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Celtics shoot for sweep of Magic in BeantownBasketball Betting Lines05/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics will try to complete a sweep of the Eastern Conference finals tonight when they host the reeling Orlando Magic in Game 4 from TD Garden. It's been a stunning collapse for the reigning Eastern kings. The Magic entered this series with 14 straight wins dating back to the regular season but slunk to the brink of elimination with a horrid performance in Game 3 of the set on Saturday. Rajon Rondo finished with 11 points, 12 assists and four steals in that one, as the Celtics inched closer to the franchise's 21st trip to the NBA Finals with a 94-71 rout of Orlando. "He's giving an amazing effort to the loose ball, to plays like that he's making," Boston coach Doc Rivers said of Rondo. "Never giving up on any possession. When you have that speed and then you have that heart, you become a pretty good player." Glen Davis had 17 points off the bench for the Celtics, who won their sixth straight playoff games thanks in large part to a dominant first quarter. Boston held a commanding 27-12 lead after the opening frame, holding Orlando to 4-of-17 shooting in the period. Paul Pierce added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Ray Allen chipped in 14 points for Boston, which is aiming for its second title in three seasons, having beaten the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008. Kevin Garnett scored 10 points. Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson each had 15 points for the defending Eastern Conference champions, who will try to overcome tremendous odds, as no team in NBA history has rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. "It's tough on the squad. We didn't come out with a sense of urgency," Carter said. "We really didn't do that. They did a good job of playing like they were down and needed to win more than we did." The Celtics remain on a collision-course to face their longtime rival, the Lakers, again. Los Angeles leads the Suns, 2-1, in the Western Conference finals, with Game 4 slated for Tuesday in Phoenix. Late in the game on Saturday, fans were already looking ahead to the Lakers. "I understand the fans with the 'beat L.A,'" Davis said. "We have one more game to win and this team is highly capable of winning three in a row. We have been playing great, but at the same time we need to realize it is not finished until we win the next game." After winning their final three games against Cleveland in the conference semifinals, the Celtics are rolling versus the Magic and have shut down Orlando All-Star center Dwight Howard. He was limited to seven points and seven rebounds while going 3-for-10 from the field Saturday night. "All season long I don't think there's been a game where the other team outplayed us, outhustled us, and just worked harder than us," Howard said. "They did that for the last three games. And that's why they're ahead." Another win tonight For Boston secures the sweep and would end Orlando's now slim hopes for a second consecutive berth in the NBA finals. "I'm somebody who says I'm never shocked but I was shocked (Saturday) night that we didn't handle the situation better and play with more intensity and determination," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said after practice Sunday. The fans in Beantown are a still a bit wary, however, since the Boston Bruins led the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 in this year's NHL Eastern semifinals and lost the next four, completing the collapse in TD Garden. "That's a whole different sport," Rondo said. "I don't know what happened in the locker room of the Bruins. I know in our locker room we're going to stay focused and try to close it out." Last season, the Celtics took a 3-2 lead over Orlando in the East semis but lost the next two games, including the first Game 7 loss at home in the franchise's storied history. The Magic also won three of four games vs. the Celtics in the regular season this year and has taken both previous playoff matchups between the two franchises, last year's semifinals set and a first round win back in the 1994-95 season. Game 5 in the best-of-seven set, if necessary, will be Wednesday back in Orlando.
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MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one. (September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded. Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up. Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
Betting the NFL preseasonRule 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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