Sessions, Bucks snap slide against Rockets

Basketball Betting Lines

02/09/2009 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramon Sessions led a balanced scoring attack with 26 points to go with seven assists, leading Milwaukee to a 124-112 victory over Houston and snapping the Bucks' eight-game losing streak against the Rockets.

Milwaukee, playing without guards Michael Redd (knee) and Luke Ridnour (thumb) as well as center Andrew Bogut (back), had lost its previous two games but shot 52.8 percent from the floor and forced 18 turnovers.

Richard Jefferson and Charlie Villanueva each scored 25 points, while Charlie Bell added 21 points off the bench in the victory.

Aaron Brooks had 23 points, while Luis Scola and Ron Artest each logged 20 points for Houston, which had won three of four prior to its test in Brew City. Yao Ming grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds but was held to seven points.

Tracy McGrady was also shut down with a mere three points on 1-of-9 shooting.

A 12-2 Milwaukee run early in the first quarter set the tone for the game. The hosts led 32-25 after one period and clung to a 64-58 lead at the break.

A two-minute stretch midway through the third essentially sealed the bout, as Villanueva powered the Bucks on a 14-0 run. The UConn product started the rally with a pair of free throws, added a jumper and increased the margin to 87-65 with back-to-back three-pointers around the four-minute mark.

The lead stayed the same, 98-76, entering the fourth, and the Rockets didn't have the fire power to mount a miracle comeback.

Game Notes

Milwaukee signed guard Eddie Gill to a 10-day contract on Monday...Keith Bogans, who was making his home debut since being traded last week from Orlando, scored 13 points for the Bucks...Milwaukee committed just eight turnovers...Houston shot 12-for-26 from three-point range, while the Bucks made 10-of-20 from downtown.

Roultette Basketball Betting News

<< No. 8 UNC pulls away late to rout fourth-ranked Duke
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rashanda McCants scored 22 points, including 19 in the second half, and grabbed nine rebounds to lead No. 8 North Carolina past fourth-ranked Duke, 75-60, at the Smith Center. Jessica Breland chipped in 14

<< Clemmensen, Devils blank Rangers
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Clemmensen made 27 saves to record his first shutout in nearly five years and the third of his career, as the New Jersey Devils defeated the slumping New York Rangers, 3-0, in an Atlantic Divisio

<< Bobcats end five-game slide in pasting of Clippers
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Emeka Okafor tallied 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Charlotte Bobcats in a 94-73 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers. Boris Diaw and Raymond Felton scored 15 points apiece for the Bobcats

<< Sixers sizzle again by slamming Suns
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thaddeus Young deposited 25 points and rookie Marreese Speights scored a career-high 24, as the Philadelphia 76ers cruised to a relatively easy 108-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns. The Sixers have

<< Young pushes No. 4 Pittsburgh past West Virginia
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sam Young scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds to pace fourth-ranked Pittsburgh to a 70-59 triumph over West Virginia. Levance Fields added 13 points and seven assists for the Panthers (22-2

Defending champion Almagro has tough first-round win in Brazil >>
Costa do Sauipe, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Nicolas Almagro of Spain had a rough first-round match, but got by Brazilian wild card Ricardo Hocevar, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 on Monday at the $562,500 Brasil Open. The top-seeded Alm

Without All-Stars, Hornets get upended by Grizzlies >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie star O.J. Mayo scored 22 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the undermanned New Orleans Hornets, 85-80, in a poor shooting display at the FedEx Forum. Mike Conley

Lombardi, Boyd help Flames burn Habs >>
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matthew Lombardi and Dustin Boyd scored short- handed goals during the pivotal second period, as the Calgary Flames beat the Canadiens, 6-2, sending Montreal to its eighth loss in 10 games. Dion Phaneuf scor

Mizzou edges Kansas on last-second shot >>
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zaire Taylor hit the game-winning jumper with 1.3 seconds left to help 17th-ranked Missouri deal No. 16 Kansas its first conference loss of the season with a 62-60 victory over the Jayhawks. Taylor finis

Boston University wins Beanpot >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nick Bonino, David Warsofsky and Colin Wilson scored short-handed and Boston University won the 57th annual Beanpot tournament Monday night with a 5-2 triumph over Northeastern. Colby Cohen and Jas

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.

Problem with Bears?

Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.

"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."

Bet on NFL

Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.

Bet on NFL

Mysportsbook.com online online sportsbook accepts Visa & Mastercard