AP source: Masoli invited to Ole Miss this weekend

NCAA Football Betting Lines

07/30/2010 -

Mississippi coach Houston Nutt has invited former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to visit the school this weekend, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.

Masoli is expected to decide by Friday morning whether he'll visit Oxford. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Masoli has not yet enrolled in school.

Masoli was considered a possible Heisman Trophy candidate after a breakout season at Oregon, but coach Chip Kelly kicked him off the team after two brushes with the law in six months.

Nutt said earlier this summer that the Rebels weren't interested in Masoli, but the situation changed when backup quarterback Raymond Cotton left the team last week, just two weeks before the start of preseason practice.

The Rebels lost last season's starter, Jevan Snead, when he decided to skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. That leaves Ole Miss with just two scholarship quarterbacks - redshirt sophomore Nate Stanley, whose experience came when he played briefly in the Cotton Bowl last January after Snead was injured, and junior college transfer Randall Mackey.

Masoli's been looking for a second chance and a new home this summer. He can play immediately this season under NCAA rules because he has already earned his undergraduate degree, but he must be accepted into graduate school.

Masoli joined the Ducks in 2008 as a fifth-string junior college transfer who was expected to redshirt. But he got a chance to play because of injury and held onto the job. In 2009, he guided the Ducks to their first Pac-10 title since 2001 and their first Rose Bowl since 1995. He threw for 2,147 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 668 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The San Francisco native pleaded guilty in March to misdemeanor second-degree burglary in a plea deal after he was charged with a felony for stealing a pair of laptop computers and a guitar from a fraternity on campus last January. Kelly suspended him for the 2010 season. He was expected to redshirt and Kelly allowed him to practice with the team during spring practice.

Kelly dismissed him from the team after police cited him for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and driving with a suspended license and failing to stop upon exiting a driveway in June. Masoli entered a guilty plea and paid a $613 fine last week.

The plea may be considered a violation of his probation for the burglary conviction, but it was unclear how Lane County prosecutors would handle the case. Masoli has fulfilled all of his other obligations in connection to that case, his attorney said.

A phone message left with the district attorney's office was not returned.

Nutt and Ole Miss can expect to take criticism if Masoli eventually joins the team. Masoli began repairing his image by launching his own website, www.jeremiahmasoli.net, to tell his side of the story and apologize.

``I made a few very poor decisions in the past year, and I apologize to my family, friends and fans for them,'' a letter on Masoli's home page reads. ``But I am not the person who has been portrayed in many media stories.

``I am not a thief nor a thug. The people who know me best know that is the truth.''

The website features pictures of Masoli, including one of him hugging his grandmother, a biography, career timeline, endorsements by former coaches and others he's close with, a resume and a section entitled media mistakes, detailing inaccuracies Masoli says have been made in stories about him.

Masoli concludes his letter by writing: ``I love playing football and want to continue to play. I'm still trying to figure out where that might be.

``Lastly, I want to thank my family, who I love very much. They have shown great support and forgiveness for the mistakes I made. I do not ever want to let them down again.''

---

AP Sports Writer Anne M. Peterson in Portland, Ore., contributed to this report.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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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

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