In a NFL preseason game characterized by rainy weather, sloppy field conditions and a quick exit for both teams starters, the Miami Dolphins outlasted their in-state rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars by a 12-9 score. Only one touchdown was scored in the game, which was a battle of field goal kickers until the third quarter.

Miami’s Ernest Wilford recently converted to tight end from wide receiver, and gave the football an emphatic spike after his game winning touchdown reception. Afterwards, he spoke to reporters about the game winning score:

“There’s a sense of urgency for me. I want to play well this year. It’s a good start. That was a lot of frustration right there. I didn’t play that much last year, so I had to let it out.”

Dolphins QB Henne was pleased with his first effort of the NFL preseason:

“Overall I thought I played pretty well. I got some points on the board and had us moving.”

Jacksonville QB David Garrard gave a noncommittal assessment of his teams opening game performance:

“We have to get better at some of the protection issues. I have to make sure I get everybody lined up in the right spots.”

Jaguars wide receiver Tory Holt, acquired as a free agent in the off season, was happy with his only reception of the game:

“I had been anticipating this day for a long time. I enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to many more.”

Despite the loss, Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio was generally upbeat about his teams effort:

“We are going to be physical up front. I liked what we did up front.”

The most heated battle for a starting spot was between the Dolphins placekickers. Current PK Dan Carpenter made a 48 yard fieldgoal and a PAT, while his challenger Connor Barth hit a 28 yard FG.

Jacksonville will host their other NFL rival from the state of Florida on Saturday as they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to town. Miami will remain at home as they take on the Carolina Panthers. The Dolphins will begin the NFL regular season on Sunday, September 13th against the Falcons at Atlanta, while Jacksonville will play the Colts at Indianapolis.

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

Popular talk radio host Rush Limbaugh has long been one of the United States most polarizing media figures. He may soon become one of the National Football Leagues most controversial owners. On Tuesday, Limbaugh announced that he is teaming up with St. Louis Blues owner David Checketts to make a bid to purchase the struggling NFL team.

Limbaugh issued a statement that was short on details due to various confidentiality agreements, but made clear his intention to purchase the football team:

“Dave Checketts and I have made a bid to buy the Rams and we are continuing the process.”

The statement didnt place a value on the Limbaugh/Checketts bid, nor did it specify any other individuals whod be involved in the bid. He did specify that he and Checketts would be responsible for the operation of the team. Forbes Magazine has estimated the value of the franchise at just over $900 million. That was several years ago, however, and the current value of the franchise may be in the $750 to $800 million range.

The team is currently owned by the estate of Georgia Frontiere, specifically her children Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez who inherited 60% of the team upon her death in 2008. The remaining 40% is owned by Stan Kroenke.

A statement issued by the Frontiere estate revealed very little additional information:

“Our strategic review of our ownership of the Rams continues. We will make an announcement upon the completion of the process.”

The other parties to the negotiations–Checketts and the National Football League–both declined comment.

Limbaugh is a native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri and an avid sports fan. He once worked in a sales capacity for the Kansas City Royals baseball team, and had a short stint as a studio analyst on Monday Night Football.

Despite Limbaugh and Checketts ties to the area, the rumor of the sale has raised concern in St. Louis. The city has already lost one NFL team, when the Cardinals moved to Tempe, Arizona in 1987. The NFL passed over St. Louis for an expansion franchise in 1993, awarding it instead to Jacksonville, Florida. In 1995, Frontiere”a St. Louis native”was persuaded to move the team back to her hometown. There is a clause in the Rams lease that would allow the team to relocate without penalty as soon as 2014 if their current home at the Edward Jones Dome is not deemed to be one of the top 25% of NFL stadiums. Its already one of the oldest facilities in the league, and there are no current plans to replace or renovate the structure.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball 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 an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

NFL bettors who favored the defending Superbowl champions in this matchup cashed their tickets as the Steelers covered as -3 home favorites. The combined 30 points scored stayed UNDER the posted total of 33.

The big catalyst for the Steelers offense was undrafted rookie Issac Redman out of Bowie State. Redman, listed as the Steelers #7 depth chart running back scored two rushing touchdowns in the decisive fourth quarter run. After the game, he said that hee knew that he had to take advantage of the opportunities to demonstrate his skills in a game situation:

“This team prides itself on being able to find those free agents that are capable of playing. Hopefully I can be that next free agent. I knew I had to make an impression, or I might not even make it to the first preseason game.”

