Two new All-Stars, and perhaps a dunk contest favorite emerges

Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2007 -

Carmelo Anthony and Josh Howard looked like worthy All-Stars. Dwight Howard might have stamped himself as the favorite in the slam dunk contest.

The additions of Anthony and Josh Howard to the Western Conference roster made the big news in the NBA on Friday. But it was Dwight Howard who provided the highlight of the night on the court with his spectacular game-winning dunk against San Antonio.

Howard leaped high over Tim Duncan to grab a long inbounds lob from Hedo Turkoglu with one hand and dunk it with 0.2 seconds left, giving the Orlando Magic a 106-104 victory.

``That was just freak athleticism,'' Magic rookie J.J. Redick said. ``We've all seen spectacular lobs and dunks, but I told him after the game: 'Dude, I've never seen anything like that in that situation.'''

Even the Spurs were amazed.

``Dwight had to go up and touch the clouds over Timmy and get it one-handed and put it in,'' Brent Barry said. ``It was a remarkable play.''

Dwight Howard will play in the All-Star game and compete in the dunk contest on All-Star Saturday night. Anthony and Josh Howard will be joining him in Las Vegas.

Commissioner David Stern added the two players as injury replacements, and both celebrated their selections with victories later Friday. Anthony scored 34 points in Denver's 102-95 win at Indiana, and Howard had 22 points and seven rebounds to help Dallas beat Houston 95-74.

In other games, it was: Toronto 96, the Los Angeles Lakers 92; the Los Angeles Clippers 90, Philadelphia 89; Portland 108, Charlotte 100 in overtime; New Jersey 92, Boston 78; Cleveland 103, Miami 79; Memphis 105, Minnesota 97 in overtime; Dallas 95, Houston 74; Atlanta 120, Phoenix 111; and Golden State 123, Chicago 121 in overtime.

At Indianapolis, Anthony shot 11-for-24 from the field and 12-for-13 from the free-throw line, helping the Nuggets overcome the absences of Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby. After a 15-game suspension for fighting likely cost him when coaches voted for reserves, the league's leading scorer didn't care how he got his first All-Star spot.

``I know what I did the first half of the season,'' he said. ``I was an All-Star.

``To get in there is a blessing. For me to be able to get in there, injury or votes or coaches picking me, it didn't matter.''

Josh Howard helped Dallas to its 17th consecutive home victory. The Mavs are 20-2 when he scores 20 or more points.

``We're really proud of him,'' Dallas' Devin Harris said. ``He's worked extremely hard and is deserving of it.''Nets 92, Celtics 78

Vince Carter scored 21 points and visiting New Jersey spoiled Paul Pierce's return to Boston's lineup by extending the Celtics' franchise-record losing streak to 17.

Pierce struggled in his first game since Dec. 20, scoring nine points on 4-of-16 shooting after missing 24 games with a stress reaction in his left foot and an infection in his left elbow.Cavaliers 103, Heat 79

LeBron James ended a mini-scoring slump with 29 points and host Cleveland snapped Miami's five-game winning streak.

James had averaged just 17.7 points - almost nine under his average - in the past four games. But going head-to-head against good friend Dwyane Wade brought out the best in James, who scored 16 points after halftime and added seven rebounds and six assists.

Wade finished with 27 points, but never got a chance to take over the way he did a week ago when he outscored Cleveland 24-23 in the fourth quarter and had 41 points in Miami's 92-89 win.Hawks 120, Suns 111

Former Sun Joe Johnson scored 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead Atlanta to a victory over a Phoenix team sorely missing playmaker Steve Nash.

Josh Smith added 25 points in the Hawks' fourth consecutive road victory. Atlanta snapped a five-game losing streak to Phoenix.

Nash has missed the last 2 1/2 games with inflammation in his right shoulder. Coach Mike D'Antoni said he expects Nash to play Sunday at home against Chicago.Raptors 96, Lakers 92

Chris Bosh had 29 points and 11 rebounds, Kobe Bryant missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds, and the Raptors won their season-high fifth straight.

Bryant scored 25 points for the Lakers, who dropped to 3-4 on their eight-game road trip.Warriors 123, Bulls 121, OT

Monta Ellis hit the go-ahead jumper with 43 seconds remaining in overtime, leading Golden State to its eighth straight home win over Chicago.

Ben Gordon scored 24 points to lead the Bulls, who haven't won in Oakland since their 1998 championship season.Trail Blazers 108, Bobcats 100, OT

Zach Randolph had 40 points and Jarrett Jack added 12 of his 20 in overtime to help visiting Portland snap a three-game losing streak.

Brandon Roy had 15 points for Portland and won the battle with Adam Morrison in the first matchup of the league's top scoring rookies. Roy shot just 5-of-13, while Morrison had seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.Clippers 90, 76ers 89

Sam Cassell scored 22 points and Cuttino Mobley had 17 to lead the Clippers, who ended a nine-game losing streak in Philadelphia by winning there for the first time since March 10, 1996.

Andre Iguodala carried Philadelphia with 22 points, and Samuel Dalembert had 14 points and 15 rebounds.Grizzlies 105, Timberwolves 97, OT

Rudy Gay scored 19 points, including seven in overtime, to help host Memphis snap a four-game losing streak and send Minnesota to its fifth loss in six games.

Mark Blount led Minnesota with 25 points, while Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 17 rebounds.

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.

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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

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To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.