Cavs hold off Hornets
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02/28/2007 -
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Larry Hughes' three-pointer thwarted any
chance of a complete Hornets comeback, and LeBron James scored 35 points with
eight assists and five rebounds, as Cleveland edged New Orleans/Oklahoma City,
97-89, at Quicken Loans Arena.
Trailing 81-70, the Hornets went on a 13-2 spurt capped by David West's jumper
to square the contest at 83-83 with 4:13 on the clock.
Enter Hughes, who buried a trey followed by a James' finger roll for an 88-83
advantage. After a Tyson Chandler dunk, Daniel Gibson knocked down a three to
build an insurmountable 91-85 lead.
Hughes scored just 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting, but he dished out five
assists and grabbed eight boards. Gibson had 12 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas
donated 11 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, who snapped a brief
two-game skid.
"It was a good win versus a good basketball team," said Cavs head coach Mike
Brown. "They've been playing well in the month of February."
West scored 25 points with 10 rebounds and six assists, Desmond Mason complied
16 points and Chandler notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards in
defeat, the Hornets' first in three games.
Cleveland appeared to be in command of the contest, building a 77-65 edge
after three stanzas on Anderson Varejao's jumper as time expired.
The cushion didn't last long.
Bobby Jackson scored the first five points and West the next four before
James' jumper with 5:37 left. Then, Jannero Pargo knocked down a jumper and
West's bucket brought the Hornets even.
James had 13 points, five rebounds and six assists and Ilgauskas added 11 in
the first half as Cleveland led 52-43. West led all scorers through 24 minutes
with 15 points.
Game Notes
The Hornets made just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc...West and Chandler led a
44-35 edge on the backboards...The game featured eight ties and five lead
changes...The clubs split two meetings this season...Attendance was 19,619.
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The second-seeded Hewitt posted a 6-3, 6-3 vic
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Detroit to a 4-1 win over Chicago at the United Center.
Kyle Calder posted a goal and an assist in his debut for the Red Wings, who
snapped a two-game slide.
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underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday.
No immediate timetable was given on his return.
Legace is 23-15-5 with a 2.59 goals-against average and five
<< Manning watches, Summitt cheers, Vols swamp Gators
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the stands and Tennessee legendary women's coach Pat Summitt dressed as a
cheerleader, the Volunteers rode early momentum to beat No. 5 Florida, 86-76,
handing
Messier's number retired on night Oilers fall >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Curtis Joseph made 26 saves to lead the
Phoenix Coyotes to a 3-0 win over Edmonton on the night that the Oilers
retired legendary Mark Messier's No. 11 at Rexall Place.
The Oilers were completel
Terps and Blue Devils square off in pivotal ACC clash >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Maryland Terrapins have earned the
24th spot in this week's AP poll, and they will attempt to upset the 14th-
ranked Duke Blue Devils this evening in ACC action.
Maryland began its five-g
Vandy comes to Columbia seeking season sweep of Gamecocks >>
Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores own sole
possession of second place in the SEC East, and they will attempt to knock
off the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road this evening.
Vanderbilt has won
Top-25 foes meet in the Lone Star State >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-25 teams meet in a critical Big 12 tilt
this evening, as the 15th-ranked Texas Longhorns welcome the seventh-ranked
Texas A&M Aggies to the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
The Aggies are sitting
Sens and 'Canes cap home-and-home in Ottawa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes and the Senators will complete a
home-and-home series tonight, when they get together at Ottawa's Scotiabank
Place.
The Senators won the opener of this set in Raleigh on Tuesday evening, as
Jason S
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.
Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds
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.
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Problem with Bears?
Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.
"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."
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Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.
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