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Blazers head to Oklahoma City for big Western Conference clashBasketball Betting Lines03/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders jockey for playoff position tonight when the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to Ford Center. The Thunder, who are currently the sixth seed in the West, a game ahead of both the Blazers and San Antonio, are coming off their most impressive win of the season, a 91-75 blowout of the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Kevin Durant poured in 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds in that one. Russell Westbrook added 23 points and six assists for the Thunder, who have won two in a row following a two-game skid for Oklahoma City, which is just three games behind both Dallas and Denver for the No. 2 seed. Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic each donated 10 points. Krstic also had 10 rebounds for the victors. "Coming down the stretch we need wins like this," Durant said. "We're maturing as a group. We're getting better." The Blazers, meanwhile, continue to play well down the stretch and won for the seventh time in eight games last night in New Orleans when Brandon Roy shot 12-for-14 from the floor to end with 28 points, as Portland improved its own playoff standing and simultaneously eliminated New Orleans from postseason contention with a 112-101 win. "When my mid-range game is falling like it did tonight I think it's going to be tough to defend and I just wanted to take what they gave me," Roy said. LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points, Marcus Camby posted 14 rebounds and 11 points and Nicolas Batum chipped in 13 points for the Blazers, who opened up a 5 1/2- game lead over Memphis for the eighth and final bid in the West. These two teams have split a pair of meetings so far this season with each winning on the other's home floor.
<< Streaking Suns visit woeful Wolves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Phoenix Suns plan to improve their playoff position in the jumbled Western Conference tonight when they take on a Minnesota team hoping to avoid matching the franchise record with a 16th straight loss. The S
<< Heat host Raptors in key Eastern Conference matchup
<< Magic and Nuggets collide at Amway Arena
<< Bulls take playoff push to Auburn Hills; face Pistons
<< Hawks, Pacers clash in Dixie
Celtics and Spurs clash in Beantown >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics clinched their third straight Atlantic Division title in their last outing. Now, Doc Rivers' club hopes to get to work on improving its playoff position in the Eastern Conference when it hosts the San Anton
Warriors and Clippers meet at Staples Center >>
Ruangkit makes history in South Africa >>
Oosthuizen finally gets first European Tour win >>
Ajax, PSV keep pace with Twente >>
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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