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LeBron joins Wade, Bosh in South BeachBasketball Betting Lines07/08/2010 - Greenwich, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James made the rumors a reality on Thursday, mirroring fellow free agents Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh by declaring his intentions to join the Miami Heat. After seemingly endless speculation as to where the two-time MVP will land as a free agent this summer, James finally made his choice live from a Boys & Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. James interviewed with a total of six potential suitors last week, but ultimately he chose to leave his home state team - the Cleveland Cavaliers. The New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers also made their pitches to James. Rumors were circulating about James' destination from the moment the Cavaliers' season ended with a loss to Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals. James even said he didn't make his final decision until Thursday morning, but it was certainly helped by Wednesday's declarations from Bosh and Wade to join the Heat. "I feel like it's going to give me the best opportunity to win and to win for multiple years," James said in his decision announcement interview with ESPN's Jim Gray. "Not only just to win in the regular season, to win five games in a row or three games in a row, I want to be able to win championships, and I feel I can compete down there." How the three will be paid remains a mystery, considering as of Thursday night the Heat had just two other players under contract for next season - Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. The 25-year-old James has played for the Cavs his entire seven-year career and stood to make more money playing for his hometown team, but winning in the short-term was his biggest decision for leaving. The Cavaliers could have offered James a six-year, $128 million contract, while other teams were capped at a maximum of five years and $99 million. James, who was second in the league at 29.7 points per game last season and also averaged 8.6 assists and 7.3 rebounds, is a six-time All-Star, 2004 Rookie of the Year, a two-time All-Star Game MVP and 2008 scoring champion. Details are still thin on exactly how Bosh will join the club after a seven- year stint in Toronto. It's unclear whether Bosh will sign directly with the Heat or if the two teams will agree to a sign-and-trade deal, which could potentially net the power forward a bigger contract. Wade has played for the Heat his entire seven-year career and already has one title under his belt, in 2006 when he was Finals MVP. "It's about everybody having their own spotlight and doing what's best for the team," James said during his TV interview. "At this point, D-Wade, he's the unselfish guy here. To be able to have Chris Bosh and LeBron James to welcome us to his team...it's not about individuals here. If that was the case, D-Wade wouldn't have asked us to join him. It's about a team and that's what this game is about." James' decision also means a tough road ahead for the Cavaliers in a city that hasn't won a major sports championship since 1964, when the Browns captured the NFL crown. It's the longest drought for any city with at least three majors sports franchises. The Cavs made it to the 2007 NBA Finals before being swept by San Antonio. "It's heartfelt for me," James told Gray about his decision. "It's hard to explain, but at the same time my heart, for the seven years I gave to that franchise, to that city, was everything. I never wanted to leave Cleveland and my heart will always be around that area, but I thought the greatest challenge for me was to move on." James was also asked who will be the coach of the Heat next season, and he immediately said Erik Spoelstra will remain at the helm. Rumors were circulating that Heat president Pat Riley could make a return to the bench to coach another championship team.
<< Blue Jays homer five times, take series vs. Twins
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Gonzalez drove in three runs and Brett Cecil pitched seven strong innings, as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Minnesota Twins, 8-1, in the rubber match of a three-game series. Cecil (8-5) allo
<< LeBron James makes his pick: He's going to Miami
<< Ainge: Forget LeBron, Celtics team to beat in East
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Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mat Latos spun seven scoreless innings and hit his first career home run to send San Diego to a 7-1 win over Washington in the last of a three-game set. Chris Denorfia, Chase Headley and Jerry Hairston
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Teams that should be in: Stanford Should be in: Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later. While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better. For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory. 1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season. 2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped. How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number. Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules. Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically. How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games). Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition. Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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