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02/19/2012 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Batum led all scorers with 22 points as Portland cruised to a 97-77 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Rose Garden on Saturday.
LeMarcus Aldridge recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds in his first game back after missing two straight with a sprained left ankle. Raymond Felton added 14 points and eight assists as Portland has now won two of its last three.
Joe Johnson scored 19 points and Willie Green netted 17 off the bench for the Hawks, who have lost three of their last four.
Portland trailed 13-11 early on but the Trail Blazers used a 12-2 run in the first quarter to jump out to a 33-25 lead after 12 minutes.
Portland would never trail again in the contest.
Atlanta would get as close as five on a Willie Green trey to start the second but Portland scored seven of the next eight points to take a 40-29 lead.
The Trail Blazers would lead by double-digits for the remainder of the game as they took a 52-37 advantage into the locker room.
A Felton three pressed the lead to 19 as Portland led by double-digits throughout the third to take a 72-56 lead into the final stanza.
In the fourth, Aldridge knocked down a turnaround jumper to give Portland a 22-point lead, its largest, with just over four minutes remaining.
The Blazers dominated the glass, outrebounding the Hawks 50-27, including 15 offensive boards, which led to 18 second chance points for the Trail Blazers.
"I thought we got in a good rhythm, we made our shots, and we stopped those guys," said Portland head coach Nate McMillan. "We mixed in some zone tonight and we continued to make shots. We continued to defend. In the fourth quarter we did the same thing. Whenever they made a big shot, we responded."
Game Notes
Portland will start a tough back-to-back when it visits the Lakers on Monday and host the Spurs on Tuesday...Atlanta will travel to Chicago on Monday before wrapping up a five-game road trip in New York on Wednesday...Portland shot 40.9 percent from long range while Atlanta shot just 25.9 percent.
<< Michigan beats Ohio State in Big Ten tilt
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trey Burke and No. 17 Michigan got their
revenge.
Burke scored 17 points and the Wolverines avenged an earlier loss to their
heated rival with a 56-51 victory over No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday.
Ti
<< Vrbata lifts Coyotes over Stars in OT
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Radim Vrbata scored 1:15 into overtime to lift
the Phoenix Coyotes over the Dallas Stars, 2-1.
Mikkel Boedker lit the lamp in regulation for the Coyotes, who extended their
season-high point streak to eight
<< Busch edges Stewart in wild Bud Shootout at Daytona
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what turned out to be a frantic night
of racing at Daytona International Speedway, Kyle Busch bounced back from two
near wrecks and then beat reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart to
the fin
<< Baylor edges Texas Tech to remain undefeated
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittney Griner filled the stat sheet with 18
points, 14 rebounds, six blocks and five assists as No. 1 Baylor escaped with
a 56-51 decision over Texas Tech to remain the nation's lone undefeated team.
Desti
Raonic returns to SAP Open final >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Milos Raonic made it back
to the final of the $531,000 SAP Open with a straight-set win over American
Ryan Harrison on Saturday.
The third-seeded Canadian will face Denis Istomin of
Wright claims narrow win in New Zealand >>
Christchurch, New Zealand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Lindsey Wright carded
her second straight four-under 68 Sunday to earn a one-stroke win at the ISPS
Handa New Zealand Women's Open.
Wright, who was one of six players tied for the le
Paddison wins Victorian PGA by one >>
Victoria, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gareth Paddison struggled to a three-
over 74 in the final round Sunday, but held on for a one-shot win at the
Victorian PGA Championship.
Paddison, who played the final nine holes in six-ov
Tseng holds off Miyazato to repeat in Thailand >>
Chonburi, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yani Tseng birdied the final two holes
Sunday to fend off Ai Miyazato and win the Honda LPGA Thailand.
In a battle of the last two winners of this event, Tseng fired a six-under 66
to repeat as champion.
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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