Wednesday Service plays

DR BOB

Oklahoma (-7 ½) vs West Virginia: Tough call without knowing how West Virginia will react to their coach leaving them, but the value is certainly on West Virginia if they show up. I’ll lean with West Virginia and would have considered them for a Strong Opinion had coach Rodriguez not left for the Michigan job.

Arthur Ralph

Super Pick WED NBA New Orleans

900 Double Play Fiesta bowl Oklahoma

ARTHUR RALPH FREE PLAY- NC WILM CBB

Gameday

4* Oklahoma

Jeff Kline

100* Virginia Tech

NORTHCOAST POWER SWEEPS: ( 23-4 )

WV & Oklahoma last played in 1982 when the Mountaineers pulled off a 41-27 (+14’) upset.Oklahoma is 18-2-1 (5-2 ATS) vs teams from the BE. West Virginia is 9-8 (4-2 ATS) vs teams from Big 12. OK is 2-5 ATS as an AF incl 1-2 at a neutral site. WV is making its 1st trip to the Fiesta Bowl since the 1988 National Championship (34-21 loss to ND) and are in their 6th straight bowl (2-3 SU & 1-4 ATS). OK will make their 2nd straight Fiesta Bowl appearance losing here LY to Boise St on the much talked about Statue of Liberty 2 pt conv. WV is making their 2nd BCS bowl in 3Y, defeating UGA in ‘05, 38-35 (+6). WV has played 8 bowl caliber teams going 7-1 SU (4-4 ATS) outscoring opp’s 37-17 & outgaining them 460-302. OK has played 7 bowl teams (MO 2x) going 6-2 SU (4-4 ATS) outscoring those opp’s 39-23 & outgaining them 415-370. Both these teams last played on Dec 1st. OK jumped to #3 after an impressive 21 pt win over #1 Missouri in the Big 12 Champ gm. If not for QB Bradford’s concussion in the TT loss, OK would be playing for the National Championship. WV needed just one more win to be in the National Title game but became the 7th #2 to get knocked off TY losing to rival Pitt as a 29 pt favorite in the finale. WV has 10 senior starters among 19 upperclassmen while OK has 6 among 17. WV will be well represented as they have sold their allotment of tickets the last 4 bowl gms & with OK playing here LY, their fans (who always travel) will be on familiar ground. Oklahoma started TY off as the most dominant team in the NCAA. They did taper off a bit, but ended the ssn strong with blow out wins vs in-state rival OKSt and Missouri allowing them to earn a 5th Big 12 Title. Oklahoma has our #7 ranked offense avg the 3rd highest in scoring with 43.4 ppg & 451 ypg. RFr QB Bradford did not win the starting job till fall but finished leading the nation in pass efficiency (180.5).Stoops was surprised that he wasn’t in the running for the Heisman. RB Murray & Patrick split the load much of the year but Murray inj’d his knee vs TT and will not play here. Patrick needs 73 rushing yards to record the 26th individual 1,000-yard season in OK history. The OL avg 6’5” 322, the largest in OK history paving the way for 192 ypg (4.7) while all’g just 11 sks (3.0%). They are led by AA OG Robinson. The DL avg 6’3” 276 bolstering the NCAA’s #8 rush defense all’g 92 ypg (2.8) with 24 of the teams 32 sks (75%). OK finished with our #3 D. OK was the 1st team to hold Mizzou under 30 pts led by Big 12 Def POY LB Lofton who had a huge game with 9 tkl, 3 tfl, 1 sk & 1 int. He’s ranked 12th in the NCAA in total tkls. The secondary features All-B12 S’s Harris & Smith who will miss the bowl due to a broken toe. They have our #13 pass efficiency defense all’g 232 ypg (61%) with a 15-19 ratio. OK has our #7 ST’s ranking. Murray returned 2 KR’s for TD but with his injury, Iglesias takes over the workload (28.7). The Mountaineers have our #4 offense avg 38.9 ppg & 451 ypg. WV’s spread offense is led by 2x BE Off POY QB White who is also the BE QB rush record holder with 3,542 yds and counting. He was inj’d in both of WV’s losses TY including for over 2Q’s in the Backyard Brawl (thumb) but should be healthy here. RB Slaton entered the ssn as a Heisman candidate, but with defenses keying on him he avg’d 60 ypg (4.0) in the L/5 gms. RR, who was named the AFCA COY, will have to use other weapons like FB Schmitt, RB Devine & WR Reynaud who finished with 32 more rec’s than the next WR. The OL avg 6’5” 297 paving the way for the #4 rush attack with 293 ypg (6.0) all’g just 13 sks (5.3%). WV returned 8 starters on defense, who vowed to erase LY’s #109 defensive ranking and they finished #4 in the NCAA in ttl D this year. They have our #10 ranking all’g 17 ppg, 292 ypg with 37 sks. The DL avg 6’3” 283 all’g 108 ypg rush (2.9). The Mountaineers play a 3-3-5 stack defense that applies a lot of pressure and swarms to the ball. They have our #19 pass eff defense all’g 184 ypg (55%) with a 13-15 ratio. WV has our #30 ST’s led by P/K McAfee, who had a solid year despite 2 costly missed FG’s in the Backyard Brawl. OU is off a feel good win securing another B12 Title while interim HC has to get the Mountaineers re-focused after a evastating loss knocking them from the National Title game and with the departure of RR to Michigan. Oklahoma’s defense is loaded with VHT’s and they have the speed to contain the Slaton/White rush attack. OU’s offense doesn’t get the attention their defense does but they did avg 35ppg in B12 play. Oklahoma will be a focused squad in this Fiesta Bowl after losing to Boise last year. FORECAST: OKLAHOMA 35 WEST VIRGINIA 24 RATING: 2*

