Rams winners for second time in 10 weeks

Football Betting Lines

12/20/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though it came against the AFC doormat -- the NFL's? -- a shutout is still a shutout.

And so the St. Louis Rams' 20-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday allows those who write about the team to try something novel this week: accentuate the positives.

Head coach Scott Linehan may have said it best after the game.

"It's hard to go on the road and win," he declared, "and it's hard to do it when you're somewhat struggling, so I'm very proud of the team in that regard."

The Rams (6-8) traveled to Oakland having lost two straight home games and seven of their last eight overall. For those of you keeping score, that was one win since Oct. 8.

Neck and neck with the Democrats.

But on Sunday, a disappointedly middling Rams team shook the dust from their win column and gave their fans a reason to watch Inside the NFL this week. They did what they should have done while losing to lesser competition this season.

They controlled the game.

Looking to Steven Jackson early and often, the Rams attacked one of the only NFL run defenses as bad as their own. Jackson touched the ball nine times on St. Louis' first two possessions, including seven times during a 7 1/2-minute drive that ended with a Jeff Wilkins field goal.

The Rams came right back and handed Jackson the ball six more times on their next drive, leading to another Wilkins field goal and a 6-0 halftime lead.

Jackson ended with a career-best 31 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns, one each in the third and fourth quarter. If nothing else, it was proof that he deserved his first-ever Pro Bowl citation, which came Tuesday.

On the other side of the ball, the bedraggled Rams defense held Oakland to just 57 yards rushing. The Raiders, of course, were without LaMont Jordan again, but we're talking about a St. Louis run defense that has allowed nearly 150 yards per game -- second-worst in the NFL.

Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks was pulled in the fourth quarter after going 11-of-19 for just 98 yards and an interception. Replacement Andrew Walter threw for 131 yards in the fourth, but the Rams picked him off twice.

The Rams caused five turnovers without committing any themselves. Marc Bulger was just 11-of-22 for 137 yards, but that's all he needed to be. His team was that much in control.

"It's great to finally have something good happen for us on both sides of the ball in the same game," said defensive end Leonard Little.

With the way the Rams' season has gone -- "We've lost some close games and not so close games," Linehan pointed out -- pitching a shutout against the Raiders must've felt pretty good.

ADAM'S RIBS

Unable to play with three broken ribs, Rams guard Adam Timmerman missed Sunday's game to end his streak of 204 consecutive games played, including the playoffs.

His career built on durability, Timmerman had strung together the second- longest regular-season consecutive games streak (184) among active NFL offensive lineman, behind only Will Shields of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Timmerman, 35, hadn't missed a game since he was a rookie with the Green Bay Packers in 1995. He had been playing with the injury since it occurred in a Nov. 19 loss to Carolina.

LEONARD GOIN'

Leonard Little had two sacks on Sunday to become the Rams' official all-time leader. Little has 12 sacks this season and 73 for the Rams since 1998, surpassing Kevin Greene's 72 1/2.

Hall of Famer Deacon Jones, one of the greatest ends of all-time and the so- called "Secretary of Defense," was credited for more than 150 sacks before it became an official NFL statistic in 1982.

ACTION JACKSON

Jackson's performance gave him 1,236 yards rushing and a career-high nine touchdowns on the ground this season. He has also caught 82 passes -- fourth in the NFL -- for 680 yards and another score this year.

Since last season the 23-year-old Jackson has proven to be a weekly threat, no matter how his teammates perform around him. Sunday, he was rewarded with the driver's seat.

"It really felt like they finally put the game in my hands, and I enjoyed it," Jackson said.

UP NEXT: ANOTHER WINNABLE GAME

The Rams won three straight games early in the season, when things still looked promising. And with a home game against Washington looming, they could be looking at another streak.

They lost to the Redskins, 24-9, in St. Louis last season and have dropped five of the last seven meetings overall. But Washington (5-9) is in classic let-down position after winning at New Orleans on Sunday.

If you believe in that sort of thing.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.