Basketball Betting
 

Basketball Betting


NFL Football
NCAA Football
NCAA Basketball
MLB Baseball
NHL Hockey
Soccer
Auto
Horse Racing
Golf
Tennis
 

NBA Basketball Betting

Banged up Hornets look to stay unbeaten against LeBron and Cavs

Basketball Betting Lines

11/01/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After opening the 2008-09 season with consecutive wins on the road, the Hornets will return home for back-to-back games, starting with tonight's showdown between LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at New Orleans Arena.

The Hornets won their season opener on Wednesday with a 108-103 triumph at Golden State, then traveled to Phoenix the following night and beat the Suns, 108-95, at US Airways Center. Chris Paul finished two rebounds shy of a triple-double and had 20 points, 10 assists and eight boards in the win.

Morris Peterson scored 21 points for the Hornets, who played without center Tyson Chandler because of a sprained right ankle. New Orleans forward Peja Stojakovic left the game in the fourth quarter due to a severe right ankle sprain and registered 20 points. David West had 18 points for New Orleans.

Chandler and Stojakovic are expected to miss Saturday's game. The Hornets will also host Atlanta on their brief homestand.

Cleveland is 1-1 on the season, having lost to Boston in the season opener on Tuesday before handing the Charlotte Bobcats a 96-79 defeat on Thursday.

In the win over Charlotte head coach Larry Brown and the Bobcats, James had a solid performance with 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to lead the way.

Daniel Gibson went 4-of-6 from three-point range on the way to a 25-point night and Mo Williams scored 17 points to go with seven assists for the Cavaliers. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 11 points and Ben Wallace contributed 10 rebounds and five blocks in the win.

The Cavs will visit Dallas after their bout in New Orleans.

New Orleans won both meetings with Cleveland last season, but the Cavs have won eight of the last 11 encounters.

Cleveland has lost two straight and 12 of 15 contests at the Hornets.

<< Rangers aim to extend hot start against Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their best start in franchise history, the New York Rangers head north this evening to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. New York was last in action on Thursday, when it posted a 3-2 win over At

<< Semin leads Caps into Buffalo to battle Sabres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their star Alexander Ovechkin struggling and over in his native Russia, the Capitals have relied on his countryman to pick up the scoring. Alexander Semin will try to lead Washington to another win tonight, as the club v

<< Bruins return home to face Stars
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins begin a three-game homestand tonight, when they welcome the Dallas Stars to TD Banknorth Garden. Boston is returning home from what can be considered a successful three-game road trip. Netminder Tim Thoma

<< Gone dry: Oilers try to halt skid in road test with Hurricanes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After opening the season with four straight wins, the Oilers have gone cold at both ends of the ice. Edmonton will attempt to halt a five-game losing streak this afternoon in a test with the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Cen

<< Nets entertain Warriors in home opener
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After opening the season with a win on the road, the New Jersey Nets kick off the home portion of their schedule by welcoming the Golden State Warriors to the Izod Center. Vince Carter scored 21 points and had six assists,

Devils play host to Thrashers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils continue a four-game homestand this evening, as they welcome the struggling Atlanta Thrashers to the Prudential Center. New Jersey began its residency with a 6-5 shootout loss against Toronto on Wedn

Mavs shoot for 9th straight win vs. Timberwolves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks will try to give new head coach Rick Carlisle his first win tonight, when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. Dallas opened the new season with Thursday's 112-102 loss to the

Canadiens try to hand Islanders sixth straight setback >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens seek a third straight win tonight, as they travel to New York and Nassau Coliseum to battle the Islanders, a team that has lost five straight. Montreal began the year with a shootout loss to Buffalo

Rockets welcome Thunder to Houston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets are off to a good start this season and will aim for their third straight win tonight, when the Oklahoma City Thunder pay a visit to the Toyota Center. Houston began the 2008-09 campaign with Wednesday'

Bucks welcome Raptors for home opener >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After splitting their first two games on the road, the Milwaukee Bucks return to the Bradley Center for the first time in the 2008-09 season to face off with the talented Toronto Raptors. Richard Jefferson scored 20 points

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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.