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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 10:06 a.m., Monday, December 29, 2008

NFL: Vegas odds favor Giants, Titans to make Super Bowl

By OSKAR GARCIA
Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas sports books favor the New York Giants over the 11 other teams in the NFL playoffs to win the Super Bowl, giving 2-to-1 odds on the NFC's No. 1 seed to repeat as champions.

The Tennessee Titans are the favorite among AFC teams to win a title at 4-1, closely followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers at 9-2.

The Giants have the easiest road to the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, while the AFC teams are more evenly matched, oddsmaker Mike Seba of Las Vegas Sports Consultants said Monday.

"You want to be in the NFC," he said. "The AFC is closer bunched — there's not a lot of difference between your top seed and the six seed."

The Arizona Cardinals are the biggest longshots for the title at 40-1; in the AFC, the Miami Dolphins have 30-1 odds.

Before the season, the two teams that opened with the longest odds to win the Super Bowl were the Dolphins (250-1) and the Falcons (200-1). Now they're both in the playoffs.

The two preseason favorites — the New England Patriots (2-1) and Dallas Cowboys (7-1) — failed to reach the playoffs.

Each of the four road teams — Indianapolis, Baltimore, Atlanta and Philadelphia — is favored in this weekend's opening-round matchups. The top two seeds in each conference earned byes.