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03/17/2010 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James nearly had his second straight triple-double, finishing with 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers captured their second straight Central Division title with a 99-94 win over the Indiana Pacers.
James, who is now three points shy of 15,000 for his career, added three steals and two blocks for the Cavs, who have won five straight to capture back-to-back division titles for the first time in franchise history.
Antawn Jamison added 17 points and nine rebounds, while J.J. Hickson and Anderson Varejao each had 13 in the victory, Cleveland's 24th in 28 games.
Roy Hibbert had 20 points lead the Pacers, who lost their 10th straight game in Cleveland and ninth straight on the road overall. Troy Murphy provided 19 points and 15 rebounds, and A.J. Price had 14 points in defeat.
Indiana played without Danny Granger, who suffered an upper cheek injury after being elbowed in a game on Tuesday. T.J. Ford (groin) also sat out.
Indiana trailed by 16 heading to the fourth but made a furious rally.
Brandon Rush capped a quick 8-0 burst in the opening moments with a short jumper to trim the deficit to 83-73, and a Murphy triple with 7:13 to go had the visitors within 87-82.
The Pacers got as close as one on an Earl Watson jumper with just under five minutes to go before James took over.
Rush went up for a go-ahead layup, but the reigning NBA MVP swatted the ball away against the backboard, which led to a Varejao layup. Varejao then stole the ball away and lofted up an alley-oop pass for James, who pulled off a reverse dunk amid three defenders.
A James fadeaway jumper pushed the Cavs' lead to 95-87 with 2 1/2 minutes left, and the Pacers never got within one possession down the stretch.
The Cavaliers grabbed a 30-25 lead after one quarter, but the Pacers clawed back to trail only by two, 50-48, at halftime.
James and the Cavs got hot early in the third quarter, helping the home team create some separation. Cleveland scored the first nine points of the frame, and James capped the spurt with a layup and two free throws for a 59-48 advantage.
James later hit consecutive jumpers -- one from three-point range -- for a 66-50 lead 4 1/2 minutes into the quarter, and he drilled another three moments later for a 17-point cushion.
Cleveland carried an 81-65 edge into the fourth.
Game Notes
The Pacers are 7-30 on the road this year, while the Cavs are a league-best 30-4 at home...Cleveland has won the last four meetings with Indiana and 13 of the last 14...James has four triple-doubles this season, while no other player in the league has more than one...Rush finished with 13 points, and Dahntay Jones had 10 for Indiana.
<< Devils sweep season series with Penguins
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Parise and Patrik Elias each posted a goal
and one assist as New Jersey completed a six-game regular-season sweep of
Pittsburgh with a 5-2 decision at the Prudential Center.
Dainius Zubrus, Paul Mar
<< Bobcats halt Thunder's winning streak
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Jackson came up with 20 points, five
assists and added five rebounds, as Charlotte put a stop to Oklahoma City's
five-game win streak with a 100-92 triumph.
Stephen Graham tied a career-high wi
<< Florida Derby wide open with 11 starters
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A field of 11 three-year-olds has been
entered for Saturday's $750,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. The 1 1/8-
mile race is historically a major stepping stone on the road to the Kentucky
Derby.
<< Titans sign DE Babin to offer sheet
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Titans have signed
unrestricted free agent defensive end Jason Babin to an offer sheet.
Babin played in 12 games last season and recorded 20 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks
for the Eagle
Celtics get St. Patty's Day win over Knicks >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce scored 29 points in 24 minutes to
lead Boston in a 109-97 win against the Knicks amid a sea of green on St.
Patrick's Day at the Garden.
Kevin Garnett added 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting f
Brooks perfect from long distance, Rockets end Memphis' road run >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Brooks led all scorers with 31 points and
made all seven of his three-point attempts as the Rockets topped the
Grizzlies, 107-94, ending Memphis' franchise-record seven-game road winning
streak.
Millsap, Korver pace Utah rout of Minnesota >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver were at the
head of a balanced scoring attack with 21 and 20 points, respectively, as the
Utah Jazz logged a runaway win over Minnesota, 122-100.
Carlos Boozer had 19 poin
Bourque scores twice to push Flames past Avs >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rene Bourque tallied twice and Vesa Toskala made
32 saves as Calgary clipped Colorado, 3-2, at Pepsi Center.
Eric Nystrom picked up the other score for the Flames, who snapped a two-game
slide and won for the
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com
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