Felton helps Bobcats rally past Heat

Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton poured in 15 points and dished out a season-high 11 assists, as the Charlotte Bobcats rallied late to down the Miami Heat, 83-78, at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Stephen Jackson added 17 points for the Bobcats, who improved to 23-8 at home this season. That matches the franchise record of 23 home wins in a season set last year.

Boris Diaw donated 11 points and eight rebounds for Charlotte, which went perfect on a three-game homestand.

Dwyane Wade had 27 points and seven boards for the Heat, who saw a three-game win streak come to an end. Jermaine O'Neal added 19 points and five rebounds. Michael Beasley finished with 11 points and nine boards in defeat.

Miami started the fourth on a brief 6-1 flurry to go in front 72-63 with nine minutes to play.

But Charlotte fought right back with a 15-4 spurt to go ahead by two. D.J. Augustin tallied the first eight points of the run, which Felton ended with a trey to give the Bobcats a 78-76 edge with 3 1/2 minutes to go.

The margin was the same following buckets from O'Neal and Tyrus Thomas. Wade then missed a three-pointer before Charlotte was called for a shot clock violation with 32.3 ticks left.

Udonis Haslem couldn't make a 15-foot jumper and Felton was there for the defensive rebound. Felton made 1-of-2 from the foul line with 7.2 seconds remaining to make it 81-78.

Miami's next trip down the court ended with Wade missing a trey. Diaw pulled down the defensive rebound and made a pair of free throws with 2.3 ticks left to seal the victory.

The Heat led by as many as 11 in the first quarter and took a 30-20 margin into the second.

Miami scored the first four points of the second to build a 14-point cushion. Charlotte was down by the same margin late in the stanza when they scored the final five points to cut the gap to 48-39 at the half.

Trailing 63-52 with less than six minutes left in the third, the Bobcats ripped off nine straight points to get within two. Felton tallied five points during the burst, which Tyson Chandler capped with a deuce to make it 63-61 with 2:30 remaining. Miami led by four, 66-62, after three periods.

Game Notes

The Bobcats have won the first three meetings with Miami this season and nine of the last 13 matchups between the clubs. The Heat have also lost six of their last seven trips to the Queen City...Miami shot 40.3 percent from the floor, while Charlotte made 38.9 percent of its shots...The Bobcats went 22-of-30 from the foul line, while Miami went 13-of-16 from the charity stripe.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP

With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.

There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.

MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football gambling needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.