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11/03/2009 - (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 when Kobe Bryant had a game-high 41 points to go with eight rebounds and five steals, as the Los Angeles Lakers took a 118-110 win over Atlanta.
Joe Johnson had 27 points and nine boards to pace the Hawks, who were dealt their first loss of the season. Jamal Crawford had 17 points off the bench, while Mike Bibby added 15.
"I thought we were sluggish," Atlanta head coach Mike Woodson said after the loss in LA. "We scored enough points, but you win on the defensive side and we weren't very good."
The Hawks will finish their trip with games in Sacramento and Charlotte.
The Blazers, who are opening a three-game homestand tonight, finished a short two-game road trip on a positive note in Oklahoma City on Sunday after Steve Blake recorded 18 points and Brandon Roy scored 16 in Portland's 83-74 victory over the Thunder.
Greg Oden put together a 12-point, 10-rebound effort for the Trail Blazers, who were coming off consecutive losses to Denver and Houston. Travis Outlaw also had 12 points and Martell Webster netted 10 in the win.
"We're still trying to find ourselves," said Portland coach Nate McMillan. "As I told the team, we're not last year's team. The guys are talking about a rhythm. We're playing with a different group.."
The Blazers, who will finish their homestand with bouts against San Antonio and Minnesota, may be without the services of forward LaMarcus Aldridge tonight. Aldridge suffered a bone bruise in his right knee Sunday night against the Thunder and is questionable.
These two teams split the home-and-home series a year ago with each club winning on its home floor. Overall, Portland has taken 13 of its last 15 contests with the Hawks.
<< Pens try to extend road streak with rare win in Anaheim
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Penguins are one win away from getting into the record
books. However, to do so they will have to win in a city where they haven't
tasted victory in nearly 12 years.
Pittsburgh will try to match the league record for m
<< Lakers hit the road to Oklahoma City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers kick off a
quick two-game road trip Tuesday, when they face the improved Oklahoma City
Thunder at Ford Center.
The Lakers finished a season-opening three-game homestand
<< Kessel debut possible in Leafs' clash with Lightning
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Maple Leafs could see their biggest offseason
addition on the ice for the first time this season tonight when they welcome
the Tampa Bay Lightning for a battle at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs pulled off a
<< Unbeaten Magic pay a visit to Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic hope to remain perfect on the young
season on Tuesday, when they pay a visit to the Detroit Pistons at The Palace
of Auburn Hills.
The Magic improved to 2-0 on a three-game road swing Sunday in To
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
'Melo leads sizzling Nuggets into Indiana >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets will try to remain
unbeaten on the season when they commence a six-game road trip Tuesday against
the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Denver is 3-0 so far thanks to the red-h
Celtics, Sixers to tussle in South Philly >>
(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
Wachovi
Tommy Haas has swine flu >>
Frankfurt, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennis star Tommy Haas has been
diagnosed with a case of swine flu.
"I did a test because I suspected that I had swine flu. The test was
positive," Haas said. "Of course, it was a shoc
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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