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The Minnesota Vikings’ decision to facilitate Brett Favre’s latest ‘unretirement’ is looking better and better with each passing week. This past Sunday, Favre’s charges moved to 6-0 on the season with a wild 33-31 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens posted 21 fourth quarter points to charge back and claim the lead late, but Favre led a rally to set up place kicker Ryan Longwell’s 31 yard game winning field goal. Baltimore evened their record at 3-3 on the season with the loss.

Minnesota has been one of the surprise teams of the season, and that fact has also enriched those who bet on NFL football. They didn’t get the money on this occasion, however, as the Ravens took the cheese as a +3 road underdog. Still, it was only the Vikings’ second loss of the year against the NFL pointspread (4-2) while Baltimore has also been solid against the number with a 4-2 mark. The cover broke a two game ATS losing streak for the Ravens. The 64 combined points soared OVER the posted total of 45′.

Baltimore QB Joe Flacco got the Ravens in range for a last second game winning field goal, but Steven Hauschka’s 44 yard try went wide left. After the game, he took his miss hard:

“It’s tough for me. I feel like I let them down. That’s something I have to live with.”

Ravens’ running back Ray Rice disputed Hauschka’s scapegoat status:

“We didn’t lose that game because of Hauschka’s miss. If we start fast and put points on the board, our defense starts fast, I think the game is a totally different outcome. But that’s what happens when you play against great teams.”

Flacco praised his team for fighting back from a 27-10 fourth quarter deficit:

“We realize what kind of fighters we have in our locker room and that’s what we’re going to use the rest of the year. I think we were 3-3 last year, not that that matters, but we can overcome anything.”

Ray Lewis concurred with his quarterback’s comments:

“Every game has been a game of inches. But for me, being in this business for so long, it just speaks volumes for our team in the way we fight, regardless of the circumstance we’ve been put in.”

The Vikings now face arguably their toughest scheduling stretch of the season, beginning with a trip to the ‘Steel City’ for a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Vikings are a +4 road underdog with the total set at 45. The following week Minnesota heads to Green Bay for what is sure to be an emotional return for Favre. The Ravens will face another undefeated team after a bye week, hosting the Denver Broncos on November 1.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The South Carolina Gamecocks used a nasty defensive effort, combined with an efficient and mistake free performance from quarterback Steven Garcia to upset #4 Mississippi 16-10 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC. The Gamecocks ended a 22 game losing streak against top 5 ranked teams, while Ole Miss saw their eight game winning streak come to an end.

College football betting enthusiasts who took the Gamecocks as +4 home underdogs were financially rewarded with South Carolina’s outright victory. After falling behind 3-0 after the first quarter, South Carolina led 6-3 at halftime and never trailed again.

After the game, Gamecocks QB Garcia said that it wasnt the prettiest game but the victory negated that:

“It was a pretty ugly win, but a win and we’ll take it every time.”

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier agreed:

“It was good to get a win when everybody watches. It was good for all Gamecocks. We thought we could beat them. Thought it was a toss-up game. But the way it turned out, the way our defense played, 16 points was enough.”

In particular, the defense completely shut down highly touted Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead. Snead finished with a mere 107 yards and made no excuses after the game:

“We really hurt ourselves and we continued to do it all throughout the game, into the last series. It’s tough.

Ole Miss entered the game with their highest national ranking since 1970, when Archie Manning prowled the Rebel backfield. Despite that, head coach Houston Nutt didnt sense any undue pressure on his team before the game:

“I never did sense that we were feeling a lot of pressure. Now it is what it is. You’ve lost your first conference game. You’ve got to work hard and win the next conference game.”

Rebel offensive lineman Bradley Sowell, meanwhile, contradicted his coachs observation by expressing his relief:

“I’m glad it’s over with so everyone can just stop talking about it.

The Gamecocks improved their 2009 college football record to 3-1 (1-0 SEC). Theyll host FCS opponent South Carolina State in Columbia next weekend before resuming their SEC schedule the following week against the University of Kentucky. Theyll take to the road on October 17th for what figures to be a tough game against the University of Alabama. Ole Miss is right back into SEC play next week, facing Vanderbilt on the road in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings are undefeated no more. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ used a couple of big plays from their defense in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and defeat the Vikings by a final score of 27-17. Favre put up decent yardage in the loss, throwing for 334 yards but had no touchdowns and an interception. The defending Superbowl Champion Steelers improved to 5-2, while the Vikings are now 6-1.

