second of the season -- in Green Bay's 9-7 victory over Minnesota. He had a team-best seven tackles and tied his career high with three sacks to help the Packer defense hold the Vikings to just 104 total net yards as Green Bay kept its playoff hopes alive.

Gould drilled four field goals in Chicago's 26-21 win over Detroit to capture the special teams award for the second time. Three of his kicks came in the fourth quarter as the Bears rallied from a 21-17 deficit.

Other nominees for the offensive award included New Orleans running backs Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister. Bush had a career-high 126 rushing yards with a touchdown and caught two passes for 23 yards in a 30-7 rout of the New York Giants, while McAllister ran for 108 yards with a score.

A pair of Eagles were also considered, as quarterback Jeff Garcia threw for 238 yards with one touchdown and running back Brian Westbrook carried 26 times for 122 yards in a 23-7 Christmas Day win over Dallas.

Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks was among those nominated for defensive honors after notching six tackles and a 21-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 22-7 win over Cleveland. Two other Bucs were considered, as safety Jermaine Phillips had seven tackles with a pair of interceptions and defensive tackle Greg Spires notched five tackles with two sacks.

Special teams consideration went to Packers kicker Dave Rayner, who accounted for all of Green Bay's nine points with three field goals, including the game- winner from 44 yards away with 1:34 remaining.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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