Howard, Magic crush lowly Clippers

Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard was a force on the interior with 22 points and 15 rebounds, as the Clippers had no answer for the big man or the rest of the Magic in Orlando's 113-87 rout.

Jameer Nelson totaled 17 points with eight assists, Rashard Lewis chipped in with 15 points, Vince Carter contributed 13 points and Matt Barnes joined J.J. Redick in double figures with 10 points apiece for Orlando, which has won six straight.

Howard recorded his 51st double-double of the campaign as Orlando led by as many as 30 and only trailed briefly in the opening quarter.

Baron Davis led the Clippers with 16 points and nine assists off the bench, while Drew Gooden posted a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds, Chris Kaman notched 12 points and Steve Blake netted 11 with five assists.

The Clippers have lost four in a row overall, and put a stamp on their disappointing season by severing ties with general manager Mike Dunleavy Tuesday, just over a month after he resigned as head coach to focus exclusively on personnel matters.

Howard exerted his will in the opening 12 minutes, scoring 10 points with six rebounds as the Magic gained a double-digit advantage and control of the game. The Clippers' lone lead came at 2-1, and the Magic raced to a 15-8 edge on Howard's putback slam. Redick's 25-foot trey made the first-quarter margin 31-21.

The lead methodically grew to 15 and then 17 points at 53-36 on Carter's jumper with just over five minutes left in the half. The advantage hit 20 points at 61-41 on Howard's conventional three-point play, and grew to 26 points at 67-41 by quarter's end, as Los Angeles' last field goal came on a Rasual Butler three with 2:54 to play. Orlando scored the half's final 11 points capped by Nelson's jumper just prior to the horn.

Orlando's edge reached its highest margin of 30 points at 84-54 on Nelson's pull-up bucket with 4:35 remaining in the third and the lead stood at 91-68 heading to the fourth.

The Magic cruised to victory from there.

Game Notes

Butler had nine points for the Clippers...Orlando shot 48.9 percent from the floor, while the Clippers connected on 43 percent of their shots...The Clippers shot just six free throws, while Orlando was a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe...The Magic have won seven straight in the series.

Wwwcolosseumcasino Basketball Betting News

<< Felton helps Bobcats rally past Heat
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton poured in 15 points and dished out a season-high 11 assists, as the Charlotte Bobcats rallied late to down the Miami Heat, 83-78, at Time Warner Cable Arena. Stephen Jackson added 17 points

<< Predators hold off Thrashers
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Suter and Colin Wilson scored to propel the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena. Suter's tally came on a power play early in the first period, whil

<< Bourque highlights Calgary's win in Motown
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rene Bourque assisted on the tying goal early in the third period and scored the game-winner less than two minutes later, as the Calgary Flames edged the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2, at Joe Louis Arena. Jarome Ig

<< Jones shines in Granger's absence as Pacers down Sixers
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dahntay Jones tied a season-high with 25 points and the Indiana Pacers overcame the absence of Danny Granger to beat Philadelphia, 107-96, at Conseco Fieldhouse. Granger, who is leading the Pacers at

<< North Texas takes Sun Belt championship
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh White hit the go-ahead bucket with 24 seconds left and George Odufuwa came up with a key block on the ensuing series, as North Texas edged Troy, 66-63, for the Sun Belt Conference Tournam

Rockets notch road victory over Wizards >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola totaled 23 points with 10 rebounds, as Houston held off Washington, 96-88, at the Verizon Center. Kevin Martin chipped in with 21 points, Aaron Brooks totaled 14 and Trevor Ariza adde

Kulemin lifts Leafs over Bruins in overtime >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikolai Kulemin scored with 49.7 seconds left in overtime, as Toronto tripped up Boston in a 4-3 final from Air Canada Centre. Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski broke out on a 2-on-1 following an end-to-

Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Recaps >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Harris scored a game-high 24 points as he led the Massachusetts Minutemen to a 59-56 win over the Charlotte 49ers in the first round of the 34th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. Harris finis

Flyers rally to down Isles on Gagne's late score >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Simon Gagne was credited with the game- winning power-play goal with 6:06 remaining in regulation, as the Philadelphia Flyers rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the New York Islanders, 3-2, at Wach

Darche, Canadiens down Lightning >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mathieu Darche scored a pair of goals to help the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3, at the Bell Centre. Scott Gomez had a goal and two assists for the Canadiens, who have won th

Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.