Blazers host Pacers in Rose City
Basketball Betting Lines
03/03/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers hope to build on a successful
road trip tonight when they return to the Rose Garden to face the lowly
Indiana Pacers.
The Blazers finished an impressive 4-1 trek on Monday in Memphis when Brandon
Roy scored a game-high 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out five
assists, helping Portland erase a double-digit halftime deficit en route to a
103-93 victory over the Grizzlies.
It was the fifth straight game that the Blazers have scored more than 100
points. They haven't cracked the century mark in six consecutive contests
since Feb. 4-17, 1998.
Nicolas Batum added 21 points, while Andre Miller chipped in 12 points and 11
helpers for the Trail Blazers, who are four games ahead of both Houston and
New Orleans for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western conference.
"We got into a better flow offensively in the second half," said Roy. "We feel
good...This was a huge road trip for us."
The Pacers, meanwhile, dropped the opener of a four-game road trip in LA on
Tuesday when Kobe Bryant finished with 24 points and six assists, as the
Lakers routed Indiana, 122-99, at Staples Center.
The Lakers outscored the Pacers 38-17 in the third quarter on the way to the
blowout victory, as they continued their home dominance of the Pacers. Los
Angeles has won 11 in a row against the Pacers at Staples Center.
Troy Murphy had 17 points and 13 boards for Indiana, which has dropped four of
five and eight of its last 10 overall. Dahntay Jones and Josh McRoberts added
16 and 15 points, respectively, off the bench.
"They dominated inside and they've got one of the two greatest players in the
world on the perimeter," said Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien. "And the rest of
the team isn't that bad."
Portland has won three straight over the Pacers after dropping its previous
nine meetings with Indiana.
<< Suns pay a visit to Clippers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Phoenix Suns get back to work in Los Angeles
Wednesday against their Pacific Division rival, the Clippers.
The Suns won for the sixth time in seven tries on Monday when Amare Stoudemire
poured in 19 points
<< Celtics hope to get back on track vs. Bobcats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics have lost two in a row as the host and
will try to regain homecourt supremacy tonight versus the Charlotte Bobcats at
TD Garden.
Boston is 16-11 in Beantown this season and split six games at home last
<< Bucks host Wizards in opener of home-and-home set
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards will try to stay unbeaten against
the Milwaukee Bucks tonight, when the two teams square off at the Bradley
Center in the opener of a home-and-home set.
Washington has won the first two matchups with
<< Pistons and Knicks meet at MSG
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons are back on the road for two games and
will try to stop a four-game slide tonight against the New York Knicks at
historic Madison Square Garden.
Detroit lost the last three tests of a four-game road swi
<< Best and worst clash as Cavs face Nets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to sweep the season series
from the New Jersey Nets for a second straight year when the two teams collide
Wednesday night at the Meadowlands.
The Cavs won all three meetings a season ago an
Top-five foes collide in Lawrence in Big 12 battle >>
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A top-five showdown is on tap in Lawrence this
evening, as the second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks close out the home portion of
their schedule, as they host the fifth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats at the
Allen Fieldhou
Terps take on Blue Devils in crucial ACC matchup >>
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the ACC collide in
College Park this evening, as the fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils come calling
on the 22nd-ranked Maryland Terrapins.
Duke sits atop the conference standings at 12-2
Big Ten battle on tap in Madison >>
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers bring their
home slate to a close tonight, as they entertain the Iowa Hawkeyes in Big Ten
play at the Kohl Center.
The Hoosiers have enjoyed yet another successful run at home,
No. 23 Aggies welcome Cowboys to College Station >>
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma State Cowboys face their
fourth straight ranked opponent tonight, as they tangle with the No.23 Texas
A&M Aggies in a Big 12 bash at Reed Arena.
The Cowboys have defeated four nationall
No. 14 BYU hits road to battle bitter rival Utah >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state and Mountain West Conference
rivals clash at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City tonight, as the Utah
Runnin' Utes entertain the 14th-ranked BYU Cougars.
This matchup marks the 250th meeting b
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.
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