Oklahoma City and New Orleans complete draft day deal
Basketball Betting Lines
07/08/2010 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder have acquired the draft rights to Cole Aldrich and veteran forward Morris Peterson from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for the draft rights to forward Craig Brackens and guard/forward Quincy Pondexter.
Aldrich was the 11th overall choice in last month's draft after averaging 11.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots during his junior season at Kansas. He was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and leaves the Jayhawks as their single season leader in blocks (125) and second all-time with 253 swats.
The 6-foot-11 center never lost a collegiate game at home, going 55-0 at Allen Fieldhouse, and was a member of the 2008 Kansas national championship squad.
Peterson has averaged 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 10 NBA seasons with Toronto and New Orleans. He played in 43 games last season, 39 starts, with the Hornets and averaged 7.1 points and 2.7 boards.
The Thunder made Brackins the 21st overall choice in the draft after he posted averages of 16.5 points, 8.5 boards and 2.2 helpers during his junior campaign at Iowa State. The 6-foot-10, 230 pounder started all 95 games he played in during his three years with the Cyclones.
Pondexter, the 26th overall selection, averaged 19.3 points and 7.4 rebounds for Washington in his senior season and finished his career as the Huskies all-time leader in games played, 136, and third in school history with 1,786 points.
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns have signed center Channing Frye to a five-year deal on Thursday. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The Arizona product posted 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest in 81
<< Phillies activate P Madson from DL
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have activated
pitcher Ryan Madson from the 15-day disabled list.
He underwent successful surgery to repair a broken right great toe on May 4.
Madson has been on the disab
<< Rochus, Dabul reach Newport semis
Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Belgian Olivier Rochus and
unseeded Argentine Brian Dabul were a pair of straight-set quarterfinal
winners Thursday at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
The 5-foot-6 Rochus rout
<< Agent: free agent DL Smith to miss season with Achilles tear
Littleton, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NFL free agent defensive lineman Kenny Smith
will miss the entire 2010 season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon,
according to his agent.
The injury occurred while Smith was working out and he's
<< Clarke leads at Loch Lomond
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Clarke posted a six-under 65 on
Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond Golf
Club.
Clarke is riding a hot wave. He captured the unofficial JP McManus Pro-A
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany manager Joachim Loew abandoned his strategy at the wrong time. Loew said before Wednesday's FIFA World Cup semifinal against Spain that attacking was the only way Germany could win the title. Loew
Raptors officially sign F Johnson >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors officially agreed to a
contract with forward Amir Johnson, the club announced on Thursday.
Per team policy, terms were not disclosed, but The Toronto Star previously
reported the de
Philadelphia's Rodriguez claims WPS honor >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Independence forward Amy
Rodriguez was named the Women's Professional Soccer Player of the Month for
June on Thursday.
Rodriguez, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 WPS Draft, had f
Toronto signs Kleiza to offer sheet >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Denver Nuggets forward Linas Kleiza has
been signed to an offer sheet by the Toronto Raptors.
Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed, however, the Denver
Post cited Kleiza's agent a
Danks' gem gives White Sox sweep of Angels >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Danks took a no-hitter into the seventh
inning and Paul Konerko knocked in the lone run as the Chicago White Sox
bested the Angels, 1-0, in the finale of a four-game set from U.S. Cellular
Field.
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards