Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh dies

Football Betting Lines

07/30/2007 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Fame football coach Bill Walsh, the architect of the great San Francisco 49ers teams of the 1980s, has died after a long battle with leukemia. He was 75 years old.

The 49ers issued a statement Monday afternoon, saying Walsh died at his home in Woodside, California with family at his side.

Walsh built the foundation for the great San Francisco teams, creating an innovative offensive system that would become known as the "West Coast Offense."

The 49ers were one of the NFL's laughingstocks in the late 1970s, but Walsh quickly turned around a franchise that went 2-14 in his first season into a perennial contender that won five Super Bowls between 1981 and 1994. He was the coach of three of those teams (1981, '84 and '88), before turning over the reins to George Seifert, who won championships in 1989 and '94.

In Walsh's 10 years as head coach, the 49ers posted a regular-season record of 92-59-1 and earned seven playoff appearances. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Walsh also coached on the collegiate level at Stanford -- in 1977 and '78, before he went to the NFL, and again from 1992-94. The Cardinal had a record of 34-24-1 with three bowl victories during his five years.

Before his first stint as Stanford's head coach, Walsh spent 21 years as a collegiate or pro assistant and semipro or high school head coach.

Walsh began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater -- San Jose State in 1956, then spent three years as a high school head coach before moving on to the college ranks.

From 1960-62, he was the defensive coordinator for California, then moved on to Stanford as defensive backs coach for three years. In 1966, Walsh had his first taste of pro coaching as offensive backs coach with the Oakland Raiders.

Next came a one-year stint as head coach of the semipro San Jose Apaches of the Continental Football League before an eight-year run as offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Working with the legendary Paul Brown in Cincinnati, Walsh began to cultivate his offensive genius. He was passed over for the Bengals' head coaching job when Brown retired and spent the 1976 season as the offensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers.

Finally, in 1977 at the age of 45, Walsh was named the head coach at Stanford for the first time. The Cardinal went 17-7 with a pair of bowl victories in two years before the 49ers came calling.

San Francisco was 2-14 the year before Walsh arrived and 2-14 in his first season. Things began to turn around in 1980 with a 6-10 campaign before the breakthrough season of 1981.

With Joe Montana at the helm of a dynamic offense, the 49ers finished 13-3 and beat the Dallas Cowboys in a memorable NFC Championship Game -- highlighted by "The Catch" -- and went on to beat the Bengals in Super Bowl XVI.

A 3-6 strike-shortened season followed before an NFC Championship Game loss to Washington after the 1983 season.

The Niners then, arguably, had their best-ever team under Walsh in 1984 with a 15-1 regular-season record. A 38-16 thrashing of the two-loss Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium capped the remarkable campaign.

Three first-round playoff losses followed before the 1988 team finished 10-6 and won Super Bowl XXIII against Cincinnati with a 92-yard, final-minute drive.

Walsh, soon after the 20-16 victory, tearfully announced his retirement. He stayed with the organization for a short time in the front office, then returned to coach Stanford in 1992.

The Cardinal went 10-3 in Walsh's triumphant return, capping the season with a bowl win over Penn State. Records of 4-7 and 3-7-1 followed before Walsh called it a career.

Walsh is survived by his wife Geri and two children.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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