Tonights matchup between Michigan State and North Carolina not only pits two of the nations most successful programs against each other, but also marks the first time a college basketball game is being played on an aircraft carrier. The Carrier Classic will be held this evening at 7PM Eastern Time aboard the USS Carl Vinson the same carrier that buried Osama Bid Laden at sea just over six months ago.

This unique spectacle will be played in front of 7,000 fans including active service members and even President Obama. Perhaps that makes it less-than-surprising that this game is the most heavily bet of tonights basketball games.

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Who says college football doesnt have a playoff? The showdown in Tuscaloosa on Saturday is essentially a national semifinal, with the winner advancing to the BCS championship game.

Probably  Maybe

Im less interested in which team wins than in what the remaining schedule has in store for the winner:

Is there an upcoming opponent that could hand the Alabama-LSU winner its first loss, thus leaving the mighty SEC with no undefeated teams and possibly opening the door for chaos on Dec. 4.

What if Oklahoma State and Stanford are undefeated and the SEC champ has one loss?

Would the conference that has produced five consecutive national champions two of the five had one loss and a third (LSU) had two losses really get shut out of the game it has dominated?

Alabamas remaining schedule:
at Mississippi State
vs.

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After witnessing what took place in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, I don’t think anyone will be upset about the fact that the (3-3) Texas Rangers [+130 ML] and the (3-3) St. Louis Cardinals [-140 ML] will have to play one more in order to determine a winner.

Game 7 of the 2011 World Series is scheduled to get underway this evening at 8:05 PM ET live on FOX Sports. According to 2011 World Series picks experts, the OVER/UNDER mark between the Rangers and Cardinals is set at a combined total of 8 runs scored. <

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What a fantastic game we are treated to this week between the two most pleasant surprises in the league this season.  San Francisco is coming off the most shocking result from last weekend and they just destroyed Tampa Bay team that I think is pretty good.  It was their biggest winning margin since 1987.  I don’t want to jinx it but  Alex Smith might actually be figuring out how to play quarterback in this league.

San Francisco is currently in first place in the NFC West and playing very well under new coach Jim Harbaugh.  Their defense has been superb, second in the league in points allowed at just over 15 per game, masking an offense that even though it doesn’t generate a ton of yards, scores points, 7th in the league.  Facing Detroit will be their toughest test of the season so far.

There are a lot of reasons to like San Francisco this year but not in this spot.  They are going to have to play some pretty inspired defense to keep Detroit out of the end zone which nobody has really been able to do all season long.  If this thing becomes more of a shootout they just don’t have the weapon to keep up with the high power Lions. 

It is getting harder and harder to come up with compliments for the Detroit Lions.  In a national spotlight game Monday night Detroit broke their recent string of losses against the Chicago Bears.  It wasn’t a great game for viewers but the Lions made some very big plays to get the win.  It is a sign of this team’s development that that are able to win in a variety of ways.

What I loved most about Monday’s game is that Lions were actually able to run the ball.  With Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson it is tempting to throw it often but they need to be able to run it effectively if they want to keep up their current pace it was nice to see Jahvid Best rip off an 88 yard touchdown run but he also scampered for another 75 yards on his 11 other carries.  If this team develops true balance than they are a nightmare to defend. 

This could be a very special season for the Detroit Lions and I see no reason for the 49ers to derail it this week.  At -4 there is good value on Detroit, helped by close score last week and San Francisco’ throttling of Tampa Bay.  This is a great spot, especially with the Lions at home.

Every Monday, we take a look at the opening lines for next weeks NFL games:

There are currently no lines posted for 49ers/Eagles (due to the Vick injury), Lions/Cowboys, and Redskins/Rams.

* Betting Percentages reflect Sports Insights Spread Betting Trends Data ** Opening and Current Lines from CRIS