Leaving a trail: Turkoglu snubs Portland, to sign with Raptors
Basketball Betting Lines
07/04/2009 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sharp-shooting forward Hedo Turkoglu appeared headed to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday afternoon, but by nightfall those talks apparently broke off.
In the latest turn of events, TNT basketball analyst David Aldridge reported late Friday night that Turkoglu has verbally committed to a five-year, $60 million contract with the Toronto Raptors, citing league sources.
According to the report, Toronto renounced its rights to forward Shawn Marion and guards Anthony Parker and Carlos Delfino, freeing up enough salary cap space to add the Turkish star.
The Oregonian newspaper originally reported Turkoglu agreed to a five-year, $50 million contract with Portland, but later in the day indicated he had rejected such an offer.
The 30-year-old Turkoglu, a first-round draft pick of Sacramento in 2000, had spent the previous five years with the Magic and averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists over 77 games last season. He helped the Magic into the NBA Finals, but last week opted out of the final season of his deal that would have paid him $7.3 million.
Not only that, but the Magic already made a big move to replace Turkoglu by working out a trade with New Jersey for Vince Carter on draft night.
The 6-foot-10 Turkoglu spent his first three seasons with the Kings before joining the San Antonio Spurs for one seasons. For his career, he's averaging 12.3 points and 4.2 rebounds and is a career 38.5 percent shooter from three- point range.
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darian Durant threw for 313 yards and had a rushing touchdown to help the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 28-24 win over the British Columbia Lions in the season opener for both clubs. Durant went 18-for-32
<< Sadowski, Giants' offense destroy Astros
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Sadowski got plenty of run support
while throwing seven scoreless innings, as the Giants erupted offensively in a
13-0 whipping of the Astros.
Sadowski (2-0), who made his major league debut Sunda
<< Kings acquire F Smyth in multi-player deal
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings boosted their offense
on Friday, acquiring All-Star forward Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche
in a three-player deal.
Smyth, 33, tied for the Avalanche lead in points last seas
<< Report: NHL to investigate Blackhawks' qualifying offers
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly under
investigation by the NHL for failing to tender qualifying offers to several
restricted free agents by the league's set deadline.
According to TSN Canada, th
<< Late miscue forces 'Quakes to share points with RSL
Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake
battled to a 1-1 draw in Major League Soccer action at Rio Tinto Stadium on
Friday night.
Arturo Alvarez scored the game's first goal for San Jose before a Chr
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez returned from a 50-game suspension and played only 5 1/2 innings, going 0-for-3 with a walk, two groundouts and a pop out, but the rest of his Dodger teammates picked up the slack
Huff leads O's past Angels >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff went 2-for-4 with a three-run home
run, as the Baltimore Orioles hung on to edge the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim, 6-4, in the second test of a four-game series.
Luke Scott stroked a two-ru
Raburn, Tigers use three-run 16th to edge Twins >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Raburn's RBI single in the 16th
proved to be the game-winner as the Detroit Tigers took an 11-9 win over the
Minnesota Twins in a 16-inning contest to open a three-get set at the
Metrodo
Twins place Slowey on DL; recall Swarzak >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following the Twins' 16-inning 11-9 loss to
the Tigers, Minnesota placed pitcher Kevin Slowey on the 15-day disabled list
with a strained right wrist.
Slowey started on the mound for the Twins Friday bu
Giants option INF Downs; activate INF Aurilia >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Following the Giants' 13-0 win over the
Astros, the team optioned infielder Matt Downs to Triple-A Fresno to make room
for infielder Rich Aurilia, who was activated from the bereavement list.
The 25-ye
Super Bowl 2009 Betting
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard