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03/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs will have to continue their playoff push tonight against the New York Knicks without star guard Tony Parker.
The team did receive some good news on Monday, however, when it was learned that Parker won't need surgery for a broken bone in his right hand. An examination of the All-Star confirmed an initial diagnosis of a non-displaced stable fracture of the right fourth metacarpal and Parker is still expected to be sidelined for about six weeks, which likely means he will not return until the postseason.
Parker, the Spurs' second-leading scorer this season at 16.5 points per game, originally suffered the injury late in the first half of last Saturday's 102-92 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Without him, San Antonio fell in Cleveland on Monday when Mo Williams had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, as the Cavaliers edged the Spurs, 97-95, despite playing without LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal.
Manu Ginobili had a huge night for the Spurs, sinking seven three-pointers on his way to 38 points. He appeared to hit a game-tying three with 14.2 seconds left, but it was ruled a two-pointer after review.
George Hill added 23 points for San Antonio, which had its four-game win streak broken.
"We had a great opportunity, not many teams can come in here and win," Ginobili said. "LeBron wasn't playing, Shaq wasn't there [because of thumb surgery] and [Antawn] Jamison didn't play the second half, so we blew a big one, so we are kind of upset with that."
The Spurs currently sit in seventh place in the Western Conference playoff race, a still comfortable 4 1/2 games ahead of ninth-place Memphis.
The Knicks, meanwhile, are playing out the string but are coming off an exciting 99-98 win over playoff-bound Atlanta on Monday. Danilo Gallinari made four three-pointers and finished with a game-high 27 points in that one, as New York escaped with the victory at Madison Square Garden.
David Lee contributed a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Al Harrington went for 14 points off the bench for the Knicks, who were able to recover from a 113-93 loss to New Jersey on Saturday.
"I thought our team the whole game did a good job competing on the boards, did a good job competing for loose balls," Lee said. "We did a good job overall."
New York, which had lost four of its last five coming into the contest, made 10-of-15 three-pointers after setting an NBA record by going 0-for-18 from three-point range in the setback to the Nets.
The Spurs have won eight of their past nine meetings with the Knicks, including a 95-88 win in New York earlier this season. San Antonio has also won six straight over the Knicks in the Alamo City.
<< Bobcats hope to end road woes in Philadelphia
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" easily coincides
with how the Charlotte Bobcats have been playing this season. The road less
traveled would be the one headed towards Charlotte, and that's made all the
difference for
<< Pearce: Owen's England career not over
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The England door remains open to Michael
Owen despite his season-ending injury, according to Under-21 coach Stuart
Pearce.
Pearce has dismissed suggestions that the 30-year-old Manchester Uni
<< Kings visit Blackhawks for clash between West powers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the Western Conference's best teams will meet
tonight in the Windy City as the Chicago Blackhawks host the Los Angeles Kings
at United Center.
The Blackhawks are first in the Central Division and second in the West
<< Columbus ties Toluca in Champions League
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew earned a hard-fought 2-2
draw with Mexican power Toluca in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions
League quarterfinal series in Columbus on Tuesday night.
Steven Lenhart scored tw
Stars shoot for rare win in Buffalo >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After losing its first three games after the Winter
Olympics, Dallas is coming off a victory that could very well turn its luck
around. Now all it has to do is pick up its first victory at Buffalo in over
12 years.
The St
Corvo, Walker lead Caps against Hurricanes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both Joe Corvo and Scott Walker were given a chance to
compete on a championship-caliber team when they were traded by the Hurricanes
to the Capitals before the trade deadline. One week later, they get to show
off in front of
Smith cools Rangers title talk >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Walter Smith is refusing to entertain
suggestions that his Rangers side have effectively wrapped up the Scottish
Premier League title after restoring their 13-point lead at the top of the
table.
Canucks end record road trip in Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The longest road trip in NHL history will come to an end
tonight when the Vancouver Canucks visit the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com
Arena.
The Canucks are playing their 14th straight road game this evening, having
last pl
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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