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03/29/2009 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West went 11-for-11 from the free throw line as part of a 23-point effort, and the New Orleans Hornets made up some ground in the Southwest Division with a 90-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
West also pulled down 16 rebounds for New Orleans, which moved to within 2 1/2 games of the Spurs with 10 games remaining. The Hornets also moved into a sixth-place tie with the idle Jazz in the conference standings.
Chris Paul added 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, as the Hornets won for the fourth time in six games. Antonio Daniels contributed 10 points in the victory.
Tony Parker had a team-high 20 points to go with seven assists for San Antonio, which had a three-game win streak snapped and dropped to only a half- game ahead of Denver and Houston for second place in the West. The Spurs also missed on an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot, although they will secure a berth if Phoenix loses to Sacramento later on Sunday.
Tim Duncan provided 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili had 17 points in the defeat. Michael Finley added 12 points.
Trailing by five to start the fourth, the Spurs cut their deficit to 72-71 on a Drew Gooden layup with 8:36 left, but the Hornets pushed their lead back to five, 80-75, on a Paul jumper with five minutes remaining.
A Matt Bonner three made it a three-point game with 3:40 left, and, after several failed possessions by both teams, West's jumper with 38.9 seconds left made it 85-80 in favor of New Orleans.
Finley's three-point attempt was off on the ensuing possession, and Rasual Butler hit two free throws to put the hosts ahead by seven.
Just when the game seemed to be in control, Ginobili drained a three and was fouled on New Orleans' inbounds attempt, giving the ball back to San Antonio. Finley promptly connected on a three from the corner to make it 87-86 with 17.8 seconds to play.
Paul was fouled by Ginobili with 7.1 seconds on the clock in the act of shooting a three-pointer from about half-court. San Antonio was extremely unhappy with the shooting foul call, but Paul sank all three from the line to make it a four-point, two-possession game.
San Antonio only got one shot off before the buzzer, a missed three-pointer by Finley, giving New Orleans the victory.
The Spurs held a 25-19 lead after the first quarter, but the Hornets cut their deficit to 47-43 at halftime.
New Orleans quickly made up its deficit, forging ahead, 55-53, on a Julian Wright three-point play just past the seven-minute mark.
Back-to-back threes later in the third from Finley and Ginobili put the Spurs back in front by four, but a Sean Marks dunk gave the Hornets a 64-63 lead with 2 1/2 minutes to go. The hosts led, 68-63, heading to the fourth.
Game Notes
New Orleans leads the season series 2-1, and the teams will meet on April 15 in San Antonio to close out the season...Spurs center Fabricio Oberto missed his second straight game with a irregular heartbeat...New Orleans forward James Posey missed the game after being suspended for one contest following an altercation with a referee in the team's loss to New York on Friday...The Spurs fell to 21-11 in games decided by six or less points.
<< Purdue downs Rutgers, moves on
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lakisha Freeman netted 18 points and the
sixth-seeded Purdue Boilermakers defeated the seventh-seeded Rutgers Scarlet
Knights, 67-61, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament's Oklahoma City
Regiona
<< Celtics silence the Thunder
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Glen Davis took an elbow to the head in the
third quarter that resulted in 10 stitches on his forehead, but the second-
year forward returned to score 15 of his 19 points in the final stanza to
ignite
<< Thomas stellar as Bruins top Flyers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Thomas made 45 saves and Mark Recchi
picked up the game-winner early in the third period, as Boston clipped
Philadelphia, 4-3, at Wachovia Center.
Milan Lucic added a pair of goals and De
<< Granger leads Pacers past lowly Wizards
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Granger scored a team-high 31
points, and the Indiana Pacers defeated the lowly Washington Wizards, 124-115,
at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Brandon Rush continued his hot play with a career-high t
Wild fend off Oilers in battle of playoff-hopefuls >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marian Gaborik scored the game-winning goal
and dished out an assist, as the Minnesota Wild edged the Edmonton Oilers,
3-2, in a battle between two playoff-hopeful teams at Rexall Place.
Andrew Brunett
Hornets gain ground, but Spurs clinch playoff spot after Suns lose >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West went 11-for-11 from the free
throw line as part of a 23-point effort, and the New Orleans Hornets made up
some ground in the Southwest Division with a 90-86 victory over the San
Antonio
Pair of Hockey East teams highlight 2009 Frozen Four >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University and the University of
Vermont, both from Hockey East, highlight the final four schools in the NCAA
men's ice hockey tournament, set for April 9-11 at Verizon Center in
Washing
Williams sisters continue to cruise, Safina ousted in Miami >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sisters Serena and Venus Williams won their
matches in straight sets Sunday and advanced to the fourth round of the $4.5
million Sony Ericsson Open.
Top-ranked Serena topped China's Peng Shuai, the 32n
Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.
"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."
Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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