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Magic and Celtics renew rivalry in BeantownBasketball Betting Lines02/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest round of what is quickly becoming one of the best rivalries in the Eastern Conference takes place at TD Garden this afternoon as the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Celtics host the Southeast's top squad, the Orlando Magic. The Celtics avoided what could have been a rather embarrassing loss on Friday when Ray Allen poured in 26 points and drilled a critical three-pointer with two minutes left, as Boston extended lowly New Jersey's woes with a 96-87 win. Rajon Rondo scored 17 points and dished out 11 assists for the Celtics, who have beaten the Nets 12 straight times since the tail end of the 2006-07 season and improved to 2-0 on their current three-game homestand. Glen Davis had 13 points, while Eddie House scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. "I don't know what it was, I mean, we just didn't play well in the first half," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought it was a game that we thought that we could just outscore them." Boston toiled without leading scorer Paul Pierce for the second straight game against New Jersey. The veteran forward, who has been out with a foot injury, will be a game-time decision this afternoon. The Magic, perhaps looking ahead to their matchup with the C's, did suffer an embarrassing setback to the Southeast Division's worst team, Washington, in their last encounter on Friday. Caron Butler fueled a Wizards' comeback over Orlando, scoring 29 of his 31 points in the second half, including the game-winning jumper with a half- second left in regulation, to push Washington to a surprising 92-91 decision at Amway Arena. Butler also grabbed nine rebounds for the Wizards, who trailed by as many as 21 in the contest before outscoring the Magic by 22 in the third quarter to erase the deficit. In a back-and-forth final frame, Orlando's Rashard Lewis nearly spoiled the turnaround by hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 4.6 seconds to play, but Butler answered with a baseline 19-footer to send the Magic to just their fifth home loss this season. Dwight Howard logged 20 points and 18 rebounds, while Vince Carter chipped in 21 points in Orlando's first loss in five games. "It is flat-out unacceptable," Carter said. "We did a great job of getting ourselves back into the game. But unfortunately, when you have a slippage like that, you're going to lose a buzzer-beater." Lewis had 12 points and his desperation fadeaway following Butler's eventual game-winner was well off the mark. The Magic, who are the reigning Eastern Conference champs, bested the Celts, who were the 2007-08 NBA champs, in Game 7 of the East semifinals last season with a 101-82 blowout win in Beantown, but Boston was without star forward Kevin Garnett. This season, Orlando has gotten the best of the Celtics in two of the three encounters between the two teams, including an 83-78 triumph at TD Garden in November.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Home cooking figures to be key this afternoon as the Toronto Raptors shoot for their seventh consecutive win at Air Canada Centre against a Sacramento Kings team aiming to avoid an 11th straight road loss. The Raptors open
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<< Third-ranked Orange clash with Bearcats in Big East battle
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Ovechkin's red-hot Caps host Crosby and Pens >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The hottest team in the NHL will take on the defending Stanley Cup champions today when Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals welcome Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins for an Eastern Conference showdown at Verizon Cente
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Football BettingNFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago. Thursday, August 21 NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37 NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007 In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points. Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season): * SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp. Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled. Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too. That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm. Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds. CHICAGO -3 (-120) ** The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond! Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
Betting the NFL preseasonRule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games." When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night. The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine. “I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.” The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark. “We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.” The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long. “It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.” Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play. “You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt." So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps? “Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says. Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins. Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet. Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter. “If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says. Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider. The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason. “We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003. Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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