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04/16/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bullying has been at the forefront of the national news cycle quite a bit recently, thanks to a high-profile case in Massachusetts that resulted in the suicide of a young teenage girl.
The increased media coverage is certainly understandable when something that tragic happens but bullying has been around for hundreds of years, and will continue to fester long after CNN and FOXNews pack up the cameras and head to the next sensational story.
Psychologists have described bullying as an act of repeated aggressive behavior in order to intentionally hurt another person either physically or mentally, often characterized by an individual behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person.
So what does that have to do with the NBA?
Well, the resident bully on the block, the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, are a little worried about the new kid, Kevin Durant and his Oklahoma City Thunder. So, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was quick to put both Durant and the league's officials on notice once it was clear LA would match up with the Thunder in the Western Conference quarterfinals.
It was classic Jackson, a coach who has spent far more time mastering mind games than the X's and O's.
"As far as the calls he gets on the floor, I think a lot of the referees are treating him like a superstar," Jackson said of Durant. "He gets to the line easily and often. He has the ability to create fouls. So, that's a big part of scoring, getting to the foul line.
The NBA on Thursday fined Jackson $35,000 for those comments.
Working officials is a tactic as old as the game itself and Jackson, who has been a part of 12 NBA championships as a player and a coach, sees it as just another part of the game. The so-called Zen Master wants to make sure it's his superstar, the veteran Kobe Bryant, who gets the benefit of the whistle and not the cocky young punk that hasn't earned anything, Durant.
Jackson is not the first to question the "treatment" Durant has gotten. Another long-time star, Boston's Kevin Garnett, was fined $25,000 for criticizing the referees during the Celtics' loss to the Thunder last month, when Durant paraded to the charity stripe 15 times and knocked them all down.
Garnett deadpanned that the Celtics were playing "Michael (expletive) Jordan."
Here's the thing. Durant IS a superstar. The 6-foot-9 silky smooth forward is special and finished this season as the youngest scoring champion in NBA history, averaging 30.1 points per game. He also paced the league in free- throw attempts per game at 10.3.
"Ever since KG said something, everybody's been questioning how I get to the line," Durant told the Oklahoman. "If you watch our games, you wouldn't question it."
Jackson isn't really questioning it. In fact the Lakers' coach is likely a bit spooked by Durant's skill and is looking for any edge he can get, whether that's upsetting Durant himself or getting one or two subliminal calls out of officials that might have gone the other way.
It seems to be working. The 21-year-old Durant showed a little bit of the immaturity the Lakers' mentor was trying to exploit when addressing the issue on Wednesday.
"It's taking away from what I do," Durant said. "That's a part of my game, getting to the free-throw line and being aggressive. If you say that I get superstar calls or I get babied by the refs, that's just taking away from how I play. That's disrespectful to me."
Durant should have just kept his mouth shut and punched the bully squarely in the face by dropping 40 points in Game 1. Instead, it's advantage Jackson and the Lakers, who will take down the talented but inexperienced Thunder in seven games.
Now let's take a closer look at the rest of this year's opening round matchups...
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(1) CLEVELAND vs. (8) CHICAGO
The Cavs have more playoff experience, the best player in the game and a more competent coach but they shut it down for a week while Chicago has been playing for its playoff life each and every day down the stretch. I think rustiness might be able to steal the Bulls a game or two, but they will not seriously threaten The King and Cleveland.
Cavs in 5
(2) ORLANDO vs. (7) CHARLOTTE
The talent discrepancy between these two teams is not as great as you would think considering the difference in records, but a number of things are pointing in Orlando's direction. The Bobcats already accomplished their main goal of making the postseason for the first time in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Magic have that deep run from last year to fall back upon, and the most dominant inside player in the game, Dwight Howard. The fact that Larry Brown has likely already made the decision to move on from Charlotte is also tough to overcome.
Magic in 5
(3) ATLANTA vs. (6) MILWAUKEE
If the Bucks had any chance here, it likely went down in flames when much- improved center Andrew Bogut was injured against Phoenix in early April. Atlanta is just too athletic and has too many offensive options for Milwaukee to keep up in a seven-game setting.
HAWKS in 5
(4) BOSTON vs. (5) MIAMI
Dwyane Wade is good enough to win games by himself in the final five minutes if Miami can figure out a way to keep things close. That said, Boston has too much experience and will mind a way to squeeze things out, likely in seven games.
Celtics in 7
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(2) DALLAS vs. (7) SAN ANTONIO
The aging Spurs certainly have the experience to give their in-state rivals fits, but the February trade that brought Caron Butler and Brendan Hayward to Big D really toughened the Mavs up and made them far better suited for postseason play. That said, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili still have enough to get this to a Game 7 where anything can happen, but I think Dirk Nowitzki and his superlative offensive skills are the difference there.
Mavs in 7
(3) PHOENIX vs. (6) PORTLAND
Talk about snake-bit. The loss of All-Star Brandon Roy to a torn meniscus in his right knee likely seals Portland's fate against the high-flying Suns. Already without centers Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla, Blazers coach Nate McMillan did a wonderful job holding things together in the Pacific Northwest this season and is my Coach of the Year, but there is only so much you can do.
Suns in 5
(4) DENVER vs. (5) UTAH
Utah is extremely talented, but something bothers me about a team that lays an egg on the last day of the regular season on their home floor with the division title on the line and the second seed in the conference still in play. That said, I'm picking the Jazz even though I think Denver is the more well-rounded team. George Karl's health issues are just too big of a distraction.
Jazz in 7
<< NHL Calendar
May 7 - IIHF World Men's Hockey Championship begins in Germany.May 23 - Gold medal game at IIHF World Men's Hockey Championship.June 18 - Last possible day of Stanley Cup Final.June 25-26 - NHL Entry Draft at Los Angeles.July 1 - Free Agent signing
<< Do-hoon Kim leads by one in China
Suzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Korea's Do-hoon Kim carded a three-under 69
Friday to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the China Open.
Kim, who shared the first-round lead with Thongchai Jaidee, completed 36 holes
at 11-under-pa
<< Dodgers rally past D-Backs, win in 10th
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Ethier singled home the game-winning
run in the bottom of the 10th inning, as Los Angeles rallied past the Arizona
Diamondbacks, 6-5, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Dodger
Stadium
<< Canucks take series opener with Kings in OT
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikael Samuelsson's second tally of the game,
coming at 8:52 of overtime, sent Vancouver past Los Angeles, 3-2, in the
opener of this Western Conference quarterfinal series at GM Place.
After 30 secon
Lottery-winning Oilers face tough decision >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Logic suggests that whatever player the
Edmonton Oilers select with the No. 1 pick in the NHL Entry Draft will be the
right one.
The NHL Central Scouting released its final prospect rankings earlier this
Duke targets third win in opener with Reds >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh lefty Zach Duke can give himself an early
birthday present tonight when the Pirates host the Cincinnati Reds in game one
of a three-game set at PNC Park.
Duke, who'll turn 27 on Monday, has gotten wins in his in
Angels take slow start north of the border >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams with surprisingly inverted records square off for
the first time in 2010 tonight, when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim visit
Rogers Centre for the first of three weekend games with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The An
Yankees send Sabathia to the hill in opener with Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia tries to follow up a near no-hit performance
his last time out when the big New York Yankees left-hander takes the mound
for his team's opener of a three-game series with the visiting Texas Rangers.
Sabathia wa
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.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
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
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