Both teams played their starting quarterbacks for only two offensive series. The Steelers Ben Roethlisbergerwas guardedly optimistic about his performance:

“Overall, without looking at film, I think it was OK. I think we had a couple of plays with a few breakdowns, but it just felt good to go against somebody other than your own guys.”

Arizonas Kurt Warner was happy with his performance, but noted that the first preseason game had come up on him quickly:

“I felt like we moved the ball and did what we wanted to. It seems like this game came pretty quick. When we were in the locker room, we were thinking, `Man, it is here already.’ ”

The star receivers for each team–Arizonas Larry Fitzgerald and Pittsburghs Superbowl MVP Santonio Holmes–each caught a single pass in a couple of series of action.

Pittsburgh will open the NFL regular season on Thursday, September 10th as they host the Tennessee Titans. Arizona will kick of their campaign on Sunday, September 13th at home against the San Francisco 49ers.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on soccer 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 interior secretary James Watt.

The good news for Orton is that despite his three interceptions Broncos coach Josh McDaniels remained steadfast in his support. Orton appeared thankful of this fact in his postgame comments:

“That’s great. That’s certainly what you need in this league is the support of your coach. I’m not worried about it. I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself. I think my team has a lot of confidence in me. … I don’t want to make those decisions and throw three interceptions.”

Orton was acquired after McDaniels relationship with NFL pro bowler Jay Cutler soured due to his effort”and subsequent denial”that he was trying to move the quarterback. Its been a rough start to Ortons tenure in Denver”he was even booed during a public scrimmage after throwing an interception.

McDaniels, to his credit, put the fact that it was only the first preseason game into perspective:

“I feel very confident in where we’re at. There’s no reason to start tailspinning into this and that when we’ve only had one preseason game.”

Even when Orton got decent pass protection, San Franciscos rapidly improving defense was able to disrupt the passing lanes. Niners’ cornerback Nate Clemens in particular was a huge factor, hauling in one of Ortons three miscues. After the game he commented on the play:

“I saw the route and played my responsibility and he threw it. I like seeing all of our defensive backs get interceptions and just making plays because we’re game breakers.”

Shaun Hill and Alex Smith are battling for the Niners’ starting QB job and both played solid, if unspectacular, football. Hill spoke of his first preseason action:

“We were able to move the ball and we had a big conversion on third down. That last sack kind of hurt us. That was completely on me. The offensive line did a great job out there. So I’d like to have that play back and I feel like we could have gotten seven out of that.”

Smith was just happy to be back on the field after missing the entire 2008 season due to injury:

“Obviously, I was raring to go when I got out there. It’s been a long time for me, so I was pretty amped up.”

Denver will head to the Pacific Northwest for a game against the Seattle Seahawks next Saturday night. San Francisco, meanwhile, will host their local rivals the Oakland Raiders.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected 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 interior secretary James Watt.

The Patriots got the NFL pointspread victory as well, covering as -2 home favorites. It was Baltimore’s first ATS setback on the season, while New England evened their pointspread record at 2-2. The 48 points scored barely exceeded the posted total of 45. The Ravens have now gone OVER in three of four games this season, while the Patriots evened their NFL over/under record at 2-2.

After the contest, Clayton didnt make any excuses about his rare miscue:

“Flat out drop. It was a perfect ball. Joe put it on the money. To not come up with it is tough. It cost us the game.”

Ravens safety Ed Reed said it should have never gotten to that point, blaming the officials for giving the team bad spots:

“The spots were terrible.

Defensive stalwart Ray Lewis complained about what he felt were inappropriate roughing the passer penalties:

Without totally going off the wall here, it is embarrassing to the game. Brady is good enough to make his own plays, let him make the play.”

Pats running back Sammy Morris was glad to have come out on top of the tough battle:

“We thought we had them down, but they started coming back. It was just one of those tough slugfests.”

New England coach Bill Belichick shared those sentiments:

“That was quite a finish,” . Stop them on fourth down twice in the fourth quarter, that’s when you’ve got to be there. Luckily, we were.”

Despite the victory, Pats safety Brandon Meriweather wasnt happy with the performance of the New England defense:

“We gave up too many big plays and couldn’t get off the field on third down. We did a lot of things that good defenses don’t do.”

The Patriots will face another tough challenge from an undefeated team this Sunday as they travel to Denver to face the surprising Broncos. Theyll return home the following week for a game against the Tennessee Titans before traveling to Tampa Bay to face the Bucs on October 25th. The Ravens will host the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday, with Baltimore a -9 home favorite. The total in the game has been set at 42. Baltimore will travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings the following week before a bye week.

