Early Super Bowl news stories . . .

Patriots are 3-point favorites over the Giants.
This equates to New England having a 59% chance of winning the game.

The over/under total is 55 (i.e., expected number of points for both teams combined)

By considering the spread and the total, Vegas projects the approximant score of the game to be:
Patriots 29
Giants 26

The Las Vegas favorite has won 33 of 45 Super Bowls (73%).
RJ Bell of Pregame.com said: "Historically, the point-spread is an unmatched predictor of NFL games."

When Patriots last played the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, New England was a 12-point favorite!

How Much Action?

Super Bowl XLVI is expected to be the biggest bet Super Bowl EVER, with over $10 Billion wagered on the game worldwide. This would be the largest bet single-day sporting event in history. Over half of adult Americans are expected to have some money at risk on the game.

RJ Bell of Pregame.com said: "People associate sports betting with Las Vegas, but less than 1% of Super Bowl action will occur in Nevada."

wow...i was way off.....If thats the case...give me NE allll day long.

34-20.....patriots......my projection.

Associated Press featured RJ Bell in its Super Bowl betting first look.

AP feeds to hundreds of sites and print newspapers - here is a link to Yahoo: http://yhoo.it/dTnFEN

Nice, RJ.    Good creds.   I had NE at least -6.5   What do you think?

USA Today features Pregame.com Super Bowl odds and a few of my early stats: http://usat.ly/AhJ84r

RAW NUMBERS DERIVED FROM SITUATIONAL STATS:

NY GIANTS-24.19       N.E. PATRIOTS-27.96

RAW NUMBERS DERIVED FROM TOTAL YARDS FOR AND AGAINST DIVIDED BY YARDS PER POINT FOR AND AGAINST;

NY GIANTS-22.6        N.E. PATRIOTS-27.31

This is the Pats worst nightmare if you ask me I haven't made up my mind on the game but people saying pats by 6.5 are just crazy. I think 3 is ok but NE isn't at home anymore. NY knows they can win and sometimes it comes down to a certain team just matches up better.

[updated information in bold]

Patriots are 3-point favorites over the Giants.
This equates to New England having a 57% chance of winning the game.

The over/under total is 55 (i.e., expected number of points for both teams combined)
SECOND largest total in Super Bowl history
(behind only Colts/Saints Super Bowl XLIV total of 56.5)

By considering the spread and the total, Vegas projects the approximant score of the game to be:
Patriots 29
Giants 26

Lower playoff seed has covered 11 of 13 vs. Vegas spread
(spanning 16 years: with 2 spread ties and teams equally seeded once)

Giants Super Bowl odds:
19 to 1 in preseason
100 to 1 after losing to Packers
20 to 1 at start of playoffs

THREE teams (Packers, Saints, in addition to Patriots)
would currently be clearly favored over Giants
on a neutral field

With two weeks left in regular season,
Giants had only a 28% chance of making playoffs
according to Vegas odds

Giants needed to win 5 straight games to get here:
$100 risked on the first game, and letting winnings ride,
would have paid over $5,400 (over 54 to 1 against)

Patriots have won 10 straight games:
$100 risked on the first game, and letting winnings ride,
would have paid $1,480 (less than 15 to 1 against)

Patriots were favored in 17 of 18 games this season
(exception being road game vs. Jets)

The underdog has covered ALL FOUR Brady/Belichick Super Bowls
(with the game winner winning by exactly 3 points all four times)

How many points is injured TE Rob Gronkowski worth?
Bookmakers say NO MORE THAN a HALF-point!
(novice handicappers typically overvalue injuries of marquee players)

The Las Vegas favorite has won 33 of 45 Super Bowls (73%).
RJ Bell of Pregame.com said: "Historically, the point-spread is an unmatched predictor of NFL games."

When Patriots last played the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, New England was a 12-point favorite!

How Much Action?

Super Bowl XLVI is expected to be the biggest bet Super Bowl EVER, with over $10 Billion wagered on the game worldwide. This would be the largest bet single-day sporting event in history. Over half of adult Americans are expected to have some money at risk on the game.

RJ Bell of Pregame.com said: "People associate sports betting with Las Vegas, but less than 1% of Super Bowl action will occur in Nevada."

Pregame.com reporting used by Fox Sports:

msn.foxsports.com/.../Super-Bowl-betting-trends-New-England-Patriots-have-played-close-games-020112