Phoenix Suns 2010 Draft Preview
Basketball Betting Lines
06/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Suns rebounded nicely this year after the Terry Porter debacle but that didn't stop Steve Kerr from announcing that he would not return as president and general manager when his contract expires on June 30.
Kerr intends to go back to broadcasting, his career before taking over Phoenix's reins three years ago.
After Kerr announced his intention to leave, owner Robert Sarver exercised head coach Alvin Gentry's contract option for the 2011-12 season. That was a no-brainer since Gentry has excelled since taking over as the Suns' interim head coach after Porter was fired at the All-Star break during the 2008-09 campaign.
Gentry guided the club to an 18-13 record in the second half of that year, though Phoenix missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. In 2009-10, Gentry had more success, helping the Suns go 54-28 in the regular season before a six-game series loss to the eventual champion Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
Even with All-Star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire, who is expected to leave via free agency, the Suns were lacking on the defensive boards.
Since the team won't be selecting until the 46th overall selection in the second round, help probably won't be coming from this draft.
Players under contract: G Leandro Barbosa; F Earl Clark; G Goran Dragic; F Jared Dudley; F Taylor Griffin; C Robin Lopez; G Steve Nash; G Jason Richardson; F: Grant Hill
Free agents: F: Louis Amundson (Unrestricted); C Jarron Collins (Unrestricted); C Channing Frye (Player Option); F Amar'e Stoudemire (ETO)
Draft picks: 2nd round (46th overall, 60th overall)
Monterey, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Most golf nuts are always searching for that ultimate buddy trip. To play 12 rounds of golf in 5 days, visit the local establishments and enjoy the fruitful libation to the wee hours of the morning. Myrtle Be
<< Philadelphia 76ers 2010 Draft Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the more active
teams early in the offseason, naming Doug Collins as the team's new head
coach, and trading disappointing center Samuel Dalembert to the Sacramento
Kings.
Collins is
<< Orlando Magic 2010 Draft Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Magic are clearly one of the most skilled teams in the
NBA but seem to lack the requisite toughness to get over the top.
I'm not sure you can correct that in the draft and you certainly can't do it
at No. 29, where Orl
<< Venus, Jankovic, Clijsters, Henin advance at Wimbledon
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1s Venus Williams,
Jelena Jankovic, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin were among Monday's first-
round winners at Wimbledon 2010.
The second-seeded Williams blew past Paraguayan veteran
<< Lakers celebrate 16th NBA championship
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A celebratory parade didn't seem plausible
a week ago, with the Lakers having returned to Los Angeles after dropping Game
5 of the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics.
The loss placed the defending champs in
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Pritchard has built the Portland Trail Blazers into a contender in the Western Conference but he is reportedly not in the good graces of team owner Paul Allen. In fact, Pritchard has acknowledged he knows ownership i
Saints release DE McCray >>
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints have released
defensive end Bobby McCray.
McCray, 28, signed with the Saints as an unrestricted free agent in 2008. The
Florida product started eight of 32 regular-season ga
Rachel Alexandra back to work in morning >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning Horse of the Year Rachel
Alexandra put in her first workout at Churchill Downs on Monday morning since
her victory in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis Handicap. The four-year-old filly
breezed
San Antonio Spurs 2010 Draft Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After 13 Consecutive trips to the postseason and four
rings, you can almost see the end of the road coming for a great San Antonio
team.
Injuries and age have taken a toll on Gregg Popovich's club for the last two
seasons
Toronto Raptors 2010 Draft Preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Raptors figure to lose Chris Bosh in the offseason so
they will need to acquire a big man to replace him.
Toronto would like to work a sign-and-trade with Bosh's prospective new
team, where it could get an asset in ret
Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.