The NBA season is down to less than 20 games for most teams. The battle for the 8 possible playoff spots in each conference is fierce and exciting. In the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference the Boston Celtics are 40-23. They lead 2nd place Toronto by 8 games but have lost 2 in a row. Never the less the Celtics should win this division easily and take their place in the top 5 of the conference.
In the Central division the Cleveland Cavaliers are 50-15 and have the best winning percentage in the league. They look like a cinch to be in the finals if they stay healthy. They have already clinched their division. In the Western division the Orlando Magic are 45-20 and lead Atlanta by 4 games. Orlando should win the division but will not go far in the playoffs.
The Dallas Mavericks lead the Southwestern division of the Western Conference. The Mavericks are the hottest NBA team right now having won 13 in a row. They are 45-21 and 6 games in front of San Antonio. Dallas will win the division and could put up a fight in the playoffs. The Denver Nuggets lead the Northwestern division by the closest margin in the NBA, only 1 game over the Utah Jazz. This one is going down to the wire. Denver is 43-21 and the Jazz could over take them and win this division easily.
The LA Lakers lead the Pacific division with a 47-18 record. Their winning percentage is only 2nd to the Cavaliers in the NBA. The Lakers lead Phoenix by 7 games. Phoenix is also a 40 game winner. The Lakers will win this division hands down and if there is any sense in sports they should meet the Cavaliers in the Finals. Of course we all know it is never over until that last buzzer sounds. Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.
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Thursday night the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled into Boston to take on the Celtics with a monkey on their back. They had lost 9 straight in Boston including the playoffs. The Celtics lead their division are still a major force to reckon with in the NBA. The Cavaliers are 45-14 this season and are number one in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics are 36-20 and are tied for 3rd over all with the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Cleveland came into town 19-10 on the road. They desperately wanted to make it 20.
The game began with the Celtics showing why they are one of the most famous franchises in the NBA. Things even looked worse for the the Cavaliers when O’Neil hurt his thumb in the second quarter. The losing streak in Boston seemed destined to become 10 and then Cleveland woke up in the second half and outscored Boston 60-32. LaBron James ended up with 36 points and the Cavaliers won their 20th away game and snapped the 9 game losing streak in Boston 108-88.
The Cavaliers wound up sinking 10 of their last 13 baskets showing Boston that Cleveland could still click. It is hard to imagine anything but a Cavaliers-Lakers Finals match up but stranger things have happened. Cleveland has yet to get over that final hump and prove they are the best in the NBA. This could be the year that they do. Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.
The first half of the NBA season is history. The All-Star game was a huge success in Arlington. Now it is time to take it too the hoop all they way to the championship. It is time for those flash in the pan teams that have hung on with all their glory to move to the wayside and let the good times roll.
The L.A. Lakers have won 4 straight since the all-star break and have done so without Kobe Bryant. That is a pretty good sign that the Lakers are for real and should be expected to repeat but anything can happen in the NBA on a given day. The Lakers are 42-13 on the year and 26-4 at home. That is pretty impressive. Right now Phoenix is a safe 9.5 games behind them in the Pacific Conference.
The Denver Nuggets lead the Northwest with a 35-18 record and are equally as impressive at home with a 23-5 record. However, they are 12-13 on the road. The Utah Jazz are only 1.5 games back with 2 other teams only a few games back in the race. This one will not be over until it is over but look for the Jazz to make a move.
In the Southwest the Dallas Mavericks are 33-21 and 15-9 at home. They are 17-12 on the road which is second to only the Cleveland in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs have always been a spur in their saddle and are only a game back. The Mavericks will need to pull an ace out of their hat to hold onto this one.
In the Southeast Orlando is 36-18 with a record of 20-5 at home. Atlanta is 1.5 games back with a 21-6 record at home. The Magic better keep the magic going or some Hawks might just soar in for the kill. In the Central the Cleveland Cavaliers are 43-11 holding the best winning percentage in the NBA, who said O’Neil and James could not play together? They are 24-3 at home and 19-8 on the road. They have won 13 straight and are on their way to the NBA Championship. The Bulls are second and 16 games back.
In the Atlantic the Boston Celtics are 33-18 with a home record of 15-9. The Toronto Raptors are 4.5 games back. The Celtics are hanging on but are not playing to their potential. Lucky for them they lead a weak division. At 9-1 the Celtics have the best division record in the NBA. I will be very surprised if the Cavaliers and the Lakers do not face off in the Championship this year. Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.
Sunday night was a huge night in Arlington, Texas. Cowboys Stadium, which cost over 1 billion dollars to construct, was filled to the gills. Over 108,000 fans grabbed a seat to watch a major sporting event and got a chance to see the famed Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders as a bonus. No, it was not the Super Bowl, although that game will be played there in 2011, it was the NBA All Star Game and history was in the making.
To be exact 108,713 people were present to watch the NBA East get by the West 141-139. It was the biggest crowd to ever watch a basketball game. The former record was 78,129 set back in 2003. Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, joined with Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, to put this event together. Both were over joyed.
Dwyane Wade won the All Star MVP scoring 28 points. Players were a little concerned that their perception might be a little off with so much space behind and around the baskets but it would not be the case. The players were as impressed with being part of history as were the fans. The game may have been over shadowed by the history making attendance hype but overall everyone got what they came for. The NBA needed a boost and they received it Sunday Night in Arlington. Now the NBA needs to take it to the basket just as hard the rest of the season. Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ are on a roll with a record of 36-11. The Boston Celtics are doing okay at 29-15 but know they could be even better. Regardless, this match up always brings out the best in both teams. Both teams know they will more than likely meet in the playoffs and this increases their desire to make a statement.
Today at 3:30 pm eastern time these two outstanding franchises will clash once again. The Lakers’ are first in the West while the Celtics are 3rd in the East. Paul Pierce, the Celtics mighty forward, looks to the match up with great anticipation. He knows how important it is to establish your position and attitude with competitive teams like the Lakers’.
The Celtics have only won 2 of their last 7 games. They need this victory to improve their morale. Although the city of Boston will be buzzing with hope the Celtics have a weak 13-7 record at home. Regardless this one can be a barn burner. Kobe Bryant the legend in Los Angeles only needs 47 points in today’s game to surpass Jerry West as the Lakers’ all time scorer. Bryant has actually had the pleasure of putting together a 47 point game 29 times over his career.
Bryant and the Lakers’ know the Celtics will not go down without a fight. This game will present a physical battle beneath the boards that will definitely make for a clash to remember. Great teams tend to play great teams well. Don’t look for Bryant to get his 30th 47 point game but do look for the Lakers’ to win their 37th of the season. Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.
Tomorrow night is Mixed Martial Arts night on CBS as Strikeforce brings the much anticipated bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers. From Russia, Fedor Emelianenko is considered to be the best mixed martial artist in the world. Brett Rogers on the other hand was changing tires in Minnesota a few years ago. Rogers is the underdog but he can cement his place in history if he can find a way to beat Emelianenko Saturday night. More at UFC Betting!
The New York Yankees won their 27th World Series Wednesday night in their 40th appearance. It was the first for the most famous MLB dynasty in their new stadium. The Philadelphia Phillies put up a fight but the franchise with too many bucks to spend could not be subdued this time around. These Bronx Bombers are truly the best team money can buy.
The HSBC Champions Golf event is well underway in Shanghai and Tiger Woods is edging close to a match up with Phil Mickelson once again. The front 9 consists of 7 Americans and until Friday no one was really making a run. Tiger Woods took advantage of that and shot to the forefront with Nick Watney. This World Golf Championship will be the last of the season.
Last year the Pittsburgh Penguins surprised the Hockey world by winning the Championship and this year they are off to a 12-4 start. They did get clipped by the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night 5-2 but they are still looking like a serious challenger for another run at the Stanley Cup.
On Monday night the NCAA Basketball season kicks off. Last years National Champions the North Carolina Tarheels open up at home against Florida International. They begin this season ranked #6 perhaps because they no longer have Tyler Hansbrough to lean upon. The #16 Ohio State Buckeys open up the same night hosting the Alcorn State Braves. Kansas starts out the year at #1 and they open their season next Friday.
The Duke Blue Devils begin their year next Friday as well and begin the season ranked #9. The NBA season is less than 10 games into a long season but the Boston Celtics are 6-0 and are in the front of the Eastern Conference while the Denver Nuggets are 5-0 and lead the Western Conference. Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.
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Another weekend of sports action is here again and there will be a lot of athletes with sore bodies come Monday. The Major League Baseball season is winding down and the National Football League is just heating up. The NCAA Football season is on fire as well. If you squint your eyes you can see the NBA season in the distance. Yes, there is plenty of sports for any enthusiast and plenty of opportunity to make a little wager. There is plenty to talk about so hold on tight it could get a little rough.
The MLB playoff picture is close to developing and it is going to be fun. The New York Yankees are the winningest team in baseball this year with 102 wins. They have clinched the American League East with the Boston Red Sox clinching a wild card spot right behind them. In the AL Central the Detroit Tigers need to win 2 games to clinch. The Los Angeles Angels have already clinched the AL West. Last years Champions the Philedelphia Phillies have already clinched the NL East and the St. Louis Cardinals the NL Central. In the NL West the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched with the Colorado Rockies taking in the wildcard. Next week we will devote a day to sizing up the playoff picture.
Just a reminder that I picked the Patroits over the Raven, the Jets over the Saints, the Steelers over the Chargers and the Vikings over the Packers in Week 4 of the NFL. I will also take the Dallas Cowboys over the Denver Broncos and the Tennesee Titans will pick up their first win over the Jacksonville Jaquars. By the way Brett Farve injured his foot but he is up and moving around fine and should start his 273rd straight game on Monday night against the Packers.
In NCAA Football number 1 Florida is off until next weekend when they face LSU. Number 2 Texas is also off until next week when they will face Colorado. Number 3 Alabama is at Kentucky and should pull this one out with no problem. Number 4 LSU is at Number 18 Georgia. This will be a tough game but LSU should come away with a victory. Number 5 Boise St is hosting UC Davis so what do you think? Number 6 Va Tech is at Duke and they are not playing basketball folks. Number 7 USC is playing Number 24 California who got stunned 42-3 last week. It won’t get much better this Saturday. Number 8 Oklahoma will be at Number 17 Miami of Florida. Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford will not be starting. That’s not good. Could be an upset in the making. Number 9 Ohio State will be at Indiana. The Buckeyes have shutout their last 2 opponents. Could Indiana be number 3? I think so. Finally Number 10 Cinncinati takes a short road trip to Miami of Ohio. Cinncinati should not have a problem.
Just a few notes of interest. In Golf Tiger Woods won the FedEX Cup last week and took home the ten million dollar prize. That put Tiger over the Billion dollar earnings mark in his career. That is right 1 Billion dollars. In Tennis Rafael Nadal has been cleared to play again and will participate in Spain’s Davis Cup in December. Andy Murray on the other hand has dropped out of the Japan Open due to a wrist injury. Well that is it for this week folks. Until we meet again may your betting be better and remember to always be a good sport.
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On Wednesday the United States soccer team faced a powerful foe in Spain in the Confedertions Cup semi-final in South Africa. The United States could have been in awe of Spains 35 game winning streak. During that period the Spanish team only allowed 11 goals to be scored against them. On Wednesday the United States soccer team managed to get 2 and that was 1 more than they needed as they ended Spains winning streak with a 2-0 victory. Now the United States is in the final against another soccer giant in the Brazilian team. Can they pull 2 major upsets off in a row?
In NBA news Hedo Turkoglu has opted out of his conract with the Orlando Magic. Turkoglu was due 7.3 million dollars next year but his hoping for a long term contract that would pay him 10 million per year. Orlando will find it hard to pay that amount since they acquired Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets the day before. Turkoglu averaged almost 17 points per game this season and was a major factor in the Magics run to the NBA Finals. Cleveland fans got something to cheer about as Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Cavaliers on Thursday. Shaq has made a pretty good career by teaming with superstars. He won 3 NBA titles with Kobe Bryant and one with Dwayne Wade. Now he has the opportunity to play with LeBron James. Is another NBA title in his future?
At Wimbledon Roger Federer managed to lose a set to 27th ranked Philipp Kohlschreiber but hung on to win and move on to face Roger Soderling on Monday. Federer is chasing his record breaking 15th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. The chase will get just a little tougher on Monday. On the ladies side Serena Williams was late for her match against Roberta Vinci of Italy. The American won fairly easily to move on to play Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.
The issue of steroid use in Major League Baseball has been heavily covered for the past few years. Today the Chicago Sports Writers Association voted to not allow any new guidelines when it comes to voting players to the Hall Of Fame if they have used steroids. Some of the bigger names who have been in the steroid using limelight is Barry Bonds, Roger Clemons, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire. One of the categories for determining your vote is on character. This issue has been highly debated. If performance enhancing drugs made you better than you would have normally been should you get elected to the Hall? It is my personal opinion that it still takes a very special core of athletic ability to be a superstar. If you gave any player in the Major Leagues steroids could they break Hank Aarons home run record? I don’t think so. The ability has to be there or not. Would Pete Rose have gotten twice as many hits had he of used steriods? I don’t think so. These are great baseball players who were great long before they took performance enhancing drugs. To error is human, to forgive is devine. These players deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Until we meet again good betting and remember to always be a good sport.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have won the National Hockey League Championship 2-1 over the defending Champion Detroit Red Wings. I patiently listened to all my fellow sports writers trash the Penguins today all over the sporting news. If the Pittsburgh Penguins had listened to them there was not even any sense showing up at Joe Louis Arena this Friday Evening against the truly blessed Red Wings. My fellow sports writers had already handed the Stanley Cup to the Detroit because they were playing at home. What was proven tonight in Detroit is that the Pittsburgh Penguins had much more heart and talent than credited and in addition we sports writers are better at writing about the games then predicting them.
