All eyes on Colangelo, Bargnani
Basketball Betting Lines
07/15/2010 -
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With a hot summer in full swing, it's no
surprise that Bryan Colangelo has been busy working up a sweat.
After sending Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat in a sign-and-trade deal that netted
the Toronto Raptors two first round draft picks and a trade exception,
Colangelo elected against rebuilding with the hopes of remaining competitive
this upcoming season.
The 2010 season is expected to be challenging for a Raptors team that has
failed to make the postseason two years running and will be without the
services of Bosh, its franchise-leading scorer and five-time all-star, for the
first time in seven years.
However, Colangelo is still focused on the now, as his competitive nature
thrives on getting back to the playoffs, rather than rebuilding.
The trade exception is worth an approximate $14.5 million and could prove to be
the most important asset the Raptors possess moving forward. The Raptors
president and GM continued to reshape his roster following Bosh's departure to
South Beach, and even managed to find a suitor in the Phoenix Suns for the
disgruntled Hedo Turkoglu; a trade that was originally supposed to be part of a
three-way deal involving the Charlotte Bobcats.
In return, the Raptors received combo-guard Leandro Barbosa and power forward
Dwayne Jones from Phoenix. Colangelo has familiarity with Barbosa dating back
to his days as general manager of Phoenix, as he acquired the seven-year
veteran in a 2003 draft day deal with the San Antonio Spurs.
Barbosa averaged 9.5 points per games with the Suns last season but missed
37 games due to a nagging wrist injury that required surgery in January.
Since winning the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2007, Barbosa's numbers have
slipped but he does add some much-needed quickness to Toronto, as well as
another player who can slash and handle the ball. The biggest gain in this
deal for the Raptors, however, is being able to wipe their hands clean of
Turkoglu's long-term and albatross-like contract.
Turkoglu had a disappointing year with the Raptors after signing a five-year,
$53 million deal with the club last summer, averaging 11.3 points per game for
his lowest total since the 2003-2004 season. He then voiced his displeasure
about Toronto to a Turkish media outlet earlier in the offseason, vowing that
he no longer wished to be a member of the organization. The 31-year-old forward
would later retract the statements, but the damage left Colangelo with no
choice but to test the market for the 10-year veteran.
Colangelo will need to stay active, as he is now temporarily 'stuck' with Jose
Calderon and Reggie Evans, after a deal for Tyson Chandler fell apart, and
has the trade exception from the Heat he can use in a future deal.
Until the Raptors shore up their frontcourt, which was clearly a point of
interest for Colangelo by targeting Diaw and Chandler, the club will be working
in a young mix of forwards to the rotation, including Ed Davis, the Raptors
2010 first-round draft pick. Linas Kleiza could also become a rotation player
for the Raptors after the team signed him to an offer sheet last week following
a stint in Greece.
The Denver Nuggets, who retain Kleiza's rights, aren't expected to match the
offer after using their mid-level exception to acquire Al Harrington, clearing
the way for the Raptors to land the 24-year-old European. Kleiza spent the
first four years of his career with the Nuggets, averaging a career-best 11.1
points-per game in the 2007-2008 season.
The success of Colangelo's offseason makeover will largely hinge on the ability
of Andrea Bargnani to continue developing. The path is now set for Bargnani to
become the next franchise player of this Raptors squad, and it's his upside
that makes him such an intriguing option.
Colangelo certainly sees it, as he inked the Italian to a 5-year, $50 million
contract last summer. He's the most gifted offensive player on the team, and
can score from the inside and out.
Much of the criticism directed at Bargnani ensued following his disappointing
sophomore season, which carried over to the first half of his third year in the
league. Since then, Bargnani has proved to be a formidable sidekick to former
Raptor Bosh on the offensive end, as the two were able to extend defenses with
their exceptionally strong shooting.
Bargnani averaged career-highs with 17.4 points-per-game, 6.2 rebounds and
1.4 blocks, also leading the team in three-pointers made with 121.
The firing of Sam Mitchell and hiring of Jay Triano in 2008 has had positive
impact on Bargnani's production. Mitchell was quick to remove Bargnani for
defensive lapses and bury him on the bench for long stretches during his time
as head coach in Toronto, but Triano elected to go another route with the young
big man, allowing him on many nights to fight through defensive blunders, while
rewarding him for his strong play offensively.
Patience proved to be positive for the Raptors in certain respects, as the 24-
year-old turned into a solid one-on-one defender in the post last season, where
his career-best mark of 1.4 blocks per game was good for 11th best among
Eastern Conference players.
The Raptors have a young nucleus centered around Bargnani and the improvements
are not only going to have to come from offseason acquisitions but also from
within, where DeMar DeRozan will be one of those players Triano looks upon to
elevate his game.
Bargnani is Colangelo's chosen one, the clear cut 'guy' on this team, who may
have a solid enough supporting cast to flourish in this new found role.
The fans may be reluctant passing the 'franchise' tag to Bargnani but as he
enters his fifth season and first without Bosh, the timing couldn't be better.
Who knows, maybe Colangelo is on to something and the Raptors will actually
produce a franchise player that can help the team win something in the future.
The time is now for Bargnani to prove he's not a bust after being drafted
No.1 overall in 2006.
Whether he is ready or not, the success of this club is now resting on his
shoulders.
<< Islanders sign Kohn
Bridgeport, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders signed defenseman
Dustin Kohn to a one-year, two-way contract.
