Paul to meet with Hornets Monday, trade rumors swirl
Basketball Betting Lines
07/22/2010 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul will reportedly sit down with management of the New Orleans Hornets on Monday, when he's expected to express his wishes to be traded.
Several media outlets, including the New Orleans Times Picayune, report Paul will meet with new head coach Monty Williams and new general manager Dell Demps.
Paul has two years remaining on his contract before he can opt out with the Hornets. His contract will pay him about $45 million over the next three seasons, as he has a player option for 2012-13 worth nearly $18 million.
The fourth overall pick out of Wake Forest by the Hornets in the 2005 draft, Paul averaged 18.7 points, 10.7 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.1 steals this past season. He played in just 45 games due to various injuries.
Just prior to this year's draft, Hornets owner George Shinn released a statement, saying Paul is the franchise's "cornerstone" and the player the team will continue to build around.
But Paul reportedly is concerned about the Hornets' slow offseason moves this summer. The team signed guard Luther Head earlier this month and also re- signed backup center Aaron Gray.
Paul led the Hornets to the Western Conference semifinals in 2007-08 and the team reached the playoffs the following season. But this past season New Orleans went 37-45.
West Bromwich, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu has committed his future to West Brom after penning a new three-year contract. The 23-year-old DR Congo international made 46 appearances and scored three goals i
<< Hanley commits future to Blackburn
Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn has handed teenage defender
Grant Hanley a new five-year contract.
The Scotland Under-19 captain made his Premier League debut in the final game
of last season against Aston Villa and is
<< Jol turns down Fulham job
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fulham will have to look elsewhere for a
new manager after Martin Jol turned down the chance to return to the Premier
League.
The former Tottenham boss has decided to stay in charge of Ajax af
<< Newcastle adds former Everton midfielder Gosling
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newly-promoted Newcastle signed former
Everton midfielder Dan Gosling to a four-year contract on Thursday.
Gosling, 20, is the second addition for Newcastle ahead of its return to the
Premier League
<< Delahoussaye leads by two in Canada
Etobicoke, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brent Delahoussaye fired an eight-under 62
Thursday to take the lead after the opening round of the Canadian Open.
Delahoussaye's 62 at St. George's Golf & Country Club matched the tournament's
18-hole
Ada, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robby Shelton scored an upset victory over 2009 champion Jordan Spieth in Thursday's second round, then bettered Andrew Lister in the third round to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur Champio
Chelsea's Alex to miss start of season >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chelsea defender Alex will miss the start
of the English Premier League season with a thigh injury that will sideline
for one month, the club announced on Thursday.
Alex was injured in training, joini
Westermann signs five-year deal with Hamburg >>
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heiko Westermann finalized his move
from Schalke to Hamburg on Thursday, as the German defender signed a five-year
deal with his new club.
Westermann, 26, had 12 goals in 92 matches for Schalke. H
Hamburg loans striker Berg to PSV >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg loaned 23-year-old striker Marcus
Berg to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on Thursday.
Berg joined PSV on a one-year loan deal. PSV is coached by former Schalke boss
Fred Rutten. Berg scored four goals i
Mariners deal minor league INF Hannahan to Red Sox >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners traded minor league
infielder Jack Hannahan to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later
or cash considerations.
Hannahan, a third-round draft pick by the Tigers in 2001
College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.