Hawks commence trek against Lakers
Basketball Betting Lines
02/14/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta will kick off a five-game road trip tonight at Staples Center when they take on a Lakers team returning from its annual Grammy trek.
The Hawks, who will also visit Phoenix, Portland, Chicago and New York on their trip and are 9-5 as the visitor on the season, failed a big test the last time out, falling to Southeast Division-rival Miami, 107-87, in the ATL.
The division-leading Heat led by as many as 32 against the second-place Hawks. They outscored them at the foul line, 26-6, and won the battle on the glass, 52-38.
Willie Green scored 17 points off the bench to pace Atlanta, while All-Star Joe Johnson netted 12 in defeat. Marvin Williams and Josh Smith combined for just 14 points on 6-of-21 (29 percent) shooting.
The Hawks were coming off wins over Eastern Conference contenders Indiana and Orlando and were looking to cut into their two-game deficit in the standings. Their quest was denied early and emphatically.
"They came out with an aggression," Hawks head coach Larry Drew said. "We settled for jump shots too often in the first half, and they got out and ran."
The Lakers, meanwhile, salvaged a 3-3 mark on their recent road trip when Kobe Bryant buried a jumper with 4.2 seconds left on Sunday, lifting LA to a thrilling 94-92 win over the Raptors.
"I just noticed a spot open on the baseline. Everything was set for me to try and catch it down there because I knew I could catch and shoot. If I go to the top of the floor the defense can kind of key on me and I'm far away from the basket. Once I noticed that space open it was just a matter of me trying to shake [DeMar} DeRozan and get to that spot," Bryant said.
Following a timeout, Toronto was called for a five-second violation on the ensuing inbounds pass and Bryant made 1-of-2 from the line to make it 94-92. With 3.7 seconds remaining, DeRozan received the inbounds pass, but Metta World Peace defended him well and his shot from the left corner at the buzzer came up well short.
Bryant finished with 27 points while Pau Gasol filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 17 rebounds and six assists for the Lakers.
"We just need to find some consistency," World Peace said of the road trip. "Once we have some consistency, we'll be a better team."
LA has been a different team at home this season, compiling a solid 11-2 mark as the host. Atlanta, meanwhile, has lost five straight and 18 of 21 to the Lakers in Hollywood.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will try to halt a rare losing streak at the Rose Garden when they play host to a Washington Wizards team coming in off its second road victory. The Blazers had been a gaudy 11-1 in Rip Ci
<< Suns, Nuggets clash at Pepsi Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver halted one losing streak on the road in its last
outing and will now try to stop its longest skid at home in nearly a decade
when they play host to the Phoenix Suns.
Ty Lawson scored 27 points on Saturday
<< Jazz close out stretch in Oklahoma City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah just might be a sitting duck when it finishes a
grueling three games in three nights road stretch tonight in Oklahoma City.
The Jazz lost to the Thunder, 101-87, in Salt Lake City last Friday and has
played
<< Lin leads Knicks into Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linsanity goes north of the border this evening when Jeremy
Lin and the New York Knicks shoot for a sixth straight win against the Toronto
Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
One night after netting a career-best 38 points
<< Bulls open homestand against Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back home after a successful and lengthy road trip, the
Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls are scheduled to play their next six
games on familiar territory and will host the Sacramento Kings tonight.
The Bulls own an E
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils will try to get back in the win column this evening when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for a clash at First Niagara Center. The Devils had won a season-high five straight heading into a two-game home
Blues roll into Columbus >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to extend their winning streak
to a season-high five games when they visit the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets
tonight at Nationwide Arena.
St. Louis is in the midst of its fifth four-game win stre
Sens begin road trip in Tampa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After having little success on a recent five-game
homestand, the Ottawa Senators hope to have more luck when they kick off a
road trip tonight by battling the Tampa Bay Lightning at Tampa Times Forum.
The Senators went 1-2
Rangers, Bruins clash in Boston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers have established themselves as the top
team in the East and the Blueshirts will try to increase their conference lead
when they visit the Boston Bruins tonight at TD Garden.
With 77 points, the Rangers
West Virginia set to join Big 12 in July >>
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Virginia and the Big East have agreed
to settle their lawsuits, enabling the university to leave the conference and
join the Big 12 in July.
West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck would not d
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25NEW 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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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
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