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02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Northwest Division rivals meet in Rip City on Saturday when the Jekyll and Hyde Portland Trail Blazers entertain the well-rounded Denver Nuggets at the Rose Garden.
The Blazers have been two different teams this season depending on where the games are being played. Portland fell to a miserable 3-9 on the road after Thursday's 95-92 setback at Sacramento.
Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford both missed three-pointers for the Blazers in the final 10 seconds of that one to seal the win for the lowly Kings.
LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds for Portland, which has lost two of three overall and four straight as the visitor. Felton finished with 15 points and 10 assists.
"We've had every opportunity the last (couple) road games and we're finding ways to lose it," Crawford said.
Portland is a sizzling 10-1 as the host. On the injury front for the Blazers, forward Nicolas Batum missed his second straight game against the Kings with a bone bruise on his left knee. He is listed as questionable for tonight
The Nuggets look to bounce back from last night's 93-89 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Pepsi Center when they invade the Rose City.
Al Harrington ended with 24 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who have lost three of four since a six-game winning streak. Andre Miller and Ty Lawson chipped in 16 and 14 points, respectively, in a losing cause.
Harrington's three-pointer bounced off the rim in the final second.
"For an end of the game situation against a good defensive team he got a fair release," Denver head coach George Karl said. "I wouldn't call it a great shot. I'd like better, I would have liked to have gone quicker. I would have liked to have gone to the rim in four or five seconds. [Derek] Fisher has been there a lot of times. He made a good defensive play and Ty didn't give it a second attempt. The play before that broke open very well and the last play didn't open very well."
To make matters worse, Denver lost starting center Timofey Mozgov to a sprained left ankle. With about 10 minutes to go in the third quarter, Mozgov came down awkwardly on his left ankle after making a layup. He was not able to put pressure on his left foot, but X-rays came back negative. Mozgov is expected to sit out tonight's game.
Danilo Gallinari had six points in less than 29 minutes against the Lakers and is questionable tonight with blurred vision in his left eye. He leads Denver with 17.0 points per game.
After visiting the Blazers Saturday, the Nuggets, who are 8-4 as the guest, will return to the Rocky Mountains for a three-game homestand versus the Rockets, Mavericks and Warriors.
Portland has won two straight over Denver overall and four consecutive in Rip City, including a 111-102 win on Dec. 29 this season.
<< Pacers try to stay hot vs. Magic
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers will try to extend their season-high
winning streak to five games when they entertain the Orlando Magic tonight in
the opener of a modest two-game homestand.
Indiana has won four in a row and se
<< Mavs hit the road to Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perhaps a change of scenery will bring different results
for the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, who will commence a three-
game road trip tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.
The
<< Knicks square off with Nets at MSG
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks will play their third game in as many
nights when they entertain the local New Jersey Nets Saturday at Madison
Square Garden.
The Knicks have lost the first two of back-to-back-to-back con
<< Pistons welcome Hornets to The Palace
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of also-rans get together tonight at The Palace of
Auburn Hills, where the Detroit Pistons will host the New Orleans Hornets.
The Hornets have lost four in a row and 13 of their last 14 games, including
Thursday
Lakers resume trek in Utah >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will resume a six-game road trip
tonight against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.
The Lakers have won three in a row and four of five games since a season-high
three-game slide and kicke
Clippers kick off trek in Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were named starters on the
Western Conference All-Star squad and look to get the Los Angeles Clippers
back in the win column tonight against the Washington Wizards.
The Clippers will
Kings, Warriors meet again in Sacramento >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state rivals meet for the second time this week when the
Sacramento Kings play host to the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors just finished up a lengthy six-game homestand by beating
Sacramento on Tuesday by
Hawks C Collins out at least 2 weeks >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins will miss a
minimum of two weeks with a sprained left elbow, the team announced Saturday.
Collins was injured in the first quarter of Thursday's loss to the Grizzlies.
He i
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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