Burns Main Event

Prediction: West Virginia

Reason: I'm taking the points with WEST VIRGINIA. These are both excellent teams. Both are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and both could have easily been playing for the national title. Naturally, you've heard all about the West Virginia "coaching situation" by now. I won't try and argue that this is a "positive" thing for the Mountaineers. However, I don't think it will have as big a "negative" effect as most people are expecting. This is an experienced team with a lot of pride and I really think that they'll come into this game with something to prove. The Mountaineers' two losses came when their leader (Pat White NOT coach Rich Rodriguez) wasn't 100% and had gotten hurt. White, the Big East record holder for rushing yards by a quarterback, is reportedly back to 100% now though. He had another terrific season and the combination of he and tailback Steve Slaton, who ran for 17 TDs and his third straight 1,000-yard season, are as deadly as any duo in the game. White, the two-time reigning Big East player of the year, can also throw the ball though, as evidenced by his 12 touchdown passes (he ran for 14) to only four interceptions. He'll have the advantage of facing an Oklahoma secondary which is missing All-Big 12 cornerback Reggie Smith. Lendy Holmes, who usually starts at safety, would have replaced him. However, he's been ruled academically ineligible, leaving the Sooners without a couple of key members from their secondary. While the Sooners are still strong defensively, I expect those losses to be felt. While not many people talk about the Mountaineers' defense, they are also outstanding on that side of the ball. In fact, they only allowed an average of 16.3 points in their six road games and a mere 12.7 points (only 285 yards per game!) in their three games played on grass. The Sooners lost here last season and have just one win in their past four Bowl games. Their last two Bowls have been decided by a single point (42-43 here last year) and by a field goal, 17-14 two seasons ago. The Mountaineers, on the other hand, have won their past two Bowl games. Note that both of them were both decided by a field goal. White and co. really want to show the world that they're a better team than the one that lost to Pittsburgh and also that they were the ones that made this team Big East champions, not Coach Rodriguez. Look for an inspired effort as they take this game down to the wire, earning at least the cover and improving to 5-2 ATS the last seven times they were listed as underdogs. *Main Event

Brandon Lang

30 Dime
Oklahoma

5 Dime
Charlotte Hornets
Indiana Hoosiers

30 Dime - Oklahoma – First, we have the Sooners, who return to the scene of last year's infamous game with Boise State, which for 366 days now have dominated the highlight-reels with its Statue of Liberty play, and Ian Johnson's engagement proposal to his cheerleader-chick.

Then there's the fact West Virginia comes in off its season-ending loss to Pittsburgh, a setback that cost the Mountaineers a spot in the BCS Title game. Some say that's a good thing for WVU, which will be motivated to win; others say it's bad, as the Mountaineers showed their vulnerability.

Most notably, the departure of Rich Rodriguez for Michigan has stolen the headlines for this one, and everyone has to be wondering how the Mountaineers will do without him on the sidelines, as associate head coach Bill Stewart will be the interim coach for this one.

So where do we go from here, when these two teams are evenly matched, ranking Nos. 17 and 18 in total offense and Nos. 7 and 9 in scoring defense? That's the simplest answer out there: While West Virginia relies on a rushing game that averages 292.9 yards a game to rank fourth nationally, Oklahoma has the balanced attack you need for a game like this. Think about USC last night – we saw a balanced attack and we saw destruction.

And the fact Oklahoma gives up only 91.9 yards rushing, we're riding a team that has the ability to slow West Virginia's rushing attack. And yes, before you start sending emails in about the three defensive starters that were missing today, I know all about it! But the Sooners have known about two of them for the past month, and will come in prepared to play without them.

This is no ordinary Sooners team ending their season today, it's more so a squad that is beginning their quest for a National Championship run next season. Yep, you heard it here first, Oklahoma is beginning its quest for the BCS Title tonight. And thanks thanks to a wealth of returning talent, a convincing Sooner victory over West Virginia will serve as a prelude for a run at an eighth national championship next season.

