Lloyd tears off redshirt, will start against UM
NCAA Football Betting Lines
08/31/2010 -
STORRS, Conn. (AP) -Connecticut's coaches have scrapped plans to make linebacker Greg Lloyd Jr. take this season off, using a redshirt year to recover from the serious knee injury he went down with in November.
Lloyd, the son of the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee on Nov. 28 against Syracuse. Doctors told him that with intensive rehabilitation work and good healing, if all went well, he might be ready for football activities sometime this fall.
The coaches were going to ease him back, and perhaps convert him to a defensive end.
But Lloyd had other plans.
He worked out three times a day to make his knee stronger, and said he considers himself a fast healer.
After being cleared to practice at the start of training camp, he sneaked into drills he wasn't supposed to be doing, and took repetitions he wasn't supposed to be taking.
``I just threw myself in there to see how the knee would hold up,'' he said. ``When I saw I could handle like, basic linebacker drills, I was like, 'Well, we can handle that, so hitting people shouldn't be that bad.''
Soon he was playing in scrimmages and it became clear to coach Randy Edsall that Lloyd was going to play.
``He did all the things that as a coach that you want to see, and there were no ill effects from any of the practicing or scrimmaging that he did. So, you go with your best, and he's one of the best that we have.''
Lloyd had 91 tackles last season, and the image of him flying through the air and knocking the helmet off Notre Dame running back Armando Allen Jr. on the goal line has come to symbolize the most notable win in the history of UConn football.
His teammates say Lloyd's return has given them an emotional lift heading into Saturday's season opener with Michigan.
It also reunites perhaps the best linebacker trio in the Big East. Lloyd and outside linebackers Scott Lutrus and Lawrence Wilson are all seniors, and last year combined for 300 tackles.
``It's great to have our big run stopper in the middle back,'' Lutrus said. ``I don't know what it is, it must be in his blood with his father or whatever, but he's just got that instinct to get in there, and hit big guys.''
Lloyd wears the same 95 as his dad, but doesn't talk about their relationship. They have been estranged since Lloyd was 12 and he father was accused of putting a gun in the boy's mouth because he received some bad grades. Two assault trials ended in mistrials.
Lloyd's injury is also now part of his past, and he said he's just looking forward to again to playing in a game.
``It's been on my mind since missing the bowl game. I honestly can't wait,'' he said. ``I'm just happy to be back in the mix of things and getting ready to hit everybody.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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SPORTS BETTING
NFL Football Betting OnlineIn terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
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