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Old-school rematch: Lakers oust Suns to set up Finals date with Boston

Basketball Betting Lines

05/29/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant poured in 37 points as the Los Angeles Lakers gained their third straight trip to the NBA Finals with a 111-103 win over the Suns.

The defending NBA champions, who eliminated Phoenix in six games in the Western Conference finals, will have a familiar foe in the title series. For the second time in three years and for a record 12th time in NBA history, the Lakers will battle the Boston Celtics for the championship.

Last year, the Lakers secured their 15th title with a five-game victory over Orlando, but in 2008 Boston topped Los Angeles in six games. The Celtics, gunning for their record 18th title, are coming off a six-game series win over the Magic in the East finals. Game 1 will be Thursday in Los Angeles.

Ron Artest, whose put-back gave the Lakers a dramatic 103-101 win in Game 5 on Thursday, ended with 25 points in the series clincher.

Amare Stoudemire led the way with 27 points for the Suns, who were denied their first NBA Finals appearance since 1993. They've never won the championship. It was also possibly Stoudemire's final game in a Phoenix uniform, as he's due to be a free agent this summer.

Steve Nash recorded 21 points and nine assists, while Channing Frye ended with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

The Lakers, who snapped a seven-game playoff skid in Phoenix, are bidding to become the first repeat champion since they won three in a row (2000-02) with Bryant teaming with Shaquille O'Neal.

Bryant scored 24 points in the second half, but the Suns, who trailed by as many as 18 in the third, trimmed the margin to 95-90 on Stoudemire's layup midway through the fourth.

Nash's reverse layup had the Suns within 99-96, and the crowd at US Airways Center was buzzing with 2:19 remaining. Bryant, though, stemmed the tide by canning a tough jumper from the right side, then after a steal from Lamar Odom, Bryant made two foul shots.

Phoenix never got closer than five the rest of the way, and Bryant, under heavy pressure from Grant Hill, nailed a right wing shot with 34.2 seconds left for a 107-100 difference. Bryant then jokingly tapped Suns coach Alvin Gentry, who could only smile at the incredible shot.

It was tight throughout the opening quarter, but the Lakers came away with a 37-34 edge going to the second. LA scored nine in a row in the middle portion of the second, gaining a 51-43 advantage. Andrew Bynum threw down an alley-oop jam and Jordan Farmar capped the rally with a three-pointer.

Bryant's three-ball in the closing seconds provided a 65-53 difference at the half and the Lakers were in front by double digits virtually the entire third quarter. The lead ballooned to 85-67 following an Artest hook shot with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. It was 91-74 moving to the last quarter.

Game Notes

Odom had 12 rebounds...Derek Fisher scored 11 and Bynum 10 for the Lakers...Jason Richardson and Goran Dragic had 13 and 12 points, respectively, for Phoenix...Bryant has recorded at least 30 points in 10 of his last 11 playoff games. He has 75 career 30-plus point playoff contests, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and behind only Michael Jordan (109)...Boston won the first eight championship series against the Lakers and owns a 9-2 advantage in the Finals matchup. The two also played a pair of nail-biting contests this regular season with the Lakers coming away with a 90-89 edge at Boston on Bryant's game-winning shot. Bryant sat out the Celtics' 87-86 win at Staples Center on February 18...Sasha Vujacic was given a flagrant foul one for elbowing Dragic in the mouth just 42 seconds into the fourth quarter, although Dragic embellished the contact.


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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.