NFL pointspread players who backed the Steelers as -6 home favorites were rewarded with the cover. Pittsburgh had only covered one of their first six games heading into the contest, and the win improved their record against the number to 2-5. Minnesota dropped to 4-3 against the spread with the setback.

The Steelers largely shut down Minnesota’s rushing game, holding Adrian Peterson to 69 yards. Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark underscored his team’s dominance against the run:

“That’s the biggest point of the game. You have the best running back in the world and you don’t give it to him. They’re saying they can’t beat us running, and that’s a major statement when you have the guy they have back there.”

Favre gave a feeble justification for the loss in his postgame interview:

“There were a lot of what ifs, a lot of reasons we didn’t win. The red zone was one of them. They’re physical, and they were as good as we thought they’d be. … When I came here and looked at our schedule and saw the Steelers game, I went, ‘Oh-h-h.’ ”

Favre has only thrown three interceptions in a Vikings’ uniform, but #3 was a costly one as it was returned by Steelers’ Keyaron Fox for a touchdown to put the game out of reach as Minnesota was driving for a potential game tying field goal. Afterwards, Fox recalled the play:

“Brett tried to force it in there and the running back bobbled it and slipped out of his hands and it fell into my lap. I had just run across the field after Peterson and I was winded, so it felt like it was 100-plus yards.”

The Vikings now face another big game next week as they head to Favre’s old stomping grounds in Green Bay for a battle with the Packers. It’ll be Favre’s first appearance at his old home in an enemy uniform. The Vikings will then have a bye weekend before hosting the lowly Detroit Lions on November 15. Pittsburgh will enjoy a bye week this week before returning to action on Monday, November 9th facing the Denver Broncos on the road.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The offensively struggling Kansas City Chiefs have finally found a way to win-play a team with a more stagnant offense than their own. The Chiefs gave Todd Haley his first win as a NFL head coach on Sunday with a—6 win over the Washington Redskins. Kansas City won despite not scoring a touchdown, compiling their– points via 4 Ryan Succop field goals and a game ending safety. Kansas City is now 1-5 on the NFL season, while the Redskins slumped to 2-4.

To successfully bet on NFL football you occasionally have to put aside W/L records and look at the underlying statistics. Those who did that found reason to take Kansas City as +6′ road underdogs and were rewarded with the outright victory. Kansas City is now 2-4 against the NFL pointspread and has covered two straight while Washington is a dismal 1-5 versus the money.

After the contest, Haley sounded more relieved than excited about finally putting a “W” on the board:

“We made it pretty difficult, right down to the end. We’ve pushed through a very difficult period. We needed to get some positive reinforcement with a win.”

Kansas City QB Matt Cassel also won for the first time since coming over from New England in the off season. His postgame comments were more upbeat:

“There’s been a lot of change, but this has definitely been special. We rose to the occasion. We made some big plays. We put ourselves in a position to score points.”

Embattled Redskins’ coach Jim Zorn was stripped of his offensive play calling duties by team management after the contest. In one of his last decisions in that role, he pulled starter Jason Campbell at halftime and went with Todd Collins. He explained his move as follows:

“I felt the need to create a spark on our football team offensively and went with Todd. I think the guys responded well. We kept our spark, at times, and then we refizzled.”

The Redskins have managed to win only two of their first six games despite being the only team in NFL history to play their first six games of the season against winless opponents. They’ll get another chance to silence their doubters next Monday night as they host the Philadelphia Eagles. The Skins are +6′ home underdogs with the total set at 38′. They’ll have a bye the next week and return to action on November 8th against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. Kansas City will try to string together back to back wins as they host the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

In a victory for the highlight reels, Brett Favre completed a 32 yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with 2 seconds remaining in the game to lift the Minnesota Vikings to a dramatic 27-24 come from behind victory over the San Francisco 49ers. It was the 43rd time in his career that The Gunslinger had pulled out a victory when his team is tied or trailing in the fourth quarter. The rapidly improving 49ers dropped their first game of the year in heartbreaking fashion, while the Vikings remained undefeated at 3-0.

While the Vikings may have won the game on the scoreboard, the Niners took the decision where it really matters. San Francisco rewarded NFL betting devotees with their third pointspread cover in three games this season, cashing tickets as +6 road underdogs. It was the Vikings first setback to the spread against two victories this season. The 51 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 39.

Favre commented on the victory after the game:

“It’s hard to even recall all of ‘em. This one was pretty special.

The game winning touchdown pass into the back corner of the endzone was upheld by video review. Niners cornerback Nate Clemens said this was a hard setback to take:

“I’ve had some hard losses. This is just another one for the list. We just have to keep chopping away.”

Greg Lewis, who caught Favres game winning pass, said that the entire offense was fired up on the final drive:

“The offensive line was fired up. Adrian was fired up, and the receivers were fired up. And Brett fell right in. He was fired up, too, like: ‘We’re going to get this done And that’s the attitude that we took out there on the field.”

In his postgame comments, Vikings coach Greg Childress commended the poise of his veteran quarterback:

“He’s been in many, many, many, many situations like that so it never hurts you to have a veteran like him going down the field.”

In the Niners locker room, coach Mike Singletary could be heard giving his team a tough love pep talk:

“You have nothing to be looking at the floor for! You didn’t steal anything! You didn’t do anything wrong! OK? We’re going to get better! We’re going to get there! We will see them again in the playoffs, all right? You hold your head up!”

The 49ers will return home to host the St. Louis Rams next Sunday. That game is currently off the board due to the questionable status of Niners running back Frank Gore who left the game with an ankle injury. Theyll host the Atlanta Falcons the following week before a bye week. Minnesota will host the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football next week. The Vikings are a -3 home favorite in that contest. Theyll play at St. Louis the following weekend before returning home to host the Baltimore Ravens on 10/18.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The English Premier League season is only a couple of weeks old, but newly promoted Burnley has already pulled off what may be the biggest upset of the season in all of European soccer. In their first home game at the top level of English soccer in 33 years, Robbie Blake scored early in the game and Burnley held on to upset reigning league champions Manchester United before 20,000 jubilant fans.

The Clarets were putting good pressure on Man U goaltender Ben Foster early in the game, and Blake made their effort pay at the 18 minute mark when he scored on a near post volley. That was the only score of the game, despite the best efforts of the visitors who seemingly awoke from their slumber at this point and began to put the pressure on the Burnley upstarts. Man U would hold a 19-9 shots on goal advantage for the game, and hold a lopsided 67%/33% time of possession edge.

Still, Burnley would hold the advantage on the big scoreboard at the end of the game thanks to the steady play of their netminder Brian Jensen who withstood the Man U onslaught to preserve the historic victory. Afterwards, Burnley manager Owen Coyle commended Man U general Sir Alex Ferguson with his graciousness in defeat:

“Sir Alex dealt with defeat in the gracious manner I would expect of someone like that. He is the best manager in world football and I still expect Manchester United to be champions.”

Burnley has been the favorite to be relegated back to the Champions League, and they looked like they didnt belong after a 2-0 opening game loss to Stoke City. Coyle addressed the teams naysayers in his postgame comments:

“One or two have already written us off. I am not surprised about that. When you look at the financial side, we will have to produce every week. Outside this club, everybody looked at our first five games and expected we would be on zero points. We were disappointed on Saturday and we needed to be brave this time. Now we have a massive game on Sunday against Everton, although whatever happens we are three points better off than we were at this stage in the Championship last season.”

Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that his team didnt play well, but wasnt about to minimize Burnleys first English Premier League victory since 1976:

“It was a bad performance considering the chances and possession we had. Maybe if we had got the penalty just before half time it would have made a difference but in saying that we were too frivolous with the chances we had. It has been a long time out of the top flight for them and you cannot deny them their victory.”

Burnley will host Everton this weekend, while Manchester United will try to get back on the winning track on the road against Wigan at DW Stadium.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.