Warriors' sale could mean tough sell for NBA in upcoming CBA fight
Basketball Betting Lines
07/16/2010 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is an adage in politics - never
let a serious crisis go to waste.
In these tough economic times, rank and file workers across America have
never been more suspicious of management.
Most agree that the world's largest economy is not running on all cylinders
right now and some even argue that it's come off the tracks completely, but
most middle class employees can't help but get the feeling that management is
using a bad situation to take advantage of them by scaling back on benefits
and salary.
That kind of suspicion is about the only thing NBA players have in common with
the middle class.
Since the league instituted a salary cap in 1984, it has grown from $3.6
million per team to a staggering a $57.7 million last season. In turn, player
salaries have exploded, climbing from an average of $330,000 in '84 to $5.2
million by 2007-08. The numbers have stagnated a bit since then, but the
average NBA salary has stayed above the $5 million mark.
That growth had the NBA crying poverty at every turn when the economy went
south. Before the 2008-09 season, commissioner David Stern slashed 9 percent
of his office staff in New York and played hardball with his officials,
gaining significant reductions in the referees' retirement packages after
threatening a lockout.
During the NBA's annual owners meeting in Las Vegas, buried among all the
hoopla over the "Summer of LeBron," Stern claimed his league lost a combined
$370 million thanks to the recession, a figure NBA Players Association
executive director Billy Hunter balked at.
With the current collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its
players set to end on June 30, 2011, Hunter thinks Stern is using fuzzy
math in an attempt to control salaries and make other changes to the CBA.
"David's numbers are unfounded," Hunter told ESPN. "It's a severe
exaggeration."
Stern cited slowing ticket sales in some markets and a hit in both television
and merchandising revenue to back his claim, while Hunter pointed to the
league's overall increase in ticket sales and a much-increased television
audience for the NBA playoffs to bolster his case.
Recent empirical evidence supports Hunter and the players.
A doom-and-gloom prediction by the NBA that predicted the salary cap would
decrease from $57.7 million to $50.4 million in 2010 was way off and the
league announced that the cap would actually increase next season to $58
million, a development that actually upset a number of the league's owners,
who were taken by surprise.
"As soon as we get it, we spend it," Stern said of the league's still solid
revenue streams. "That is the current system. We try to compete. Our fans
love that. So we'd like to keep the league as competitive as possible, give
all of our teams the opportunity to tell their fans they have a chance to win,
and have some profit in it for the owners."
Those same owners are continuing to spend at a breakneck pace despite the sour
economy and Stern's moribund words, giving even pedestrian players like Chris
Duhon and Hakim Warrick big paydays.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors, not exactly the gold standard in the
league, are set to sell for a record price. The Warriors. who were a
disappointing 26-56 last season, are a lot closer to the Los Angeles Clippers
than the Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics, but that didn't stop an
investment group led by Joseph Lacob to pony up a record price $450 million
for the franchise, exceeding the $401 million Robert Sarver needed to buy the
Phoenix Suns in 2004.
Both sides are distrustful of each other and are hunkering down and preparing
for the worst work stoppage since the 1998-99 lockout.
"I'm preparing for a lockout right now, and I haven't seen anything to change
that notion," Hunter said.
Don't expect Stern, a master negotiator, to blink and let this crisis go to
waste.
"I don't know how many collective bargainings I've participated in over the
last too many years," the commissioner said. "We've thus far only had one
failure to reach a deal in 1998. And many of the others have started out
poorly, had predictions of doom and gloom, et cetera. You just keep on
plugging. I think we've got a long way to go, but we have a lot of time to get
there. That's the optimism
"Judging from (the players') proposal, which basically embraces the current
system, we haven't closed any gap yet. But we're going to be resilient and
prepared to spend the time necessary to see whether there's a deal to be had
here, and we're going to do it for as long as possible."
<< Celtic adds Murphy from Sunderland
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic have completed the signing of
Sunderland striker Daryl Murphy on a three-year contract.
The 27-year-old joins fellow Bhoys newcomers Charlie Mulgrew, Joe Ledley and
Cha Du-Ri in Neil Lenn
<< NBA summer leagues shed more light on the draft
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - This year's rookie crop got its first taste of
the NBA in the recently completed Orlando Summer League and the one in Las
Vegas which concludes on Sunday. Though it's not the competition the player
will see in th
<< Leafs' Kadri in for some heavy lifting
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nothing says pressure like holding the
weight of a Stanley Cup-starved city on your shoulders.
But regardless of how you look at it - fortunately or unfortunately - that is
the reality for Toronto Maple Le
<< Blue Jays' Anthopoulos building on youth
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When your pockets aren't deep and you live
in the American League East, you need to do things a little differently. With
a new general manager in town, it seems as though the Toronto Blue Jays have
finally com
<< Orioles recall INF Bell
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles recalled infielder Josh
Bell from Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, a move that coincided with the club
placing catcher Matt Wieters on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday with a
right h
Podolski claims he is committed to Cologne >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cologne's Germany international forward
Lukas Podolski has vowed to stay with his current club this summer, despite
links with a possible big-money move abroad.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine Worl
NL East: With playoffs in sight, Braves make a switch at short >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It appears as though the Atlanta Braves got tired of
waiting for Yunel Escobar.
The Braves dealt the 27-year-old shortstop to the Blue Jays on Wednesday in a
five-player trade that sent 33-year-old Alex Gonzalez to the Bra
Hamburg completes signing of Diekmeier >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg have completed the signing of
right back Dennis Diekmeier for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract
from Nurnberg.
The 20-year-old has played for Germany at three junior levels and m
Barca set to add Adriano from Sevilla >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sevilla wing back Adriano is poised to
join Barcelona after the two clubs agreed to a fee for the Brazilian.
The 25-year-old has been with the Rojiblancos since January 2005, making just
over 200 appe
Stars sign veteran D Lukowich, two others >>
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars signed veteran defenseman Brad
Lukowich and two others to one-year, two-way contracts on Friday.
Lukowich, 33, has registered 23 goals and 90 assists in 653 regular season NHL
games with six
Betting the NFL preseason
Rule 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.
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts 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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