Blazers, Hornets tangle in the Big Easy
Basketball Betting Lines
02/10/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland hopes a Western Conference-worst New Orleans team proves to be a bit of a tonic after the Blazers dropped consecutive games in Rip City.
A controversial goaltending call on All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge allowed Oklahoma City to force overtime and ultimately win Monday's game with Portland in the Rose Garden and the Blazers followed that up with a 103-96 to Houston on Wednesday.
Jamal Crawford netted 21 points to go with six assists and Gerald Wallace added 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Blazers, who have lost two straight at home since beginning the season with an 11-1 mark at the Rose Garden.
"It's tough, it's tough, that's for sure, but it's a process you have to go through unfortunately," Crawford told the Blazers' website. "We can be two different teams at times. I think that to be so good, then to come up short and really shortchange ourselves, I think that's the most surprising thing."
Portland, which has dropped three of its last four contests overall, is just 3-9 as the visitor on the year and will also face Dallas on a brief two-game road trip.
The Blazers have lost four consecutive away from home and will be trying to avoid a five-game skid as the visitor for the first time since Feb. 4-25, 2009.
As bad as the Blazers have been on the road this season, it's hard to imagine the Hornets taking advantage. New Orleans lost its seventh straight contest on Wednesday in the Big Easy, a 90-67 rout at the hands of Chicago.
The Hornets lost for the 22nd time in 24 games since staring the season 2-0 and needed a three-pointer from Marco Belinelli with 0.5 seconds left to avoid a franchise-low in points scored.
"We couldn't throw it in the ocean," said New Orleans coach Monty Williams.
In fact, the game started and ended as a laugher: Actor and comedian Will Ferrell, in town shooting a movie, handled the intros for both teams.
Among Ferrell's introductions were : "At guard, No. 1, his favorite movie is 'The Notebook' ... Derrick Rose!" For the Hornets' Emeka Okafor, Ferrell deadpanned that the big man "minored in love" at UConn.
Part of New Orleans' problems stem from injuries. High-scoring guard Eric Gordon remains out with a balky right knee, capable big Carl Landry is sidelined due to a sprained left knee and center Jason Smith is struggling with concussion-related symptoms.
Portland has won two of its last three vs. NOLA, including an 84-77 triumph in the Big Easy on Jan, 16.
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that midfielder Ryan Giggs will return to the club for another season after signing a one-year contract extension. The 38-year-old Giggs m
<< Magic welcome Hawks to central Florida
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic try to stay hot tonight when they welcome
the Atlanta Hawks to the Amway Center.
This, of course, is the first meeting between these Southeast Division rivals
since Atlanta knocked the Magic out of last
<< Mavs visit Love, Timberwolves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will have Kevin Love back in the
lineup tonight versus the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center after serving a
two-game suspension for stomping on Houston's Luis Scola during the third
quarter of Satu
<< Pacers battle Grizzlies on Beale Street
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-improved Indiana Pacers hope to salvage the back-
end of a brief two-game road trip tonight when they square off with the
Memphis Grizzlies on Beale Street.
Indiana is coming off a 97-98 loss in Atlant
<< Red Wings shoot for 19th straight home win vs. Ducks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forgive the Red Wings if they are looking past the Ducks
and towards this weekend when they could have a chance at matching the longest
home winning streak in NHL history.
After all, wins over Anaheim at Joe Louis Arena ar
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche recently put their longest skid of the season behind them and will try to close out a four-game homestand with another victory when they face the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at Pepsi Center. The Ava
New York signs midfielder Palsson >>
Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York signed Icelandic midfielder
Victor Palsson on Friday.
Palsson, 20, spent the last year at Scottish Premier League side Hibernian and
appeared in 34 games in all competitions. The defensive
Blackhawks hope to halt fall in San Jose >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The free-falling Chicago Blackhawks will try to end their
longest losing streak in over four years when they continue a lengthy road
trip with tonight's battle against the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion.
The Blackhawks are
Stars aim for rare win in Buffalo >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars have yet to win the back end when playing
games on consecutive nights. That won't make ending their lengthy losing
streak in Buffalo any easier.
The Stars try to pick up their first road win against the Sa
Celtics head north of the border to face Raptors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics may have seen their longest winning
streak of the season come to a halt on Thursday. But, a trip north of the
border to face the Toronto Raptors could get them back on track.
Boston saw its five-game win
American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.