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Bucks' Bogut out indefinitely with multiple injuriesBasketball Betting Lines04/04/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks announced Sunday center Andrew Bogut has a dislocated right elbow, a sprained right wrist and a broken right hand, injuries he suffered in Saturday's win over Phoenix. While the team provided the injury update Sunday, its release said no timetable for Bogut's return has been determined. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had reported earlier that Bogut will miss the rest of the season and that surgery was likely. At the least, the Bucks' playoff push will be hindered by the absence of Bogut, who suffered the injuries upon falling awkwardly to the floor following a dunk. Suns center Amare Stoudemire collided with the Aussie while Bogut was hanging from the rim, sending him to a collision with the hardwood. Bogut appeared to initially extend his right arm to brace the fall, then fell with the full force of his 7-foot, 260-pound frame while his arm bent unnaturally under him. The Bucks said Bogut was examined at the Bradley Center by team orthopaedic physician Dr. Michael Gordon, then taken to Aurora Sinai Medical Center for more tests, which revealed the injuries. He has been released from the hospital. The fifth-year pro is the Bucks' leading rebounder at 10.2 per game, and has also averaged a career-high 15.9 points in 69 contests this season. He had 12 points and four rebounds in over 12 minutes of action before being injured Saturday. Milwaukee is likely headed to the playoffs, currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind Miami for the fifth spot with just six games to play.
<< Heat make emergency landing
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat made an emergency landing in Chicago early Sunday after a crew member became ill during the flight. The Heat were on their way back from Minneapolis, where they had recorded a win over the
<< Fall leaves Bucks' Bogut with multiple injuries
<< Report: Bucks' Bogut lost for the season
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<< New York edges Seattle at Qwest for rare road win
Top-seeded Cavs pay a visit to Celtics >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have clinched the Eastern Conference's top seed for the playoffs, they'll try to keep the momentum going Easter Sunday on the road against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The Central Di
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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?" A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook. In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small. "Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets." But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?" Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year. This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here. Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions. In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries. No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning. And that's all any bettor can ask for. To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. |
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