The first period of the game went scoreless. The two teams were feeling each other out as if it were a Championship boxing match. Perhaps this was in honor of Muhammed Ali who was attendance and wearing a Detroit Red Wing jersey. Sorry Champ, it wasn’t to be. The Penguins scored two goals in the second period both by Talbot. That is right it was not Malkin or Crosby but who cares. Championship teams need not rely on only one or two players. Great Championship teams are built around the total package and in Game 7 of this Stanley Cup Finals it was the Penguins who had the total package. The Red Wings scored their lone goal too late in the final period and could never get the puck past sensational Pittsburgh goalie Mark Andrew Flurrey again. Chalk this one up for the record books.
In the NBA Finals the Los Angeles Lakers took a commanding lead by beating the Orlando Magic Thursday night 98-91in overtime. This presents the Lakers with a 3-1 advantage in the best of 7 series. Once again my fellow sports writers have already awarded the Lakers the Championship without playing another game. This time the odds just may be in their favor. But then of course there are some two years out there who could make a pretty reliable prediction on this one now. Perhaps I am old school. I say leave them play game 5 until the final buzzer sounds before counting anybody out. I must admit it does not look good for the Magic at this point but it didn’t look good for the Pittsburg Penguins going into game 7 in Detroit either and we all know how that turned out.
In quick National Football Leage news the Atlanta Falcons finally cut the final apron strings with Michael Vick today. They feel his efforts will be better appreciated elsewhere. The Minnesota Vikings have not given up on Brett Farve. They have sent some of their staff down to workout with Brett to see how his arm is holding out. Trent Green the 15 year veteran Quarterback retired today. Donovan McNabb got the big contract he wanted in Philadelphia today. Now many sports writers feel they are set to make a run at the Super Bowl. There is another Pennsylvania team that may have something to say about that.
The best thing about all of these games that we offer our opinions and predictions on is that in the end no one really knows how the game is going to turn out. Of course that is what makes it so exciting. It is always safe to play the odds but be prepared that every once in a while the odds are proven wrong and heart and determination win over all the facts and figures hands down.
The Orlando Magic turned the ball over 20 times Sunday night and when the final second ticked off the clock in overtime they turned over the game as well. The Los Angeles Lakers seemed to want it more. The Lakers ended up winning 101-96 and they are taking that 2-0 series lead into Orlando on Tuesday night. Magic Courtney Lee missed a routine layup at the end of regulation that would have tied the series at 1 game each. You know that when the going gets tough the tough get going. The Lakers seem set for a date with destiny and a 15th NBA Title.
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Although the ball seems to be bouncing the Lakers way Kobe Bryant says there is nothing to be happy about. He wants this Championship as much as anyone but he knows that the series is not over until that final second tics off of their 4th win. They are only half way there and Kobe has been around long enough to know that the Magic will not simply lie down and give up in front of the hometown crowd in Orlando. Although the Magic still seem to be missing a beat they just missed splitting the series in Los Angeles. Rashard Lewis scored 34 points as the Lakers double teamed Dwight Howard all night long.
Kobe Bryant did not score 40 like in game 1 but he tossed in 29, which was just as effective. As the Lakers begin to smell the blood of their wounded victims that 15th Title is looming nearer and nearer. The Orlando Magic on the other hand is still dreaming of that first ever Finals victory. Kobe does not want his teammates to start celebrating yet.
He knows game 2 was too close for comfort and that the Magic are tough at home. If the truth were known Kobe is probably breathing a little easier. But the competitor in him knows that you can never leave your guard down. It must make him a little content to know that only 3 teams in NBA history have come back from a 2-0 deficit in the Finals. The Magic have to be aware of this as well.
Dwight Howard and the Magic may be wounded but some creatures only fight harder when wounded. He says they will have to fight harder to put everything together. The Magic know very well that losing game 3 would almost certainly leave them in a hopeless situation.
The Orlando Magic did not get to the NBA Finals on luck. It has been a season built on heartbreak but they have always found a way to prevail. Only time will tell if the Magic can reach down deep and pull out one more miracle. Orlando is a great team. Great teams find a way to win. But first the Orlando Magic will have to start playing as a team once again.
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