Fourth Quarter Beats Games Over Attempt

Basketball Betting Lines

New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce and San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for the week ending February 5. Pierce averaged 22.0 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds to help the Celtics get to 4-0 last week. He had 30 points, seven rebounds and five helpers in a 91-89 win over New York on Friday.

 

Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers waived guard Mychel Thompson on Monday. The rookie played in five games this season and averaged 3.6 points and 1.4 assists in 19 minutes per game.

 

Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors have waived center Earl Barron and recalled forward Chris Wright from the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League. Barron averaged 2.0 points in just two games for the Warriors. He was originally signed as a free agent on January 13.

 

Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul filled the stat sheet with 29 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter and overtime, to go with eight assists and seven rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers took down the Orlando Magic, 107-102. Blake Griffin had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won six of their last seven games. Los Angeles nailed 22- of-25 attempts from the foul line.

 

New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Knicks were playing without Amare Stoudemire and lost Carmelo Anthony to an injury early in the game, but Jeremy Lin had 28 points and eight assists in his first career start to lift New York over the Utah Jazz, 97-88, on Monday. Stoudemire was not with the team because of the death of his brother in a car accident in Florida and will be out for an unspecified amount of time, and Anthony suffered a strained right groin near the midpoint of the first quarter and did not return.

 

But Steve Novak totaled 19 points in a reserve role, Jared Jeffries added 13 points, Bill Walker had 11 and Tyson Chandler contributed 10 in the Knicks' second straight win.

 

The Hawks, coming off a 5-1 stretch, have dropped three straight to open a four-game homestand. Josh Smith and Joe Johnson totaled 18 and 17 points, respectively in defeat.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

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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