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Magic and Celtics renew rivalry in BeantownBasketball Betting Lines02/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest round of what is quickly becoming one of the best rivalries in the Eastern Conference takes place at TD Garden this afternoon as the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Celtics host the Southeast's top squad, the Orlando Magic. The Celtics avoided what could have been a rather embarrassing loss on Friday when Ray Allen poured in 26 points and drilled a critical three-pointer with two minutes left, as Boston extended lowly New Jersey's woes with a 96-87 win. Rajon Rondo scored 17 points and dished out 11 assists for the Celtics, who have beaten the Nets 12 straight times since the tail end of the 2006-07 season and improved to 2-0 on their current three-game homestand. Glen Davis had 13 points, while Eddie House scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. "I don't know what it was, I mean, we just didn't play well in the first half," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought it was a game that we thought that we could just outscore them." Boston toiled without leading scorer Paul Pierce for the second straight game against New Jersey. The veteran forward, who has been out with a foot injury, will be a game-time decision this afternoon. The Magic, perhaps looking ahead to their matchup with the C's, did suffer an embarrassing setback to the Southeast Division's worst team, Washington, in their last encounter on Friday. Caron Butler fueled a Wizards' comeback over Orlando, scoring 29 of his 31 points in the second half, including the game-winning jumper with a half- second left in regulation, to push Washington to a surprising 92-91 decision at Amway Arena. Butler also grabbed nine rebounds for the Wizards, who trailed by as many as 21 in the contest before outscoring the Magic by 22 in the third quarter to erase the deficit. In a back-and-forth final frame, Orlando's Rashard Lewis nearly spoiled the turnaround by hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 4.6 seconds to play, but Butler answered with a baseline 19-footer to send the Magic to just their fifth home loss this season. Dwight Howard logged 20 points and 18 rebounds, while Vince Carter chipped in 21 points in Orlando's first loss in five games. "It is flat-out unacceptable," Carter said. "We did a great job of getting ourselves back into the game. But unfortunately, when you have a slippage like that, you're going to lose a buzzer-beater." Lewis had 12 points and his desperation fadeaway following Butler's eventual game-winner was well off the mark. The Magic, who are the reigning Eastern Conference champs, bested the Celts, who were the 2007-08 NBA champs, in Game 7 of the East semifinals last season with a 101-82 blowout win in Beantown, but Boston was without star forward Kevin Garnett. This season, Orlando has gotten the best of the Celtics in two of the three encounters between the two teams, including an 83-78 triumph at TD Garden in November.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Home cooking figures to be key this afternoon as the Toronto Raptors shoot for their seventh consecutive win at Air Canada Centre against a Sacramento Kings team aiming to avoid an 11th straight road loss. The Raptors open
<< Buckeyes host Hawkeyes in Big Ten action
<< Third-ranked Orange clash with Bearcats in Big East battle
<< Lopez ends lengthy title drought
<< Oudin puts United States in Fed Cup semis
Ovechkin's red-hot Caps host Crosby and Pens >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The hottest team in the NHL will take on the defending Stanley Cup champions today when Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals welcome Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins for an Eastern Conference showdown at Verizon Cente
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England draws Wales in EURO 2012 qualifying >>
Stricker six clear after three rounds at Riviera >>
Italy tops Ukraine in Fed Cup quarters >>
2007 online football betting PreviewMy 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 PreviewThere 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 LinesThe 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. To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. Since the late 1990's, MySportsbook.com has been an online sportsbook / poker room / casino that focuses on quality.. MySportsbook caters to the experienced sports fan who values reliability and accuracy, with great attention to detail. MySportsbook's success over the past 3 years has made them the envy of the sports gambling industry. 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