11/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Now that Rajon Rondo's pockets will be fatter thanks to a new multi-year contract, he can focus on leading the Boston Celtics to a 5-0 start tonight against the Atlantic Division-rival Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.
The Boston Herald is reporting the point guard's deal is for five years, starting with the 2010-11 season, and is worth about $55 million. Rondo is averaging 6.5 points and 11.8 assists per game this season for Boston, which has won its first four games of the season, including Sunday's 97-87 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in the finale of a three-game homestand at TD Garden. Paul Pierce scored 27 points to help keep the Celtics unbeaten, while Ray Allen finished with 17 points in a winning effort.
Kevin Garnett contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and both Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace netted 12 points for Boston, which is 4-0 for the first time since opening the 2007-08 NBA championship season with eight consecutive victories.
"Give them credit, they made a lot of shots down the stretch," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of the Hornets. "I told our guys, so far this year, we've done a great job of each game building and improving. This was not one of those nights."
The Celtics will also visit Minnesota on the brief road trip.
Philadelphia has won back-to-back games since opening the season with a loss at Orlando. It grinded out a 141-127 overtime victory against the New York Knicks on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, as Andre Iguodala recorded 32 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead the way. Lou Williams also filled the stat sheet for the 76ers, posting 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Thaddeus Young and Elton Brand registered 25 and 16 points, respectively, for Philadelphia, which scored the final 17 points of the extra period to seal the win in the Big Apple. Marreese Speights came off the bench and ended with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
"Both teams really gave it all, both teams gutted it out," Sixers head coach Eddie Jordan said. "Both teams were determined and we just got loose [in the overtime]...We just continued to attack and attack."
Boston won all four meetings with Philadelphia a year ago and is 10-4 over the previous 14 matchups between the clubs. The Celtics are unbeaten in their past four trips to the City of Brotherly Love.
<< Cavs hope to stay on track vs. Wizards
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers hope the ship has been righted
after a disappointing start to the season, as they resume a three-game
homestand tonight versus the Washington Wizards at Quicken Loans Arena.
Favored to
<< Mavericks welcome Jazz to town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks shoot for their third consecutive win
Tuesday when they welcome the Utah Jazz to American Airlines Center.
The Mavs finished a two-day sweep at Staples Center in Los Angeles last
Saturday when
<< Hawks take on Blazers at Rose Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the NBA's most talented young teams hook up in the
Rose Garden Tuesday when the Atlanta Hawks visit the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Hawks opened a four-game road swing on a losing note in Los Angeles
Sunday
<< Bucks, Bulls set for Windy City showdown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks kick off a quick two-game Midwest road
swing Tuesday in the Windy City by facing the Chicago Bulls at United Center.
The Bucks are coming off a home-opening win on Saturday, when rookie star
Brand
NFC North: After Favre drama, is pressure off for Packers? >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The storyline that wouldn't die is now dead, at least until
January 9, 2010.
That's the day the NFC playoffs begin, and the Green Bay Packers hope to hold a
place of residency in that bracket. If the Pack (4-3) gets there,
Waxman: Decisions threaten progress on steroids >>
WASHINGTON (AP) - A key lawmaker says recent court decisions blocking suspensions of two NFL players threaten to undermine progress made in reducing performance-enhancing drug use among athletes at all levels.Rep. Henry Waxman said at a House hearin
Now we go back to the Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You can argue all you want about whether or not Joe Girardi
should have started A.J. Burnett on short rest on the road, or whether Charlie
Manuel should have gone with Cliff Lee a day earlier than he did.
Either way, thoug
U.S. Olympic hockey team to be revealed during Winter Classic >>
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States Olympic hockey team
for the 2010 Games in Vancouver will be revealed during NBC's broadcast of the
NHL's Winter Classic on January 1.
This year's Winter Classic will feature the
2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds
The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.
Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”
“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”
MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:
Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:
Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1
Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17
Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1
Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1
Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1
Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1
Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1
Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1
Best Animated Feature Film:
"Cars": 1/3
"Happy Feet": 2/1
"Monster House": 20/1
Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:
"Water" – Canada: 22/1
"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2
"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1
"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10
Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5
"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2
"Helmer & Son": 5/2
"The Saviour": 6/1
"West Bank Story": 7/2
Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:
"Babel": 7/4
"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1
"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20
"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4
"The Queen": 5/4
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
"Babel": 11/4
"The Departed": 1/2
"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2
"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10
"The Queen": 20/1
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1
Film To Win Most Oscars:
Dreamgirls: 2/3
Pans Labyrinth: 6/5
The Departed: 6/1
The Queen: 11/1
Babel: 15/1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1
Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1
Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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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