Hawks hope to snap road skid in Washington
Basketball Betting Lines
04/10/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third seed in the Eastern Conference is still up for
grabs and the Atlanta Hawks seized control of it on Friday. Tonight, the Hawks
hope to move closer to securing that goal when they visit the hapless
Washington Wizards.
Jamal Crawford finished with 25 points to lead a balanced attack last night,
as Atlanta got back on track with a 107-101 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Josh Smith had 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for the Hawks, who had
dropped their last two but used a 27-of-30 performance from the foul line
Friday to take the win. It was Atlanta's 50th victory of the season, a
milestone the team hadn't reached since 1997-98.
The win also put the Hawks into sole possession of third place in the Eastern
Conference, a game ahead of Boston, which lost to Washington on Friday.
Atlanta also holds the tiebreaker over Boston by virtue of sweeping the season
series.
"It feels good," Smith said. "When we first started out, the goal was to win
50-plus games. Some people laughed, it really didn't matter. We knew that we
had the talent in order to make 50-plus wins."
Joe Johnson added 18 points and seven assists in the win, while Al Horford had
15 rebounds to go with 12 points. The Hawks had 45 points in the second
quarter.
Playing on the road hasn't been kind to Atlanta recently, however. The Hawks
have dropped six straight away from Dixie but Washington may be the tonic for
that. Atlanta has won eight straight over the Wiz and are shooting to sweep
the season series for a second straight year tonight.
The Wizards, meanwhile, played spoiler in Beantown last night when Andray
Blatche poured in 31 points and came down with 11 rebounds as Washington
snapped a six-game skid against Boston with a 106-96 triumph at TD Garden.
Shaun Livingston added 25 points and seven assists for Washington, which was
swept in three games last season by Boston and was in danger of a four-game
whitewash this season, but the Wizards dominated the playoff-bound Celtics on
Friday.
"We pulled it out, we hung on," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. "We kept it
interesting, kept the people in their seats a little. But like I said a young
team, we play extremely well for a lot of that game at both ends."
Nick Young scored 19 and JaVale McGee added 14 points and 11 boards for the
Wizards, who won for the fourth time in six contests since a 16-game losing
streak.
<< Sabres visit Senators in battle of playoff teams
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of playoff teams will meet tonight in Canada's
capital city as the Ottawa Senators host the rival Buffalo Sabres at
Scotiabank Place.
The Northeast Division champion Sabres have secured at least the third seed in
t
<< Pens hope to keep division title hopes alive against Thrashers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Penguins have little margin for error if they hope to
win a tight race for the Atlantic Division title. Good thing Pittsburgh has
been perfect when playing the Thrashers over the last two seasons.
Still locked in a tie
<< Devils continue quest for division title versus Islanders
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils went into Thursday with a chance to
clinch the Atlantic Division title, but things didn't work out as planned.
The Devils will continue their fight for a second straight division crown when
they host
<< Kings play host to Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff-bound Los Angeles Kings will play their final
home game of the regular season this afternoon, when they host the lowly
Edmonton Oilers at Staples Center.
The Kings have qualified for their first postseason sinc
<< Bruins hope to claim playoff spot versus Hurricanes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to lock up a playoff spot this
afternoon when they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes in the regular-season
finale at TD Garden.
The Bruins enter Saturday's action tied with Montreal for the sixth s
Bobcats and Pistons tangle in Charlotte >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats continue their march to the
postseason Saturday when they welcome the Detroit Pistons to Time Warner Cable
Arena.
Two days after clinching the first postseason berth in franchise history the
Bobcats
Nets and Pacers collide in Indy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams hoping to finish the NBA season strongly
meet in Indianapolis Saturday when the New Jersey Nets visit the Pacers.
Indiana has been playing much better recently and won its third straight game
over the LeBro
Grizzlies host struggling Sixers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams headed for the NBA Draft Lottery face off in
Memphis Saturday when the Grizzlies host the Philadelphia 76ers.
Memphis snapped a three-game skid last night and played the spoiler, topping
playoff-bound San Antonio
Bucks host Celtics in possible playoff preview >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics efforts to lock down the third seed in
the Eastern Conference took a big hit last night. Things don't figure to get
any easier for Doc Rivers' club, which invades Brew City to take on the
Milwaukee Bucks in
Mavs jockey for playoff position in Sacramento >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off clinching the Southwest Division title, the
Dallas Mavericks get back to work on securing the Western Conference's second
seed in Sacramento tonight.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 of his 40 points in the second half on
NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams
NFL Betting
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash. NFL Wagering
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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