Heat down Pacers for third win in as many nights

Basketball Betting Lines

02/14/2012 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Entering this lockout-shortened season, many expected games on consecutive nights to wear down even the league's most athletic players.

Not so for the Heat on Tuesday.

LeBron James netted 23 points to go with nine rebounds and seven assists as Miami rolled over Indiana, 105-90, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Norris Cole tied a career-high with 20 off the bench, Dwyane Wade chipped in 16 and Chris Bosh added 13 for Miami, which has won back-to-back-to-back games. The Heat defeated Atlanta on Sunday and Milwaukee on Monday, and have won four straight overall.

Six players scored in double-figures for Indiana in defeat, led by David West's 14. Paul George and A.J. Price each had 12, Tyler Hansbrough scored 11 and Dahntay Jones and Roy Hibbert each had 10 for the Pacers, who dropped their fourth consecutive game, extending a season-high losing streak.

Miami swept games on three consecutive nights for the first time since 1999. It was the third time such a sweep has occurred in the NBA this season, and the first to occur entirely on the road.

Gamvling Basketball Betting News


<< Anderson, Spezza lift Sens over Lightning
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Anderson made 28 saves en route to his second shutout of the season, while Jason Spezza recorded his fourth career hat trick as the Ottawa Senators took a 4-0 decision over the Tampa Bay Lightni

<< Kovalchuk, Brodeur lead Devils over Sabres
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Kovalchuk posted his 12th career hat trick with an assist and Martin Brodeur made 29 saves as New Jersey topped Buffalo, 4-1, on Tuesday. Petr Sykora scored the other goal while Adam Herique added two ass

<< Notre Dame rolls over Providence
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Skylar Diggins and Devereaux Peters scored 19 points apiece to lead fourth-ranked Notre Dame past Providence, 66-47, at Purcell Pavilion. Peters added a game-high 11 rebounds and Diggins dished out sev

<< Florida tops Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patric Young scored 19 points as No. 14 Florida downed a shorthanded Alabama team, 61-52, on Tuesday. The Gators (20-6, 8-3 SEC) had lost two straight, but got 14 points from both Erik Murphy and Bra

<< Clemson knocks off No. 22 Virginia
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Thorns, TCU upset No. 11 UNLV in OT >>
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hank Thorns made eight three-pointers and scored a career-high 32 points, leading TCU to a 102-97 upset of No. 11 UNLV in overtime on Tuesday. Thorns was 8-of-12 from beyond the arc. He knocked down back-to-

Jackets cool off Blues >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derek Dorsett scored the game-winning goal in the third period, as the Columbus Blue Jackets cooled off the St. Louis Blues, 2-1, at Nationwide Arena. James Wisniewski also scored and Steve Mason made 31

Lin buries game-winning 3 in last second >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linsanity has reached Canada. Jeremy Lin knocked down a game-winning three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left Tuesday night, lifting the New York Knicks to a 90-87 comeback win over the Toronto Raptors at Air

Detroit sets record for most consecutive home wins >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings now hold the NHL record for most consecutive home wins thanks to a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars at Joe Louis Arena. The last loss the Red Wings suffered in front of the home c

Ducks rally in 3rd to top skidding Wild >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Niklas Hagman and Corey Perry each netted a goal in the third period as the Anaheim Ducks rallied to take a 2-1 victory over the struggling Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Jonas Hiller stopped 17-

2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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