Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/10/2007 -
SEATTLE (AP) -Rashard Lewis was back on the court in Seattle.
He shot six consecutive free throws that never hit the rim - just smoothly feathered through the net off his right hand that was wrapped in a padded protective glove.
He was also back playing around with teammates, trying to distract Luke Ridnour from making his free throws at the end of practice Friday. First, Lewis tried jumping and grabbing both sides of the rim. Once he returned to the floor, he turned and shamelessly shook his rear end toward the point guard as he shot.
``Rashard's a great player and we really missed him. It's great to have him back,'' Sonics coach Bob Hill said, one day before Seattle's second-leading scorer is to start against Sacramento in his first game since he frayed a tendon in his hand on Dec. 20.
An ``anxious'' Lewis reported that the shooting rhythm that made him an All-Star in 2005 and a 21.9 points-per-game scorer this season before his 22-game absence is not back yet. And he said he likely won't be back to ``full throttle'' until after next week's All-Star break.
But he said the hand felt much better Friday than it did in his first practice on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
``I can still feel it. ... It is still sore,'' Lewis said of his injured knuckle.
That means he may be wearing the black, fingerless leather glove for a while.
``If it gets slapped, I'm going to feel it.''
Oh, it may get slapped. Immediately. Lewis' first two games back are against the Kings, including on Sunday in Sacramento. Rugged Ron Artest will likely be Lewis' primary defender inside. Artest isn't exactly known to take it easy on anyone - especially the wounded.
``I don't want to say he's dirty,'' Lewis said. ``Maybe he was earlier in his career. But now I think he's straightened his head out. To me, he's just playing basketball ... trying to get the bad name off his back and not be labeled as one of those bad guys in the league.''
So now that Lewis is back about two weeks earlier than the team initially estimated, will that bring the last-place Sonics (18-31) back to where they'd thought they'd be before Lewis' injury?
Seattle was 8-14 without Lewis, and just 3-10 against the top 11 teams in the Western Conference. That includes Golden State, New Orleans and Minnesota - the three teams within 2 games of Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers for the final two playoff spots in the conference. Seattle is still holding out hope of grabbing one of those spots.
For all their injuries and a team-record, 15-game road losing streak that ended just Wednesday at Indiana, the Sonics entered the weekend somehow just 6 1/2 games behind the Nuggets and Clippers. The Sonics haven't had Lewis and Allen in the lineup together since Dec. 2.
``Even just his presence being on the floor is definitely going to make it easier on us,'' Allen said, noting most of Lewis' early contributions will likely come inside until Lewis gets used to shooting while wearing the glove. ``It's going to take a lot of pressure off me scoring.''
Presumably opponents won't be able to double- and triple-team Allen with the game on the line, at least not as much as they have been over the last six weeks. As Hill has said, ``everyone in the gym and watching on TV'' has known where Seattle's plays were going to go at the end of close games.
Hill said he has new plays ready for Lewis' return. The coach also said he will likely use a smaller lineup more with the 6-10 Lewis back, meaning perhaps more of Ridnour and fellow guard Earl Watson on the floor with Allen and Lewis.
``That's worked well for us this year. I've really liked it,'' Hill said of ``going small.''
That means a possible slowing of the recent, rapid emergence of center Nick Collison as a scorer. Collison has averaged 17 points per game and had eight double-doubles over the last month. His averages for his three-year Seattle career, most of it with Lewis healthy, are 7.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Blackhawks-Oilers, Sums
Chicago 0 0 1-1Edmonton 1 0 1-2First Period-1, Edmonton, Torres 11 (Bergeron, Horcoff), 4:29. Penalties-Hejda, Edm (hooking), 7:58; Stortini, Edm, major (fighting), 13:37; Lapointe, Chi, major (fighting), 13:37; Hejda, Edm (interference), 17:
<< Wizards suspend Thomas for 2 games
WASHINGTON (AP) -The Washington Wizards suspended center Etan Thomas for two games Friday because of conduct detrimental to the team.Thomas will games Sunday against Portland and Wednesday at Philadelphia. He will not practice with the team during t
<< Lightning-Rangers, Sums
Tampa Bay 0 0 0-0N.Y. Rangers 2 2 1-5First Period-1, N.Y. Rangers, Orr 1 (Tyutin, Betts), 4:28. 2, N.Y. Rangers, Hossa 4 (Rozsival, Straka), 11:32. Penalty-Shanahan, NYR (hooking), 13:24.Second Period-3, N.Y. Rangers, Hollweg 1 (Jagr), 8:28
<< Nash misses second game with sore shoulder
PHOENIX (AP) -All-Star Steve Nash sat out the Suns' game against Atlanta because of a sore right shoulder.It was the second game in a row that the league's two-time defending MVP was sidelined. He missed Tuesday's overtime victory at Portland and sa
West Virginia 70, No. 2 UCLA 65 >>
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -Alex Ruoff scored 18 points and West Virginia withstood two rallies by No. 2 UCLA in the second half to beat the Bruins 70-65 on Saturday.For the second straight season, UCLA (21-3, 10-2 Pac-10) couldn't recover from a double
Dodgers win arbitration case against Beimel >>
PHOENIX (AP) -The Los Angeles Dodgers won their arbitration case against reliever Joe Beimel on Saturday, setting his salary at $912,500 this year.Beimel asked for a raise from $425,000 to $1.25 million at Friday's hearing. The Dodgers countered at
Fight with Haywood at practice led to Thomas' suspension >>
WASHINGTON (AP) -The running feud between Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood escalated with another exchange of blows, leading to a two-game suspension for Thomas and leaving the Washington Wizards thin along the frontcourt.Thomas was suspended for thr
Bradley 100, Drake 85 >>
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -Daniel Ruffin scored 19 points Saturday to leading Bradley to a 100-85 win over Drake.Five players joined Ruffin in double figures for Bradley (17-10, 8-7 Missouri Valley). Zach Andrews scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Wi
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
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting