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02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks will try to bounce back tonight versus the Philadelphia 76ers in the continuation of a four-game homestand.
Atlanta had won three straight and nine of 11 games until dropping a 96-77 decision to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. Josh Smith led the Hawks with 11 points and both Joe Johnson and Ivan Johnson added 10 points in defeat.
"We've got to put up a little bit better fight than what we did in the paint" Smith said of his Hawks being beat 58-38 inside. "Hopefully everyone will learn from this game and correct it later on and just find a way not to have any let downs like that anymore."
Hawks forward Jason Collins left the game in the first quarter with a sprained left elbow and did not return. He is expected to miss Saturday's game. The Hawks, who were coming off a 4-1 road trip that left them tied with Miami for the Southeast Division lead, had their six-game home winning streak stopped and fell to 8-2 as the host this season.
The Hawks will also welcome the Suns and Pacers to Philips Arena, and now sit one game behind Miami for division supremacy.
Philadelphia is coming off Friday night's 99-79 loss to the Heat and completed a seven-game homestand with a 5-2 record. It had a four-game winning streak come to an end thanks to a poor fourth quarter versus Miami, as the Sixers were outscored by a 32-16 difference in the decisive period.
Thaddeus Young led five players in double-figure scoring with 16 points off the bench, while Jodie Meeks and Lou Williams netted 13 apiece for Philadelphia, which is still a dominant 12-3 as the host this season and made 39.5 percent of its shots. Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, in defeat.
"Those guys cranked it up a little on us and forced us into taking a few bad shots, but we did just go cold," Young said about the fourth quarter. "We have to find a way to make shots and we couldn't do it tonight."
The 76ers hope to improve on their 4-4 road ledger tonight. They defeated Atlanta, 90-76, on Jan. 20 at Wells Fargo Center behind a game-best 20 points from Young. Holiday added 16 points and 11 assists, while Elton Brand had 10 points with 16 rebounds for Philadelphia, which has won three straight against Atlanta.
Philadelphia has lost three of its last five visits to Philips Arena.
<< Mavs hit the road to Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perhaps a change of scenery will bring different results
for the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, who will commence a three-
game road trip tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.
The
<< Knicks square off with Nets at MSG
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks will play their third game in as many
nights when they entertain the local New Jersey Nets Saturday at Madison
Square Garden.
The Knicks have lost the first two of back-to-back-to-back con
<< Pistons welcome Hornets to The Palace
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of also-rans get together tonight at The Palace of
Auburn Hills, where the Detroit Pistons will host the New Orleans Hornets.
The Hornets have lost four in a row and 13 of their last 14 games, including
Thursday
<< Timberwolves host Rockets in Twin Cities
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves aim to reach the .500 mark
tonight versus the Houston Rockets at the Target Center.
Minnesota is 11-12 on the season and has won seven of its last 11 games,
including Friday's 108-1
Bobcats hope to end slide against Suns >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats certainly hope to halt an ugly 10-
game skid tonight but maybe Paul Silas' club should just focus on staying
competitive when its visits the desert to take on the Phoenix Suns.
The Bobcats are
Lakers resume trek in Utah >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will resume a six-game road trip
tonight against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.
The Lakers have won three in a row and four of five games since a season-high
three-game slide and kicke
Clippers kick off trek in Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were named starters on the
Western Conference All-Star squad and look to get the Los Angeles Clippers
back in the win column tonight against the Washington Wizards.
The Clippers will
Kings, Warriors meet again in Sacramento >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state rivals meet for the second time this week when the
Sacramento Kings play host to the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors just finished up a lengthy six-game homestand by beating
Sacramento on Tuesday by
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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Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.
Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.
That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.
Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.
After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.
The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).
To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.
NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV
New England Patriots 8/1
Dallas Cowboys 9/1
New York Giants 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1
Indianapolis Colts 12/1
San Diego Chargers 12/1
Baltimore Ravens 14/1
Tennessee Titans 16/1
Carolina Panthers 18/1
Philadelphia Eagles 18/1
New Orleans Saints 20/1
Atlanta Falcons 25/1
Denver Broncos 25/1
Green Bay Packers 25/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1
Minnesota Vikings 25/1
New York Jets 25/1
Arizona Cardinals 30/1
Chicago BearS 30/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1
Buffalo Bills 35/1
Houston TexaNS 35/1
Miami Dolphins 35/1
Washington Redskins 35/1
Seattle SeahawkS 50/1
Cleveland Browns 55/1
Cincinnati Bengals 60/1
San Francisco 49ers 60/1
Oakland Raiders 75/1
St. Louis Rams 75/1
Detroit Lions 100/1
Kansas City Chiefs 100/1
Odds as of: 2/2/09
Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds
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