Tag: NCAAF

Why Georgia coach Kirby Smart ‘couldn’t stomach’ Tiger King

Kirby Smart is decidedly not a fan of Joe Exotic.

Tiger King is everywhere. Seemingly everyone has watched the Netflix true crime docuseries, officially titled Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness, while they’re cooped up inside and practicing social distancing or self-quarantining — or sheltering in place, depending on varying statewide orders — during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Well, Georgia football coach Kirby Smart was among the many people looking for an entertaining show, but he’s decidedly not a fan of Tiger King, which is famously outrageous, compelling and appalling and centered around a guy named Joe Exotic.

Smart said during a media conference call Tuesday that he started the seven-episode documentary, but he just couldn’t make it through the first two. As he explained:

“I was like dying for shows to watch while I was doing self-quarantine, and I got through two episodes, I just couldn’t do it, man. I couldn’t stomach it. And everybody continues to talk about it, but my patience wears thin. I’m looking for a little more plot, a little more — I don’t know what the right word is. But that’s not my cup of tea. I’ll just say that. I’m more of “Ozark” guy.”

Smart said he prefers another Netflix show, which recently released its third season. And that’s fair because Tiger King isn’t for everyone — even if everyone can’t stop talking about it.

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Penn State coach James Franklin started a feud at his gym when he took 25-pound weights home

This is quite a story.

Penn State head coach James Franklin is trying to keep in shape like the rest of us are during social distancing, and he’s trying to use the gym where he lives only when there isn’t anyone else in there.

But as he told reporters earlier this week, he’s run into a bit of a problem: there’s someone who, as he said, is “dominating” the weight room. So he did what any sensible adult might do: he grabbed a pair of dumbbells to use in his house.

That ignited a bit of a feud. Here’s the story from Franklin via the York Daily Record:

“We won’t go in the weight room with other people in there,” Franklin said Wednesday during a video conference with reporters. “And so I took the 25-pound (dumbbells) and brought them up to our condo because I couldn’t get in there, a guy was dominating the weight room.”

Franklin then smiled.

“Then he left a nasty note in there. He said, ‘Whoever stole the 25-pound weights, could you bring them back?’ So then I wrote a little note that said, ‘Well, could you stop dominating the weight room for three hours a day?'”

We’re all just trying to get by one day — or set of dumbbells — at a time.

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Paul Finebaum shares optimistic outlook about sports during coronavirus outbreak

The ESPN broadcaster spoke about the sports hiatus and how fans will feel when they return.

In a world with canceled or postponed sports during what would have been the first week of the 2020 NCAA basketball tournament, Paul Finebaum said he’s “worried about sports fans from a psychological standpoint.”

As the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, continues and the sports world pressed pause in an attempt to “flatten the curve,” what normally offers fans an escape is absent from our daily lives. And we have no real idea when it’s returning.

The ESPN and SEC Network college football analyst spoke with the Knoxville News Sentinel on Wednesday and described the progression of the mood of his radio show’s callers from anger to confusion and a “level of almost psychological disorientation.”

“People really are hurting, and they’re struggling with this,” Finebaum said on The Volunteer State podcast. “And I’m not going to let somebody say, ‘Well, sports don’t matter.’ Sports do matter. They matter a lot.”

Finebaum said on Monday or Tuesday — he wasn’t sure exactly — when he was at work in a building typically filled with hundreds of people, he looked out the window and the only people he saw were security guards.

“I really for the first time in my life, felt like the world was coming to an end,” the 64-year-old analyst said. “It was somewhat maddening.”

But he also shared an optimistic outlook for the sports world. Although it remains unclear when exactly organizations like the NBA, NHL or MLB will resume, Finebaum said he thinks sports fans’ outlook will be significantly different.

More via the Knoxville News Sentinel:

“I think they’ll return bigger in some ways because I think — it’s a cliche that everyone has uttered at some point in their life — but I think until you don’t have something, you don’t realize how much you miss it or appreciate it. And I think maybe we will come back and appreciate it a little bit more.

“Because right now, I’m as bad as anyone when I say, ‘Hey, Tennessee’s got some terrible game on today, why watch it?’ I’d give anything right now for that game that I was turning my nose at a couple of weeks ago or months ago.”

