11/20/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Allen Iverson and the Detroit Pistons will try to knock off another NBA giant when they visit the defending champion Boston Celtics tonight in a battle of Eastern Conference powerhouses.
The Pistons have won four of their last five games, including victories over the Lakers, Suns and Cavaliers. In Wednesday's 96-89 win versus Cleveland at The Palace, Iverson finished with 23 points, four steals and four assists to help end the Cavs' eight-game winning streak.
Rasheed Wallace scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Pistons, who will put their 5-2 road record on the line Thursday. Richard Hamilton chipped in 15 points and five assists in last night's win.
Boston, which eliminated the Pistons from the playoffs last year, has won two straight and eight of nine games. It improved to 10-2 this season with Tuesday's 110-101 triumph against the New York Knicks at TD Banknorth Garden, where Paul Pierce ended with 22 points and eight rebounds to lead the way.
Kendrick Perkins had 16 points while Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen both scored 15 points for the Celtics, who played without All-Star Kevin Garnett. Garnett sat out after being suspended one game for hitting Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut during a 102-97 overtime win on Saturday. Garnett is expected to return tonight.
The Celtics are 6-1 as the host this season and handed Detroit an 88-76 setback on November 9 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Boston has won three straight in this series, but the Pistons are 14-4 in the previous 18 matchups.
Detroit has won seven of nine trips to Beantown.
<< Oden successful in home debut; Blazers blitz Bulls
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy scored 20 points and Greg Oden had
a successful regular season home debut, as the Portland Trail Blazers
dominated the Chicago Bulls to the tune of 116-74 at the Rose Garden.
The game mar
<< Boozer injured in win over Bucks
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer suffered
a strained left quad tendon during Wednesday's 105-94 win over the Milwaukee
Bucks.
Boozer, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds, left the game in the four
<< Billups, Denver top Spurs for fourth straight win
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups scored 22 points, doled
out six assists and hauled in five rebounds to lead the Denver Nuggets in a
91-81 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
"We've just come in every night focused
<< Ovechkin leads Caps past Ducks
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin registered a goal and three
assists, as the Washington Capitals defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 6-4, at Honda
Center.
David Steckel had a goal and an assist, while Michael Nylander collected
Blue Devils take on Salukis in Madison Square Garden >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Duke Blue Devils and Southern
Illinois Salukis have made the trek to the Big Apple, for semifinal action in
the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer from famed Madison Square
Garden. Th
Tigers tangle with Mocs in Puerto Rico Tip-Off >>
San Juan, PR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Memphis Tigers and the
Chattanooga Mocs have traveled to San Juan for the opening round of the Puerto
Rico Tip-Off.
Chattanooga, which competes in the Southern Conference, has certainly
challe
Bruins battle Wolverines in the Big Apple >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fourth-ranked UCLA Bruins are set to take
on the Michigan Wolverines in semifinal action of the 2K Sports Classic
Benefiting Coaches vs. Classic from Madison Square Garden this evening. The
winner of this gam
Gators and Thunderbirds get together in Gainesville >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th-ranked Florida Gators seek their
seventh straight 3-0 start to a season, as they welcome the Southern Utah
Thunderbirds to Gainesville for a non-conference matchup at the Stephen C.
O'Connell Center.
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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