Struggling Sixers invade Space City to take on Rockets
Basketball Betting Lines
02/22/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers should consider themselves lucky to still have a sizable lead atop the Atlantic Division standings since they're currently mired in a season-high four-game losing streak.
The Sixers look to end their woes tonight against the Houston Rockets in the continuation of a four-game road trip at the Toyota Center. In Tuesday's 89-76 loss at Memphis, the Sixers struggled inside without Elton Brand (thumb) and Spencer Hawes (Achilles) and were led by Jrue Holiday's 22 points.
"Mistakes at the wrong time, defensive mistakes, turnovers," stated Sixers coach Doug Collins. "We're just struggling mightily to try and score."
Rookie Lavoy Allen scored 14 points and All-Star Andre Iguodala chipped in 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Philadelphia, which is on its longest losing streak since dropping five in a row from Nov. 10-17, 2010 and hasn't scored 100 points in any of the past 16 games.
Losers in six of eight games overall and three in a row on the road, Philadelphia is 7-7 away from Wells Fargo Center and sits four games ahead of New York and Boston in the division standings. The team will wrap up the road trip next Tuesday at Detroit. Brand and Hawes are expected to miss tonight's game in Space City.
Houston will continue a six-game homestand Wednesday and is 3-1 so far on the residency. It won for the sixth time in nine tries with Monday's 97-93 victory over Memphis, as oft-injured guard Kyle Lowry scored a game-high 24 points with nine assists and seven rebounds.
"My legs feel better, and it's the best I've felt in awhile," said Lowry about his performance. "We just have to continue with one more game and then we have the break and that will be the time to recuperate."
Kevin Martin netted 22 points and Luis Scola chipped in 10 for the Rockets, who improved to 13-4 at the Toyota Center this season.
The Rockets will close out the homestand next Tuesday versus Toronto and are four games behind San Antonio for the Southwest Division lead. Dallas is second in the standings at two games off the Spurs' pace.
Houston was swept in last year's home-and-home series with the Sixers and has dropped seven of the past eight meetings between the teams. Philadelphia is riding a four-game winning streak in Space City.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose recently made his return to the hardwood following a five-game absence due to lower back spasms. Rose and the Bulls will try to give the Central Division-rival Milwaukee Bucks a few spasms Wed
<< Howard, Magic visit Deron and the Nets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will try to continue their mastery of the
New Jersey Nets when the two clubs clash tonight from the Prudential Center.
Orlando has won eight in a row and 12 of the past 13 matchups between the
teams, and
<< Blues try to extend home streak vs. struggling Bruins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After closing out 2011 as the hottest team in the league,
the new calendar year hasn't been as kind to the Bruins.
The Blues have yet to drop a regulation game at home in 2012.
St. Louis puts its franchise record 21-game
<< Lin, Knicks aim to bounce back vs. Hawks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sudden New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin was brought back to
reality when New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams took him to school in
a recent contest at Madison Square Garden.
Arguably one of the fanciest point guards
<< Cavs resume lengthy homestand vs. Hornets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers will resume a team-record nine-game
homestand tonight versus the New Orleans Hornets at Quicken Loans Arena.
Cleveland is 4-3 on the residency and is coming off last night's 101-100 win
over the Cen
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last night, the Kings found the offense they have been so sorely lacking but it still resulted in a third straight loss. Los Angeles looks to rebound this evening and avoid a season series sweep at the hands of the hosting
Williams signs new deal with Union >>
Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Union announced on Wednesday
that the club has signed defender Sheanon Williams to a new contract.
The 21-year-old joined the club from Harrisburg City Islanders in August 2010
and has gone
Aggies seek upset of fourth-ranked Jayhawks >>
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In one of the more lopsided series in
the Big 12 Conference, the fourth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks will try to continue
their dominance over the Texas A&M Aggies when the two square off tonight at
Reed Are
Boise State heads to Sin City to challenge 21st-ranked UNLV >>
Las Vegas, LV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Losers of two straight and three of the last
four outings, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels find themselves now ranked 21st in the
country as they await the arrival of the Boise State Broncos for a Mountain
West Conferen
Mountaineers pay visit to 20th-ranked Fighting Irish >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matching their longest win streak in Big
East Conference play ever, the 20th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish try to
extend their run of good fortune tonight as they host the West Virginia
Mountaineers at the J
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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
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