Every day without sports, fans are learning and discovering new reasons why they love them, he added.

During a press conference this week,Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes said, via 247Sports.com:

“I think some of us will find out we can live without watching sports. We can find out there’s something else there and maybe we’ve put too much time here or too much time there.”

When the Knoxville News Sentinel asked Finebaum about that sentiment, the ESPN personality didn’t quite agree, again citing the escape sports can offer people who might be struggling with something else in their lives. Speaking about the impact of particularly college sports on American culture and what that means now, Finebaum said:

“I don’t know if we’re going to find that out or not. But right now, I think we are going to miss it terribly. And part of the reason why we enjoy it so much and I think are going to miss it so much is it takes our mind off other things.

“Let’s say you’re down and out about whatever in your life and you put on a basketball game, you forget everything. You’re screaming and hollering and jumping up and down. On a Friday in March when the temperature finally hits 75 for the first time, you head down to Kansas and sit there and watch a baseball game or softball game or a tennis match. It’s an escape, but it’s also a lot our identity.

“I would be the last person in America to say people don’t wear their school colors on their sleeve in terms of their self-worth because I’ve experienced it [for] a pretty significant period of time. And that’s what I do. I talk to people about their emotions and why they like things and don’t like things. I know where Rick’s coming from, but I don’t think it’s that easy when sports is such a big part of our lives.”

Listen to more of the Knoxville News Sentinel‘s interview with Finebaum here.

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Betting 101: How to bet on college football for beginners

Looking at the various sports betting options centered around college football, with betting advice, tips and definitions of key terms.

College football is arguably the best sport to bet because data is very accessible yet it’s hard for bookmakers to make sharp lines because there are just so many games. There are 130 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams and a typical Saturday slate of college football can include upward of 60 games. Even the sharpest sportsbooks—including BetMGM—have weak spots. Here’s a look at some of the options you have for cashing tickets on college football bets:

College football betting: Ways to bet

Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list of today’s sports betting odds and lines.

  • Futures: These wagers are for events decided well after the bet has been placed. A Futures bet in college football would be betting on who will win the 2021 College Football National Champion, Big Ten Conference, Heisman Trophy, etc. One of my favorite futures bets are Over/Under team win totals. As in, betting Over Clemson Tigers 11.5 regular-season wins (not an actual line, just an example).
  • Game sides: It’s the most common bet in sports. Which team do you like to win the game and, if necessary, by how many points? You can bet a team to win outright with a moneyline wager or for a team to cover the point spread, at BetMGM‘s listed odds.
  • Game totals: This is a wager on the final score of the game. For instance, you’d bet Over/Under 67.5 total points in USC Trojans at Oregon Ducks. The bettor takes either the Over or the Under on BetMGM‘s listed total. You can also look to bet team totals, which is the line set on how many points a single team is projected to put up. Back to our earlier example, Oregon’s mock team total would be 38 and USC’s is 29.5 for a total of 67.5. Which total would you take in our sample total line?
  • Prop bets: Here is where you wager on smaller occurrences during a college football game, like how many rushing yards a running back will have or an Over/Under for the longest passing play for a team. An example prop bet is “Over/Under 215.5 passing yards for Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence against the Virginia Tech Hokies.”
  • Live betting: BetMGM is listing live odds on the sides and totals throughout a college football game. If you feel like you’ve got the flow of a conference rivalry game down somewhere in the second quarter, make a live bet.
  • Parlay: One of the juicier bets, a parlay is a wager where two or more bets have to win for the ticket to cash. The more bets/teams/totals included in the parlay, the bigger the payout. Bettors like correlated parlays where you bet a team and a total to get a better payout. You could also rip off a four-team parlay by combining games in the 12 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET slots.

