Turkey and Slovenia win to reach quarterfinals

Basketball Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - Istanbul, Turkey (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points and Sinan Guler added 18 as Turkey subdued France, 95-77, to advance the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championships.

Turkoglu connected on 6-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three- point territory, for the Turkish squad that shot an impressive 63.6-percent from the floor to remain undefeated in six games in the tournament.

Oguz Savas and Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks each added nine points for the victors, who went on a 10-0 run to start the second half to push their lead to an insurmountable 25.

Boris Diaw, who plays for the Charlotte Bobcats, paced France with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including knocking down 5-of-8 from long distance. Nando De Colo chipped in with 15 points and Nicolas Batum of the Portland Trail Blazers added 11 in defeat.

Turkey will next face Slovenia, an easy 87-58 winner over Australia earlier in the day, on Wednesday.

Jaka Lakovic made five three-point shots and scored 19 points to lead Slovenia, while Primoz Brezec added 12 points in the win. The victors made 16-of-33 from beyond the arc and shot 50-percent from the floor overall for the game.

Patrick Mills and Joseph Ingles each scored 13 points for Australia, which was 3-2 in group play. Matthew Nielsen added 12 points in a losing cause.

The Aussies shot just 31-percent from the floor and made only 2-of-19 shots from three-point territory.

Sprotsillustrated Basketball Betting News

<< Dolphins add four, cut three
Davie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins were awarded four players on waiver claims Sunday and also cut three players. Awarded to the team were defensive ends Clifton Geathers and Robert Rose and offensive linemen Jeremy Parnell a

<< Kisner gets 1st win at Mylan Classic
Canonsburg, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kisner shot a four-under 67 to capture his first Nationwide Tour win Sunday at the Mylan Classic. A former All-American at the University of Georgia, Kisner finished four rounds on the Southpointe cour

<< Cousins' hit lifts Marlins over Braves in extras
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Cousins' pinch-hit single -- his first big league hit -- in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Emilio Bonifacio, as the Florida Marlins got by the Atlanta Braves, 7-6, in the rubber match of a three-g

<< Nats recall P Balester
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals recalled right- hander Collin Balester from Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. It's the third callup this season for Balester, and over six appearances in the 2010 campaign, he is 0

<< Frogs overcome Fiesta flashback to beat Oregon St.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -Andy Dalton and the TCU Horned Frogs can now start looking forward to trying to make another BCS run.The sixth-ranked Frogs survived a tough opening test, beating No. 24 Oregon State 30-21 Saturday night in their first game si

Southern wins MEAC/SWAC Challenge >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stump Mitchell won his coaching debut at Southern University as the Jaguars rallied past Delaware State, 37-27, Sunday afternoon in the sixth annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge at the Citrus Bowl. Corey Cushing

Holliday, Cards take series finale over NL Central-leading Reds >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday belted the game-changing three- run home run in the sixth inning to lead St. Louis to a much-needed 4-2 win over Cincinnati in the last of a three-game series. Holliday finished 2-for-4 whi

Fielder, Wolf help Brewers down Phils >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Prince Fielder's three-run homer in the first inning proved to be all Milwaukee needed, as the Brewers held off the Phillies, 6-2, to avoid a three-game sweep at Citizens Bank Park. Rickie Weeks had

Zimmerman, Nats beat up Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Zimmerman went 2-for-5 and drove in four runs, as the Washington Nationals handled the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-1, in the rubber match of a three-game set at PNC Park. Adam Dunn added a solo homer and

Gordon's homer lifts Royals past Tigers >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Gordon hit a go-ahead home run leading off the sixth inning, and the Kansas City Royals posted a 2-1 victory over Detroit to salvage the finale of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium. The blas

SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.