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RAMS ARE FAVORITES TO WIN SUPER BOWL -- NEXT YEAR, THAT IS
By CHARLES JAY, Editor/Publisher, TotalAction.com
Posted February 5, 2002
What's this? St. Louis Rams fans haven't even stopped crying yet and we've got odds on who
is going to win the NEXT Super Bowl? That's right.
Maybe they should stop crying. Several online sportsbooks have posted their numbers on who
the winner of Super Bowl XXXVII is going to be. And guess what? The Rams are the consensus
favorites and the New England Patriots STILL aren't getting any respect.
St. Louis heads the pack, going off at 11/4 (+275) at Olympic
Sports, 3/1 at both Sportsbook.com and Canbet, and 7/2 at Carib
Sports. Nearly everyone else goes off at pretty long odds - the Pittsburgh Steelers
are 7/1 at Olympic, 17/2 at Olympic, 9/1 at Sportsbook.com, and 10/1 at Carib. The
Philadelphia Eagles are 8/1 at Carib. And the San Francisco 49ers are just 9/1 at Olympic.
The Patriots are 14/1 at Canbet, 15/1 at Carib, 18/1 at Olympic, and a whopping 25/1 at
Sportsbook.com, which, amazingly, ranks them 13th in that sportsbook's
"ratings". It's doubtful many Super Bowl champions who did not suffer massive
player defections have gone off so "long", immediately following their title
win.
In fact, the Indianapolis Colts, who dropped this past year to a 6-10 record while giving
up more points than any team in the NFL, are at the same or shorter odds than the Pats at
all four of the sportsbooks we surveyed, checking in at 15/1 at Carib and Sportsbook.com,
16/1 at Olympic, and 12/1 at Canbet. The feeling, obviously, is that the Colts' coaching
change, with defensive-minded Tony Dungy taking over, will improve Indianapolis' stop unit
to the point where they will once again rise to a pre-eminent spot in the AFC East.
The Chicago Bears also will apparently have to do much more to get the full respect from
oddsmakers - the 2001 NFC Central champs are currently 18/1 at Olympic and Canbet, 20/1 at
Carib, and 25/1 at Sportsbook.com. The Green Bay Packers, who beat Chicago twice this past
season but finished second in the division, is 10/1 at Carib, and 12/1 at the other three
books.
There is some notable disparity among some of the other teams. For example, the New
Orleans Saints are just 15/1 to win the Super Bowl at Sportsbook.com, but as high as 40/1
at Olympic. Atlanta is 40/1 at Sportsbook.com and Carib, while 100/1 at Olympic.
The brand-new Houston Texans check in at 300/1 at Sportsbook.com, 500/1 at Carib and
Canbet, and 600/1 at Olympic. Of course, when making the number on the Texans, and perhaps
some other lesser-lights, it becomes a matter of just how high you want to make a price.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the Nevada company that serves the greatest number of
clients in the sportsbook industry, has recommended that the Rams be installed as 5/2
favorites, followed by Pittsburgh at 6/1, Philadelphia at 8/1, and three teams at 10/1 -
the Colts, Patriots, and Oakland Raiders. A
story in Tuesday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch deals with LVSC's opening future line, with
some quotes from one of their representatives.
It will only be a matter of time before the other online sportsbooks come out with their
advance Super Bowl lines, which will be adjusted over the course of time for free-agent
signings, draft deals, player injuries, and coaching changes (Tampa Bay?), not to mention
the expansion draft. After all, many NFL teams are going to lose a veteran player or two,
and Houston doesn't even have any players yet.
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