Ross Everett is a 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 Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

NFL sports betting enthusiasts who took the Redskins as +5 road underdogs were likely not heartened by the near miss on a backdoor cover. The Redskins scored a touchdown with 1:30 left to get within a ” point of the spread but the Giants still got the cover by the slimmest of margins. The Skins dropped to 13-17 ATS over the past three years with the setback, while New York improved their pointspread mark to an impressive 27-11 against the number. NFL totals players also witnessed a late game change of fortune due to the Skins touchdown, with the 7 points pushing the point total OVER the posted 37. New York evened their O/U record at 19-19 over the past three seasons, while Washington made a dent in their lopsided UNDER biased record. The Skins have gone UNDER in 21 of their last 33 lined contests.

None of the Giants players were as elated with the victory as defensive end Umenyiora. Hed missed the entire 2008 season due to a knee injury, and was happy to not only be back on the field but contributing to a victory:

“It was unbelievable and now all that is in the past. I can’t even explain it to you, when something like that is taken away from you. Last year I missed it. I was happy I was able to come back in there.”

His touchdown return came in the second quarter, when he knocked the ball away from Redskins QB Jason Campbell and raced for the endzone:

“To be honest, I don’t know what happened. That’s the way most plays are made. You just go out there and sometimes good things happen. They always get on me about knocking the ball out and not picking it up. When I saw it, I just picked it up.”

Campbell chalked it up to a simple mental lapse:

“Osi made a great play on the ball. It’s something you have to understand as a quarterback you have to feel it more or slide up in the pocket.”

Umenyiora couldnt have had a better return to the NFL:

“Not only was it a W, but it was against an NFC East opponent. It was a great game.”

The Redskins will have a great opportunity to cash in their first win of the season this week as they step down in class to host the lowly St. Louis Rams. The Skins are a -10 home favorite with the total set at 36. Theyll continue feasting on the NFLs bottom feeders the following week as they travel to Detroit to play the hapless Lions before returning home for a game against the Tampa Bay Bucs on October 4th. The Giants have another big game on Sunday as they head to Dallas to face the Cowboys in the first regular season game in the new Cowboys Stadium. The Giants are a +3 road dog with the total set at 44. New York will carry a couple of amazing ATS runs into the game”the Giants are 12-3 against the spread as an underdog over the past three years, and have a 15-3 mark on the road. Theyll remain on the road for the following two weeks, facing Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on football 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 interior secretary James Watt.

After the game, Leak recounted his high pressure introduction to CFL football:

“It’s a about trust – that’s the number one thing. I’m just happy for the opportunity to earn the trust of the coaches and my teammates.”

The Alouettes swept the season series from Saskatchewan, having won 43-10 in Regina in early July. Saskatchewan has only won twice in their past eleven trips to Montreal.

Saskatchewan starting QB Darian Durant willingly accepted the blame for the loss, but Riders coach Ken Miller said in his postgame comments that there was plenty of responsibility to go around:

“It’s a team game and the fault doesn’t lie with any individual. Darian played probably his best. He turned the ball over three times, but he made plays with his feet and was a leader for us. I’m really proud of the way the men battled, but our team still needs to be tuned up some.”

On the positive side, the Roughriders sacked Alouettes QB Anthony Calvillo four times and moved the ball well on offense. Durants favorite target on the day was Weston Dressler, who caught eight passes for 179 yards and after the game gave a glass half full assessment of his teams performance:

“We were in it until the end. I think we showed we can complete with the best team in the league and I think we just have to keep working at it. We’re really close to being a great football team.”

Both teams will enjoy a bye next weekend, with Montreal returning to action on Friday, September 4th as they travel to Vancouver to play the BC Lions. Saskatchewan will return to action on Sunday, September 6th as they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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

Superficially, there are many similarities between the defunct Arena Football League and the upstart AF1 circuit. Several former AFL franchises have joined the new league, with several others having previously played in the AFL’s developmental ‘minor league’ known as Arena Football 2. The new league’s organizers are hoping that the similarities remain superficial, and have taken great pains to avoid many of the high salaries and dimwitted business decisions that doomed their predecessors. They’ve also learned from a crucial error of the AFL and will coordinate promotion and publicity of all teams as well as the league as a whole at the corporate level. Ultimately, they’ve realized that the product wasn’t the problem; management doomed the original AFL.

The original Arena Football League also made the mistake that many growing companies make in trying to grow too big too fast. Though the league prospered for years by keeping a tight rein on player salaries and team budgets, in the past few years there had been a drastic upward spiral in the cost of player contracts. A division between old line owners dedicated to fiscal responsibility and deep pocketed newcomers (including 80’s rock idol Jon Bon Jovi) anxious to spend as much as they wanted further exacerbated a business model that became more and more unsustainable. They also lost touch with what their fan base wanted and started looking for an audience that simply wasn’t there.

