Report: Texans retain Walter with multi-year deal

Football Betting Lines

03/05/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans wide receiver Kevin Walter has reportedly re-signed with the team after becoming an unrestricted free agent earlier in the day.

The Houston Chronicle reports the pact is for multiple years. Walter was one of the top targeted receivers on Day 1 of free agency, with the Ravens as one of the top suitors. The deal to stay with Houston may have accelerated after Baltimore's acquisition of Anquan Boldin earlier Friday.

Walter missed two games with a hamstring injury last year and had 53 receptions for 611 yards with two touchdowns. The 2009 season served as a drop-off in production, despite the injury, after Walter posted career-highs of 899 yards and eight scores on 60 grabs a year prior.

In four seasons with the Texans and three for Cincinnati, the Eastern Michigan product has 225 catches for 2,766 yards and 15 TDs.

Gamblong Football Betting News

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Hampton, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the pole for the Kobalt Tools 500 with a blazing lap in Friday's qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Earnhardt Jr.'s lap of 192.761 m.p.h. set a record for the fastest qualifying spee

<< Trio on top at Toshiba Classic
Newport Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former PGA Champion Bob Tway, Mark Wiebe and Chien-Soon Lu each fired six-under 65s on Friday to share the first-round lead of the Toshiba Classic. Fred Couples, already a winner after two Champions Tou

<< Redskins re-sign DE Daniels, OL Williams
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins on Friday re-signed defensive end Phillip Daniels and offensive lineman Mike Williams. Daniels started all 16 games for the Redskins last year, recording 46 tackles, one sack, and

<< Broncos sign RB Arrington
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos have brought back running back J.J. Arrington. Arrington originally signed a four-year deal worth a reported $10 million with Denver last offseason, but was subsequently

<< Duke holds on down the stretch to edge Maryland
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jasmine Thomas scored a game-high 21 points, and ninth-ranked Duke survived down the stretch to beat Maryland, 66-64, and advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Joy Cheek added 14 points, five r

Boston College upsets No. 8 FSU in ACC tourney >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stefanie Murphy posted 14 points to lead all scorers, and Boston College moved on to the semis of the ACC Tournament with a 67-60 upset over No. 8 Florida State. Jasmine Gill added 13 points, while Carolyn

Ohio State fends off Illinois in Big Ten quarters >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jantel Lavender poured in 19 points and pulled down six rebounds, as 10th-ranked Ohio State held off Illinois, 66-55, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Samantha Prahalis added 13 points

Pistons' Stuckey taken off on stretcher >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey was taken from the court at Quicken Loans Arena on a stretcher after possibly suffering a seizure during Friday night's game against the Cavaliers. The incident

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Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Holman scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the seventh-seeded Detroit Titans beat the third-seeded Green Bay Phoenix, 62-53, in the second round of the Horizon League Tournament. Xavier K

Garnett, Celtics handle Sixers >>
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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.