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02/18/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA's best take center stage on Sunday, as the Western Conference and Eastern Conference clash in the 56th annual All-Star Game at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
In the 2006 annual event, Dwyane Wade's follow shot in the lane with 16.6 seconds remaining rallied the East past the West, 122-120, at the Toyota Center. LeBron James had 29 points and six rebounds for the East and at 21- years-old was named the youngest MVP in the history of the contest. Wade ended with 20 points for the East, which rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit to win the contest for a second straight year.
The East has won six of the last 10 All-Star contests overall.
Miami's Shaquille O'Neal, Cleveland's James and Toronto's Chris Bosh makeup the starting frontcourt for the Eastern Conference, while Wade of the Heat and Washington's Gilbert Arenas combine to give the East a strong starting backcourt.
Shaq is a 14-time NBA All-Star and has been selected to the All- Star Game 12 times by the fans (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007). However, this will be just the 11th game that he has played in. The monstrous center did not play in the contest in 1997, 2001 or 2002.
James, who was the 2003-04 NBA Rookie of the Year, will be playing in his third NBA All-Star Game, while Bosh is participating in his second. Wade, who was the MVP of the 2006 NBA Finals, and Arenas are both appearing in their third contest. Arenas and Bosh are both in the starting lineup for the first time in their careers.
The bench for the Eastern Conference is filled with plenty of talent. Detroit's dynamic backcourt of Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton headline the reserves for the East. The Pistons All-Star duo has earned their way into the contest for the second time in their careers in as many years. They are joined by Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Orlando's Dwight Howard, Caron Butler of the Wizards, New Jersey's Vince Carter and Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, who was voted in as a starter for last year's contest but did not play because of a groin injury.
Butler, Howard and Johnson are all making their All-Star debuts, while Carter has been selected to his eighth All-Star team and Jermaine O'Neal has earned his way on to his sixth squad, including 2006.
New Jersey guard Jason Kidd was originally named as a reserve to the East squad, However, Kidd is sidelined with a back injury and will not play in the contest. He would have played in his eighth All-Star Game (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007), The versatile Kidd has been voted as a starter three times (1996, 2000, 2001) and as a reserve five times.
Washington's Eddie Jordan is the head coach for the Eastern Conference All- Stars. Jordan is in his fourth season with Washington. He has guided the Wizards to two straight playoff appearances.
The Western Conference is feeling the injury bug for this year's contest, and will try to halt a two-game losing streak. The starting frontcourt for the West was supposed to consist of Houston center Yao Ming and forwards Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs and Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tracy McGrady of the Rockets and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who won the MVP of this contest in 2002 at Philadelphia, makeup a very athletic backcourt.
Yao, who leads the Rockets in scoring (25.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg), suffered a non displaced fracture in a bone under his right knee during a 98-93 loss on December 23rd to the Los Angeles Clippers. The 7-6 Yao, who had been in the starting lineup four straight years for the West, is expected to be sidelined at least until early March and will not participate in the mid- season classic.
Duncan, who shared MVP honors with Shaq in the 2000 contest in Oakland, is making his ninth All-Star appearance, while Garnett will play in his 10th All-Star Game and was the MVP in the 2003 contest in Atlanta. McGrady will take the court for his seventh All-Star contest, sixth as a starter, and Bryant, who won the MVP of the 2002 contest, is making his ninth straight All-Star appearance, all as a starter.
Two-time reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash of the Suns, Denver's Allen Iverson and Carlos Boozer of the Jazz were all supposed to be reserves for the West. However, the three All-Stars are all dealing with injuries. Nash has right shoulder inflammation, Iverson is hampered by a sprained right ankle and Boozer, who would have made his All-Star debut, has a hairline fracture in left fibula.
Boozer is averaging team-highs in points (22.1 ppg) and rebounds (11.8 rpg) for the Jazz, while Nash, who would have played in his fifth All-Star contest, leads the league in assists (11.8 apg) and Iverson, who was acquired by Denver from Philadelphia in a blockbuster deal on December 19th, is averaging 28.7 points and 7.6 assists in 35 games for Sixers and Nuggets. Iverson has won the MVP twice (2001, 2005) for this event and had played the previous seven All- Star contests for the East, all as a starter.
The healthy bodies on the bench for the Western Conference are very versatile and athletic. The frontcourt has Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire of the Suns, and Utah's Mehmet Okur.
Seven-time All-Star Ray Allen of Seattle and Tony Parker of the Spurs are the backups for Bryant and McGrady. Allen, who made the East squad three times as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, is playing in his fourth consecutive All-Star Game as a member of the Sonics, while Parker is playing in his second-career mid-season classic in as many years.
Anthony, who served a 15-game suspension earlier this season for his participation in the infamous brawl with the New York Knicks on December 16th at Madison Square Garden. Josh Howard and Okur will both be appearing in their first All-Star Game, while Nowitzki will play in his sixth, Marion his fourth and Stoudemire in his second.
