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03/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Portland Trail Blazers team aiming to improve their position in the Western Conference playoff standings welcomes the New York Knicks to the Rose Garden tonight.
The streaking Blazers won their third straight game and for the eighth time in nine contests on Sunday when Andre Miller scored 26 points and Portland continued its ascent up the ladder in the West with a 92-87 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Brandon Roy chipped in 20 points and seven assists, while Marcus Camby tallied 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who are just one-half game behind the Thunder for sixth in the conference. Portland is also just one-half game ahead of No. 8 San Antonio but a more than comfortable 6 1/2 games clear of ninth place Memphis with only eight games to go in the regular season.
"It's a big win and I think they knew that too," Miller said. "They let one slip away, but I'm sure they'll find a way to come back and make it up. They have a lot of good, hard-playing young guys."
The Blazers' magic number to clinch a postseason berth is two and the team still has an outside shot of capturing the Northwest Division title.
A win tonight coupled with a Memphis loss to Dallas would secure the playoff spot for Portland. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers are 3 1/2 games behind division leader Utah and 2 1/2 behind second-place Denver in the Northwest.
The Knicks are limping toward the finish line and fell to 0-2 on a five-game road trip in Salt Lake City on Monday after Carlos Boozer recorded a double- double with 26 points and 14 rebounds, while Deron Williams registered 23 points with 14 assists, as Utah topped New York, 103-98.
Al Harrington led the Knicks with 26 points and 17 rebounds, David Lee added 16 points, Sergio Rodriguez collected 14 points and Tracy McGrady filled the stat sheet with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds.
"They shot the ball 85-percent in the first quarter, and were 7 for 7 from three, all we could do was pray and hope that they started missing shots," said Harrington.
The Knicks topped Portland in Madison Square Garden back in December and will be attempting to sweep the home-and-home season series for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
<< Red-hot Suns try to keep rolling at expense of Nets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams coming off important wins get together this
evening at the Meadowlands, as the Phoenix Suns try to extend the NBA's
longest active win streak to nine games when they take on the New Jersey Nets.
Phoenix won
<< Sixers visit playoff-hopeful Bobcats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a potentially costly home loss, the Charlotte
Bobcats will again take the Time Warner Cable Arena court this evening to host
the Philadelphia 76ers in a late-season clash.
While the Bobcats are in good position t
<< Cavs and Bucks clash at the "Q"
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks have surprisingly been one of the NBA's
best teams over the second half of this season. The up-and-coming club will
get a chance to see just how far it's come when it pays a visit to Cleveland's
Quicken Lo
<< Lakers finish road trip vs. Hawks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers make the final stop on a challenging
week-long road trip this evening, when the reigning NBA champions head to
Philips Arena to face a test from the formidable Atlanta Hawks.
Los Angeles has alternat
Mavericks visit Grizzlies in Southwest showdown >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks will try to inch closer to their first
division title since the 2006-07 season as they pay a visit to the Memphis
Grizzlies tonight at FedEx Forum.
Dallas is 4 1/2 games ahead of San Antonio in the Sou
Heat begin key road trip with stop in Detroit >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade and the playoff-hopeful Miami Heat will hit the
road for three games starting with tonight's bout against the Detroit Pistons
from The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Miami is currently the sixth seed in the Eastern Co
Sliding Wolves try to snap skid vs. Kings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves hope to avoid a franchise-record
17th straight loss tonight when they welcome the Sacramento Kings to Target
Center.
The woeful Wolves tied the franchise mark of 16 straight losses on Sunday w
Jazz take on Warriors in Salt Lake City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Utah Jazz hope to improve their standing in
the jumbled Western Conference playoff picture tonight when they host the
lowly Golden State Warriors.
The Jazz took over the top spot in the Northwest Div
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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