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Bobcats welcome hapless Nets to CharlotteBasketball Betting Lines02/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats will try to keep up their outstanding home play this season at Time Warner Cable Arena tonight versus a New Jersey Nets club that hasn't won on the road in over two months. The Bobcats come out of the All-Star break having won 10 of their last 12 at home, helping them post a 19-6 mark as the host this season. They bested the Wizards in their most recent game in Charlotte last Tuesday, then secured a thrilling 93-92 victory at Minnesota on Wednesday. Nazr Mohammed clinched the victory on a dunk with 5.3 seconds left after securing the rebound off a Boris Diaw missed jumper. Mohammed posted a double- double with 21 points and a season-high 20 rebounds, while Diaw ended with 15 points and five assists. "We came out really aggressive at the beginning of the game," Tyson Chandler told NBA.com. "But in the second half we got a little lax, had a few turnovers and they were able to build confidence. And when you give a young team confidence, they were able to stay in the game. They made it close." Stephen Jackson led the club with 33 points, while D.J. Augustin made his first start of the season and posted 12 points and seven assists. Augustin was playing in place of Raymond Felton, who sat out due to a sprained right ankle. He is questionable for tonight's game. Gerald Wallace shot just 1-for-9 versus the Timberwolves, ending with five points and nine rebounds for Charlotte, which is sixth in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games back of Toronto. Wallace, the Bobcats' lone and first- ever All-Star representative, shot 1-for-3 in the East's 141-139 victory on Sunday, adding three boards in 15:32 of action. The 6-foot-7 Wallace has been a terror on the glass versus the Nets this year, as he has a career-best 20 rebounds in both meetings with New Jersey this year. He had 24 points and 20 boards in a 79-68 home win over the Nets on November 2, but he wasn't able to rebound his club to a victory in New Jersey on December 4. That 97-91 win by the Nets snapped their season-opening 18-game losing streak and the club will try to end another lengthy skid this season tonight versus Charlotte. New Jersey dropped a 97-77 decision to Milwaukee on Wednesday in its last game before the break, its eighth straight loss and 19th in its last 20 games. The Nets have won five of their last seven versus the Bobcats, as well as eight of the last 10 meetings at Charlotte. They hope that past success will help them halt a 15-game road skid tonight and give them their first victory as the visiting team since their only road win this year (1-27) on Dec. 8. Devin Harris had 27 points and nine assists versus the Bucks, but he also accounted for five of the Nets' 17 total turnovers. Yi Jianlian added nine points and 12 boards, as New Jersey played in front of just over 1,000 fans due to a snowstorm in the northeast. "I'm not sure exactly what happened, but this is the first time in I think eight or nine games where we didn't compete in the second half," interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe told NBA.com. "I'm not sure exactly what happened...people looked very tired to me." The Nets are just 4-48 on the season and their goal following the All-Star break will be to avoid breaking the NBA mark for the worst single-season record held by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who went 9-73 that year.
<< Spartans and Hoosiers do battle in Bloomington
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans have made their way to Bloomington for this evening's Big Ten Conference clash with the Indiana Hoosiers. Michigan State reached the 20-win plateau on Saturday with a
<< Kentucky and Mississippi State mix it up in SEC action
<< Red hot ACC foes collide as Hokies host Demon Deacons
<< Red Raiders and Bears meet in Big 12 tussle in Waco
<< Ex-Memphis State coach Dana Kirk dies
Iverson set to return for Sixers vs. All-Star MVP Wade and Heat >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After helping lead the East to an All-Star Game victory on Sunday, Miami's Dwayne Wade will now try to guide his club back to the postseason. Leading his team to its first win at Philadelphia in over four years would be a goo
Wolves, Pistons square off at The Palace >>
Thunder put win streak on the line versus revamped Mavs >>
Knicks open home-and-home set with Bulls in Windy City >>
Grizzlies aim to halt skid against Suns >>
Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance. Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it? If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.) Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa). In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech. Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down. (Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28) If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you. Atlantic Coast Conference Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
Work left to do: Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's. Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win). Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT. For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 millionIn the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree. And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so. Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal. So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them. Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.) The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money. As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached. The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs. In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season. Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done. And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting. So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year. There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve. So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal. And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million. There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.) Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft. Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey. Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year. So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation. To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs. |
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