Jazz seeking to extend Timberwolves' season-long misery

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a potential mismatch on the NBA docket, the Western Conference power Utah Jazz welcome the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves to Salt Lake City tonight.

The Jazz, who are currently the fourth seed in the West, snapped a rare two- game skid on Monday with a win over another also-ran, the Washington Wizards. Carlos Boozer led the way in that one with 23 points and nine rebounds as the Jazz sent the reeling Wizards to their eighth consecutive defeat, a 112-89 setback, at EnergySolutions Arena.

Deron Williams added 17 points and 11 assists, but sat out the fourth quarter for the Jazz after landing awkwardly in the waning moments of the third. Sundiata Gaines totaled a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had seven players score in double figures.

Mehmet Okur returned from a one-game absence due to a strained back and had 14 points for the Jazz, who won for the fifth time in seven contests. They were coming off a 2-2 road trip.

"I was proud of us," Boozer said. "We lost two tough ones on the road. We just played [Sunday] and we came back [Monday] and acted like we didn't play last night. Hungry. We beat a team that had been playing pretty good."

Williams is expected to play tonight while forward Andrei Kirilenko, who missed his second straight game on Monday with a strained left calf, remains questionable.

The Wolves, meanwhile, continue to mail it in down the stretch, dropping their 10th consecutive game last night. Jason Richardson led eight Phoenix players in double figures in that one with 27 points as the Suns lit up the scoreboard with a 152-114 win.

Amare Stoudemire netted 25 points and Steve Nash added 13 along with 14 assists as the Suns set an NBA-high for points in a game this season.

"That's what happens when you don't play any defense," Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis said.

Corey Brewer racked up 21 points and Ryan Gomes added 18 for the lowly T-Wolves, who have lost 16 of their last 17 overall and have the worst record in the Western Conference.

Despite their monumental struggles this season, the Wolves have actually taken two of three meeting from Utah this season, including their last trip to Salt Lake -- a 110-108 triumph in December.

Marketwstch Basketball Betting News


<< Rockets to host Grizzlies in key conference clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a virtual must-win situation for a pair of Western Conference teams in desperation mode tonight as the Houston Rockets host the Memphis Grizzlies at the Toyota Center. Historically the Grizzlies haven't had a lot of s

<< Raptors return home to face Hawks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to hold on to a playoff berth that's beginning to slip away, the Toronto Raptors return to the Air Canada Centre this evening for an important matchup with an Atlanta Hawks team that figures to be without its lea

<< Road-weary Pacers try to fix issues in Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An Indiana Pacers team that's had its share of troubles on the road will face another tough challenge in tonight's visit to Quicken Loans Arena for a bout with the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pacers have lost eigh

<< Reeling Bulls visit powerhouse Mavs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have picked a bad time to start playing poorly and their chances of ending an eight-game slide don't look so promising with tonight's road matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. The Bulls have also dropped

<< Basement brawl: Woeful Nets visit lowly Sixers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The bottom two teams of the Atlantic Division will go head- to-head for the final time of the 2009-10 campaign this evening at the Wachovia Center, where the homestanding 76ers aim for a season sweep of the dismal

Hornets resume important trip with bout against Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets resume a five-game road trip in Oakland tonight, aiming for a season sweep of the woeful Golden State Warriors. New Orleans has already topped the Warriors three times this season and will be aimin

Scorching Bucks try to take down reeling Clippers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Milwaukee Bucks aim for their longest winning streak in eight seasons tonight, when they face off with the reeling Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. The Bucks, who are kicking off a three-game road trip t

Nationals release Dukes >>
Kissimmee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have released outfielder Elijah Dukes. The team announced the news Wednesday in a brief release, which did not provide a reason for the move. Dukes, 25, was expecte

Reina close to inking new Liverpool contract >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina has confirmed that he is on the verge of penning a new contract with the Anfield- based club. The 27-year-old Spaniard is settled on Merseyside and is happy to com

Jones relieved by injury news >>
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland have been boosted by the news that striker Kenwyne Jones' hip injury is not as serious as was first feared. The 25-year-old frontman had to be replaced at halftime of the 1-1 draw w

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

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.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.

Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA
4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich
9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson
5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com