NEW YORK (AP) -The NBA will open its season with a battle of Big Threes, then offer up the new-look Miami Heat against Kobe Bryant and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day.
The Heat will debut their All-Star trio of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh at Boston on Oct. 26 against the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics, who are led by their veteran group of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
The Lakers will host Houston in the other opening-night game on TNT, the NBA announced Tuesday.
The Christmas schedule will again feature five games, highlighted by the return of the Heat-Lakers matchup that was regularly played Dec. 25 after Los Angeles traded Shaquille O'Neal to Miami in 2004.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Panthers add depth at defense with Weaver signing
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers agreed to terms with
defenseman Mike Weaver on a two-year contract Tuesday.
"Mike is a hard working, high character defenseman who averaged nearly 17
minutes of ice time per ga
<< This Week in Auto Racing August 6 - 8
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It will be an enjoyable weekend of road
course racing in both NASCAR and the IZOD IndyCar Series. The Sprint Cup and
Nationwide Series wind their way through Watkins Glen, NY. The Camping World
Truck S
<< Team USA coach D'Antoni to miss Worlds
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - USA Basketball Men's National Team
assistant coach Mike D'Antoni will miss the FIBA World Championship in Turkey
because of back problems.
The Knicks head coach will assist the team in New York f
<< Nuggets restructuring front office
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets announced Tuesday that the
contracts of executives Rex Chapman and Mark Warkentien will not be extended
for the 2010-11 NBA season.
Warkentien became the Nuggets' vice president of ba
<< Vols' Walls, King reinstated from suspension
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Tennessee head football coach
Derek Dooley announced Tuesday at a press conference that defensive tackle
Marlon Walls and linebacker Greg King were reporting back to the team.
The sophomo
Stewart looking to master The Glen again >>
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date: Sunday,
August 8. Race: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen. Site: Watkins Glen
International. Track: 2.45-mile road course. Start time: 1:00 p.m. (et). Laps:
90. Miles:
Rangers to be put to auction Wednesday >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers will be formally put up for
auction Wednesday morning at 8:30 am (ct) in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Ft.
Worth.
There are three known bidders and the winner will then have to be approved
Ambrose aiming for Watkins Glen trifecta >>
Watkins Glen, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Saturday,
August 7. Race: Zippo 200. Site: Watkins Glen International. Track: 2.45-mile
road course. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 82. Miles: 200.9. 2009 winner:
Marcos Am
Trucks make second trip to Nashville this season >>
Lebanon, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date:
Saturday, August 7. Race: Nashville 200. Site: Nashville Superspeedway. Track:
1.333-mile concrete surfaced oval. Start time: 9:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 150.
Miles: 200. 2009 w
IndyCar returns to U.S. with Mid-Ohio >>
Lexington, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: IZOD IndyCar. Date: Sunday, August 8.
Race: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Site: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Track:
2.258-mile, 13-turn road course. Start Time: 3:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 85. Miles:
191.25. 2009
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.