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05/28/2010 - Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Connecticut has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA in regard to possible recruiting violations in the men's basketball program.
UConn officials and the NCAA have been investigating the basketball program since March of 2009, when a report from Yahoo! Sports indicated possible rules violations in the recruitment of Nate Miles, who was expelled from school in October of 2008 without even practicing with the Huskies. The Yahoo! Sports report said Miles was provided with lodging, meals and transportation by Josh Nochimson -- a professional agent and a former UConn student manager.
The school on Friday said the notice from the NCAA contains eight allegations of violations, including impermissible phone calls and text messages to prospective student-athletes, impermissible benefits provided to a prospective student-athlete by a representative of the institution's athletic interests and an impermissible benefit to a prospective student-athlete by a member of the basketball staff.
UConn head coach Jim Calhoun was also part of the allegations, as the NCAA said he failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance in the men's basketball program and failed to adequately monitor the program to ensure compliance with NCAA legislation regarding telephone calls, text messages and benefits provided by a representative of the institution's athletic interests.
"During these past fifteen months, we have fully cooperated with the NCAA's inquiry into our recruitment of a particular student athlete and other matters generally related to the recruitment and conduct of our program," Calhoun said in a release through the school. "In this regard, we are steadfast in our belief that we operate a program deeply committed to complying with the NCAA's guidelines.
"In my 38 years as a collegiate head basketball coach, 25 of which I have spent at the University of Connecticut, I look with particular pride at our strong record of compliance and the impact that we have had on the young men in our program.
"We look forward to working with the NCAA in the coming months and expect to fully respond to their concerns. While we may have made some mistakes in the recruiting process, UConn has never wavered in terms of its fostering and maintaining a strong culture of compliance and has always striven to meet the high standards expected of us."
The university has until August 20 to provide a response to the NCAA Committee on Infractions. School officials are scheduled to appear before the committee on October 15-16.
"The University of Connecticut is fully committed to NCAA rules compliance and takes this matter very seriously," said UConn athletic director Jeffrey Hathaway. "With regard to Coach Calhoun, he personally has a long standing history of demonstrated commitment to NCAA compliance. We appreciate his continued commitment, as well as the full cooperation and support that he has provided throughout this process."
Other allegations from the NCAA include the provision of impermissible complimentary admissions or discretionary tickets, as well as a failure by the institution to adequately monitor the conduct and administration of the men's basketball staff in the areas of: telephone records; representatives of the institution's athletics interests; and complimentary admissions or discretionary tickets.
The NCAA also alleged that two members of the basketball staff provided false and misleading information to the NCAA Enforcement staff and to the institution.
On Thursday night, the Hartford Courant reported that assistant coach Patrick Sellers and director of basketball operations Beau Archibald resigned in the wake of the allegations.
The notice of allegations says members of the basketball staff violated rules by exchanging at least 160 impermissible phone calls and sending at least 191 impermissible text messages to prospective student-athletes. The NCAA permits just one call per month to prospective recruits in a player's junior year of high school.
In regard to Nochimson, the NCAA alleges he provided impermissible benefits and that as a former team manager he could be considered a person with "athletic interests" for the school. Therefore, he would be unable to be involved in the recruiting process.
The school released documents from the NCAA detailing Nochimson's role and correspondence with members of the UConn staff, including assistant coach Tom Moore, now the head coach at Quinnipiac.
In late September 2008, Miles was arrested by UConn campus police and issued a restraining order after a female student said she was physically and sexually assaulted by him. Miles then made contact with the woman, leading to felony charges of violating a restraining order.
The school expelled Miles in early October before basketball practice began. Miles eventually enrolled at the College of Southern Idaho.
<< Blue Jays, Orioles set to begin stretch of divisional games
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Already 18 games out of first place in the American League
East, the Baltimore Orioles can at least try to have some fun by shaking up
the standings with 12 straight matchups against their division opponents.
The Orioles w
<< Rockies aim for sixth straight win vs. LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies go for a sixth straight win this
evening when they open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at
Coors Field.
The Rockies continued to roll on Thursday, as Seth Smith, Carlos Gonz
<< Giants seek to deal Diamondbacks fifth straight loss
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants got their nine-game homestand off
to a good start, but could experience some trouble tonight with struggling
starter Matt Cain on the hill for the opener of a three-games series versus
the Arizona Dia
<< West-leading Padres resume homestand with visit from Nats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League West-leading San Diego Padres need just
one more win to secure a fourth straight month of at least .500 baseball. They
have a good shot at doing that tonight, with the Washington Nationals in town
for the
Many early entries will likely go undrafted >>
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -A record wave of college basketball players have left school early for the chance to get paid by the NBA - despite the league's uncertain labor situation.For some, like Kentucky's John Wall and Ohio State's Evan Turner, it's p
Fiery Westhoff rebuilding Jets' special teams unit >>
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -Mike Westhoff is trying to rebuild the New York Jets' special teams unit after losing several key players, including the kicker, long snapper and special teams ace.Westhoff tells The Associated Press he is probably facing th
Four comprise 2010 Hall of Fame class >>
Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Horses of the Year Point Given
and Azeri, along with Best Pal and retired jockey Randy Romero, have been
elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. The four will be
inducte
AL Central: Cleveland a target for jokesters >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When your team has the second-worst record in the American
League and boasts the lowest attendance totals in all of baseball, you're
bound to be the butt of a few jokes.
That seems be the case for the Cleveland Indians, wh
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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