Agent: Johnson chooses to stay with Hawks
Basketball Betting Lines
07/04/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arm Tellem, writing in his weekly sports column for the Huffington Post, said Sunday that free-agent guard Joe Johnson intends to re-sign with the Atlanta Hawks.
Johnson received a six-year, maximum dollar contract offer from the team he has played for since signing as a free-agent with them in 2005.
According to Tellem, Johnson came away impressed enough from his meeting with Larry Drew, the Hawks' new coach and former Atlanta guard, and the owners of the team and their commitment to building a championship-caliber team to turn down the chance to play elsewhere.
The 29-year-old Johnson had also entertained offers from the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.
Johnson led the Hawks to 53 wins last season and a first-round playoff victory over Milwaukee in seven games before Atlanta bowed to Orlando in four games in the second round of the post-season.
He averaged 21.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in 76 contests last season
Over nine seasons with Boston, Phoenix and Atlanta, he has averaged 17.6 points, 4.2 boards and 4.5 assists per game.
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Jones knocked in three runs and Delwyn Young struck a key blow with a pinch-hit two-run double as Pittsburgh used a late burst of offense to down Philadelphia, 8-5, in the finale of a four-ga
<< Wainwright pitches Cardinals past Brewers
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Wainwright notched his fourth complete
game of the season and added a bases-clearing double as St. Louis pounded
Milwaukee, 7-1, in the finale of a four-game set from Busch Stadium.
Jon Jay homer
<< Lee pitches Mariners past Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Branyan and Casey Kotchman each belted
three-run homers to help Seattle beat Detroit, 8-1, in the finale of a three-
game series at Comerica Park.
Aiming for his fourth straight complete game amid
<< Woods fails to break par at Aronimink
Newtown Square, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If there were any questions about
whether Aronimink Golf Club could stand up to the world's best players, they
have been answered.
World No. 1 Tiger Woods failed to break par in his four roun
<< Mazzaro and Rosales lead A's past Tribe
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Rosales hit a solo homer and Vin
Mazzaro tossed 7 1/3 solid innings, as the Oakland Athletics earned a 3-1 win
over the Cleveland Indians in the rubber match of a three-game series at
Progres
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Drew Stubbs hit a career-high three home runs and Paul Janish homered and drove in a career-high three runs as Cincinnati belted seven long balls in a 14-3 triumph over Chicago to finish off a four- game se
Hapless O's take one from BoSox thanks to Matusz, Markakis >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Matusz tossed seven strong innings and
Nick Markakis collected hits and drove in a run, as the Baltimore Orioles
stymied the Boston Red Sox, 6-1, to salvage the finale of a three-game series
at Fenw
Yankees top Blue Jays in extras >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thames' RBI single in the bottom of the
10th inning lifted New York past Toronto, 7-6, in the finale of a three-game
set from Yankee Stadium.
Mark Teixeira finished with three hits and drove in two r
Former Masters champ Mize wins in Montreal >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Masters champion Larry Mize fired an
eight-under 64 on Sunday to win the Montreal Championship for his first title
on the Champions Tour.
Mize, 51, is best known for holing a 140-foot chip shot to win t
Posada leaves Sunday's game >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada left
Sunday's 7-6 victory in 10 innings over Toronto due to a sprained right ring
finger.
Posada apparently suffered the setback when he was hit in the hand by a pitch
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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
| The Bubble Breakdown | |||
| CONFERENCE | LOCKS | SHOULD BE INS | AT-LARGES TAKEN (assuming no auto bid outlier) |
| ACC Betting Odds | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Big East Betting Odds | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Big Ten Betting Odds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 Betting Odds | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pac-10 Betting Odds | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| SEC Betting Odds | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| MVC Betting Odds | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MWC Betting Odds | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 5 | 25 |
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
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