Kohn appeared in 22 games with the Islanders last season, his first in the
NHL. He totaled four assists in those
<< All-UFA Team: The best of the leftovers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite his surprisingly deliberate search
for a new team, Ilya Kovalchuk is still gaining headlines as the top free
agent left on the NHL's open market.
While it's certainly shocking that we are two weeks
<< Unga, Price-Brent taken in supplemental draft
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NFL's supplemental draft took place on
Thursday and two players were taken -- running back Harvey Unga of BYU and
defensive tackle Josh Price-Brent of Illinois.
Unga was selected by the Chicago Be
<< Lightning re-sign C Jones
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Lightning added some depth to the
forward position on Thursday by re-signing center Blair Jones to a one-year
contract.
Financial terms were not announced.
The 23-year-old appeared in 14 g
<< Oilers sign D Peckham
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers have signed defenseman
Theo Peckham to a one-year contract.
Peckham, 22, has played in 31 career NHL games with the Oilers, including a
15-game stint during the 2009-10 campaign.
Mariners sign P Wright among roster moves >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners signed free agent pitcher
Jamey Wright on Thursday, one of three roster moves made by the club.
Pitcher Chris Seddon also had his contract selected from Triple-A Tacoma,
while pitche
Braves place LHP O'Flaherty on DL, recall Dunn >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves placed left-handed reliever
Eric O'Flaherty on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday with a viral
infection.
O'Flaherty has been a stalwart out of the Atlanta bullpen this s
Bruins sign four >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins signed four players on
Thursday, including forward Gregory Campbell.
Campbell is a six-year veteran of the NHL and had played that entire time with
Florida. Over 363 games, he has total
Cavs' West pleads guilty to charges >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West pled
guilty to weapons and traffic charges stemming from his arrest last September,
according to a report in the Washington Post.
The judge in Prince George's County Ci
Oilers name Smith, Buchberger assistant coaches >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers named Kelly Buchberger
and Steve Smith as assistant coaches for Tom Renney on Thursday.
Buchberger has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with Edmonton
and prior to tha
March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST |
National Championship |
Region |
| Arkansas |
300-1 |
50-1 |
| Belmont |
|
1000-1 |
| Boston College |
100-1 |
40-1 |
| Eastern KY |
|
1000-1 |
| George Washington |
|
75-1 |
| Georgetown |
10-1 |
3-2 |
| Marquette |
100-1 |
40-1 |
| Michigan State |
100-1 |
25-1 |
| New Mexico St. |
500-1 |
200-1 |
| UNC |
6-1 |
6-5 |
| Oral Roberts |
|
500-1 |
| Texas |
15-1 |
5-1 |
| Texas Tech |
200-1 |
5-1 |
| USC |
75-1 |
20-1 |
| Vanderbilt |
100-1 |
30-1 |
| Washington State |
40-1 |
15-1 |
|
|
|
| WEST |
|
|
| Duke |
50-1 |
10-1 |
| Florida A&M |
|
1000-1 |
| Gonzaga |
200-1 |
40-1 |
| Holy Cross |
|
300-1 |
| Illinois |
300-1 |
60-1 |
| Indiana |
75-1 |
40-1 |
| Kansas |
5-1 |
13-10 |
| Kentucky |
100-1 |
40-1 |
| Niagara |
|
1000-1 |
| Pittsburgh |
40-1 |
8-1 |
| Southern Ill. |
50-1 |
12-1 |
| UCLA |
10-1 |
3-2 |
| VCU |
500-1 |
100-1 |
| Villanova |
100-1 |
40-1 |
| VA Tech |
50-1 |
15-1 |
| Weber St |
|
1000-1 |
| Wright St |
1000-1 |
300-1 |
|
|
|
| MIDWEST |
|
|
| Arizona |
50-1 |
30-1 |
| Butler |
40-1 |
30-1 |
| Davidson |
|
300-1 |
| Florida |
4-1 |
4-5 |
| Georgia Tech |
75-1 |
25-1 |
| Jackson State |
|
1000-1 |
| Maryland |
30-1 |
6-1 |
| Miami-OH |
|
300-1 |
| Notre Dame |
100-1 |
20-1 |
| ODU |
500-1 |
100-1 |
| Oregon |
40-1 |
6-1 |
| Purdue |
300-1 |
60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC |
|
1000-1 |
| UNLV |
100-1 |
30-1 |
| Winthrop |
500-1 |
100-1 |
| Wisconsin |
15-1 |
7-2 |
|
|
|
| SOUTH |
|
|
| Albany |
|
200-1 |
| BYU |
200-1 |
40-1 |
| Central CT St. |
|
1000-1 |
| Creighton |
100-1 |
35-1 |
| Long Beach St. |
500-1 |
200-1 |
| Louisville |
40-1 |
10-1 |
| Memphis |
30-1 |
4-1 |
| Nevada |
75-1 |
35-1 |
| North Texas |
|
500-1 |
| Ohio State |
7-1 |
6-5 |
| Penn |
|
500-1 |
| Stanford |
200-1 |
50-1 |
| Tennessee |
100-1 |
20-1 |
| Texas A&M |
12-1 |
11-5 |
| Virginia |
75-1 |
18-1 |
| Xavier |
100-1 |
40-1 |
Field 100-1
About MySportsbook.com MySportsbook.com is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best US Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Sportsbooks to bet on football
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
read more
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