Raptors on verge of getting O'Neal from Pacers
Basketball Betting Lines
06/25/2008 -
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors have reportedly
agreed in principle to acquire six-time All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal from
the Indiana Pacers.
The deal was reported by several media sources, including the Indianapolis
Star, on the eve of the NBA Draft. The newspaper reports the Pacers would get
point guard T.J. Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic, an unnamed player, and the
rights to Toronto's 17th pick in Thursday night's draft.
The deal is contingent on players passing physicals.
O'Neal played in just 42 games last season due to an injury to his left knee
and averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds. A first-round draft pick by
Portland in 1996, he has career averages of 14.4 points and 7.7 boards. O'Neal
spent the first four seasons of his career playing for the Trail Blazers.
Ford played in just 51 games this past season, mostly due to a spinal cord
contusion, and averaged 12.1 points and 6.1 assists. He became expendable due
to the solid play of Jose Calderon. Ford has career averages of 11.6 points
and 6.9 assists in four seasons, including two with Milwaukee.
Nesterovic averaged 7.8 points and 4.8 boards over 71 contests last season,
his second for the Raptors. He played his first five seasons for Minnesota
before heading to San Antonio from 2004-06.
<< Confrontation with GM leads to suspension for Astros' Chacon
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have suspended pitcher
Shawn Chacon indefinitely for insubordination to the team, general manager Ed
Wade announced on Wednesday.
"We have suspended Shawn Chacon, pending final resol
<< Ramirez homer lifts Rangers over Astros; Chacon attacks GM
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Ramirez collected the first two hits of
his major league career -- including a go-ahead two-run home run -- as the
Texas Rangers edged the Houston Astros, 3-2, in the second of a three-game
series
<< Zito finally posts interleague win as Giants top Tribe
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Zito put together his best and
longest outing of the season, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 4-1
victory over the Cleveland Indians in the middle contest of a three-game
interle
<< Cinderella in cleats: Fresno State wins College World Series
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Detwiler went 4-for-4, including a pair of
homers, and drove in all the runs for Fresno State, which won its first
College World Series championship with a 6-1 victory over Georgia.
Georgia used an
<< Rays batter Fish for 15 runs in romp
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Crawford homered twice and drove in five
runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays scored 10 runs in the fifth inning en route to a
15-3 decimation of the Florida Marlins in the middle contest of their three-
game se
Marlins sign top pick Skipworth >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins signed their top draft
pick, catcher Kyle Skipworth, to a $2.3 million contract on Wednesday.
Skipworth, who was selected sixth overall, will report to the Marlins Gulf
Coast League
Mets claim 1B Phillips off waivers >>
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets claimed first baseman
Andy Phillips off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
Phillips, 31, batted a miniscule .143 (3-for-21) with four RBI in 15 games for
Cincinnati before
Astros suspend Chacon indefinitely >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have suspended pitcher
Shawn Chacon indefinitely, general manager Ed Wade announced on Wednesday.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Chacon -- who recently lost his spot in
Houston'
Dodgers place P Proctor on DL >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers placed reliever
Scott Proctor on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with right elbow
tendinitis.
Proctor is 1-0 with a 6.82 earned run average in 33 games this season.
Stults, Dodgers blank White Sox >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Stults tossed his first career
shutout, as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox, 5-0, in
the middle installment of a three-game interleague set at Chavez Ravine.
Stults (2
“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.
New York Giants betting lines
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.
Dallas Cowboys betting lines
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.
Oakland Raiders betting lines
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.
Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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