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As the first Sunday of the NFL season wound down, the financial fate for several Las Vegas sportsbooks sat squarely in the hands of a longtime nemesis: the New England Patriots.To avoid a losing day, the books needed the underdog, Tom Brady-less Patriots to cover the spread on the road against the Arizona Cardinals. An outright win would be an added bonus.Over the course of the week, as New England ruled out tight end Rob Gronkowski and other key players, the point spread grew from Arizona -5.5 to as high as -9.5 as kickoff approached Sunday night.The action was lopsided, and on the Cardinals. At MGMs sportsbooks, four times as much money was bet on Arizona as on New England. For every parlay card that included the Patriots, there were seven that had the Cardinals.At William Hill, nearly 80 percent of the money wagered on the game was on Arizona, and sportsbook operator CG Technology was staring at six figures worth of parlay and teaser liability on the Cardinals.New England, of course, won 23-21 on a go-ahead field goal by Stephen Gostkowski with 3:44 to play.Rooting for the Patriots was an odd feeling for some longtime bookmakers, who have become accustomed to seeing the betting public flock to New England.I cant remember needing the Patriots on a night game, Westgate SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay told ESPN. This might be the last time we need New England the rest of the year.Since upsetting the St. Louis Rams as 14-point underdogs in Super Bowl XXXVI, the Patriots have covered the spread in 57.4 percent of their games, the best record against the number in the NFL during that time span.The Patriots were one of six underdogs to cover the spread Sunday, including the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars, who produced two of the books largest wins of the afternoon games.The Dolphins covered as 10.5-point underdogs in a 12-10 loss at Seattle, and the Jaguars covered the majority of bets as consensus 3.5-point home underdogs in a 27-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers.The Jaguars were targeted by respected bettors at several sportsbooks, causing the line to drop from Green Bay -5 to -3.5 on game day, even though the public had overwhelmingly sided with the Packers.We were taking big late money on the Jaguars, mid-five-figure bets, said Jay Rood, vice president of MGM race and sports. Fortunately, a lot of big money pushed at four.Rood also reported taking early sharp action on the underdog Detroit Lions, who knocked off the Indianapolis Colts 39-35 on the road, and on the Washington Redskins in the Monday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.The sharps made a big move on the Redskins, early before [Sundays] kickoffs, Rood said Sunday night. We took a few limit plays [on Washington] from the sharps. They were driving that number down.The Steelers were bet down from 3- to 2.5-point favorites over Washington at most books by Monday morning.The Houston Texans were responsible for the biggest loss for Caesars Palace and MGMs books, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers upending the Atlanta Falcons was the biggest loss for Station Casinos sportsbooks.Overall, thanks to the Patriots, the opening Sunday of the NFL season went to the books.Well make enough money to pay for the lights, the comp drinks and a little bit of salary, Rood joked.The wild Central Michigan-Oklahoma State endingThe largest money-line bet William Hill took on Oklahoma State to beat Central Michigan straight-up was $6,000 at -1,200 odds. If Central Michigan wouldnt have erroneously been granted an untimed down and if the underdog Chippewas hadnt successfully used that play to throw a Hail Mary, hook-and-lateral for the winning touchdown with no time remaining, the bettor would have won $500.Instead, he lost $6,000 on an improbable ending that had customers calling the sportsbooks asking what happens now. We had so many people calling the book asking if it was the right decision; were they going to overturn it, Westgate SuperBook assistant manager Ed Salmons said. We had a lot of money-line parlays that started the day with Oklahoma State.Central Michigan was granted the untimed down after Oklahoma State was called for intentional grounding while attempting to kill the final four seconds on the clock by lobbing a deep, high pass on fourth down. Because there was not a receiver in the area of the pass, officials made the intentional grounding call and mistakenly awarded the Chippewas an untimed down. Games are not allowed to be extended if the foul is by the team in possession and the statement of the penalty includes loss of down.The Big 12 has a rule prohibiting a result being overturned, and most sportsbook house rules also do not recognize overturned results.Some bettors did benefit from the ruling. CG Technology sportsbook operator Jason Simbal said his shop took two $500 money-line bets on Central Michigan at +850, each producing $4,250 net wins. William Hill had six money-line tickets on the Chippewas, the largest a $100 at +750.Heisman updateA 100-1 long shot to start the season, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson is now 8-1 to win the Heisman Trophy at the Westgate SuperBook.The sophomore has vaulted up the board to become a top-five Heisman favorite after accounting for 13 touchdowns in his first two games. He set an ACC record with 610 yards of offense in the Cardinals 62-28 blowout win over Syracuse on Friday.The Westgate SuperBook took more than dozen bets on Jackson, ranging from $5 to $200, at 100-1. If they win this week, hell probably be the favorite, unless [Stanford running back Christian] McCaffrey has some monster game, Salmons said.?Odds & ends? The Washington Huskies moved from 30-1 to 12-1 to win the national championship at the SuperBook, after a bettor backed the Huskies to win it all with a significant bet that would pay more than six figures, Salmons said.? Georgia, a 55-point favorite, was trailing Nicholls State in the third quarter Saturday. The Bulldogs were listed at -600,000 on the money line to win straight-up at offshore sportsbook 5Dimes. Georgia prevailed 26-24.? La Liga newcomers and massive underdogs Alaves stunned Barcelona 2-1 Saturday. Alaves could be found as high as 40-1 to win the match. The biggest bet on Alaves that William Hills U.K. book took was ￡14 at 28-1. William Hill also took a ￡1,616 bet on Barcelona at -1,600 odds, according to book spokesperson Joe Crilly.? Arkansas overtime win over TCU completed a seven-team, $50 parlay that paid $8,600 at CG Technology. The bettor also had Michigan -35.5, Nebraska -26, Wake Forest +6.5, Texas -31, Ohio State -28.5 and Wisconsin -23. Jimmy Garoppolo Super Bowl Jersey . