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Bulls aim to bounce back against PacersBasketball Betting Lines02/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After having a four-game winning streak snapped in their most recent trip to the court, the Chicago Bulls will try to bounce back when the slumping Indiana Pacers pay a visit to the United Center this evening for a Central Division clash. Chicago's run came to an end with Monday's 101-95 defeat to resurgent Washington at the Verizon Center, with the Wizards outscoring the Bulls 31-16 in the third quarter to erase a 10-point halftime deficit. Ahead 81-76 two minutes into the fourth quarter, Washington put together a 12-4 run to extend its lead to 13 points with under 5 1/2 minutes to play. Chicago responded with a 15-3 spurt, with Derrick Rose tallying nine of those points, to pull within 96-95 with under two minutes left, but failed to score the rest of the way. "Overall, I thought [the Wizards] outworked us. That was the bottom line," Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We didn't get out in the open court and attack as much as we did." Rose ended with a team-best 22 points and added six assists, while recently- acquired Flip Murray contributed 16 points off the bench for Chicago. The Bulls have still gone 11-5 since January 22 and appear to be on solid ground in regards to making the playoffs. Chicago currently occupies sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 29-27 record and is 1 1/2 games in front of both Milwaukee and Charlotte, the two teams tied for the East's final postseason berth at the moment. A third victory over the wayward Pacers this season would further bolster the Bulls' playoff hopes. Chicago has taken the first two matchups between these divisional foes in 2009-10, including a 109-101 verdict in Indianapolis earlier this month behind a 23-point, 11-rebound effort from Luol Deng. The Bulls have prevailed in seven of their past eight matchups with Indiana at the United Center as well, including the last three tilts. Danny Granger registered 27 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana in that February 9 meeting, but the standout small forward may miss a second straight game this evening because of an undisclosed family matter. Without their leading scorer, the Pacers were dealt their fifth defeat in their last six outings with Monday's 91-82 setback in Dallas. Indiana shot a woeful 36.9 percent from the field and made just 3-of-23 attempts from three-point range, and trailed by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter. The Pacers closed the contest on a 14-1 run to get the deficit under double digits. "Got to make some shots in order to win in this league," Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien said. "We did not make shots. We defended fairly decently. We chart every possession, and we missed 27 open looks and that was the difference in the game." T.J. Ford topped the punchless Pacers with 14 points, with Troy Murphy putting up 10 points and 11 rebounds in defeat.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sweeping changes have begun to pay off for the Washington Wizards, who'll be seeking their fourth win in five games when they host the Memphis Grizzlies this evening at the Verizon Center. The Wizards made three trades pri
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A strong February has enabled the Milwaukee Bucks to creep back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture, while the New Orleans Hornets' shaky play during the month has put their postseason hopes in jeopardy. The Bucks
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2007 online football betting PreviewMy fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online." The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet. To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession. However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks. Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable. Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone. Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC. 2007 College Football Betting PreviewThere will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson. The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans. So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California. USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl. USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter. Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles. That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy. The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?" The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning. Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years. Las Vegas Sports LinesThe Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States. It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella." The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot. The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan. Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season. After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country. To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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