Newbies Have Betting-Window Breakthrough: 

Well, it's taken most of the regular season to happen, but it appears NFL teams with new coaches are finally learning how to win --- at the betting window, anyway.

Eleven teams entered the 2009 season with new skippers, and believe me, "skippers" is an appropriate term, because many of these squads were --- and in some cases still are --- sinking ships.

But two weekends ago, the newbies went a season-best 7-4 against the spread (ATS). Perhaps spurred on by that success, they came back last weekend and did one better, going a sterling 8-3 ATS. The Raiders provided the biggest shock, with their 27-24 road upset of the Steelers as a 15-point underdog.

Oakland was one of three teams with new coaches to go off as a double-digit dog in Week 13, and all three bagged the cash. Detroit (+13.5) covered in its 23-13 road loss to Cincinnati, and Cleveland --- also catching 13.5 points --- got 16 fourth-quarter points for the backdoor cover in a 30-23 home loss to San Diego.

Percentage-wise, the Niners' Mike Singletary is still the King of the Newbies, with a 7-3-2 ATS mark. But Denver teen idol Josh McDaniels and Indianapolis' Jim Caldwell have the most spread-covers, as they are both 8-4 against the oddsmakers on the year.

Scraping the bottom of the betting barrel for new coaches are the Lions, who despite covering last weekend are just 3-9 ATS, with Tampa Bay close behind, er, ahead, I guess, at 4-8 ATS.

For the season, teams with new coaches are creeping ever closer to the .500 mark against the oddsmakers, as they are now 64-68 ATS.

 NFL Two-Minute Drill: 

And speaking of teams with new coaches, Cleveland's Eric Mangini --- who with a 1-10 record might be the old coach soon enough --- plays host to a Pittsburgh team in dire need of a win tonight. Let's check out the numbers:

The defending Super Bowl champion Steelers are 4-1 ATS in their last five Thursday starts, but they're currently on a four-game SU skid (1-3 ATS) and shoulder negative ATS streaks of 4-9 overall, 3-9 as a chalk, 1-6 laying points on the road and 0-5 against losing teams.

The bumbling Browns are in the midst of a 1-17 straight-up (SU) nosedive (6-11-1 ATS) and are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 home games, though they've gone 5-1 ATS in their last six conference games and 4-1 ATS in their last five after a spread-cover.

Pittsburgh has won 12 in a row in this rivalry, going 8-3-1 ATS in that stretch, and the Steelers are 4-1-1 ATS on their last six trips to Cleveland.

And we'll give you a little FYI on totals, just for fun: The under has hit in all six Thursday games contested this season.

 College Basketball Fast Break: 

We'll finish things off with some numbers from a top-10 tilt tonight, with No. 7 Syracuse facing No. 7 Florida on a "neutral" floor in Tampa, Fla.:

The Orange are on ATS upswings of 14-3 overall, 5-1 outside the Big East, 4-1 at neutral sites and 10-3 against winning teams, but they've gone 2-8 ATS in their last 10 against the SEC.

The Gators are on spread-covering streaks of 4-0 overall, 10-2 on Thursday, 4-0 against winning teams and 7-1 against the Big East.

The over is on runs of 8-2 overall for Syracuse, 10-2 on neutral courts for the Orange and 7-3 for Florida against Big East opposition.

• Al DeMarco, General Manager of VegasAdvisors.com and a 25-year veteran of the handicapping industry, is a featured contributor on FoxSports.com. He's also the featured handicapping expert on Comcast Sports TV in Chicago and a regular guest on the nation's top sports talk radio stations throughout the football season. Get his daily advice and betting strategies at  VegasAdvisors.com

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