Phoenix' Mike D'Antoni, who makes his All-Star coaching debut, will be calling the shots from the West bench. D'Antoni has led the Suns to back-to-back Pacific Division titles and two straight appearances in the Western Conference finals. He was named the 2004-05 NBA Coach of the Year.
The starters for tonight's contest were determined by the fans' votes, while the 30 head coaches in the NBA voted for the reserves in their respective conferences after the starting players for each squad were finalized.
Head coaches for the East and West All-Star teams are based on teams with the best winning-percentage in each conference following the games on February 4th. Dallas Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson and Detroit Pistons head coach Flip Saunders were not eligible to coach in this seasons contest because they coached in last year's game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
This could be Wade's year to grab MVP honors. Wade can do it all and has proved many times that he is capable of taking over a game single-handidly. The defending world champions All-Star guard showed what he is capable of against Dallas in the 2006 NBA Finals and will be ready to showcase his talents on a different stage.
Stoudemire is definitely back and looks like the dominant force he used to be. The 6-10 Stoudemire, who averaged 26.0 points and 8.9 rebounds during his first All-Star season in the 2004-05 campaign, played just three games last season because of a serious knee injury. He underwent successful left knee microfracture surgery in October 2005 and had a tough road back to the court. The Suns star forward wants his peers and all of the NBA fans to see first hand how he can dominate against anyone who gets in his way.
NOTABLE
This is the first time the mid-season classic will be played in Las Vegas.
Anthony, Bosh, James and Wade are all members of the 2003 NBA Draft Class. James was selected first by Cleveland, Anthony third by Denver, Bosh went No. 4 to Toronto and the Heat grabbed Wade with the fifth overall pick.
Allen, Anthony, Josh Howard and Okur were the four replacements for Boozer, Iverson, Nash and Yao on the Western Conference roster.
Johnson replaced the injured Kidd on the East squad.
Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands), Nowitzki (Germany), Okur (Turkey), and Parker (France) are the four international players who will participate in this year's contest. The 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 NBA All-Star Games all had a record-tying six international players on the respective rosters.
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MySportsbook.com Favors Fighting Irish to win College Football betting odds
According to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, on January 8, the Fighting Irish faithful may be toasting their 14th national title in Arizona – Notre Dame’s first national championship in close to 20 years.
Although MySportsbook.com has listed Notre Dame as the 5-1 favorite to win thecollege football College Football betting, fans in Columbus do not need to cancel their tickets to Glendale just yet. The Ohio State Buckeyes, listed right behind the Irish at 7-1, are also heavy favorites to win college football’s most coveted prize, while West Virginia, USC and the 2007 National Champion Texas Longhorns - all listed at 8-1 – are strong contenders as well.
MySportsbook.com has also posted gambling odds on the conference championships for the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. In the ACC – it could be anyone’s title, particularly for the two schools from the Sunshine State. Florida State and Miami, both listed at 2-1, are favored to win the ACC Championship Game odds, with the ‘Noles hoping to finish in the nation’s top 10 for the first time in five years, and the ‘Canes looking to avenge their 10-7 loss against FSU in last year’s ACC Championship betting.
Moving west to the Big 12, MySportsbook.com has betting lines listing Texas as 7-5 favorites to repeat as conference champions, even though the Longhorns lost their national championship-winning quarterback Vince Young to the NFL. In the south, the Auburn Tigers – led by Heisman-hopeful senior running back Kenny Irons – have been given the best odds to win the SEC Championship odds at 5-2.
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| Notre Dame Ohio State West Virginia Texas USC Florida California Auburn Oklahoma Iowa Louisville Florida State Michigan Miami (FL) LSU Penn State Virginia Tech Nebraska Tennessee Georgia Arizona State Oregon Clemson Texas A&M Texas Tech Alabama Arkansas Boston College Michigan State Maryland South Carolina Colorado Purdue Georgia Tech TCU UCLA Arizona Pittsburgh Iowa State Wisconsin North Carolina State Virginia North Carolina Fresno State Hawaii Northwestern BYU Oregon State UNLV Field (Any Other Team) |
5-1 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 18-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 70-1 70-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 100-1 150-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 200-1 250-1 250-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 300-1 400-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 500-1 1000-1 1000-1 40-1 |
| Miami (FL) Florida State Virginia Tech Clemson Georgia Tech Boston College Maryland Virginia North Carolina State North Carolina Wake Forest Duke |
2-1 2-1 3-1 7-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 500-1 |
| Texas Oklahoma Nebraska Texas Tech Colorado Iowa State Texas A&M Kansas State Missouri Kansas Baylor Oklahoma State |
7-5 9-5 9-2 12-1 14-1 15-1 15-1 30-1 30-1 35-1 100-1 100-1 |
| Auburn Florida LSU Georgia Tennessee Arkansas Alabama Mississippi South Carolina Mississippi State Kentucky Vanderbilt |
5-2 11-4 4-1 6-1 7-1 7-1 9-1 20-1 28-1 75-1 100-1 300-1 |
For complete NCAA football odds please visit Mysportsbook.com.
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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