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Deion Sanders Super Bowl Jersey . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. http://www.49ersofficialfanshop.com/raheem-mostert-jersey.html . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. Kwon Alexander Super Bowl Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. Matt Breida Super Bowl Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Last year ended on a happy note for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim -- a trip to the Final Four for the fifth time in his Hall of Fame career. This season? An encore performance is on the mind.Im looking forward to winning a lot, senior forward Tyler Roberson said. We want to get back to the tournament and win the national championship. Thats the main goal. I know we cant ask for much more (than making the Final Four), but we went really far and we are bringing that energy into this season.Until Syracuse was selected to play in the NCAA Tournament in the spring, the 2015-16 season was forgettable. Boeheim served a nine-game suspension as part of sanctions handed down by the NCAA after a multiyear investigation of the schools athletic department, and the Orange were a longshot to make the field after going 19-14 in the regular season and a pedestrian 9-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.Four wins in the big dance turned the season into a rousing success, and the sky seems to be the limit this year despite the departure of the top three scorers -- guards Michael Gbinije, Trevor Cooney, and Malachi Richardson, who left for the NBA after a stellar freshman season.The short bench that hurt last years team likely wont be a factor this season. Syracuse has a solid mix of talented returnees including Roberson, center Dajuan Coleman, projected first-round NBA pick Tyler Lydon, and guard Frank Howard. The Orange also welcome a highly ranked recruiting class of three in Matthew Moyer, Taurean Thompson and Tyus Battle, two fifth-year transfers in guard John Gillon (averaged 13.2 points and 3.8 assists at Colorado State) and sharpshooter Andrew White III (16.6 points and 5.9 rebounds at Nebraska), who are eligible to play immediately, and a traditional transfer, 7-foot-2 center Paschal Chukwu.We have never put five new guys in within one year that I can remember, Boeheim said. We have five new guys that actually will play a lot.Boeheim, soon to be 72, isnt about to change his philosophy as the end of his long career at his alma mater looms. In other words, no predictions.You never know about a team until you get in the game. It isnt until you have a couple of battles, said Boeheim, who is slated to retire after next season. There is always adversity in the game. It isnt always smooth sailing.Other things to know when Syracuse kicks off the season against upstate New York foe Colgate on Nov.dddddddddddd 11:TRANSFER CITY: Boeheim accepted only a handful of transfers in his first 40 years at his alma mater. Year No. 41 sort of represents a watershed moment with three.Transfers that weve taken have been very impactful to our program, Boeheim said. When youre down numbers and you have a fifth year, you help your team. If Malachi would have stayed, we probably wouldnt have taken any. Its here to stay now.ZONED OUT: Boeheim always seems to have lots of long arms in the lineup to enhance the effectiveness of his trademark zone defense, and this years team might be the longest ever with eight players 6-7 or taller. Chukwu promises to be a menacing force inside, and Coleman (6-9), Lydon (6-8), Roberson (6-8), White (6-7), along with incoming freshmen Matthew Moyer (6-8) and Taurean Thompson (6-10) figure to give opponents fits.3-BALLS GALORE: With a thin roster, Syracuse relied on its perimeter shooting last season, hoisting up 876 3-pointers and averaging 8.5 made 3s per game. The Orange has experience there with Lydon, who was the most accurate (49 of 121, 40.5 percent), and White (87 of 211, 41.2 percent).Its a part of the game now, Boeheim said. Every player that can make them can shoot them.PRESSING MATTERS: Syracuse uses the press at just about every practice and utilizes it sparingly but to great effect in games when needed. With such a deep roster, using it more often is an option.It came in handy last year. A couple of games we wouldnt have won without pressure, Boeheim said. We think well pressure more, but when we get into the season, if its not there, then we wont use it.MR. VERSATILE: Lydon emerged as a bona fide star last season as a freshman with his strong perimeter game and shot-blocking ability inside (team-high 67 blocks) while playing center and both forward positions. He added 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason, which promises to make him a more imposing figure all over the court.He was key last year, so hes certainly not going to be any less this year, Boeheim said. Hell be very important. Hes probably the only player Ive had that has ever done that well at three positions.---AP college basketball website: www.collegebasketball.ap.org---Follow Kekis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Greek1947 ' ' '