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Magic and Celtics renew rivalry in BeantownBasketball Betting Lines02/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest round of what is quickly becoming one of the best rivalries in the Eastern Conference takes place at TD Garden this afternoon as the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Celtics host the Southeast's top squad, the Orlando Magic. The Celtics avoided what could have been a rather embarrassing loss on Friday when Ray Allen poured in 26 points and drilled a critical three-pointer with two minutes left, as Boston extended lowly New Jersey's woes with a 96-87 win. Rajon Rondo scored 17 points and dished out 11 assists for the Celtics, who have beaten the Nets 12 straight times since the tail end of the 2006-07 season and improved to 2-0 on their current three-game homestand. Glen Davis had 13 points, while Eddie House scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. "I don't know what it was, I mean, we just didn't play well in the first half," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought it was a game that we thought that we could just outscore them." Boston toiled without leading scorer Paul Pierce for the second straight game against New Jersey. The veteran forward, who has been out with a foot injury, will be a game-time decision this afternoon. The Magic, perhaps looking ahead to their matchup with the C's, did suffer an embarrassing setback to the Southeast Division's worst team, Washington, in their last encounter on Friday. Caron Butler fueled a Wizards' comeback over Orlando, scoring 29 of his 31 points in the second half, including the game-winning jumper with a half- second left in regulation, to push Washington to a surprising 92-91 decision at Amway Arena. Butler also grabbed nine rebounds for the Wizards, who trailed by as many as 21 in the contest before outscoring the Magic by 22 in the third quarter to erase the deficit. In a back-and-forth final frame, Orlando's Rashard Lewis nearly spoiled the turnaround by hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 4.6 seconds to play, but Butler answered with a baseline 19-footer to send the Magic to just their fifth home loss this season. Dwight Howard logged 20 points and 18 rebounds, while Vince Carter chipped in 21 points in Orlando's first loss in five games. "It is flat-out unacceptable," Carter said. "We did a great job of getting ourselves back into the game. But unfortunately, when you have a slippage like that, you're going to lose a buzzer-beater." Lewis had 12 points and his desperation fadeaway following Butler's eventual game-winner was well off the mark. The Magic, who are the reigning Eastern Conference champs, bested the Celts, who were the 2007-08 NBA champs, in Game 7 of the East semifinals last season with a 101-82 blowout win in Beantown, but Boston was without star forward Kevin Garnett. This season, Orlando has gotten the best of the Celtics in two of the three encounters between the two teams, including an 83-78 triumph at TD Garden in November.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Home cooking figures to be key this afternoon as the Toronto Raptors shoot for their seventh consecutive win at Air Canada Centre against a Sacramento Kings team aiming to avoid an 11th straight road loss. The Raptors open
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The hottest team in the NHL will take on the defending Stanley Cup champions today when Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals welcome Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins for an Eastern Conference showdown at Verizon Cente
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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview“You play to win the game!” Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy. The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line. The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2. Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway? Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year. Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years. Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant. Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success. The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones. Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings. Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record. This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots. First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!” The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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