Jackson wants better sustained effort from Lakers

Basketball Betting Lines

04/19/2010 -

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Phil Jackson wants a better sustained effort from the Lakers against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He got it for one quarter in the playoff opener, then watched the defending champions lose energy the rest of the way.

The Lakers won 87-79 Sunday mostly on the strength of their dominating first quarter, in which 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum scored and rebounded with abandon.

Although never losing the lead, the Lakers didn't win another quarter and the Thunder got within six points with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.

Kobe Bryant says he shares Jackson's concern, but he's convinced his team will do better Tuesday night in Game 2.

Bryant practiced limited minutes on Monday as he copes with injuries to his finger, knee and ankle.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 The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Betosports Basketball Betting News

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BOSTON (AP) -The last two times the Boston Celtics were missing Kevin Garnett against the Miami Heat they came away with wins.They get another, unwanted chance on Tuesday night.With Garnett suspended for one game for throwing an elbow at Quentin Ric

<< Boyle still perplexed by blunder in Game 3
DENVER (AP) -San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle still can't fathom how he managed to send the puck past his own goalie in overtime.Boyle had a fitful night's rest as he kept seeing the puck twirl into the net.The only way Boyle might exorcise his demons

<< Richmond's Anderson declares for draft
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Richmond point guard Kevin Anderson has entered his name into the 2010 NBA Draft but will not sign with an agent. That will allow him to return for his final year of eligibility if he re

<< Colorado brings in Boyle as new men's hoops coach
Boulder, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Colorado named Tad Boyle its new men's basketball head coach on Monday. Boyle, who comes from the University of Northern Colorado, takes over for the departed Jeff Bzdelik and will be th

<< Liverpool handles West Ham
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 win over West Ham at Anfield on Monday, which moves the club into sixth place in the Premiership table. Yossi Benayoun and David Ngog scored in the opening 30 minutes,

Fred Hill resigns as Rutgers basketball coach >>
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -Fred Hill has resigned as Rutgers basketball coach.The university had told Hill last month that he would not return to his coaching job after he yelled at Pittsburgh coaches following a baseball game at Rutgers.The Scarlet Knights

Fredette declares for draft, does not hire agent >>
Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brigham Young star guard Jimmer Fredette declared for the NBA draft on Monday, but did not hire an agent, leaving open the door to return to the Cougars for his senior season. "I've decided to put my name in t

Sabres' Vanek out for Game 3 >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres forward Thomas Vanek was not in the lineup for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against Boston after leaving Saturday's game with a lower body injury. Vanek was hurt in t

Hill resigns position at Rutgers >>
Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rutgers men's basketball coach Fred Hill resigned his position on Monday, putting an abrupt end to a four-year tenure at the school. On April 8, the Newark Star-Ledger reported that Hill rejected th

High Five for Busch at Texas >>
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch had a five-star performance at Texas Motor Speedway on Monday by winning the rain-delayed O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 Nationwide Series race in dominating fashion. Busch led 153 of 200 laps and

MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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