So while there's an argument by some Oklahoma should have received consideration into next Monday's National Championship game, along with USC and Georgia, I am telling you if you want to see a preview of one half of the 2009 BCS Title Game, watch these Sooners closely.

5 Dime – Hornets - While my colleague Chris Jordan is using this as a free play, I know much better that this is premium-play worthy tonight, as we side with a team looking to get back on track after seeing its five-game winning streak end against Toronto on Monday night. There's always going to be an off night for players playing well and teams doing the same, so after having double-doubles in three consecutive games, the Hornets' Tyson Chandler finished with five points and six rebounds against the Raptors. Nevertheless, New Orleans comes in with an 11-5 road mark, and having won seven of 12 against the Western Conference. Play the road warrior in this one.

5 Dime – Indiana – In the Big 10 opener for both teams, we side with the much-better Hoosiers, who have had a terrific preseason, running off 11 wins in 12 games. Indiana has won seven straight and comes in off a 38-point drubbing over Chicago State this past Saturday, and should be able to keep up the hot streak from the field in this one tonight. But forget about the Hoosiers for a minute, Iowa has been quite disappointing this year, despite a 7-6 mark. The Hawkeyes, who are 2-7 ATS on the season, are now 3-6 SU in their last nine. The visitor in this Big 10 clash is 10-4 ATS the last 14 times these two have met, so we'll play the Hoosiers here.

Vegas Experts Tip Of The Day

50 - 31 last 3 months

Detroit comes in with double-revenge which ought to be enough to get it motivated. Pistons lost two in a row to the Wizards last January, one home and one away, and haven't seen the Washington squad since. DETROIT is 12-1 ATS versus teams like the Wizards who attempt 18 or more 3 point shots/game on the season this season while WASHINGTON is 28-51 ATS since 1996 in home games versus teams like Detroit that make 46% or more of their shots.

Play on: Detroit

Drew Gordon:

1. 200,000* Oklahoma
2. 50,000* Creighton
3. 50,000* Warriors

Joe Wiz

NBA
Orlando -6.5

ARMVIN SPORTS

CFB
WEST VIRGINIA at OKLAHOMA Under 63

CBB
TULANE -1
BRADLEY 8
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 5
NEW MEXICO STATE -8.5

NHL
EDMONTON at ST LOUIS Over 5

Bob Akmens

ST LOUIS BLUES -185

This play is the result of a successful computer model that has allowed Bob Akmens Sports to finish in first-place in 148 different categories of documented monitored handicapping contests since 1978. Bob Akmens Sports has finished #1 in back-to-back-to-back-to-back NHL contests: '06-07 both regular & playoffs at The Sports Monitor & '05-'06 the same at The Sports Eye. This model looks at the most-predictive variables that go into the winning and losing of games. Several interesting factors in today's play are as follows: Edmonton has only won 2 of their last 13 decisions at St Louis. As a matter of fact, given that they won their last game there, it's unlikely they'd win 2 in a row. Why' Because you have to go back to the mid-90s -almost a 30-game stretch - to find back-to-back Oiler wins at the Blues. So you wondered why the Blues were favored by -185? Now you know.

ERockMoney

WEST VIRGINIA +7

Oklahoma is probably the second best team in the country, while WV is probably around fourth or fifth. I still can't believe WV lost to Pittsburgh. I think WV will bounce back and showcase their offensive talent and give an outstanding Oklahoma team a run for their money.

LT Lock

Bobcats

John Ryan

Prediction: West Virginia

Reason: Ai Simulator 7* graded play on West Virginia

Spreitzer College BB KO

Creighton

Kelso

Oklahoma -7.5 v. WVU 25 units

Frank Rosenthal

FIESTA BOWL
476 OKLAHOMA-7 SB+
UNDER 63.5 SB

NBA
702 MAGIC-6 SB
712 CELTICS-10 SB+
714 HEAT-2 SB
715 KINGS+3.5 SB

COLLEGE HOOPS
726 GEORGIA ST+12 SB
727 TCU+20.5 SB
733 DELAWARE+6.5 SB
739 RUTGERS+12 SB
744 DAYTON-6 SB
752 YALE-5.5 SB
763 KENT ST+21 SB
708 NW-1 SB+

Ben Burns

Main Event
west virginia

CBB
Akron

Div GOM
Twolves

Conf TOW
Under Mavs/Warriors

Big AL

At 8 pm, our selection is on the West Virginia Mountaineers plus the points over Oklahoma.

At 8:35 pm, our selection is on the Dallas Mavericks minus the points over Golden State.

At 7 pm, our selection is on the Massachusetts Minutemen minus the points over Houston.

At 7 pm, our selection is on the Dayton Flyers minus the points over Akron.