The AF1 deal with the NFL Network is for one year, with a network option for a second year. The NFL Network will air a ‘game of the week’ every Friday night beginning in April. In addition to providing a good broadcast outlet for the fledgling league it also provides some much needed off season programming to the NFL’s 24/7 cable network. The NFL would be well advised to feature not only Arena Football but also the Canadian Football League during their slow summer months.

Though Arena Football 1 is the largest and best known arena football league, there are actually two other leagues that will begin playing in the coming months. While most are focusing on smaller markets than AF1, the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) and the Indoor Football League ( IFL) are also in the mix. Eventually, the AF1 will prevail as the top level arena football league with the other two circuits serving as minor league developmental partners.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and online 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 Patriots also rewarded their NFL preseason financial backers by winning outright as a +2 road underdog. The combined 52 points scored shattered the posted total of 32 for an easy OVER. With the Pats and Eagles putting 27 points on the board in the first half, the total had almost been surpassed by the halftime break.

Brady had little to say after the game on the specifics on his performance:

“I need the work, we all need the work. You can’t duplicate this on the practice field.”

Instead, Brady focused on the less tangible aspects of being back under center:

“There’s no place I’d rather be. This is the place where I probably have the most fun and enjoy it the most. Preseason game doesn’t have quite the feel of a regular-season game, but to be out there on the field with my teammates and celebrate after a win, and the bus ride home … those are the things you probably enjoy the most.”

Tight end Chris Baker was more candid in discussing Bradys comeback effort:

“I thought he was sharp. He went out there and moved us up and down the field and put some points on the board.

New England took a 21-6 lead into the locker room at halftime, but would have to hold on for the victory after Philadelphia responded with a 16 point third quarter. The third period onslaught allowed the Eagles to hold a significant edge in most offensive categories including total yardage and time of possession. They had a shot to win the game late, but David Akers missed a 43 yard field goal with just under a minute remaining.

Brady, the two time Superbowl MVP, is expected to get a significant amount of playing time in exhibition games this year as he tries to regain his regular season form after missing the entire 2008 regular season due to a knee injury.

The Patriots will open the regular season on Monday, September 14 as they host the Buffalo Bills. Philadelphia will begin their regular season campaign on the road in Charlotte, NC against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, September 13.

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

CFL bettors who backed Montreal cashed their tickets as the Als easily covered as -8 road favorites. Montreal improved to 5-2 against the number while the Blue Bombers slipped to 4-3 against the spread. The combined 51 points scored exceeded the posted total of 47, leaving each team with a 4-3 edge to the OVER this season.

Calvillo not only through four TD passes, he through three consecutive passes for touchdowns which is a feat that he cant recall accomplishing before:

“Somebody mentioned that to me out there. I didn’t realize that and they asked me if it’s ever been done or if I’d done it before and I can’t recall.”

Montreals defense held Winnipeg to four FGs and recovered four Blue Bomber turnovers that led to Alouette scores. After the game, Calvillo gave all of the credit for the victory to the defense and insisted that his team had a lot of work to do:

“Our defence put us on the short field throughout the night and we capitalized on the turnovers. We have a lot of work to do. We had a few dropped passes, a few misreads by myself and two turnovers. We’re always looking to improve and we definitely have to improve on offence.”

Kerry Watkins caught one of Calvillos touchdowns and spoke his pleasure in playing with the CFL legend in his postgame interview:

“It’s a great accomplishment, but something we don’t keep track of. It’s an honour. That’s a living legend. I’ve been so fortunate to play my whole (six-year) career with him.”

Bombers head coach Mike Kelly, who also serves as the teams offensive coordinator, chafed when asked if it was time to revamp the offense:

“There’s nothing wrong with this scheme. I’ve seen this scheme work 1,000 times .If you want to get right down to it, we have to block when we need to block and catch when we need to catch and throw to the right people. And right now we’re not doing those things so we’ll continue to look at it.”

Winnipeg defensive tackle Doug Brown concurred with his coachs assessment:

“Let’s put it this way, we were in a good enough dogfight without as many critical errors as we made ourselves. You play a team of this calibre, the last thing you need to do is dig yourself your own hole with penalties and turnovers and missed tackles and not executing our assignments and so on and so forth.”

Montreal will host Saskatchewan next Friday night, while Winnipeg travels to Vancouver for a game against the British Columbia Lions.

Ross Everett is a freelance 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.