NCAA Tournament's First Four to be played in Dayton

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

09/09/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Dayton has been selected as the host for the NCAA Tournament's new "First Four" games.

In April, the NCAA announced an expansion of the men's basketball tournament to 68 teams for 2011, and in July came up with a new format featuring eight teams playing in the "First Four" round. Those four winners will advance to the second round.

Dayton has previously hosted the tournament's Opening Round since the field was expanded from 64 to 65 teams in 2001.

"Dayton hosted the opening round game for the past 10 years and consistently attracted extraordinary crowds, including over 11,000 in 2009," said Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, the chair of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee for the 2010-11 season. "The enthusiasm the UD staff and the local fans demonstrated for hosting that game did not go unnoticed, so it makes sense to us to conduct the inaugural First Four in Dayton."

The new format features two games with teams battling to advance as two of the tournament's No. 16 seeds, while the other two games will pit the last four at-large teams selected to the field. Those four games are set to take place Tuesday and Wednesday, March 15-16.

"We explored different options, including playing the first-round games at multiple sites as well as the possibility of playing all games on one day, but we came to the conclusion that Dayton is the best location to host all four games for the 2011 tournament," Smith added. "Moving forward, we will conduct a thorough evaluation, as we do with all rounds of the championship, with the student-athlete experience being our top priority."

The tournament field will be selected on March 13.

Rouelette NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Women's Open semis on tap for Friday
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The combatants for the 2010 women's final at the U.S. Open will be decided on Friday, when top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki meets No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva and second-seeded Kim Clijste

<< Bills' Mitchell considered doubtful for opener
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills linebacker Kawika Mitchell missed practice Thursday and appears unlikely to play in Sunday's opener against the Miami Dolphins. Bills head coach Chan Gailey said Mitchell hurt hi

<< Modano skates for 1st time with Red Wings
DETROIT (AP) - Mike Modano grew up dreaming of skating at Joe Louis Arena as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. He actually did it Thursday morning.The 40-year-old center, who signed a one-year, free agent deal with the Red Wings worth $1.25 million

<< Big win doesn't alter Moore's '1 game' focus
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -If the impact of Boise State's big victory over Virginia Tech ever sinks in to Kellen Moore's brain, don't expect the soft-spoken quarterback to veer from the team's modesty mantra.Like his coach and teammates, Moore simply refuse

<< Colsaerts leads KLM Open
Hilversum, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts birdied his last three holes on Thursday en route to an eight-under 62 and the first- round lead of the KLM Open. Kenneth Ferrie and Shiv Kapur both posted rounds of si

Kuchar takes early lead at BMW Championship >>
Lemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kuchar fired a seven-under 64 on Thursday to take the early first-round lead at the BMW Championship. The FedEx Cup leader scorched Cog Hill for an eagle, six birdies and a bogey, building a one-shot lead o

Packers, Woodson agree to extension >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Green Bay Packers have reportedly given cornerback Charles Woodson a contract extension. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the two sides have agreed to the deal and ESPN.com reports that W

Huber, Bryan capture mixed title at U.S. Open >>
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded team of Americans Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan captured the 2010 mixed doubles title at the U.S. Open. Huber and Bryan beat an unseeded tandem of Czech Kveta Peschke and Pakistan'

In the FCS Huddle: Week 2 Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "For the warrior, the seasons are marked not by these sweet measures, nor the calendar years themselves, but by battles," - Xeo, Gates of Fire For the warriors in the FCS, the season of battle presses forw

Damon, Porcello help Tigers down White Sox >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Damon went 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, and Rick Porcello threw eight strong frames as the Tigers handed the White Sox a third straight loss, 6-3, to close out a four-game series. Ryan Ra

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.