College football betting: Key betting terms to know

  • Moneyline:  These are the odds set by BetMGM on a team to win the game straight up. The moneyline for the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship was LSU Tigers -228 and Clemson Tigers +185. A $228 wager on the LSU -228 moneyline earned a $100 profit when the Tigers beat Clemson, 42-25.
  • Point spread: The line, the points, the spread, the number are all other ways to refer to how many points a team needs to win by or cannot lose by. For example, if the Oklahoma Sooners are -6.5 at the Texas Longhorns then you can wager on Oklahoma and win if the Sooners win by seven or more points. If Texas stays within 6 points in a loss or wins outright, then its side of the bet would win and a bet on Oklahoma would be lost.
  • Over/Under:  This could be used when discussing the total but also for player and game props or futures. It’s as simple as betting the Over or the Under on BetMGM‘s listed odds for let’s say the Pac-12 title game point total or 2020 passing yards for Ohio State QB Justin Fields as a season prop.
  • Push: Tie, chop, draw, Kiss Your Sister, whatever you want to call it. Sometimes a push feels like a miracle, sometimes it feels like a bad beat but it’s never a loss or a win. It’s just, meh. You get your money back, which I would bet on the Pac-12 Saturday night game.
  • Key numbers: Since touchdowns (seven) and field goals (three) are the most common increment of scores, those are also the biggest key numbers. Ten, 17, 24 are also in this group. You’ll hear “sharps” talk about key numbers in their handicaps—like betting favorites at -2.5 or -6.5 and betting underdogs at +3.5 or +7.5—so familiarize yourself with the lingo, and the math.

Get some sports betting action by placing a bet with BetMGM today. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @Geoffery_Clark on Twitter, and follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter and Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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If you’re missing college football, you need to see Ed Orgeron’s coronavirus PSA

Coach O is just doing his part to help keep people safe and healthy.

Ed Orgeron is doing his part to try to inform people about the recent coronavirus outbreak and how to protect themselves and others.

The LSU football coach — famous for his unmistakable voice, among so many other things — recorded a public service announcement about how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which is also known as trying to flatten the curve.

The governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, tweeted the video of Orgeron — whose team won the national championship this past football season — on Saturday, and included links with more information about how to try and stay safe and healthy during this global health crisis. Late last year, LSU and Orgeron were credited for indirectly contributing to the governor’s re-election.

College football fans love Orgeron’s voice and would probably listen to him talk about anything, and what to do during a pandemic is no different.

He says:

“For every winning team, a key to success is learning the playbook. That’s true in football, and it’s also true as we take on the coronavirus. The spread of the coronavirus is a serious matter, but there’s a game plan for keeping residents as safe as possible. Everyone has a role to play as we face this challenge together.

“Cover your cough with your elbow like this [demonstrates]. Wash your hands thoroughly, a full 20 seconds. If you’re sick, stay home. If you think you should be tested, phone your health provider first. Avoid close contact with anyone who’s sick. Protect your at-rick family members, including the elderly. If you’re not at risk, take care as you go about your daily business.

“Get the facts now from coronavirus.gov and the state health department. We’re all in this together. Let’s team up to protect our health.”

This isn’t the first time Orgeron has performed some type of civic duty. In 2017, as The Advocate in Baton Rouge reported, he recorded a series of TV and radio PSAs to spread the word about assistance for people affected by the previous year’s devastating flooding.

Via The Adovcate‘s story from three years ago:

“(Orgeron) told the governor if there was anything he could do then he wanted to help,” Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo said.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the NCAA suspended recruiting for all sports until at least April 15 and canceled remaining championships for winter and spring sports, including the men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments.

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Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa cleared for football activity

Six weeks out from the NFL Draft, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been fully cleared by doctors for football activity.

Six weeks out from the NFL Draft, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been fully cleared by doctors for football activity.

Former Wisconsin, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema a candidate for Colorado job

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says Bret Bielema is in the running for Colorado’s head coach, reporting Monday that Bielema is interviewing for the job.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport says Bret Bielema is in the running for Colorado’s head coach, reporting Monday that Bielema is interviewing for the job.

Colorado reaches out to Eric Bieniemy for head coach job

Colorado Buffaloes football has reached out to Kansas City Chiefs OC and former Colorado RB Eric Bieniemy to fill head coach position, and he is interested in the job.

Colorado Buffaloes football has reached out to Kansas City Chiefs OC and former Colorado RB Eric Bieniemy to fill head coach position, and he is interested in the job.