 |
 Basketball Betting |
 |
||||
|
 |
||||
|
||||
Bryant, Jackson: We Are All WitnessesBasketball Betting Lines06/18/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, Michael Cooper, Jim Pollard, Derek Fisher and George Mikan. With his fifth title as a Laker, Bryant cemented his place atop the only list that matters in this franchise's history: winning championships. He's only tied with the other players, but you could argue that he had to do more to earn his than anyone else on the list. Phil Jackson: 11 championships. Five with the Lakers. I believe his place was cemented long ago, yet he continues to raise the bar higher for all future generations. What more is there to say? We are all witnesses. No, not to that other guy who might leave the only team and city he's ever known since birth in a couple weeks. Not to the guy whom the media has already anointed the greatest player alive. Not to the guy who lacks a killer instinct, who struggled mightily against these same Celtics with the same home-court advantage in the conference semis. No, we are all witnesses to an unheralded high school star who was selected 13th in the 1996 NBA Draft behind players such as Allen Iverson and Boston's Ray Allen. He was also picked behind players such as Todd Fuller and Vitaly Potapenko. Haven't heard of those last two guys? Hey, neither have I. We are all witnesses to the greatest winner this sport has seen since a man named Michael transcended the game in the late 80s and 90s. Nobody has won more since, unless you want to count Robert Horry, who rode Bryant's, Shaquille O'Neal's, Hakeem Olajuwon's and Tim Duncan's coattails en route to seven titles. Fisher, his teammate and top assassin, wouldn't have won any of his five if it weren't for Bryant. "(I) just got one more than Shaq," Bryant joked. "You can take that to the bank. You know how I am. I don't forget anything." Bryant was a little more humble when asked about being one away from Jordan's six titles. "I don't know. It's tough for me to really put that in any kind of context in terms of he and I goes because 90 percent of what I've learned and what I've figured out comes from him," Bryant conceded. "So this is not a situation where it's me and Shaq rivalry kind of thing. It's not the same thing. It's different. It's more of a -- it's a genuine love that I have for him and what he's done for me. It's completely different." Jackson, on the other hand, you could argue has had the benefit of coaching the best players around -- Bryant, O'Neal and Jordan. But Doug Collins coached Jordan, and he doesn't have any rings; Brian Hill coached O'Neal to the Finals with the Magic, but he didn't win; Del Harris was Bryant's first coach as a pro, but he didn't win, either. You get the point by now. The Zen Master has no peer in his profession -- he is the cream of the crop. He's been a head coach for 19 seasons, and he's achieved the ultimate goal in 11 of them. When he coaches a playoff series, it might as well be a best-of- one -- his teams have won the series 48 of 48 times when they win the opening game. Whatever that guy is saying, I want to hear it. Ever since His Airness stepped down from the throne, the public has been dying to place the crown atop another head. The problem is that the public wants that figure to be lovable, and Bryant just doesn't fit the bill. The public wants it to be LeBron James, but for some reason he refuses to accept it. Well, sorry public, you can't have your cake and eat it, too; Bryant is atop the throne, and someone like James is going to have an awfully tough time taking it away. What I don't understand is why people are so unwilling to admit Bryant's greatness. I mean, Jordan wasn't the nicest guy around, either. Both Jordan and Bryant have that unbelievable willingness to win, that unmatched ability to rip your heart out when you are least expecting it. Throughout Game 7, even though Bryant continued to struggle, you just knew deep down that he would come through. Down 13 in the middle of the third quarter, you knew that the Lakers weren't out of it. And they weren't. Bryant came back with 10 all- important points in the final 12 minutes, and the rest is history. "I just wanted it so bad. I wanted it so, so bad. On top of that, I was on 'E'," Bryant said of his Game 7 effort in which he went a subpar 6-for-24 from the field for 23 points. "Man, I was really, really tired. And the more I tried to push, the more it kept getting away from me...I was thankful that I was able to make one damn shot at the end of the game and made some free throws." As for Jackson, if this was his last hurrah, what a way to go out. The 64- year-old is widely expected to be asked to take a pay cut next season if he were to return, and he even admitted following the game that he didn't know what was going to happen. But if it is indeed the end in Hollywood, he leaves behind a legacy that may go unmatched for all of time. A 1,098-460 regular season record. A 224-98 playoff record. To reiterate: 11 championships. Primary coach of maybe the two greatest guards ever to play the game of basketball. And still he has that ounce of calmness after it all that just leaves you sitting in awe of a living legend. "No, it's not (more emotional than the other titles)," Jackson said. "There's no residual as far as beating Boston or anything like that...To have put in 114 games and coming out the way at the end, there's a certain sense of gratification, and that's what I have to believe in." Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, you've got to respect them. Put them atop the pedestal, give them the spot on the throne. Because what we're watching now -- we may never see again. Not even from "The King." So, even if Bryant is the biggest villain in your life, cherish these moments as a fan of basketball because...We are all witnesses.
<< U.S. Open First Round News & Notes
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You will read a lot about how Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson failed to make a birdie Thursday during the first round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. It was the first time in their professional careers th
<< Lakers win 16th NBA title; Jackson could return
<< Rowdy revelers crowd streets after Lakers win
<< Rowdy revelers surrounding cars after Lakers win
<< Bryant, Jackson champions again; Lakers down Boston to claim NBA title
Jubilant celebration turns rowdy in areas of LA >>
LOS ANGELES (AP) -A jubilant celebration over the Los Angeles Lakers dramatic win in the NBA championship turned rowdy in scattered sections of the city, with raucous revelers hurling rocks and bottles at officers, setting fires and jumping on vehic
Potential pitfalls await Federer and Nadal at Wimbledon >>
Podolski's missed PK costs 10-man Germany >>
Manager: Iverson wants to play again >>
Serena, Venus could meet in another Wimbledon final >>
How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later. While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better. For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory. 1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season. 2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped. How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number. Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules. Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically. How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games). Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition. Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
|
