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03/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets, thanks to general manager Daryl Morey, should be rewarded with a playoff spot for just getting rid of Tracy McGrady's expiring and ungodly contract.
Unfortunately they're no such accommodations at this level with other teams posting up for a playoff berth in the competitive West. Not only is Houston a few games off the pace, but New Orleans and Memphis are still hooked up to a defibrillator in the conference standings. If the season ended today, the Rockets and Hornets would miss the playoffs by four games, while the Grizzlies would be 4 1/2 games behind No. 8 seed Portland.
The ding-dong battle between the three Southwest inhabitants will most likely be won by Houston because the Hornets need injured All-Star Chris Paul back and Memphis is still too young to take the next step. Yes, it was tough to part ways with Carl Landry, but Morey and the Rockets are deserving of a postseason spot for landing former Sacramento leading scorer Kevin Martin. Morey got his wing scorer to replace the oft-injured McGrady and the newcomer hasn't disappointed, averaging 23.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists in six games (four starts) with his new employer.
Martin, Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola give the Rockets a solid trio of scorers for the stretch run, while reserve Trevor Ariza is averaging 15.4 points off the bench for Houston, which hasn't helped itself with seven losses over the past 10 games.
Memphis has made the playoffs just three times in its history, getting swept in four games in each series. It would be a boost for the NBA to see the young Grizz play past their 82-game schedule, but Lionel Hollins' club is still a few steps away from making a playoff splash. Hollins has watched his squad alternate wins and losses over the past nine games, which is more proof that the inconsistency will be an albatross.
The rest of March's schedule has a handful of layups in New Jersey, New York, Golden State and Sacramento, with the likes of Western powers New Orleans, San Antonio, Boston, Houston and Dallas on the docket as well. The storybook ending would have Zach Randolph leading the Grizzlies into the playoffs in his first year with the club. However, if George Orwell was behind the pen, readers would be introduced to his idea of social injustice. In many ways it's a crying shame that a young, talented roster such in Memphis can't seem to get over the hump in the talent-laden conference.
New Orleans would probably jump at the chance of trading March schedules with Memphis because it's one any head coach would defer playing. Future matchups with the Spurs, Grizzlies, Thunder, Nuggets, Suns, Jazz, Mavericks, Cavaliers and Lakers will knock the Hornets out of contention, while the cries of woe for Paul will not be heard for at least another couple of weeks. Rookie Darren Collison can't do it all despite averaging 18.6 points, 8.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 23 games as a starter. Mix in David West's 18.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, and New Orleans is still on the outside looking in.
In other news out West, many speculate which team has the audacity to push the Lakers in a seven-game playoff series. Is it Dallas, Denver, Utah or Phoenix? Who knows? Could upstart Oklahoma City make a run at the defending champs with the way Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have put the Thunder on the map?
Maybe.
Durant's thunderous scoring streak has Oklahoma City in the sixth spot, while Dallas eight-game winning streak has helped them to the second seed in the West, just six games behind LA and a half-game in front of Denver. MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki has been a major factor in that run, averaging 32.8 points in his last four games with three 30-point games and one double-double. Since acquiring Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood from Washington before the trade deadline last month, veteran point guard Jason Kidd has most likely felt like a 'kid' in a candy store. Just imagine what Oscar Robertson's already- amazing numbers would have looked like if he had the chance to sling the rock to Nowitzki, Butler, Shawn Marion or Jason Terry.
Kidd has it made is what other guards in the league may believe.
<< Macclesfield's Alexander dies at 53
Macclesfield, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Macclesfield Town manager Keith
Alexander has passed away at the age of 53.
He died after returning to his home following his side's 1-0 League Two defeat
at Notts County on Tuesday evening.
<< Greece moves into top 10 in FIFA Rankings
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-
Cola Men's Rankings was released on Wednesday, and for the first time since
June 2008, Greece has returned to the top 10.
The top four teams remain unchanged
<< 2010 West Coast Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the 10th year in a row, the Gonzaga
Bulldogs won the West Coast Conference regular-season title, as they finished
12-2 within the league. The Bulldogs are out to repeat in this tournament
after winning th
<< Maple Leafs flip Skoula to Devils for draft pick
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defenseman Martin Skoula is on the move again,
this time from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the New Jersey Devils.
The Maple Leafs acquired Skoula, along with forward prospect Luca Caputi, from
the Penguins late
Bruins pick up Seidenberg from Florida >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have acquired defenseman
Dennis Seidenberg and a prospect from the Florida Panthers in exchange for
forwards Byron Bitz and Craig Weller, as well as a second-round pick in the
2010 NH
Bulls release G Hunter, sign Richard >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls released veteran guard
Lindsey Hunter and signed forward Chris Richard to a contract for the rest of
the season on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old Hunter appeared in 13 games this season an
Mutuel Field early favorite in second Kentucky Derby Future Wager >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second Kentucky Derby Future Wager of
2010 picks up where the first ended. The mutuel field is the 7-2 morning-line
favorite among the 24 betting interests.
The pool begins Friday at noon (et) and
Hurricanes trade defenseman Ward to Ducks >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to force their way into the Western
Conference playoff picture, the Anaheim Ducks have acquired defenseman Aaron
Ward from the Carolina Hurricanes.
In exchange for the 6-foot-2 defenseman, the
My 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.
There 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.
The 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.
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