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03/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff bound Atlanta Hawks return to the cozy confines of Philips Arena Saturday to take on a Detroit Pistons team headed for the NBA Draft Lottery.
The Hawks salvaged the finale of their recent three-game road trip on Thursday in Washington when Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score a team-high 29 points to lead Atlanta to a tight 105-99 victory over the lowly Wizards.
Joe Johnson and Al Horford each netted 18 points for the Hawks, who were coming off losses in Miami and New York. Mike Bibby chipped in with 16 points for the victors.
"He's been fantastic all year. He's been a big part of what we do," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said of Crawford. "We rely on him to score the ball, also play defense and help us rebound. He's made big shots for us, run our offense. He's put us in position where we are today."
The Hawks are now dead even with Boston for the third seed in the Eastern Conference and will try and improve on their stellar 25-7 home record tonight.
The Pistons, meanwhile, are also coming off a win over Washington in their most recent affair on Friday night. Will Bynum provided a spark with a career- best 20 assists in that one, helping Detroit beat the Wizards for a sixth straight time, 101-87, at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Tayshaun Prince, Jonas Jerebko and Richard Hamilton all scored 18 to pace the Pistons. The three combined to shoot 24-of-45 for the game.
Ben Gordon chipped in 17 off the bench and Jason Maxiell tallied 12 points and 10 boards for the Pistons, who recorded just their second win in nine games.
"I thought Will Bynum did a great job of getting 20 assists," said Pistons coach John Kuester. "I think he really did a nice job of getting us into our offense."
Bynum was in the starting lineup for Rodney Stuckey, who missed his third straight game last night after collapsing on the bench during a loss in Cleveland on March 5. Extensive cardiac tests on Wednesday provided some good news and Stuckey, who is averaging a career-best 17.1 points per game, has been allowed to resume exercising but there is no timetable for his return to the floor.
Detroit snapped a three-game series losing streak with a 94-88 win in Auburn Hills back in November.
<< Panthers shoot for rare victory over Sharks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida needs all the victories it can muster from now
until the end of the season to even have a chance at making the playoffs. The
Panthers could have a tough time getting a win today, when they visit the
mighty San Jose Sh
<< Leach faces James in Texas Tech lawsuit deposition
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -Mike Leach is sitting across from his accuser as Craig James gives sworn testimony in the former coach's lawsuit against Texas Tech.James, whose complaint of mistreatment of his son led to Leach's firing, declined to comment Sat
<< UNLV knocks off BYU to reach Mountain West title game
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tre'Von Willis finished with 18 points and
made critical free throws down the stretch, as UNLV upended No. 14 BYU, 70-66,
to reach the championship game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Willis
<< McDonald plays role of sage for young Blue Jays
DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) -Becoming a coach isn't on John McDonald's radar just yet, but while he's playing he enjoys being a mentor to his fellow Toronto Blue Jays infielders.``I would hope the younger players would use a player like me as a source of kno
Nuggets press on without Karl in Memphis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets continue their push to the postseason
without head coach George Karl tonight against a desperate Memphis Grizzlies
team.
The Nuggets played without Karl, who is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy
to
Spurs shoot for 16th straight win over Clippers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are quite a few rivalries in the NBA but don't count
the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers among them.
A rivalry generally contains a little give-and-take or back-and-forth. When
the Spurs and Clippers get t
Mavs aim to push win streak to 14 vs. Knicks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Dallas Mavericks will try to stretch their
season-high winning streak to 14 games tonight when they resume a four-game
homestand against the woeful New York Knicks.
Dallas kept its longest winning streak of the
Raptors resume road trip in Oakland vs. Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors haven't been playing like a team headed
towards the postseason and will resume a four-game road trip Saturday night
against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
Toronto is currently eighth in the Easte
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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