Bogut boosts Bucks over Wizards

Basketball Betting Lines

03/05/2010 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrew Bogut had 19 and 10 rebounds to pace the Milwaukee Bucks past the Washington Wizards, 102-74, at the Verizon Center.

Carlos Delfino also had 19 and six rebounds, while John Salmons added 17, five rebounds and five assists for the Bucks, who have won eight of their last nine games and 14-of-18.

Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee each totaled 13 points and McGee added 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season for a Wizards squad that has lost four of five. Washington did not tally a 20-point quarter in the effort, shot just 37.8 percent and totaled only 10 assists.

The Bucks scored 13 in a row during the first quarter to take command. Delfino started the flurry with a short jumper. Bogut added an alley-oop jam and his dunk ended the burst for a 22-11 margin with 4:12 remaining in the period. The Bucks ended the quarter leading 28-19.

The Bucks extended the lead to 18 at 43-25 with 6:28 left in the second quarter on a Bogut layup, but the Wizards outscored Milwaukee 11-8 the rest of the quarter to end the half down 51-36.

Blatche's dunk had Washington within 51-40, but Milwaukee scored the next 10, with Salmons netting half of those points.

Milwaukee got the advantage up to 26 by the end of the third quarter as Luke Ridnour made a layup and a free throw with 59.5 second remaining, extending the lead to 81-55.

Ridnour converted on a jump shot to widen the margin to a game-high-tying 31 at 94-63 with 6:55 left. He finished with 13 points.

Game Notes

Milwaukee swept the home-and-home series with the Wizards and have won six of the past eight meetings...Bucks coach Scott Skiles is now three wins away from 350 for his career...Blatche made just 5-of-16 shots in the game after converting on 52.4 percent of his field goals in his previous nine games...Washington plays next at Boston on Sunday, while Milwaukee is home against Cleveland on Saturday.

Wwwattheraces Basketball Betting News

<< Raptors upend Knicks, halt four-game slide
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sonny Weems poured in half of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and pulled down nine rebounds to lead Toronto to a 102-96 win over the New York Knicks. Jose Calderon also thrived off the benc

<< Cornell clinches Ivy League, first team into NCAA Tournament
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Jaques scored 20 points, going 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, and Cornell hit 20 shots from beyond the arc and clinched the Ivy League crown with a 95-76 victory over Brown. Louis Dale, Ryan Wittman a

<< Garnett, Celtics handle Sixers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Garnett scored a team-high 22 points to go with eight rebounds, and Rajon Rondo chipped in 16 points and 11 assists to pace the Celtics to a 96-86 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Ray Allen post

<< Horizon League Tournament Recaps
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Holman scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the seventh-seeded Detroit Titans beat the third-seeded Green Bay Phoenix, 62-53, in the second round of the Horizon League Tournament. Xavier K

<< Pistons' Stuckey taken off on stretcher
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey was taken from the court at Quicken Loans Arena on a stretcher after possibly suffering a seizure during Friday night's game against the Cavaliers. The incident

Bobcats hand cold-shooting Lakers second straight loss >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Jackson scored 21 points, and the hot-shooting Bobcats trounced the Lakers, 98-83, dealing Los Angeles its second straight defeat. Gerald Wallace added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Bo

Helm scores twice in Detroit's win over Nashville >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darren Helm scored a pair of goals, as the Detroit Red Wings handled the Nashville Predators, 5-2, in a battle between Central Division foes at Joe Louis Arena. Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist

Connolly's OT tally pushes Sabres past Flyers >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Connolly scored 2:31 into overtime to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at HSBC Arena. In the extra session, Philadelphia goaltender Michael Leighton stopped Toni Lydman'

Josh Smith leads Hawks over Warriors >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Smith put in a season-high 29 points and Al Horford came up with 27 and 15 rebounds, as Atlanta overcame a poor defensive effort to top a short-handed Golden State squad, 127-122, at Philips Arena.

James, Cavaliers down Pistons; Stuckey taken to hospital >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James dropped 40 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and handed out six assists to lead Cleveland in a 99-92 win against Detroit at Quicken Loans Arena. Antawn Jamison added 17 points and Anderson Vareja

Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.