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Bulls kick off monster road trip in MiamiBasketball Betting Lines01/29/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Eastern Conference heavyweights square off on the shores of Biscayne Bay Sunday afternoon when LeBron James and the Miami Heat play host to Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls in a rematch of last season's conference finals. The Bulls, who lost to Miami in five games during the East finals a year ago, come in atop the conference, two games ahead of the Heat with a 17-4 record but will be embarking on a more than grueling nine-game road trip starting this afternoon. Most recently Chicago won for the fifth time in six games on Friday when Rose, the reigning NBA MVP, poured in a season-high 34 points to lead the Bulls to a 107-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center. Carlos Boozer contributed 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Joakim Noah had 15 points and 16 rebounds for Chicago, which picked up its NBA-best 17th win despite playing without two starters, forward Luol Deng (torn ligament in left wrist) and guard Rip Hamilton (thigh bruise). C.J. Watson chipped in 13 points for the Bulls. "My mindset was to attack," Rose said. "Coach [Tom] Thibodeau showed me film of me attacking, so that's what I tried to do when I went out there." Both Deng and Hamilton are listed as questionable for this afternoon's contest as the Bulls try to improve on their 8-3 road record. Deng, however, has already indicated he probably won't get back on the floor for another few days. Chicago will also visit Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New Orleans, Charlotte and Boston on its mega-trek before returning to the Windy City for a Feb. 14 date against Sacramento. The Heat, meanwhile, welcomed Dwyane Wade back to the lineup on Friday during a 99-89 victory over the Knicks. The All-Star sparkled in his return to the lineup, scoring 28 points, as Miami withstood a bevy of three-pointers from New York to earn the win. Wade, who missed six games to a sprained right ankle, made 11 of his 19 field goal attempts and all six of his foul shots. He also came up with five steals and even blocked a pair of shots. "This is a very good team with or without me," Wade said. "I was just trying to be aggressive. I've been out for a while. The best way to get your rhythm is by attacking the basket." James, the former two-time MVP, added 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who have won three in a row and six of their last seven games overall. Chris Bosh scored 13 and had nine boards for Miami, which is 8-2 in South Florida. "If he's putting on a uniform, I expect greatness out of him," James said of Wade. "To be out six games and look like basically you didn't miss a beat, his speed and his stamina were the two things that were like 'wow.' It's good to have him back." Chicago won all three regular-season games over the Heat last season before Miami turned the tables in the playoffs. "The hype is going to be crazy for this game," Rose said.
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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook BettingNFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal. A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon." It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed. The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha. So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games." Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs. |
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